I have recently returned from a road trip to Las Vegas. And no, that’s not where I received the payout. I didn’t gamble at all while there. I attended and presented three offerings at Environmental Connection 12, the annual conference of the International Erosion Control Association. Lynda and I made a road trip out of it, with vacation days wrapped on both sides of the conference, and with stops in Oklahoma City and Santa Fe, New Mexico. On the way back we were at our second grandson’s first birthday party.

No, the payout was from Amazon. While on the trip, I received an e-mail saying that $10.97 of accumulated royalties were being paid to my account,  reflecting sales from the start of my self-publishing with them through December 2011, and that I could expect that amount to be transferred to my bank account within five business days.

Woo hoo! Finally, a payout. I had been uncertain if the threshold for payment was $10 or $20, but I thought $10. Payout is supposed to be two months after you reach the payout threshold, and will come monthly so long as you meet it. That certainly beats the twice-a-year payout of legacy publishers, paid about six months after the end of the period.

So far in 2012 I’ve accumulated $3.48 in revenues, including a sale yesterday. That brings my total revenue earned (from on-line sales and self-sales) to $50.12, with total sales being 48. These are still far from earth-shattering numbers, but I’m not complaining given the limited promotion I’ve done.

Over the next few days I’ll post some more information about my sales, including some nifty graphs from Amazon’s Author Central. Despite being the also-ran among also-rans, I’m a firm believer in being honest.