tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post734092620989144352..comments2024-03-18T06:16:18.802-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Lee Child Chimes InJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-33412135436046504272015-06-06T18:17:18.372-05:002015-06-06T18:17:18.372-05:00"You've written some good books, made som..."You've written some good books, made some smart choices, and fought hard for your career.<br /><br />So have I. You're aware of that, as are readers of this blog."<br /><br />Oh my god, Konrath, if you actually think you're even close to the same level as Child, skill-wise, you're WAY more conceited and self-deluded than I even thought! But, of course, here on your blog you could count on all the sycophants (most of whom don't actually read your books, but worship you because you tell them that they're special snowflakes) applauding you. <br /><br />Bravo for Lee Child for having the stones to be so honest and blunt, knowing that his response would be posted on YOUR blog to YOUR sycophants and YOU would be sure to get the last word in. He's not only ten times the writer you are, but ten times the man as well.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-23450109775053386792014-10-03T22:10:13.844-05:002014-10-03T22:10:13.844-05:00I agree with Joe on the luck part. I think politic...I agree with Joe on the luck part. I think politics plays a big part as well. I've met several writers who were very angry at their treatment and broken promises from BIG PUBLISHING. When you're in Gibip and your project is in the hands of a voice-over-the-phone in NYC, you don't have a lot of power. I'm also in the Amazon camp because, I believe, real politics, and cultural issues. Publishing in NYC means running a PC gauntlet. Manuscript must push, or not defame or cause harm to the popular culture espoused by NYC. And, of course, demographics plays a big part. I don't write for the female YA audience, so I know I'll never be a big name. I write what I want. Have a good day.callingcrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11040749754676759012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-47773568709028743422014-10-01T20:33:51.491-05:002014-10-01T20:33:51.491-05:00Can you explain in detail why the e-book market sh...<i>Can you explain in detail why the e-book market shouldn’t operate the same way as the ironing board market or the amplifier market?</i><br /><br />OK. The ironing boards are sold in a different Amazon market. In that market, Amazon makes its money by actually selling a service. It sells merchandising services.<br /><br />Ironing board suppliers are free to sell their goods for whatever they want. Amazon doesn't care.<br /><br />People can also sell books in that same market, just like the ironing boards. Amazon will make its money from merchandising charges. Want to sell a book for $35? Go for it. Just put the book up for $35. <br /><br />In this market there is no difference in treatment of ironing boards and books. Amazon is letting people price as they choose.<br /><br />In this market, it doesn't matter if the product makes a profit. Amazon makes money from the service it sells.<br /><br />Amazon has another market for books. In this other market, it wants to make money from the difference between what it pays for goods, and what it sells them for. <br /><br />It's not selling services. It is buying and selling books. <br /><br />So, Amazon offers exactly what you want. I suspect highly talented authors who have become outstanding successes due to their own talent and drive should be able to sell their books next to ironing boards for $35. Make your choice. Best of luck<br />Terrence OBrienhttp://www.obrienterrence.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-55760129953570990372014-10-01T07:59:01.453-05:002014-10-01T07:59:01.453-05:00Luke 2Feathers - Good to know I'm in the major...Luke 2Feathers - Good to know I'm in the majority of something (smiles).<br /><br />Found this really interesting article re the five act structure ( http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/shakespeares-plays/shakespeare-five-act-structure/ ).<br /><br />Excerpt: "Shakespeare’s texts do not only have five acts and several scenes but each scene indicates the location of the action in that scene. Shakespeare did not do that, nor did he divide the plays into acts and scenes. All that was done for the first time by the playwright Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718), in his six volume edition of Shakespeare’s plays he edited in 1709."<br /><br />Looks like (as usual) structure is what some very helpful folks have perceived in originally organic fluid works by those first creating plays etc.<br /><br />Which is hopeful all sorts of ways: ie, we can learn, but we can also create by our own wits.<br /><br />Meshing the wisdom of the past, with our own innate form of creativity, now that's a goal I can live with!<br /><br />Best wishes, Luke (smiles).adanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710750989853277203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-29888990035519026512014-09-30T20:23:45.868-05:002014-09-30T20:23:45.868-05:00Adan: Good reminder that it's possible to like...Adan: Good reminder that it's possible to like both styles equally. It's conceivable that you represent the majority of readers.<br /><br />Just as my tastes have changed over time, they will continue to change. I may very well get into Lee Child in another few years.<br /><br />In re theater, I'm partial to the five act plays (if thou knowest what I mean).Luke 2Feathersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-21016277003744127642014-09-30T15:48:02.631-05:002014-09-30T15:48:02.631-05:00Ann: Thanks for the link. The tips you gave in tha...Ann: Thanks for the link. The tips you gave in that post can become instincts over time, if I write while keeping them in mind. Once a technique becomes an instinct, it's effortless.<br /><br />Does anyone else here deliberately seek out _bad_ writing for its lessons? Every week, I visit Smashwords and sample the first pages of a few of the latest releases in my genres. Fifty percent of it is shoot-me-now awful, and another forty percent is deeply flawed. There's nothing that drives home good advice like seeing the results of not following it.Luke 2Feathersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67356382665264181512014-09-30T13:18:36.477-05:002014-09-30T13:18:36.477-05:00Broken Yogi - Luke 2Feathers :
Had to tell ya'...Broken Yogi - Luke 2Feathers :<br /><br />Had to tell ya'll, really enjoyed your exchanges, super interesting.<br /><br />Brought to mind Elmore Leonard, who's had both movies and TV made from his work. Someone who crossed both mediums.<br /><br />Jumping in, re Lee vs Joe, if it's even a "vs" - I've read a couple of each, and have found both compelling. Maybe because I also have a theatre degree (with play structure etc), and got to be immersed in both one act and three acts plays, I just got used to both. Who knows? (smiles)<br /><br />Either way, thanks you guys!adanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710750989853277203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-45845276346316804572014-09-30T12:16:22.656-05:002014-09-30T12:16:22.656-05:00Luke 2Feathers,
I can't say what is innate or...Luke 2Feathers,<br /><br />I can't say what is innate or what is learned, but professional writers do eventually fall into a pattern of some kind. And a lot of what we calling pacing is actually a technical problem. In television, there's a set time limit for each episode, and a set time limit for each scene, interrupted by commercials. These limitations require a certain kind of story-telling technique, regardless of what the writer would like to do. <br /><br />The same goes for movies. There's a time limit on telling the story (usually two hours tops, often less), and this requires time limits at each step of the way. Syd Field's books on screenwriting break it down quite well. It's not so much that there's a set formula, as that the limitations of the form require certain elements and timing that can't be left out. <br /><br />Because TV and movies are the dominant story-telling art of our time, this has influenced novels a great deal. It used to be that novels were leisurely paced affairs. Now they have to get into the action fast and often furiously, because the audience out there has been trained to expect that. But there's still a difference in whether they tend towards the TV or the movie style. <br /><br />Funny you should put Game of Thrones in the movie format, when it's actually a television series. The novels of course preceded the TV series, and of course they had to be truncated for that purpose. But think how impossible it would have been to make a movie of each book in the series, which on TV stretches to 10-12 episodes of almost an hour each. An entirely different story would have to be made for it to stand as a two hour movie (maybe three if Peter Jackson directs). All those minor characters have to go. All that intrigue has to be boiled down to the essence. It's also worth noting that George Martin worked in television before deciding to change careers and become a novelist. <br /><br />In short, it's a good example of the difference between a long epic story, and a brief, concentrated one. Joe likes that brief, concentrated story. Lee moves more slowly, and his story is in it for the long haul. Neither is better or worse than the other, but they attract a different audience. One thing to say, however, is that the traditional form of the novel is geared towards the long narrative. But things certainly have changed and the shorter, explosive novel certainly has its place in the market.<br /><br />I can't say I've read 50 Shades, but my wife has, and she tells me it's actually much slower and full of emotional development of the characters than you'd imagine. It's not really the sex that sells it. Even if it's based on the Twilight movies, the story-telling is much more like television, which makes sense given E.L James' background. <br /><br />I'm somewhat skeptical of the claim that authors can't change it up now and then. But maybe that's true. I don't know how many screenwriters successfully move between TV and movies. Or between novels and either. I'm not aware of many movie screenwriters who have become successful novelists, however, but we obviously have several examples of TV writers moving into novels. <br /><br />So in general, I'd say that the greater chances for success in novel writing comes from those who adopt, consciously or not, the TV style of pacing and plotting. That certainly leaves lots of room for the cinematic types, but perhaps not as much potential. I'd probably have to look at a lot more examples of both to be sure. But I think this is an interesting consideration that has a lot of importance to anyone developing a novelistic career. Not so much probably to those already well established in their stylings. Broken Yogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257804418740860542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-87983964770075967632014-09-30T09:01:07.144-05:002014-09-30T09:01:07.144-05:00Luke 2Feathers--
I think pacing can be manipulate...Luke 2Feathers--<br /><br />I think pacing can be manipulated (although I agree an author or reader might prefer a certain pace). I wrote a post about it on Joe's blog here: <br /><br />http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2013/07/pacing-by-ann-voss-peterson.htmlAnn Voss Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15141783064748972033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-77755853131480771182014-09-30T07:54:33.115-05:002014-09-30T07:54:33.115-05:00Just for information, my Fantasy novel is free thr...Just for information, my Fantasy novel is free through Thursday on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IO2SIXM/<br /><br />It doesn't happen very often...Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-2280205313748293912014-09-30T03:03:51.582-05:002014-09-30T03:03:51.582-05:00Broken Yogi:
I've experimented with the pace ...Broken Yogi:<br /><br />I've experimented with the pace issue, and it seems hard to change that throttle much. I think every writer has an innate pace at which he likes to tell his stories. On the flip side, I think every reader/listener/watcher has an ideal pace at which he wants to be told stories, but his is learned, not innate. If I'm right--that an author's pace is innate--then it would be very difficult to change it to match current tastes. Perhaps others could comment about their attempts to slow down or speed up their natural storytelling pace.<br /><br />Financially, I feel that changing from a film to TV pace is probably unnecessary. Konrath made millions telling his stories at a cinematic pace. If that pace is potentially less lucrative--I'm not conceding that it is (consider the Game of Thrones novels), but I'm allowing the possibility--it's still a very rich vein.<br /><br />Something that dwarfs the pace issue, though, is the story itself. Why do Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight sell so well, despite their flaws? Because people want to hear those stories so badly that they don't care how poorly they're told... up to a point. The writing is flawed, but not in ways that interfere with the transmission of the story. For example, there's a thriller writer named J. Robert Kennedy whom I suspect is being paid by the dangling participle, he uses them so frequently. That aspect of his writing is a little distracting, but not enough to spoil his stories. And if a character in Harry Potter *clambers* up or over something one. more. time, I'm going to rip my hair out. Editor, where is thy thesaurus? But I can't get enough of Harry's story, so I keep reading.<br /><br />I like to check out samples of the books of commenters to this blog. I've bought a couple of their ebooks, but I got a basic lesson strongly reinforced by a book I _didn't_ buy. The author put too much backstory in the first few pages and I lost interest. I never found out what the *story* was. His prose was competent, way better than Fifty Shades, but his flaw got in the way of the story, and E.L. James' didn't.<br /><br />I have a similar problem with Lee Child's books (at least the ones I've opened). His opening scenes are interesting, but they don't reveal the story. With Konrath, I know what the story is about right away. (Pacing again. I want my Oompa-Loompas _now_.) Child's flaw isn't as bad as the commenter's I mentioned, because he is at least showing (not telling) me his character, and characters are almost as important as stories. An interesting character is like a promise of an interesting story to come.<br /><br />Jack Reacher's stories are interesting, but _for me_, Child's technique interferes with my being drawn into his stories. I really liked the movie, though.Luke 2Feathersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-4233870368906800412014-09-30T00:50:01.444-05:002014-09-30T00:50:01.444-05:00Lee -- I don't see how paying to put your book...Lee -- I don't see how paying to put your book on the "New Fiction" table in the front of a store is different than paying for making your next thriller a Kindle Daily Deal or put it in some other visible spot. Just as shelving it spine out in the mystery and thriller section at B&N is equivalent to having it be one of the millions of Amazon ebooks looking to be discovered. Because you rub elbows with the "one percenters" of the writing world, you don't see that 99% of hardworking trad pub writers get only those $10,000 advances year after year (and even those amounts are diminishing), so they must have a day job as well. With KDP, a much greater percentage of writers can make a living. And they do!Patrice Fitzgeraldhttp://www.patricefitzgerald.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-1828795903175987442014-09-29T20:52:23.120-05:002014-09-29T20:52:23.120-05:00Given I'm just some random guy my opinion does...Given I'm just some random guy my opinion doesn't matter, but I'm pro Amazon here. I can gather up some of my nearly incoherent writings , put them in an E-Book and publish it on Amazon tonight. <br /><br />I just can't do that with a normal publisher, maybe I suck and I'll never sell a single E-Book even at 99 cents, but Amazon says I at least can try. Most authors never make a buck anyway, so why not. <br /><br />It's just like youtube, you can say this devalues TV and eliminates the need for America's funniest home videos and the like, but it's fun and everyone gets a shot.Ksouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02278753263862982258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50993681651860258552014-09-29T14:44:27.491-05:002014-09-29T14:44:27.491-05:00Terry, I'm guessing the difference isn't d...Terry, I'm guessing the difference isn't due to the politics, but the fact that Ryan is a famous guy who can move a lot of books, and Schulman isn't. Amazon's only interested in money, not politics.<br />Broken Yogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257804418740860542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-56296371998910678242014-09-29T14:24:55.720-05:002014-09-29T14:24:55.720-05:00I'm wondering what both sides of this debate t...I'm wondering what both sides of this debate think about this situation, reported in today's New York Times.<br /><br />"Sons of Wichita" by Daniel Schulman, a writer for Mother Jones Magazine, is a well-received biography of the Koch brothers. I haven't read it, but given the author's credentials, I'm assuming it takes on the Koch brothers from a liberal perspective, and isn't complimentary to them. It came out in May, and Amazon originally discounted it by 10%. Now it isn't discounted at all, and takes as much as three weeks to ship.<br /><br />On the other hand, there's "The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea" by Representative Paul Ryan. There are no restrains imposed on the book by Amazon; it's discounted and ships immediately.<br /><br />Both books are published by Hachette.<br /><br />Now, there's no first amendment issue here; Amazon isn't a government, so the notion doesn't apply. But it is effectively censoring one book and not the other. Doesn't this make you at least a bit uncomfortable?Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17404115699893699970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-14144887916665251062014-09-29T13:11:46.913-05:002014-09-29T13:11:46.913-05:00I must say, luck plays a HUGE part. I got into KD...I must say, luck plays a HUGE part. I got into KDP early last year just before the algorithms changed, and then my book went permafree the day before Amazon stopped people sending traffic to their website for free books. That meant I kept the UK number one spot in free books for almost 12 weeks, which meant huge sales on my other titles, which meant an APub contract, which means a lot more income than I was making as a self-published author.<br /><br />By offering authors at least twice as much in royalties as traditional publishers for ebooks, APub have signaled their intention of benefiting authors rather than feeding off them. I recently signed a deal to publish my 5th book with them, and it didn't take a lot of persuasion. Their support is excellent, they keep me informed, pay me monthly, and are constantly promoting me.<br /><br />I can't see a traditional publisher ever topping the package I'm currently on.jambalianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13144704967163371616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-77639621525050304832014-09-29T13:05:28.435-05:002014-09-29T13:05:28.435-05:00Luke 2Feathers,
Thanks. As to luck, it certainly ... Luke 2Feathers,<br /><br />Thanks. As to luck, it certainly comes into play, especially as to the timing of certain books coming out just when the public is ready to embrace something. 50 Shades never would have hit the big-time ten years earlier. But even that isn't purely about luck, but a particular writer being in tune with the public at a particular time. E.L James wasn't writing in a vacuum, but as Twilight Fan Fiction on a website that was very much plugged in to how popular tastes were running. It's not an accident that her books took off within that set. What's luck is how it went so hugely mainstream. <br /><br />I keep thinking about your comparison between TV and movie writing. I think it's quite valid to say that Joe's books are geared more towards a cinematic experience, and Lee's towards a television experience. But as I've pointed out, the most popular story-telling medium is television, not movies, and that means that people are more oriented towards the television style of story-telling than the cinematic one. In other words, to a slower, more episodic story than a big, flashy, fast one. And that might account for a good part of Lee's success, and Joe's more modest sales. <br /><br />It makes me think about those differences, and what they mean to my own efforts. And to someone like Joe. Perhaps he's just a much bigger fan of the movies and doesn't watch much TV. You can't easily change the public's tastes, and a writer's tastes may not be very maleable either. So I'm not sure there's a practical solution here. But it does bring up the issue of whether Joe would sell more if he wrote more in the style of episodic television. I'm not sure he could or should, he's pretty settled in his style. But he's prolific and skilled enough that it might be worth an experiment on his part to see what happens if he did. Broken Yogihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257804418740860542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-61576386345655187222014-09-29T12:22:23.533-05:002014-09-29T12:22:23.533-05:00John, yes, France could never hope to reach the si...John, yes, France could never hope to reach the size of the American market. A comparison can be made with the UK, where with a comparable population, an author with the same ranking in the top 100 would sell tenfold what a french author would sell. <br /><br />When you lower prices, almost mechanically, you attract new readers. Readers want three things: they want a large choice of ebooks, they want recognizable names, and they want affordable prices. <br /><br />A number of readers, for example, take a picture of a book seen in a bookstore, to buy it cheaper on Amazon.<br /><br />I think we have an interesting market in France by the number of electronic devices sold (I think e-ink devices may represent 2 millions units), but that number doesn't translate in sales, because the readers use their devices to read free ebooks, either classics or pirated one. <br /><br />What Hachette is doing in France (and many other publishers) is feeding the illegal downloading culture, giving a sens of entitlement to the readers who download ebooks at €19 for free, because the readers perfectly know that the publishers are overpricing ebooks. <br /><br />So of course, indie authors are badly hurt in the process. Yes, there's also a fixed price for the ebooks (no discounting allowed by law), but the publishers who are lobbying the french government to keep it that way are big publishers, and Hachette is the first of them. <br /><br />So, if Hachette is weakened in the US and cannot "buy" good authors in France or even midlisters, they will self-publish, and readers in France will have a lot more "quality choice" for affordable prices, which is a good means to fight piracy. Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-68649672916489402062014-09-29T10:28:15.044-05:002014-09-29T10:28:15.044-05:00I don't really understand the 50 Shades portio...I don't really understand the 50 Shades portion of this at all. It was 'right under" whose nose, exactly? The book was never self-published, with Amazon or anybody else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-72669236540415990892014-09-29T10:16:28.187-05:002014-09-29T10:16:28.187-05:00Alan, congrats on your sales! Paper or e-books, yo...Alan, congrats on your sales! Paper or e-books, you're making a living, and that's awesome. <br /><br />A couple of questions. <br /><br />First, is a large portion of the discrepancy in sales for the #1 slot in the countries due to with the size of the market? France has a pop of 66m, the USA almost 320m. <br /><br />Second, why would Hachette's higher prices affect your indie sales? It seems that would actually be a plus. Unless, the publishers are getting laws passed that mandate you sell your ebooks for certain prices. Is that what's happening? <br /><br />Finally, if that is the issue in France, then I wonder if anything that happens here in the USA will affect that. Many of the European countries seem to be much more eager to legislate price controls than the USA. I wonder if that socialistic (?) leaning would change at all. <br /><br />BTW, I appreciate your "how does this affect indie authors" pov. That's exactly what I think we need more of in this Hachette discussion. John Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16644593323523613105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-22266043845676211502014-09-29T09:47:26.413-05:002014-09-29T09:47:26.413-05:00I say only one thing: Mr Child may have sold a ton...I say only one thing: Mr Child may have sold a tons of copies of his latest book, but I wasn't among those who have bought it. I'm his fan, but I wouldn't give 19 bucks for an ebook if I can get the same quality story for half of the money or even less.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03710463315196885504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-70727975915147581742014-09-29T07:49:44.786-05:002014-09-29T07:49:44.786-05:00Its not about who is the better writer, its about ...Its not about who is the better writer, its about what is going to happen to publishing and as Lee says - he doesn't have a dog in this fight. So frankly you should listen to him, a monopoly is good for no one as has been proven time and time again. <br />What I cannot believe is the the big 6 publishing houses have watched what happened to the music industry and then sleepwalked into this. They should set up their own book sales site asap and inject some much needed competition into the marketMMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-90853778462443514822014-09-29T02:50:55.218-05:002014-09-29T02:50:55.218-05:00John, I agree that we have to remember that Amazon...John, I agree that we have to remember that Amazon is a tiger; but I couldn't disagree more with your "neutral" stance.<br /><br />I'm personally lucky enough to be a full time indie author living handselling paper books. This is to say that ebook sales are very subsidiary for me.<br /><br />But 90% of the full-time indie authors are not in my case. 90% of them rely on ebook sales.<br /><br />In France, where I live, publishers, and Hachette first of them, are still resisting, trying to slow down the ebook growth. They do not digitize all their catalog. When they do, they price ebooks too high to protect mass paperback books.<br /><br />Even Vincent Monadé, president of the CNL (National Book Center, an official authority) has protested that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8wWDNjKzQw<br /><br />The result? When you, John, reach the n°1 place on Amazon.com, you sell 10,000 ebooks a day or more, whereas a french author reaching the n°1 place on Amazon.fr sells something like 3,000 ebooks A MONTH.<br /><br />In the UK, I believe an author ranked #1 sells something like 2,500 or 3,000 ebooks a day.<br /><br />So, french indie authors don't get a market in which they could thrive. And US indie authors who want to translate their ebooks in french don't have a market either.<br /><br />The only way to make things change is by weakening traditional publishing, and the only way to weaken traditional publishing is to support Amazon. Hachette is an international group: if it's weakened in the US, it will be weakened in France (Hachette owns at least half of all the big legacy publishing houses in France). Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-86752893909718307992014-09-29T02:46:02.489-05:002014-09-29T02:46:02.489-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alan Spadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12265515535005420739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-63243994322268437512014-09-28T16:04:31.506-05:002014-09-28T16:04:31.506-05:00Kudos to Lee Child for showing up and injecting a ...<b>Kudos to Lee Child</b> for showing up and injecting a new perspective into the conversation.<br /><br />It can indeed become something of an echo chamber in the main indie blogs, which I love, but which nevertheless do still tend to sometimes echo. <br /><br />Having someone with his experience come engage and share his two cents was helpful. <br /><br />One thing his comments reiterated to me is that <b>neither Amazon nor the publishers are in this as the author's let's-get-pinky-rings BFF.</b><br /><br />I'm not going to carry an ounce of water for Amazon in their fight with Hachette. I'm not going to carry an ounce for the trad publishers either. <br /><br />I think it's helpful for all of us to try to understand the truth about the business, and spread that to other authors, but that's very different from this knee-jerk Defender of Amazon thing that goes on, which seems so very much like Republicans and Democrats turning a blind eye to their own candidates and fixating a hyper-critical one the others. <br /><br />I'm not a traditional publisher. And I'm not an Amazonian. None of us are. I sometimes wonder if some of us have gotten a bit confused about this. <br /><br />Joe says don't worry about the tiger when a wolf is gnawing on your leg. But if you're an indie writer, <b>you have no wolf gnawing on your leg.</b> That's someone else's problem. But we are indeed in bed with the tiger. <br /><br />Let's indeed make hay while the sun shines. The tiger seems to be fairly decent right now. He's not perfect (eBay strangely enough only charges 15% to sell via their site). But let's not forget he's still a tiger. He is not one of us. John Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16644593323523613105noreply@blogger.com