Monday, June 21, 2010

Kindle Nation Daily: J.A. Konrath, King of the Kindlesphere, Gives Big Publishers a Rejection Slip with "Endurance" and "Trapped"

Kindle Nation Daily: J.A. Konrath, King of the Kindlesphere, Gives Big Publishers a Rejection Slip with "Endurance" and "Trapped"

19 comments:

JA Konrath said...

I'm currently ranked at #102. :)

Author Scott Nicholson said...

Okay, I'm in, let's see if it makes the bump...

Scott
http://www.hauntedcomputer.com

Steve said...

Just sent out an email blast with a prominent link, Joe. Give us an hour and maybe we can rock the Kindlesphere!

Stacey Cochran said...

If you break into the Top 100, this book will shoot right up into the top 30 within a day.

I've seen it happen too many times not to.

________

Stacey Cochran

Author of The Colorado Sequence

Nicole said...

Exciting!! Putting it on my blog shortly, good luck :)

Anonymous said...

JA, I'm having difficulty understanding how you claim that you "gave big publishers a rejection slip." From your blogs, you state that AFRAID was submitted, rejected, resubmitted and re-rejected. The publisher still "hated" it. That's them giving you a rejection slip, not vice versa.

As to ENDURANCE, your blogs state that you submitted it, it was rejected in the form submitted, and you never resubmitted it at all, much less in a form that was ultimately deemed acceptable. Again, that's a rejection from, not to, the publisher.

While it seems that one or more publishers may have had an option for one or more of these books, those options were never exercised.

This doesn't mean either books is bad. All I'm saying is that if anyone is trying to play this as an "author rejects NY and goes to kindle instead" angle, the facts don't seem to fit.

Anonymous said...

TRAPPED, not AFRAID, above. sorry

Steve said...

There it is - 81!

Rex Kusler said...

Welcome aboard!

JA Konrath said...

I'm having difficulty understanding how you claim that you "gave big publishers a rejection slip.

TRAPPED and ENDURANCE were both under contract. I signed this contract prior to self-pubbing anything on Kindle, back in 2008.

My publisher rejected Trapped. I sent it to another publisher. They accepted it.

My publisher did accept Endurance, but they wanted some edits. I could have made those edits, and the book would have been released by my publisher.

But this Kindle thing happened. So I refused to make the edits, broke the contract with the publisher, and didn't submit it elsewhere.

I also refused to sign the contract offering to buy Trapped.

So I had two books, ready to go to press, and instead decided to publish that on my own.

If you don't understand how that is turning down two print deals, I can't help you there. But I turned down two print deals.

If my publisher was willing to accept Endurance without my edits, I would have been contractually bound to let them release it. But that would NOT have been my preference. If I preferred being traditionallu published, I would have made the changes.

Dave said...

#2 in Horror, #81 overall. Keep it up!

Anonymous said...

6/21/10 #81 in Kindle Store, #2 in the Horror category.

Blogged and linked. That's awesome.

Good luck today, Golden Boy.

Steve said...

#69 ... Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anonymous said...

#60, and now #1 in the Horror category

Karen Carr said...

#52 in the list, WOW!

good job Joe.

Coolkayaker1 said...

I just bought it. That ought help.

Hey, as an aside, anyone read this thing yet. Lol

Anonymous said...

joe, a question. Most contracts with the big 6 since about 1993, had had tight electronic rights grabs in them. "and all other digital means not yet invented." Yeah, I know. A real knee slapper if it werent so f-en greedy.

When you had your contracts with the big publishers, assuming contracts were signed after 1993, did they have an electronic rights clause in there?

did you receive an advance on both those books you took back from them?

Did you have to pay the advances back?

How did you get a release for electronic rights for those two books?
thanks.

JA Konrath said...

When you had your contracts with the big publishers, assuming contracts were signed after 1993, did they have an electronic rights clause in there?

Yep, all of my contracts include erights.

did you receive an advance on both those books you took back from them? Did you have to pay the advances back?

My royalties for AFRAID earned more than the advance for the two book deal. When we amended the contract, I got the rights back for any future Jack Kilborn books. They also owed me money.

Anonymous said...

thanks Joe for answering all that re erights, advances, etc.

Appreciate that you answer all people who come here.

and too, that you want to write instead of galavant as the porkpie of all things e, is the right decision for anyone serious about writing.

Good on ya.

thanks