tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post3317612202869981663..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Diana CoxJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-60020745982308068072012-02-14T14:50:17.649-06:002012-02-14T14:50:17.649-06:00Very reasonable. I'll be in touch.
DamianVery reasonable. I'll be in touch.<br /><br />DamianDamiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-80375591263205999992011-05-04T20:52:44.844-05:002011-05-04T20:52:44.844-05:00Thanks again, Joe for sharing Diana with us. She h...Thanks again, Joe for sharing Diana with us. She has proofread one of my children's picture books and has agreed to do a second. Her daughter has given her input as well (favorable, I might add) so I feel the stories are set correctly for the age range I was aiming for.Betty Houlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-11870793226640672862011-05-04T13:19:56.171-05:002011-05-04T13:19:56.171-05:00This referral comes at just the right time as I wi...This referral comes at just the right time as I will be needing a proofreading service in the next month or so. Thanks so much for sharing!Erika Liodicehttp://www.beyondthegray.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-63009696681735978182011-05-01T21:11:30.214-05:002011-05-01T21:11:30.214-05:00wow! this website's going in my favorites but ...wow! this website's going in my favorites but it looks like your gonna be backed up while.<br />You must have to turn some projects down?kevin lynn helmickhttp://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Lynn-Helmick/e/B003IR7PU0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52729570668684053292011-04-29T10:59:46.195-05:002011-04-29T10:59:46.195-05:00I'll second Ninja's comment and recommend ...I'll second Ninja's comment and recommend <a href="http://www.textanz.com/" rel="nofollow">Textanz</a>. It's a text analyzing tool that sorts through manuscripts at the word/phrase/sentence level for repetition and overall usage (in ranked numerical terms). My only caution is that it can make you overly self-conscious about your writing. Not all repetition is bad, and some repetition (like "said") is good. But it will catch egregious duplications and flag spelling inconsistencies.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03182644885948983861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-14097536817446795182011-04-28T21:14:02.794-05:002011-04-28T21:14:02.794-05:00I'm good with holes in the walls and bodies on...I'm good with holes in the walls and bodies on the floors. Fewer style gurus is addition by subtraction.<br /><br />Jim Thomsen<br />thomsen1965@gmail.comJim Thomsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16436505068478971925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-48730988813223037812011-04-28T21:13:10.609-05:002011-04-28T21:13:10.609-05:00It's great to hear from you, Diana! Would you ...It's great to hear from you, Diana! Would you say your work is different than editing? I'm seeing some comments that seem more like requests for editing rather than proofing. Is it semantics or do you critique as well as find typos, etc.? I'm glad you found the work that makes you happy! I know how great that is.<br /><br />Kshoop.com<br />The Last Letter--live on Amazon!!!!kathiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17174630750897810529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88144723192528708362011-04-28T18:58:42.946-05:002011-04-28T18:58:42.946-05:00Jim said: "...Maybe we should lock the style ...Jim said: <i>"...Maybe we should lock the style gurus in a pitch-black room with sawed-off pool cues and let them settle it...."</i><br /><br />Wouldn't help, Jim. We'd just end up with a lot of holes in the walls, and bodies on the floor. I've see too many style-wars to think things will be standardized any time soon.<br /><br />cheers,<br /><br />Lyn Worthen, Editor<br /><a href="http://www.camdenparkpress.com/author-services" rel="nofollow">Camden Park Press</a>lynwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11366206469634092192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-80732545340489511202011-04-28T18:35:00.250-05:002011-04-28T18:35:00.250-05:00Hi Joe, I've been reading your blog for a whil...Hi Joe, I've been reading your blog for a while.<br /><br />I just want to say thanks, and that you've given me the reason I needed to put aside other petty diversions, and focus on my writing.<br /><br />Thank you.Earning Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12241869370519697590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-22908359780965537432011-04-28T17:25:08.468-05:002011-04-28T17:25:08.468-05:00It's so clear from your post that you love you...It's so clear from your post that you love your work, which makes you incredibly appealing to work with.<br /><br />I'm on the hook with legacy publishers for two more novels, but am seriously considering going indy for my next nonfic, will definitely be in touch.<br /><br />On another note, wondering how many writers who decided to post comments today spent ten or fifteen minutes rewriting their remarks knowing a proofreader would be reading them. :-)**Lisa Daily**https://www.blogger.com/profile/00433212476982329857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81879008463349594972011-04-28T17:05:31.042-05:002011-04-28T17:05:31.042-05:00Getting back to the issue of "why worry so mu...Getting back to the issue of "why worry so much about commas," I'd say this: It's not so much about what's correct — as a self-publisher, you're free to hew to whatever style you choose, including your own — as it is about what's CONSISTENT. Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but there's no doubt that it is also crucial to being taken seriously as a writing professional. <br /><br />You might be surprised at how often writers need to have that imposed by them by somebody like Diana (or Lyn, or myself). I'm editing a novel manuscript right now in which the author is having a hard time settling on spellings for the names of several characters. For her main character, for instance, she's wavered between "Hallie" and "Hailee." And that's OK, and not a criticism at all. Her job is to write a good story. Mine is to sweep up after her. All part of being a hobgoblin for hire.<br /><br />But arguing about whether the serial comma is "right" or "wrong"? Waste of time. Because there's no right answer. Or rather, the answer is only as right as you as a writer decide it needs to be, for you. <br /><br />I worked as a newspaper editor for nearly twenty years, meaning I worked with AP Style. (Serial comma = bad; hyphenated compound modifiers = good.) Now I work with the Chicago Manual of Style. (Serial comma = good; hyphenated compound modifiers = bad.) Maybe we should lock the style gurus in a pitch-black room with sawed-off pool cues and let them settle it.<br /><br />Jim Thomsen<br />thomsen1965@gmail.comJim Thomsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16436505068478971925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-2868635997136782342011-04-28T16:58:00.944-05:002011-04-28T16:58:00.944-05:00Thank you for posting this. Diana is going to be ...Thank you for posting this. Diana is going to be busy!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00563981360503232129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88358469222601471072011-04-28T16:44:13.138-05:002011-04-28T16:44:13.138-05:00"There will always be a fresh crop of newbies..."There will always be a fresh crop of newbies ready to take whatever deal is on the table at the moment, and the old guys can go pound sand."<br /><br />True, but in the ebook world the old guy and gal authors have great economic value built on their own marketing efforts. Take Joe as an example. He has a successful blog with thousands of followers, website, facebook, etc. The author builds a platform and audience.<br /><br />You can toss them for a "fresh crop of newbies", but why would you jettison established brands (especially when those brands continue to work daily on marketing themselves, at no cost to you)?<br /><br />These thousands of author brands are not commodities or interchangeable parts. They take years and creative energy to build. You don't kill the geese that lay golden eggs.Anna Murrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11381853248381285405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-69772506926644560392011-04-28T15:21:26.214-05:002011-04-28T15:21:26.214-05:00"But my point was, is that if all the authors..."But my point was, is that if all the authors moved away from Amazon (or a vast majority of them) so would the audience and those books would still be sold, just on a different platform."<br /><br />Probably. But then brand loyalty doesn't extend to authors alone. I never EVER think to shop and B&N.com. I'm not against it. It just doesn't enter my consciousness. <br /><br />Just like drinking Pepsi never entered my consciousness back when I drank coke, or going to Burger King wasn't even a possibility when I was a McDonalds person, or Del Taco versus Taco Bell, or PC over Mac, or CBS over NBC.<br /><br />God I was an unhealthy couch potato!<br /><br />If John Locke dropped Amazon and moved to B&N, it's possible he would only retain a tiny fraction of his readers. There could be a different type of reader frequenting Amazon versus B&N versus Smashwords, etc.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-14882072264594581982011-04-28T14:56:56.993-05:002011-04-28T14:56:56.993-05:00@David I actually completely agree with you. It is...@David I actually completely agree with you. It isn’t a one outlet or another scenario. I was just trying to state a case against the idea that Amazon has this power to destroy authors that was previously suggested. And you’re right again about the 35% royalty mark, isn’t too bad. We could very well be looking at something like that in the future. However if they tried to cut it to 10% (again as suggested), I think there would be repercussions.<br /> <br />Now in regards to the market share and how much authors are selling on Amazon versus other vendors, you’re right again that everyone that I’ve seen is selling many more copies on Amazon than anywhere else. But my point was, is that if all the authors moved away from Amazon (or a vast majority of them) so would the audience and those books would still be sold, just on a different platform. <br /><br />Of course, such a transition could get kind of ugly. This is all conjecture anyway. None of us can see the future and of course, Amazon (being a business) is going to try to make money, but despite us all being warned I don’t see Amazon trying to slice all of our throats. <br /><br />But maybe that's just me and I'm completely naive :)Ender Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17739096832973547800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-64142191867185158352011-04-28T14:51:11.453-05:002011-04-28T14:51:11.453-05:00Also, ebook readers are not as mobile as paper boo...Also, ebook readers are not as mobile as paper book readers. A paper book can be bought at any store, but if you own a kindle, you'd have to buy a new ereader to get it from another store (stupid proprietary format). Amazon can definitely lower royalties if they want to play hardball, but I'm not sure what there is to be gained from worrying about it. The most we can do is to support Amazon's competitors as authors and consumers. It's certainly not an argument to go back to the traditional model -- they have a history of playing hardball with authors, whereas Amazon just has the potential.Livia Blackburnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805379309049803903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-66121387371189670462011-04-28T14:42:36.131-05:002011-04-28T14:42:36.131-05:00"So why wouldn’t newbies simply fill the rank..."So why wouldn’t newbies simply fill the ranks like scabs? Well if you were going to self publish and store A is giving, let’s say 20% royalties and store B 70%, AND all your peers are working with store B. Which would you choose?"<br /><br />Again, I don't think this would happen, but as a purely hypothetical game, it's interesting. <br /><br />First, being on Amazon is not an either or thing with most authors. They are on Amazon AND B&N AND Smashwords, etc... <br /><br />So leaving isn't the issue. If one wants to protest such a move by a company like Amazon, one would have to eliminate a revenue stream. And since some authors outsell ten to one on Amazon versus the other outlets, that would be throwing away a massive chunk of change. <br /><br />Now assuming Amazon returned to 35% royalty across the board, 1000 sales a month at $2.99 is still much better than 100 sales a month at $2.99 with a 65% royalty. Even 20% would be much better for some authors.<br /><br />It's easy to say authors would band together and leave, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. John Locke for instance is more than happy earning 35% on Amazon. In fact, many writers here aren't balking at that royalty either. They choose it for themselves because they know the lower royalty at the lower price is reaching more people.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-47976397271689103262011-04-28T13:48:53.275-05:002011-04-28T13:48:53.275-05:00@Werner You said, "There will always be a fre...@Werner You said, "There will always be a fresh crop of newbies ready to take whatever deal is on the table at the moment"<br /><br />This sounds more like traditional publishing thought. 2 years ago I would have taken 'whatever deal was on the table' if a publisher had put it there. <br /><br />Things change.<br /><br />Let's say for arguments sake a year from now Amazon does keep a vast portion of the market share and decides to drastically cut royalties.<br /><br />First with the camaraderie I’ve seen between indie authors and the shared benefit it would present—I can easily imagine authors banding together and leaving Amazon in mass. <br /><br />So why wouldn’t newbies simply fill the ranks like scabs? Well if you were going to self publish and store A is giving, let’s say 20% royalties and store B 70%, AND all your peers are working with store B. Which would you choose?<br /><br />Without product to move, Amazon would quickly lose market share. <br /><br />Where your very train of thought is exactly how I understand traditional publishers have treated new and mid-list authors for a very long time. “Oh, you don’t want to take this $5k advance and scraps of royalties, well I’ve got another 500 authors lined up so take a hike.”Ender Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17739096832973547800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-62219274296633014832011-04-28T13:11:35.405-05:002011-04-28T13:11:35.405-05:00Don't say nobody warned you.Don't say nobody warned you.Werner Von Braunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17294677200797776328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-54830429393536285272011-04-28T12:19:17.873-05:002011-04-28T12:19:17.873-05:00@Werner
Amazon et al have a decade of data regard...@Werner<br /><br />Amazon et al have a decade of data regarding the sales of digital intellectual property by looking at iTunes model. After iTunes forced the .99 cent model and fixed rolayty rates on the music industry and the music industry fought back, demanding higher royalties, Apple compromised with a restricted fluctuating price structure. Songs are sold at either .69, .99 or 1.29. <br /><br />The lesson learned is that the behavior of the property owners can be influenced by guiding the royalty rates. So if Amazon does anything, they will try to guide the property owners toward the points at which they make the most money. <br /><br />And guess what, with their royalty structure, they already have. Amazon knows that they will sell the most books between 2.99 and 9.99 so they entice publishers to price them at this rate with the 70% royalty. <br /><br />It's also worth noting that the success of individual self-publishers gives Amazon an incredible amount of leverage AGAINST the big six. If individual artists had been kicking ass on iTunes the music publishing industry probably wouldn't have been successful in making iTunes change their pricing. If the self-pubbed leave or are not successful at e-publishing, the big six will be able to tell Amazon what to do.nwrannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11385433227441707725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-21427059097902831372011-04-28T11:18:43.466-05:002011-04-28T11:18:43.466-05:00Thanks, Livia!
@Werner I have to say, your argume...Thanks, Livia!<br /><br />@Werner I have to say, your argument seems more emotion than logic. Technology is what opened things up. If things change again, it will probably be bc of technology <i>again</i>. <br /><br />As Livia said, Amazon's market share is shrinking. The color nook and ipad are getting some of the pie themselves as well as making the whole pie bigger. These are good things for authors. <br /><br />The only slight caveat to that is the loss of bookstores -- Amazon will increase their share in the print book business. But as Joe has pointed out, that print is becoming a subsidiary right. Ebooks/ereaders--this is what matters. And BN, Apple, Kobo, Sony, and maybe, someday, Google if they can get their act together will all serve to keep Amazon honest.<br /><br />Kendall Swan<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EL2VSW" rel="nofollow">NAKED Housecleaning</a>Kendall Swanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187117992380108891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-62444906684376385392011-04-28T11:08:08.374-05:002011-04-28T11:08:08.374-05:00Kendall -- There's an article about Hocking an...Kendall -- There's an article about Hocking and Amazon <a href="http://www.unrulyguides.com/2011/04/amazon-bids-for-exclusivity-on-hocking-books/#axzz1Kpo5oP7O" rel="nofollow">here</a>Livia Blackburnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805379309049803903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12817783347284082262011-04-28T11:03:23.097-05:002011-04-28T11:03:23.097-05:00@Anne They tried to do that with Amanda?@Anne They tried to do that with Amanda?Kendall Swanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18187117992380108891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-69763078796735737502011-04-28T10:59:45.790-05:002011-04-28T10:59:45.790-05:00Good thing to keep in mind when deciding where to ...Good thing to keep in mind when deciding where to buy books as well.Livia Blackburnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805379309049803903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-11388952188542987492011-04-28T10:58:05.658-05:002011-04-28T10:58:05.658-05:00There are many authors, despite distributing acros...There are many authors, despite distributing across all formats, that make 90% of their sales on Amazon. For them, picking up and moving would mean losing most of their income. Still, I don't think that Amazon will drastically cut their royalties.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.com