The first quarter for my first novel has ended, and I’ve gotta say I think I’ve done decently well. It’s sitting at a 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon, a 5 star rating on Barnes & Noble and a 4.5 out of 5 on Goodreads. Online, through my publisher and through reviews and consignment acquisitions, I’ve gotten about fifty some books out there, floating around. Not the thousands that every author dreams of, but I’m pretty proud of myself. For this quarter, I get the quarter-royalty for about twenty or so of those books. Which brings me to the point of my post- I have committed myself to donating 10% of my royalties every quarter to help locally combat domestic violence, with the first effort being through donating to SafeHouse Denver*. This quarter, however, that comes out to about a dollar.
Now I don’t want to be a liar- I’ve committed myself to this entirely. So I don’t want to not donate anything for this quarter. But I also doubt the effectiveness of donating a dollar. I considered combining quarters until I had a suitable amount of royalty to donate. However, I recognize the kind of trap that can lead me into, morally. I also believe that would be rather petty of me, in the long run.
So here is the solution I have come to, currently: At the end of every quarter, I will donate a base amount of $10, regardless how many copies of ‘Till the Last Petal Falls sells. (Hopefully, after I graduate college and have a more stable career, I will be able to increase that base amount.) Starting with this royalty period, I will begin to keep track of how much my royalties amount to, how much that would mean donation wise, and will collaborate this with how much was donated and to where each period. I want to be entirely upfront about how, when, where, what and why I am donating right from the get go.
If you’re interested in donating to the organization directly yourself, feel free to click on the link provided above. Remember, 10% of all author royalties from ‘Till the Last Petal Falls will be donated to support local battered women’s services in Colorado (or a base donation of $10 every quarter). If you want some other ideas on how to donate, or support the fight against violence in relationships, click on any (or all) of these links:
Hopeline: Donate old/unused cellphones to be refurbished and distributed to victims, as well as awarding cash grants to domestic violence organizations
Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence: Strengthens shelters and programs throughout Colorado (the author’s home state, and the setting of the novel)
Men Stopping Violence: Engaging Men in creating safer communities for women and girls
SAFE (Stop Abuse for Everyone): Helping those who are otherwise overlooked in the fight against domestic violence, including straight men, GLBT victims, teens and the elderly.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
More links to these organizations, and many other organizations like them, can be found here on the Family Tree website. If you have an organization that you favor or donate to regularly, why not mention it in the comments so that me and other followers of this blog can see it?
We can all make a difference.
*Donations to SafeHouse Denver
will be entirely made out of the author’s own free will.
This does not constitute any endorsement
by said organization to ‘Till the Last Petal Falls.