Replying to Avatar Lyn Alden

Unless someone is setting out to be a professional author (very hard), nobody should write a book to make money.

When I set out to write Broken Money, it was because I *had* to, not because I wanted to. Spending a thousand hours on something that I get a profit of $5/copy for is not my best use of time.

Any time I spent on my research business revenue generation content, or leaning harder into my venture capital partnerships, would have been better on an hourly ROI basis. I have to sell 40 books to equal each newsletter subscription on my website; clearly the latter is better financially.

Almost regardless of how many copies I sell, it's a bad ROI for me. I'm overworked and the fact that I wrote a book while maintaining my existing business stressed my relationship and social life. And further, I am reinvesting most of my initial profits; the first 1,000 copy profits go to the Human Rights Foundation Bitcoin Development Fund, and the next 4,000 copy profits will go towards making a video about money and why it's broken.

And all of it was worth it. When a creator has something in their head, it's painful until they get it out into the world. I wrote this for bad ROI but because I wanted it to be out there for people to read, period.

Will I make a profit? Yes. But at a much lower hourly rate than I make on other work I do. It's a negative profit compared to having reinvested that thousand hours into my other existing work. But I consider it to be more important, which is why I spent the time.

I wrote Broken Money because I had to. The book concept formed in my head after many years of writing and research regarding money, and it would have been increasingly distracting to *not* write it. I didn't realistically have a choice. I felt compelled to write it. Part of it was altruistic; I wanted people to learn from my total monetary framework thoughts over five years of research. Part of it was egotistical; I wanted to timestamp something in the world, in physical form, and put it out there. Maybe it's the low time preference part of me; I'd like something of me to be mentionable to people in the distant future who look back at this time.

My background has been a blend of engineering and finance, with both ironically pointed toward bitcoin.

I don't care where you buy it from, and you can pirate it if you want, but it benefits bitcoin and nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak if you buy it from his website. Circular economy rather than big fiat business. We've introduced a special edition hardcover with a cloth cover and dust jacket for those that prefer that premium format, only on his website. And you can buy it in fiat or sats.

https://academy.saifedean.com/product/broken-money-hardcover/

Thank you for everything you're doing and all of the personal sacrifice that comes with it. Sometimes I stop and think about the incredibly profound time we are living through and wonder how I'll reflect on moments like these.. like being one of the very few who will read a Nostr note from the author of a book that will have helped change the lives of so many who read it. I'll do what I can to help get books like yours in front of more people. Here is the first drop of Broken Money in a Little Free Library in Washington, DC ☺️

#StudyBitcoin #BitcoinBookDrop

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Well done! Keep spreading the word. 🫡#teachbitcoin

Is this your own little library or did you put it in someone else's? There are a few people in my area with these boxes on their property, but I've always been sort of afraid that because they're so left-leaning, they'd see the Bitcoin book, assume it's something they disagree with, and toss it. Maybe it's not worth worrying about that and I should just give it a try, I suppose.

Do it! And for efficiency when you “know your audience”, pick a book that doesn’t go all hardcore anarcho-capitalist. Pick something that focuses on how Bitcoin can be a tool for human rights and freedom from oppression. Alex Gladstein would be a great option, as would Lyn of course.