Author Topic: South Africa support thread  (Read 5595 times)

Lysmata Debelius

South Africa support thread
« on: September 26, 2018, 02:13:01 PM »
I need a complete step-by-step guide. I don't want to do them all and then find they're incorrect :icon_rolleyes: . Do I put your code after the = sign?


ETA Yay  :banana: I seem to have done it. But I've had to murder two of my babies :icon_cry: . Why only 9 books?


Hey! Nice to see you here. :) We should start a South African writers' support thread just for the two of us! :)
« Last Edit: October 06, 2018, 05:01:08 AM by Lysmata Debelius »
 

Jeff Tanyard

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2018, 02:57:59 PM »
I need a complete step-by-step guide. I don't want to do them all and then find they're incorrect :icon_rolleyes: . Do I put your code after the = sign?


ETA Yay  :banana: I seem to have done it. But I've had to murder two of my babies :icon_cry: . Why only 9 books?


Hey! Nice to see you here. :) We should start a South African writers' support thread just for the two of us! :)


Can I post in it, too?  I've been to Cape Town and found it absolutely wonderful.  When I stood on the deck of the Cape Point lighthouse and faced south, it was kind of surreal, you know?  Thinking that the next land over the horizon was Antarctica, I mean.  Wild stuff.  It was really like being at the edge of the world.
v  v  v  v  v    Short Stories    v  v  v  v  v    vv FREE! vv
     
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy (some day) | Author Website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2018, 04:39:44 PM »


Can I post in it, too?  I've been to Cape Town and found it absolutely wonderful.  When I stood on the deck of the Cape Point lighthouse and faced south, it was kind of surreal, you know?  Thinking that the next land over the horizon was Antarctica, I mean.  Wild stuff.  It was really like being at the edge of the world.


Of course! All are welcome in this so-far-non-existent-south-african-writers-support-thread! Cape Point is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been too. Slightly intimidated by the baboons, though :)
 

Jeff Tanyard

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2018, 04:53:13 PM »
Slightly intimidated by the baboons, though :)


The baboons are just plain creepy.   :icon_eek:  Exciting to watch, sure, but I can happily go the rest of my life without any more baboon encounters.

The penguins were cute, but a little boring.  They just lay there on the beach.   :Hqn66ku:

The ostriches were cool.   :cool:  And tasty, too.  I had an ostrich burger at the Two Oceans Restaurant.   :icon_wink:
v  v  v  v  v    Short Stories    v  v  v  v  v    vv FREE! vv
     
Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy (some day) | Author Website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2018, 09:14:05 PM »
Ha ha! We got split off. Getting off topic, I guess. Sorry, Tim! Seriously, I doubt there are enough of us to justify a thread :)


But maybe that will change :)
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #5 on: October 03, 2018, 05:32:02 AM »
Ok. I'll join to bump the tread. We can discuss our postal problems  :icon_rolleyes: .

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2018, 05:34:48 AM »
Oh  gosh. So true.
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2018, 05:41:05 AM »
Oh  gosh. So true.


I've been sent a new payment card by 'regular' post from the US. Expected to arrive by Nov 5th.  grint :icon_rofl:

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2018, 04:22:47 AM »
If you take the ? out of the thread title we can ask for this to be an official SA thread and have it stickied like the Australian and Canadian one  :icon_cool:

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #9 on: October 06, 2018, 05:00:11 AM »
I could drum up some more writers to join :)
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread?
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2018, 05:28:49 AM »
I could drum up some more writers to join :)

Might be a good idea. We have some unique problems here. An editor has just told me he is sending me a cheque from the UK  :eek:. Had to send a quick reply and ask for a PayPal payment instead. He is consulting their finance dept. Imagine a 'Phew' emoticon here. 

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2018, 04:21:07 PM »
Jan, on that topic, are you aware of this thing of becoming an "importer or record" if you buy more than three things per year from Amazon or similar sites. It's a new thing that SARS has started doing this year.

"According to reports from TimesLive, SARS confirmed that citizens who bring in more than three import consignments per year will need to apply for an importer’s code.

The regulations have been in place since 2013, but are reportedly only now being enforced – with the reports of the crackdown starting in April 2018.

According to the SARS website, to register as an importer you must provide several personal and identifying documents, along with a certified copy of a close corporation registration or a company registration.

....

One of the ways to buy goods from international markets such as the US and not cut into your import quota is to use an import service from a local ecommerce store.

This sees a local retailer bring your order into the country under its own importer’s code, delivering it to you as if you had purchased it in South Africa."

See more about this here:

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/273281-you-are-the-importer-of-record-when-buying-from-amazon.html
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #12 on: October 07, 2018, 01:28:13 AM »
Jan, on that topic, are you aware of this thing of becoming an "importer or record" if you buy more than three things per year from Amazon or similar sites. It's a new thing that SARS has started doing this year.

"According to reports from TimesLive, SARS confirmed that citizens who bring in more than three import consignments per year will need to apply for an importer’s code.

The regulations have been in place since 2013, but are reportedly only now being enforced – with the reports of the crackdown starting in April 2018.

According to the SARS website, to register as an importer you must provide several personal and identifying documents, along with a certified copy of a close corporation registration or a company registration.

....

One of the ways to buy goods from international markets such as the US and not cut into your import quota is to use an import service from a local ecommerce store.

This sees a local retailer bring your order into the country under its own importer’s code, delivering it to you as if you had purchased it in South Africa."

See more about this here:

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/273281-you-are-the-importer-of-record-when-buying-from-amazon.html

I haven't heard about this  :evil2:. Sounds like a bit of a nightmare if we need to order proof copies. I wonder what Amazon thinks about this if their customers can no longer buy freely from them.
I've found that I sometimes get charged customs duty on my books and other times I don't. Makes it difficult to decide how much to quote if someone wants to buy your print book. I've given up buying copies to re-sell.  :icon_rolleyes:

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2018, 02:33:05 AM »
I've found a local print on demand business here in Cape Town to do my print books. Ordering them from Amazon or Creatspace simply does not make sense anymore.
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #14 on: October 07, 2018, 03:12:19 AM »
I've found a local print on demand business here in Cape Town to do my print books. Ordering them from Amazon or Creatspace simply does not make sense anymore.

I've been getting print copies of Something to Read on the Plane printed locally from 2006. I sell to Exclusive books. I have to get 1000 copies at a time to make it worthwhile (quite an expensive outlay!). I investigated POD copies from the same firm, but for re-sale to a bookshop it wasn't viable. I also did some calculations on my other books just for buying to re-sell to friends and at book signings etc, but CreateSpace was still cheaper, or about the same, even with the shipping costs.  Perhaps your printer is cheaper (imagine a 'wondering' emoticon here)  grint

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2018, 06:53:40 PM »
I don't print such big numbers! My printer is http://www.digital-action.co.za/ contact person Sean Heydenrych sean@digitalactionsa.co.za
So far they've been very reliable,  excellent quality.

I've not tried to get my book into local bookshops. I hear good things about Blue Weaver distributors. https://www.blueweaver.co.za/  I don't know if they'll be useful if you're not in Cape Town.
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #16 on: October 09, 2018, 03:12:20 AM »
I don't print such big numbers! My printer is http://www.digital-action.co.za/ contact person Sean Heydenrych sean@digitalactionsa.co.za
So far they've been very reliable,  excellent quality.

I've not tried to get my book into local bookshops. I hear good things about Blue Weaver distributors. https://www.blueweaver.co.za/  I don't know if they'll be useful if you're not in Cape Town.

Thanks.
My Leon children's books were trad published by a small publisher. The distributors took 65% and we went through several of them - all mostly useless. I sell my Something to Read on the Plane directly to Exclusive Books. Have virtually given up trying to sell elsewhere, except for a gallery that takes a few now and again.

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

CharH

  • Tag Line unlocked
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #17 on: October 19, 2018, 03:51:58 PM »
Hello,

I'm South African! I'm a full-time PNR author from Johannesburg.  :mhk9U91: Good to meet you both. I don't normally post on these types of forums but how could I not?

I haven't ordered print copies of my books for the longest time because my last two batches never made it to me  :rant
 

Lysmata Debelius

Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #18 on: October 19, 2018, 04:53:03 PM »
Hello,

I'm South African! I'm a full-time PNR author from Johannesburg.  :mhk9U91: Good to meet you both. I don't normally post on these types of forums but how could I not?

I haven't ordered print copies of my books for the longest time because my last two batches never made it to me  :rant

Hi there! :)

 Yes. I've heard lots of stories about missing mail. So frustrating. Or it takes so looooooooooong to reach you , you pretty much give up.
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #19 on: October 19, 2018, 05:16:45 PM »
Hello,

I'm South African! I'm a full-time PNR author from Johannesburg.  :mhk9U91: Good to meet you both. I don't normally post on these types of forums but how could I not?

I haven't ordered print copies of my books for the longest time because my last two batches never made it to me  :rant

Who did you order them from? I've had copies from CreateSpace go missing, but when I informed them they sent replacements via courier.  :icon_cool:

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website
 

CharH

  • Tag Line unlocked
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #20 on: October 19, 2018, 07:19:08 PM »
Yes, from CreateSpace. Never thought to notify them. It's been over a year since my last order, so too late now. Going to give KDP a bash, hopefully, I have better luck.  grint
 

Jan Hurst-Nicholson

  • Epic Novel unlocked
  • ****
  • Posts: 1171
  • Thanked: 302 times
  • Don't let your emotions overpower your intellect
    • Just4kix Books
Re: South Africa support thread
« Reply #21 on: October 19, 2018, 07:50:01 PM »
Yes, from CreateSpace. Never thought to notify them. It's been over a year since my last order, so too late now. Going to give KDP a bash, hopefully, I have better luck.  grint

What a pity you didn't tell them  :icon_sad:. They can trace whether you received the order. They've couriered a couple of my orders.

Non-fiction, Fiction, family saga, humour, short stories, teen, children's
Jan Hurst-Nicholson | author website