The impetus for the Stones of Yemen was never about money. I knew that I was spending far more in research and editorial assistance than I could ever recoup via sales and royalties. But like a proud parent, you want people to engage with your creation and the more, the merrier. I think all artists share this desire.
One theme of the book is examining a world that isn’t always good guys and bad, patriots and terrorists There is a significant ambiguity out there. It is also a book about bereavement, bereavement which yields a positive harvest . . . and that which has gone off the rails.
The book has sold modestly well for a no-name author with a book forged within a no-name publisher. I’m talking about hundreds, not thousands at this juncture. I won’t know the exact count for months. Haven’t seen a penny in royalty so far.
Advertising for a book of a no-name author also has a return of about 10%. Meaning, for every dollar spent, ten cents will return in royalties. A nation-wide ad campaign is not even reasonable as I have all our funds tied up in cottage building right now.
Today, I had two bits of potentially fantastic news for the book and to enhance its readership. First, an international medical newsletter will publish the first of two articles this week about me and the book. It goes out to 650K physician associates (the protagonist is a PA) and nurse practitioners as well as other medical professionals. That will be a wonderful and generous act of publicity.
Additionally, I just got off the phone with the editor of The Yemen American News, the major national newspaper for Yemeni people living in the US and those in Yemen who want a taste of American news that relates to them. It is published in both English and Arabic and has a monthly circulation of about 15K. He told me that they are going to do a review of The Stones of Yemen. Reviews are terrifying as the merits of the book rest on perspective of the reviewer.
But I am grateful for these opportunities and the chance for Bryan Rogers, Sheila, and Jabbar to win more readers’ hearts.
Mike
J. Michael Jones 
3 responses to “A Good Day for the Stones of Yemen”
Congrats! That is a good day for the book. Hope many PAs and expats respond well to it.
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I saw your book on the PA Clinical Discussion FB group page so I bought the ebook. Read it during a long road trip. I couldn’t put it down!! It was so well-written and enjoyable. You are truly gifted!
I am planning on buying a hard copy for me and 3 more as gifts for my favorite readers. I have also shared your link with my PA and NP colleagues.
I can’t say enough. Just truly loved this book.
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That is so kind of you to say. You didn’t have to look me up and share your comments, but you did and that means a lot.
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