The First Pour Is for You

There’s a moment when an idea becomes real—not all at once, but in the way a first pour settles into the glass.

For Pints and Power, that moment is now.

Over the past few months, I’ve been writing a book that started as a quiet idea and quickly grew into something deeply personal and unexpectedly alive. I’ve held it in my hands now—a printed proof, marked not for resale—and passed it around to a few friends and supporters, including a late-night round at Bolands. Just holding it changed things. It felt like a commitment.

And it got me thinking: this story, like the best pints, deserves to be shared right.

What I’m Doing

I'm producing a limited First Pour Edition of Pints and Power:
75 hardcover copies. Numbered. Personal. Not final—but true.

This first run won’t be sold on Amazon. It won’t be promoted widely. It won’t even have an ISBN. It’s being printed through Lulu, a small-batch, independent print-on-demand platform that allows for the kind of creative freedom and intimacy I want this first offering to carry.

Why hardcover? Because this isn’t just a proof. It’s a ritual. A keepsake. A beginning.

Why I Chose Lulu for the First Pour

I compared several platforms. Here’s how the decision played out:

Here’s what mattered most to me:

• No ISBN = No publishing record
  This edition is private. A gesture, not a release. Lulu lets me print books without registering them. That means I can treat this as a personal pour, not a commercial launch.
• Full design freedom
  Lulu let me format and submit my own PDFs without compromise. I wanted a book that looked and felt like mine—not just something resized by an algorithm.
• No ongoing fees
  I looked seriously at Books.by, which offers a sleek storefront and built-in e-commerce. But it comes with a $99/year commitment, and I wasn’t ready to run my own inventory or storefront just yet.
• KDP can wait
  I’ll likely publish the wider edition on Amazon through KDP later. But with KDP, once you want real author copies (not watermarked proofs), your book gets published and locked to an ISBN—often one they assign. I’m not there yet. I’m still building the story. Still pouring.

Talking Dollars (Transparency Time)

Here’s what this limited edition costs me:

• Cost before shipping $13.48 per hardcover copy (Lulu, case wrap edition)
• I’ll offer it at $30, mostly to cover print cost, shipping, and the occasional celebratory pint.

This isn’t about turning a profit. It’s about pouring something meaningful into the hands of the people who helped it happen.

What Comes Next?

This will not be the final path. I’ve been exploring the possibility of pursuing a traditional publishing deal down the road. If the right partner sees what Pints and Power is trying to say—and wants to help it reach a wider audience—I’m open to that conversation.

But for now, I’m starting the way a proper pint starts: poured with care, given to someone close, and held with both hands.

If you’re holding one of the 75 when the wider world discovers the book, you’ll know: you were part of something small and real before it ever went big.

You were at the bar before the crowd showed up.

Want a First Pour Edition?

As a thank you to early supporters, I’ll be giving a copy of the First Pour Edition to every annual paid subscriber of this blog at pintsandpower.com.

If you're already subscribed—thank you.
If you're just joining, now's the time.
This edition will never be printed again.

👉 Become a paid subscriber and receive one of the 75 copies automatically.
(While supplies last. I’ll close it off at 75.)

Let’s raise the first one together.

—Mike