tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post6600629880915471027..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: The Name GameJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-4348789394758704892014-09-26T06:23:54.898-05:002014-09-26T06:23:54.898-05:00Hear. Hear. Why was I feeling I was watching a box...Hear. Hear. Why was I feeling I was watching a boxing match, featuring a pair of huge players. And how often do you learn something from watching a fight? Well I did. I'm not published and I have nothing to add, but I certainly enjoyed the banter.Henyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14218132405687448085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-83492827478787664602014-09-25T16:01:21.637-05:002014-09-25T16:01:21.637-05:00But "for Americans" Rituale Romanum is a...But "for Americans" Rituale Romanum is available on line. So you could read it on your kindle if you wanted.Virginia Llorcahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08354795459855491623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52403200844099568762014-09-25T12:26:50.242-05:002014-09-25T12:26:50.242-05:00Anonymous said...
“Explain to me where you go if...Anonymous said...<br /><br /><br />“Explain to me where you go if you wish to write a real book and not just an e-book.”<br /><br />Begs the question: why isn’t an ebook a ‘real’ book? If you hold a bundle of blank paper in your hand, is that a ‘real’ book. If not, why not?<br /><br />“Print books will outlive both of us because people enjoy the experience of reading a book.”<br /><br />Print books will survive, but they will not prosper. They’ll go the way of gramophone records, and for the same reasons.<br /><br /><br />“So if you have issues with the folks you call "legacy" whom do you suggest an aspiring author go to?”<br /><br />To their fellow authors who will tell them how to do it themselves.<br /><br /><br />“I write articles online and that is fine but if I ever decide to write a book I want a REAL book…”<br /><br />Again with the ‘real’ books (see above).<br /><br />“i don't want to use a vanity press…”<br /><br />You don’t have to use a vanity press. You don’t need a press at all, but if you’re dead set on paper distribution there are plenty of printing companies that will offer you a fair deal on a print run.<br /><br />“…or invest my own money”<br /><br />Likewise. I’d rather keep the cash in my pocket, but I employ professional designers and editors for the same reason I employ a qualified mechanic to fix my car. Interesting use of the word ‘invest’ though, because this is what it is - an investment; something that, with luck, will reap returns in the future.SJArnotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287030807441734194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-3621677570148907732014-09-25T01:29:10.375-05:002014-09-25T01:29:10.375-05:00Streitfeld is a hack of a rare breed. Arguments do...Streitfeld is a hack of a rare breed. Arguments don't even need to make sense, they just need to leave a bad taste in your mouth.<br /><br />I have to think I'm detecting at least a hint of desperation in all of this flailing and thrashing.Jim Selfhttp://www.jaself.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-76534571817066480072014-09-25T00:28:25.700-05:002014-09-25T00:28:25.700-05:00I understand you are a real writer. I understand ...I understand you are a real writer. I understand you are a professional writer. That's the only reason I bothered reading your entire rant. You as a writer are special. Anyone can get a job building toasters but not everyone can write well enough to be paid to do so.<br />Explain to me where you go if you wish to write a real book and not just an e-book. Print books will outlive both of us because people enjoy the experience of reading a book. So if you have issues with the folks you call "legacy" whom do you suggest an aspiring author go to? <br />I write articles online and that is fine but if I ever decide to write a book I want a REAL book and i don't want to use a vanity press or invest my own money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-26903446759284066172014-09-24T16:52:50.104-05:002014-09-24T16:52:50.104-05:00Great article! You nailed it.Great article! You nailed it.amy eyriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12227108832208430792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-40412056104091616502014-09-24T14:07:59.578-05:002014-09-24T14:07:59.578-05:00Posted on this at Digital Book World. It's ul...Posted on this at Digital Book World. It's ultimately about money, it's always been about money, and it will continue to be about money, no matter what BS the misnamed Authors United tries to wrap itself in. What's interesting is the members of Authors United seem to have zero internet presence: they never respond to anything or anyone-- Turow had been famous for this.<br />http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/the-content-flood-and-authors-whining/Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17030209378371995304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-65185742242969421392014-09-24T13:28:37.383-05:002014-09-24T13:28:37.383-05:00"But what these commentators and Amazon itsel..."But what these commentators and Amazon itself may not realize is that traditional publishing houses perform a vital role in our society."<br /><br />Yes. As cautionary tales. As examples of how not to deal with emerging technology.<br /><br />I’m surprised how clueless many of these people seem to be. I followed a link to a blog the other day (Deborah someone – a romance author), and she was touting the cinema industry as a viable model for the future of publishing (cinemas having hung on in the face of competing electronic media such as VHS and DVD). It’s a very poor analogy and she completely failed to see that, whereas a cinema can add value to the viewing experience, a bundle of paper adds little or nothing to a reader’s enjoyment.<br /><br />A few moments of sober reflection should have led her to the same conclusion, but she wasn’t prepared to invest the time. She’s grasped her straw and now they’re going to have to pry it from her cold, dead hands…SJArnotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287030807441734194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-25724190674378213122014-09-24T12:55:05.052-05:002014-09-24T12:55:05.052-05:00On a blog of a million useful and entertaining pos...On a blog of a million useful and entertaining posts, this one stands above the rest.Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12481970632736740612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-57533182500431318012014-09-24T12:42:37.752-05:002014-09-24T12:42:37.752-05:00It is not that Amazon wants the price of ebooks to...It is not that Amazon wants the price of ebooks to be low as AU and Hachette claim. What Amazon wants is for the price of ebooks to be at the price that maximizes profit. That RIGHT price is somewhere below $20.00 and above zero. They prove this with their price recommendation tool. One of my books was selling for 0.99 and the Amazon tool recommended 2.99. I followed the advice, raised my price and sales doubled.Gramix Publishinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16853556393726644590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-26392801070961659642014-09-24T09:44:11.014-05:002014-09-24T09:44:11.014-05:00Moore--mea culpa,mea culpa,mea maxima culpa.(Learn...Moore--mea culpa,mea culpa,mea maxima culpa.(Learned that one in Hebrew School--Teacher was reformed).w.adam mandelbaumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-57163299759931430222014-09-24T08:45:43.664-05:002014-09-24T08:45:43.664-05:00FYI added: Mandelbaum seems to be confused. Ebook...FYI added: Mandelbaum seems to be confused. Ebooks don't belong to either indie or legacy publishing. Many indie authors eschew pbooks over ebooks because of costs and royalties and other things (I can release an ebook more efficiently than a pbook), but even Amazon does paper (Create Space). I'm the first to admit that ebooks might not be appropriate for books with lots of photos or graphics, from coffee-table books to science textbooks. For my novels, which are just text, what could I add by doing paper? Maybe some readers, yes, but not anything significant enough to justify the extra cost. I'd do better adding audio, but I'm smart enough not to read my own prose, and I can't afford a pro-reader.<br />Indie publishing just means the author is in charge, not agents, editors, or publishers. I pay good money for editing, cover art, and PR and marketing, but I'm in charge, not some self-serving publishing wonk sitting in his NYC office or a pariah agent recently graduated from X MFA program who has no idea about what it take to spin a good yarn. I guess these people have a right to make a living, but not at my expense!<br />Steven M. Moorehttp://stevenmmoore.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-32787212898152732342014-09-24T08:26:37.168-05:002014-09-24T08:26:37.168-05:00Hey Joe, I'm happy to see your reaction to Str...Hey Joe, I'm happy to see your reaction to Streitfeld's article was the same as mine. I've been pounding the NY Times' biased reporting on the Amazon-Hachette kerfuffle for a bit now. Stopped reading their Book Review sometime ago. They continue to have those full-page ads from the Big Five as they push the favorite horses in their stables (Patterson, Preston, Baldacci, etc). I'm thinking most of the time now that I'm lucky to be indie. Steven M. Moorehttp://stevenmmoore.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-31660960938900380272014-09-24T02:52:44.928-05:002014-09-24T02:52:44.928-05:00@Ken Prescott: I agree about your point, it is not...@Ken Prescott: I agree about your point, it is not only about ebook pricing. <br /><br />It is also about power, influence, availability of the titles, communication (secrecy of the sales with an old system obfuscating every sales, but also communication in the media).<br /><br />There has been a shift of power in the last years, and now, the old and the new model are clashing. It goes beyond writing, of course. Everywhere, the new Internet models clash with the old world. That's necessary for the world to be rebuilt. <br /><br />But this battle between Hachette and Amazon is perhaps the most emblematic, because Hachette (and Bertelsmann, and other multinationals companies) belongs very much to the old world and own many medias, while Amazon represents the present and the future. Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-8327382637970002982014-09-23T21:15:38.643-05:002014-09-23T21:15:38.643-05:00For what it's worth, I just wish the media wou...For what it's worth, I just wish the media would let Hugh or Konrath or HM Ward have longer than 20 seconds (or any time at all), just to make it clear to the public that not ALL authors are united in the crazy rants about upholding culture and other nonsense. <br /><br />I write books that I hope give some readers worthwhile entertainment, but I'm not so full of myself that I believe without my book or any book, for that matter, the world would be a horrible, ignorant place. I just want to tell Roxana Robinson and Robert Preston to please stop making authors sound like we're all pretentious snobs who are so out of touch with how the real world works. <br /><br />I just wish they'd stop using the laughable "Authors United," because not all of the public cares, but those that do might actually think this is an accurate description of how all authors feel about the situation.Cherie Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09251826824735524360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-63759570636081652922014-09-23T17:15:39.743-05:002014-09-23T17:15:39.743-05:00Joe, thank you for once again making sense of the ...Joe, thank you for once again making sense of the senseless. I needed my laugh for the day!!Jill Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754506629717417267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-20526800407204627412014-09-23T16:24:21.873-05:002014-09-23T16:24:21.873-05:00This isn't about book prices. If it was ONLY a...This isn't about book prices. If it was ONLY about book pricing, this would've been resolved long, long ago.<br /><br />It's about who has the power to control what we think about and how we think about what we've been told to think about. That control comes through manipulating perception.<br /><br />Ebooks make that perception management hard. You can't do a 500,000-copy print run of a MOBI file. You can't loudly shout about the 500,000 print copies shipped (and never ever mention the 490,000 returns). You can't game your way onto the New York Times Bestseller Lists. <br /><br />The MOBI file sits on a server, and either someone downloads it, or they don't. Either money moves from buyer to Amazon to author, or it doesn't.<br /><br />Hachette wants opacity--they don't want their authors to know the cost structure of their sales, they don't want anyone else to be able to see how many books actually went from seller to purchaser, etc.<br /><br />Secrecy is an information pathology.Ken Prescotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13779589712239613030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-24810135935004710272014-09-23T14:28:12.702-05:002014-09-23T14:28:12.702-05:00Winter is coming … we will soon be buried in Speci...Winter is coming … we will soon be buried in Special Snowflakes.<br /><br />Never thought I'd say this, but thank God for global warming! ;-)Alan Tuckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06003811594552160836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42730192056973697642014-09-23T12:59:39.314-05:002014-09-23T12:59:39.314-05:00You mean writers, Rob? ;D
Writers? What do mere w...<i>You mean writers, Rob? ;D</i><br /><br />Writers? What do mere writers have to do with any of this? I'm talking about creators of special snowflakes.Rob Gregory Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12785299355462748009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12713620600949632092014-09-23T12:47:44.330-05:002014-09-23T12:47:44.330-05:00Just like the record industry. Instead of working ...Just like the record industry. Instead of working on a complimentary system that would benefit both labels and artists they decided to sue the very customers they wanted to buy their product at over inflated prices. They shouted about protecting the artists on their labels., the very ones they had been ripping off for decades. The result is that there is now no business left and very few people are making a living from sales of music. The publishers ought to beware and come to terms with Amazon very quickly. BTW although I do use amazon I do have concerns about them having a more than 50% share if the market.madkeyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17770234757199206301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-64443791449429803282014-09-23T12:20:56.094-05:002014-09-23T12:20:56.094-05:00Angry Games - If you haven't seen it, the docu...Angry Games - If you haven't seen it, the documentary "Portrait of Wally" has a jarring npr portion in it. The documentary about WWII-era art theft, discusses how NPR first did a fact-based article on the art theft and then actually retracted their own story under pressure from the cultural elites in the museum world.Chris Armstrongnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-4323520687874942242014-09-23T12:16:37.075-05:002014-09-23T12:16:37.075-05:00After all these months of Amazon vs. Hachette, my ...After all these months of Amazon vs. Hachette, my opinion on the matter has come to this:<br /><br />www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_nPp64OrBcNWAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889345003803943962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-90880009716623107892014-09-23T12:10:24.429-05:002014-09-23T12:10:24.429-05:00I've nagged several reporters and publications...I've nagged several reporters and publications/sites regarding such...<br /><br />Think the main thing I've seen is some movement to replacing "authors" (implying "all") with "some authors" or even "Hachette authors". <br /><br />And a bit of an awareness that a significant number of authors and readers disagree with, or are at least suspicious of, the claims being made.SpringfieldMHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-60352540813411008162014-09-23T11:54:24.658-05:002014-09-23T11:54:24.658-05:00You mean writers, Rob? ;DYou mean writers, Rob? ;DAnn Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-64478744501564059782014-09-23T11:38:50.566-05:002014-09-23T11:38:50.566-05:00Anyone who appreciates the power of language shoul...Anyone who appreciates the power of language should love this post.Rob Gregory Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12785299355462748009noreply@blogger.com