Here we find Mary Brown again, this time in the company of Bond.
Bond claimed to have ridden nearly all the routes in my book, and by way of backing that claim up produced a weathered copy of the first edition. I may never see more than an intern's financial return on the project, but feel duly gratified by thanks like Bond's.
Not counting reading and historic research, which I consider a pleasure, I invested approximately 600 hours in the book. That includes assaying routes, collecting route instructions, drawing freehand maps, taking photos and writing the actual copy. As of June, 1998, my publisher tells me that 5,000 copies have sold. Most copies sell to stores at approximately 60% of the $10.95 cover price (I don't think I'm contractually allowed to divulge the actual sum) and my commission is 10 percent of gross, leaving me with about 60 cents per copy or a total of $3,230.25. Works out to $5.38 per hour and counting.
© 1998 Henry Kingman. All photos courtesy of Nellie Viola.