Dave Larsen investing in sales of ‘Green Street in Black and White’
In the weeks leading up to the April 29, 2025, release of the new historical novel by Reformed Journal Books—Green Street in Black and White—public interest has been so enthusiastic that author Dave Larsen decided to maximize his own potential to sell the book by ordering 1,000 copies shipped to his home.
Q: Why would authors order so many copies?
A: Because books sold by authors directly to individuals and groups don’t pay 40 percent of the books’ Suggested Retail Price (SRP) to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and other book retailers around the world. As a result of not having to pay that “retail discount,” authors who sell books at the SRP themselves reap far more than their typical royalties per book sold by retailers.
Plus, ordering books in quality reduces the cost of these books from the printing plant also increasing the author’s net on sales.
Q: How are authors selling such quantities?
A: Lots of ways:
- Individual sales to readers
- Group sales related to author appearances, congregational or community-wide “reads,” retreats, class assignments, holiday sales, etc.
- Fundraisers featuring an author and a book as part of the incentive to buy a ticket to a special event
Most authors don’t order as many copies as Dave and his wife ordered—but the Larsens have room to safely store these books and decided to benefit from the cheapest possible price they could afford from the factory.
The result was a drop-shipped pallet-load of books that arrived at the Larsens’ home recently.
So, what’s the book about? And why is it so timely?
In March, ReadTheSpirit magazine published a story about the remarkable timing of this novel, a column (with an accompanying video) that began this way:
Feeling overwhelmed by the turbulent changes swirling all around our communities right now? Then, this spring, please read Dave Larsen’s Green Street in Black and White—a new book coming soon from Reformed Journal Books. It’s a novel that explores how such upheavals in the lives of parents in a modest Chicago neighborhood will forever affect the lives of an 11-year-old boy and his friends.
The novel is both a page-turning, coming-of-age drama—and a cautionary tale for all of us about how the conflicts in our communities nationwide are likely to be viewed by the millions of children watching us.
It’s a powerful new perspective on the long-term impact of living with such culture clashes.
And, it’s not even set in 2025!
