Shipping the book to three agents and three publishers took the better part of those two years. This is, alas and alack, true enough. This resignation shouldn't stop you, the reader, from sending me that dollar. Rather the opposite, in fact. Please, prove me wrong.
Baby needs shoes.
But here's the question. Well, let's see. First-time authors generally get the double thrill of low advances and low royalty rates. After which his 54 cents gets lopped once again by agents and taxes to about a quarter per book. Figure that it takes four years from completion of writing this first novel to its arrival in the stores, and amortize for his time and trouble.