AN: New week. Gimme those powerstones and yes, you'll get 2 chs tonight. So, help me get into the top 10.π¬π¬ By the way, I went a bit ahead with the numbers in this chapter. π€£
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[One week later]
Sunlight poured through the half-open blinds in Jack's bedroom.
Jack lay propped against a mountain of pillows, ankle still wrapped in an ACE bandage, ribs taped beneath a loose gray T-shirt and black sweatpants. The crutches leaned against the nightstand and a mini-fridge with ice was by the bedside.
Haley sat cross-legged beside him, back resting against the headboard, wearing a soft blue shirt that slipped off one shoulder and denim shorts. Jack's laptop rested on her lap, the screen glowing between them. [Thanks to Phil, she escaped two weeks of solitary life in one.]
Richard had sent the numbers a few minutes ago.
Haley refreshed the email again, even though it had not changed.
"6210 hard copies," she read slowly, like saying it wrong might make it disappear. "In one week? That is insane."
Jack stared at the screen as if it might suddenly admit it was joking.
"It was supposed to be one thousand copies," he said. "Just to test the waters."
Haley scrolled down to Richard's breakdown.
First batch: 1000 copies. Sold out in three days.
Second batch: 3000 copies. Sold out in two days.
Additional restock mid-week: pushing the total to 6210 hard copies sold.
She looked up at him slowly.
Haley let out a sharp breath that turned into a squeal. She grabbed his arm without thinking, then immediately loosened her grip when he winced just a fraction. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just so excited. People are buying actual paper books with your name on them."
Jack blinked at her, still trying to process the hard copy numbers.
"Okay," he said slowly. "That's cool. That's great." He nodded, still keeping his composure. "But those are bookstore numbers."
He pointed at the screen.
"Open KDP dashboard."
Haley looked at him like he had just told her to launch a rocket. She straightened instantly.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Author Sir."
"Oh, and if I pass out, just tilt me sideways so I don't choke on my own ego," he said.
She snorted and clicked over to his KDP dashboard.
The page loaded.
There was a tiny spinning circle.
They both leaned forward at the same time.
The dashboard popped up.
Haley froze.
Jack squinted.
"Scroll," he said.
She scrolled down to the sales graph.
There was a sharp incline that looked almost fake. The blue line had started steadily after the hardcover book launch, then climbed fast by midweek, and by day seven, it shot upward like someone had pressed fast forward.
Haley covered her mouth.
"Jack."
He felt his heartbeat start climbing.
"Yeah. I'd have said to pinch me to check if I'm dreaming. But this pain in my ribs are enough to say that I ain't dreaming."
Total eBooks sold: 3,184
Global territories: US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, India, Brazil.
Jack stared.
"That's⦠worldwide," he said quietly.
Haley nodded like she was afraid to move too much and scare the numbers away.
"And look at this," she said, scrolling again.
Category ranking.
#1 in Children's Fantasy Adventure#1 in Young Adult Fantasy Reimagining#3 in Overall Teen Fiction
Jack blinked twice. 'Bloody hell! Are they trying to give me a heart attack or something? I knew the book was going to destroy the current market, but this...' It was beyond his imagination.
"That's a glitch," he said automatically.
Haley refreshed the page.
The rankings stayed.
She refreshed again.
Still there.
"You are literally at the top of the list," she whispered. "Like, first place. Do you get a medal?" She looked at him.
"Nope," He shook his head.
Jack leaned back against the pillows slowly.
"Three thousand ebooks," he muttered. "Over six thousand hard copies."
He did the math in his head and stopped halfway because it felt unreal.
Haley's eyes were already scanning the review section.
"Oh my god," she said.
"What?"
"They're writing essays."
She clicked into the reviews tab.
Average rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Total ratings: 2342.
Total reviews: 2114
...
Haley clicked the first review before she could stop herself.
The page loaded and a five-star badge filled the top corner.
β β β β β β user: BookNerdMom92
I bought this for my eleven-year-old son and ended up staying up until 2 AM reading it myself. The world-building feels fresh. The main character is vulnerable in a way that makes kids feel seen. There is humor, danger and heart without it ever feeling preachy. I have not seen my son this excited about a book in years. We are already counting down to the sequel.
Haley slapped the laptop lightly.
"See. Moms love you. That is a very powerful demographic."
She clicked the next one.
β β β β β β user: GryphonReader
As someone who grew up on fantasy, I was skeptical. A magical school story sounded risky. I was wrong. The pacing is tight, the mystery unfolds naturally and the friendships feel earned. If this is a debut, the author is scary talented.
Jack blinked.
"Scary talented," Haley repeated dramatically. "I am dating a scary talented person."
He rubbed the back of his neck carefully so he would not pull the tape on his shoulder.
"I'll take the compliment," He said with a smile.Β
She scrolled down.
β β β β β β user: TeenLitFan
I do not usually write reviews, but I had to for this one. The main character struggles with feeling out of place and it felt real. The dialogue sounds like actual kids, not adults pretending to be kids. I finished it in two days and immediately forced my best friend to read it. Please release Book 2 soon.
She clicked another.
β β β β β β user: LibraryDad
I give this four stars only because I wanted more time in the magical history classes. The world hints at a deeper mythology that I hope the author explores later. Otherwise, fantastic read. My daughter and I argued over who the main villain is. And the ending was a big surprise. Never saw it coming.
Then Haley's finger hovered.
"There are some three-star and two-star ones too," she warned.
Jack inhaled slowly.
"Let's see. I want the real picture."
β β β ββ β Username: HonestReader88
I liked the premise, but the first two chapters felt slow. Once it picked up, I was hooked. Author clearly has talent. Needs tighter editing early on.
β ββββ β Username: TruthSeeker999
This is what happens when marketing pushes mediocre content. There are far better indie fantasy books out there being ignored.
Jack shrugged lightly. "That one sounds personal."
Haley leaned closer to the screen. "Zero other reviews. Account created three days ago."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Interesting timing."
β ββββ β Username: RealWriter2001
Overhyped and derivative. Nothing original here.
Haley's jaw dropped. "Derivative? You literally rebuilt the entire magic system from scratch."
Jack shook his head. "Just a troll."
β ββββ β user: FantasyKingOfficial
As a professional fantasy author, I can confidently say this book is derivative and shallow. Readers deserve better-crafted prose and more sophisticated themes.
Haley squinted.
"That username sounds like someone who prints their own face on bookmarks."
Jack leaned forward.
"Click the profile."
She did.
One self-published title. Two ratings. Both one star.Β
"Okay," Jack said slowly. "Let's ignore the jealous guy. Not worth our time."
She scrolled.
β ββββ β user: WizardRealmMaster
I tried reading this but could not get past chapter two. The hype around this author is undeserved. There are many superior works in this genre that are being ignored.
Haley snorted.
"Superior works. That is definitely another jealous writer."
Jack felt a strange mix of irritation and relief.
"They are scared," he muttered.
Haley looked at him.
He glanced at the sales graph again. The steep climb. The territories list. The rankings sitting at number one.
"They doubled me in the game and I still scored," he said quietly. "When people feel threatened, they get louder... and troll."
She smiled slowly.
"That was hot. In a nerd way."
He nudged her knee gently with his.
After another ten minutes of reading reviews and checking on other book sites, Haley finally leaned her head against his shoulder carefully so she would not bump the taped part.
"So what now, Mr. Number One Author?"
"Now," he said, feeling something settle into place inside him. "We see the royalty."
"You sure you want to... you know, show me your earnings?" She asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, go on," He nodded. "Open it."
"Okay," she looked back at the laptop with a smile. "Moment of truth."
She clicked into the reports tab, then into royalties. The page loaded with another spinning circle that suddenly felt way too dramatic for a normal Tuesday morning.
Jack watched her face instead of the screen.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
Then they lifted.
Then her mouth fell open.
"Jack."
"Take a deep breath."
Gross sales: $60,000. Broken down by format, territory, and even a tiny pie chart that showed hardcover eating up most of the pie while ebooks took the rest. Amazon's cut sat listed right below in neat red text.
For a second, neither of them said anything.
"Sixty thousand dollars," she whispered. "Gross sales."
Then when she saw the amount Amazon took, her eyes widened.
"Thirty-nine thousand to Amazon," Haley read out loud, voice rising at the end like she couldn't believe the platform had the nerve. "They just... took thirty-nine thousand dollars?"
Jack let out a slow breath. "That's the deal. Thirty-five percent royalty. They print, they ship, they handle returns. We get what's left after printing costs and their slice."
She turned her head to look at him, eyes huge. "But thirty-nine thousand. That's almost two-thirds of it gone before taxes even touch it."
"Yeah," he said. "Welcome to publishing math back when ebooks were still new and hardcovers were the big money."
Haley scrolled down to the final line.
Net payout (pre-tax): $21,000.
She covered her mouth with both hands this time. The sound that came out was somewhere between a squeak and a strangled laugh. "Twenty-one thousand dollars," she said, her voice rising. "That is more money than I have ever seen in my life outside of Dad's real estate brochures."
Jack let out a breath he did not realize he was holding.
"Pre-tax," he said quietly.
She smacked his arm lightly. He flinched and she immediately pulled back.
"Sorry. Again. But stop being responsible for five seconds."
He looked at the number again.
Twenty-one thousand dollars.
"US sales are the biggest chunk," she said. "Then UK. Canada is strong. Australia too. Germany is climbing. India and Brazil are smaller but growing."
She looked up at him slowly.
"You are literally global... big time."
He leaned back against the pillows.
He had pictured this moment a hundred times while he was writing late at night. He had imagined fist pumps, maybe a victory lap around the house, definitely some kind of loud celebration involving pizza and bad victory music. What he had not imagined was this quiet bedroom, sunlight slanting across the comforter, Haley next to him, both of them sitting there like the universe had just handed them a winning lottery ticket and then politely asked them to stay calm.
Haley closed the laptop and placed it on the nightstand. Then she turned fully toward him.
"You are officially rich," she said. "I mean, you are rich... But you know what I mean. Or... I don't even know what to say. But quick question, what do people do with twenty-one thousand dollars?"
...[POWERSTONES AND REVIEWS]...
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