I don’t know when I’ve laughed so hard recently. Today I received a check in the mail from ProQuest for $16.11 US. Upon inspection, this check represents my royalties on copies of my dissertation that ProQuest sold during 2004. Apparently, they sold 24 copies of my dissertation, making a cool $700 in the process (22 downloads and 2 paper copies), and I get $16 bucks.
Don’t people know they can download my dissertation for free??? It’s the #2 return on a Google search for wiley and dissertation. And who would pay $40 bucks for my dissertation? Well, it certainly cheered up my Tuesday afternoon at any rate… If I save up my money, and they sell 25 more this year, I might even be able to afford to buy my own copy of it!