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Is it possible to make a living as a genre fiction writer? Yes it is.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Do Legacy Publishers Treat Authors Badly?
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Sunday, February 19, 2012
Guest Post by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
AN OLDBIE’S GUIDE TO E-BOOK PUBLISHING by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Some people say Joe’s an angel. Some say he’s a devil.
I tend to think he’s both.
Joe is the angel who gives us hope and inspiration. Joe is the devil who gives us hope and inspiration.
Joe was also responsible for one of the single most fun experiences I’ve ever had as a writer, when he let me interview him for my old Disrespectful Interviewer feature at BiblioBuffet.com, which you can read here: http://bibliobuffet.com/archive-index-writer-in-residence/1377-the-disrespectful-interviewer-dissing-ja-konrath-100310.
But that’s enough about Joe, for the time being. Let’s talk about me for a bit and how I came by my decision to publish my latest comedic novel for adults as an ebook.
My publishing career began 22 published books ago with a dark comedy called The Thin Pink Line. In 2002, having written seven novels in nearly eight years while going through more than one agent, I sold that book on my own as part of a two-book deal to the then premier publisher of Chick Lit, Red Dress Ink. We can argue until the cows come home about whether The Thin Pink Line is or isn’t Chick Lit – it all depends on your definition – but one thing that can’t be argued is that this was a pretty good event for me. Before The Thin Pink Line was even published, RDI came to me with an offer for a subsequent three-book deal – my first book wasn’t even out yet, and I was already assured of at least a five-book career! Before all the pink dust had settled, The Thin Pink Line was published in 11 countries, optioned for a film, and was the first book published by any Harlequin imprint ever – with all the thousands of books they’d previously published over the years! – to earn a starred review from Kirkus.
Surely, my success as a writer of comedic novels for adults would go on forever!
Well, as publishing insiders have been known to say: Heh. Heh-heh-heh.
But that was OK! By then I’d already diversified by branching into the young adult market and was about to further branch into the children’s market with a series of books for young readers which I created with my husband and daughter, The Sisters 8. Both branches have proven to be successful for me. So who needed to publish books for adults anymore?
Well, actually, me.
I’m an eclectic reader, and an eclectic writer, and I like to scratch all my itches.
So when I got the idea for a new comedic novel for adults, I just had to write it, whether anyone would ever publish it or not. I called the book THE BRO-MAGNET and here’s a description of it:
Women have been known to lament, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." For Johnny Smith, the problem is, "Always a Best Man, never a groom." At age 33, housepainter Johnny has been Best Man eight times. The ultimate man's man, Johnny loves the Mets, the Jets, his weekly poker game, and the hula girl lamp that hangs over his basement pool table. Johnny has the instant affection of nearly every man he meets, but one thing he doesn't have is a woman to share his life with, and he wants that desperately. When Johnny meets District Attorney Helen Troy, he decides to renounce his bro-magnet ways in order to impress her. With the aid and advice of his friends and family, soon he's transforming his wardrobe, buying throw pillows, ditching the hula girl lamp, getting a cat and even changing his name to the more mature-sounding John. And through it all, he's pretending to have no interest in sports, which Helen claims to abhor. As things heat up with Helen, the questions arise: Will Johnny finally get the girl? And, if he's successful in that pursuit, who will he be now that he's no longer really himself? THE BRO-MAGNET is a rollicking comedic novel about what one man is willing to give up for the sake of love.
Of course once I’d completed the book, I knew there was little point in trying to sell it to a big publishing company. Even if they were enticed by the description, even if they loved the actual writing, as soon as they looked up the BookScan numbers on me and saw the paltry figures for that last book done with RDI, which received no promotion whatsoever because the publisher was going away, well, they’d go away too.
So, what to do, what to do...
Enter the ebook revolution.
I’d only had limited experiences with ebooks. A while back, I’d asked RDI for the rights back to The Thin Pink Line and the sequel, Crossing the Line, and they’d graciously agreed. Then I had a friend do the formatting and create a new cover for The Thin Pink Line, and I’d also written new cover copy reflecting what I’d always wanted the description to be, and we put it up for sale for $2.99 on Kindle last year. Before today – more on this later – it was only selling about two copies per week, earning me just enough to take myself out to lunch once a month. Not exactly raking in the dollars, but that was OK. What did I expect? It was an older title that had already been widely read, so really, it wasn’t like I was expecting to get a lot of new readers for it. I was happy enough.
But now I had this new book and I wanted more.
Enter the agency that’s represented me since 2005, The Knight Agency.
Sometime last year my agent there, Pamela Harty, let me know that TKA was going to make it possible for existing clients – if the clients so chose – to partner with TKA to publish their ebooks. I said I’d be interested in seeing their publishing plan. Once I saw it, I knew that this was the path for me to take with this particular book.
Some people will say this is crazy. Why give an agent a percentage of each ebook sold when you can hire out tech and art for a flat fee? In fact, TKA received a lot of blogger flak when they announced what they would be doing, even public flak from some of their clients. My personal take is that that’s just rude. No one – and here’s the only time I’ll talk to you in screaming all-caps here – NO ONE at TKA was strong-arming anyone into doing this. It was simply another option clients might take if they elected to.
Here’s the thing: As far as I’m concerned, TKA is just adjusting to changing times.
Here’s another thing: For those of you who don’t know me, you need to know I’ve never been one of these party-line authors who say anything an agent says must be right because agents know the business while authors are stoopid. If anything, I’ve gone the other way for most of my career, advocating for the rights of writers above all else. In fact, before joining forces with TKA in 2005, I parted company with no less than five agents because they weren’t doing what I thought they should, making me something of The Elizabeth Taylor Of Writers.
You know what, though? TKA has sold 18 books for me since I’ve been with them, they’ve been nothing but supportive despite the fact that I don’t make it easy by not being brandable, and I wanted to see how we’d do as publishing partners together.
So how have the results been since THE BRO-MAGNET launched on December 11?
I couldn’t be happier. TKA has done everything they said they’d do in their proposal and more, getting some high-profile attention for the book that I know I’d never get on my own. More than that, it’s re-invigorated our relationship because now more than ever there’s the feeling of, “We’re in this together.” It’s exciting. It’s been everything I dreamed it could be.
Am I saying every author, if given the chance, should follow the exact path I’ve taken? Of course not! I’ve been around the publishing industry in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years – now you can try to guess how old that makes me, but I hope that whatever your guess, you will conclude that I’m looking good – and if I’ve learned nothing else, I’ve learned that there’s no “one size fits all” about any of this stuff. We learn things, we learn as much as we can – we learn a lot from people like Joe – and then we make the decisions that are right for us.
Oh, before I go, I do want to say that for all the flak Joe gets from some quarters, he really is right about so much. You may remember earlier, I said that The Thin Pink Line was averaging about two downloads a week prior to today. Well, you know how Joe’s always advising to make some things free to increase distribution and author visibility? The Thin Pink Line is part of the KDP Select program, which means that every 90 days I can make it free for 5 of those days. Last month I figured, what the heck? That book, which is usually somewhere in the 100,000-200,000 ranking in the Kindle store got to 223 in the Free Kindle Store and #11 in the Humor category; in the U.K., it went to 113 overall and #3 in Humour. In 16 hours it was been downloaded 1,114 times in the U.S. and 319 times in the U.K. Will this translate into some sales once the free promotion is over? And will there be a positive impact on sales for THE BRO-MAGNET? Who knows??? But on days like today, it feels like anything is possible. Most important of all, I’m having fun.
One last thing: Please buy THE BRO-MAGNET!
And one more last thing, the final last thing: Thank you, Joe, for loaning me your megaphone today and for everything you’ve ever shared about e-pubilshing, you angel/devil you.
Lauren Baratz-Logsted can always be found at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Amazon Will Destroy You
"Amazon is going to put Big 6 publishers out of business!"
"Amazon is a bully!"
"Amazon is going to destroy bookstores!"
"Amazon engages in unfair business practices!"
"Amazon is the devil!"
"Amazon is going to monopolize the industry, then force all authors to work in labor camps for 6 cents an hour!"
"Amazon is going to invent a car that is fueled by the screams of puppies!"
"Amazon is going to take over the world!"
That last one is probably true.
I just got back from Seattle with my cohorts Blake Crouch and Barry Eisler, and we met with some key players in Amazon's various publishing endeavors.
None of them discussed anything confidential with us. We pretty much just ate and drank and had fun. And it also pretty much confirmed what I've known for a while now.
Amazon is going to destroy the Big 6, destroy bookstores, destroy 95% of all agents, destroy distributors (Ingram, Baker & Taylor), and revolutionize the publishing industry by becoming the dominant force.
If you are any of the above I mentioned, you probably want to blame Amazon.
You'd be wrong.
Most of the blame falls upon that person you see in the mirror.
Some of it falls on your customers and authors, who like Amazon more than they like you because Amazon treats us better than you ever did.
Blaming Amazon for your eventual downfall is like blaming a lion for being king of the jungle.
If you don't like apex predators, get the hell out of the food chain.
Here's the thing, all you whiners. You had your shot. And you blew it.
Hardcovers cost too much. So do paperbacks. As media goes, paper books cost too many dollars per hour of entertainment they provide.
The return policy for books is archaic, wasteful, and stupid. It encourages overspending, overbuying, and underselling.
Underestimating the importance of digital was suicide. Then trying to prevent its widespread adoption via windowing titles, the agency model, high prices, and DRM was just throwing gas on a fire.
Treating authors like shit, when authors are essential to the process, is bad business.
Treating readers like shit, when readers are essential to the process, is bad business.
Bookstores and publishers and distributors are NOT essential to the process. You should have evolved.
Why didn't the Big 6 invent online bookstores and ereaders? Why didn't the ABA?
Amazon INNOVATES. That's the thing you whiners don't understand. They're not dominating because they undercut you on price. Price is just one way to please customers. Service is another. Value is another. But the biggest one is technology.
Anyone can sell for cheap. Not anyone can single-handedly jump-start the digital revolution. Not everyone can create an online store that is not only a pleasure to shop at, but where it is fun to spend time.
Amazon is going to eat you all for lunch because they aren't thinking about how to make money tomorrow. They're thinking about how to make money in 2018.
They're doing all the stuff you never did--hell, they're doing stuff that you never even thought of. They're all about pushing it forward. They're all about gathering and analyzing data. They're all about challenging themselves to do better, to focus on the future, to learn from the past. They're all about pleasing the customer (and I heard from no less than half a dozen Amazonians that they consider authors to be their customers.)
They experiment. They change. They evolve.
Are they perfect? Hardly. Show me a business, no matter how tiny, that is perfect. In fact, show me a person who is perfect. We all make mistakes as we strive to better ourselves.
But when Amazon makes a mistake, they own it. They don't compile mistake upon mistake until an industry is satisfied with an 80% return rate for books and a maximum of 17.5% royalties for authors and a $35 price tag for the new Stephen King.
It's easy to hate your competition, especially when the competition is kicking your ass.
But do you innovate?
Do you push the industry into the future, or try to protect the past?
I'm not seeing any innovation. At best, I'm seeing imitation. At worst, I'm seeing whiners.
"Poor me! Someone does my job better than I do!"
"My girlfriend likes another guy more than me because he's smarter, nicer-looking, and treats her better!"
My advice: if you're sick of getting beaten up, go to the gym and start training.
For years I've been telling publishers and booksellers how they can compete. I haven't seen any of them follow any of my suggestions.
But guess what? I've spent hours talking to Amazon. And Amazon listened. They took notes. And I've seen them adopt my suggestions. Many times. And I'm not the only one they're listening to.
An open mind beats a closed mind, every single time. Once you start blaming, you've lost.
Winners don't blame. Winners don't whine.
Winners keep at it until they win.
And to Amazon: don't worry about the blamers and the whiners and the haters and the naysayers.
History is written by the victors.
It was great hanging out with you Amazon folks. And as always, thanks for listening. ;)
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Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The Big Kindle Boogie
- Use the entry counters at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com
- You can also enter manually by tweeting to be eligible for Kindle Fires and Amazon gift cards: 10 free Kindle Fires. 75 free ebooks. http://bit.ly/xWOoKN #bigkindleboogie RT to enter for a Fire!
- You can email bigkindleboogie@yahoo.com ONCE PER DAY with "Boogie entry" as subject line
Horror Stories - http://www.amazon.com/Horror-Stories-ebook/dp/B003AOA6BG
65 Proof - http://www.amazon.com/65-Proof-Daniels-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00264H2VI
Jack Daniels Stories - http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Daniels-Stories-ebook/dp/B003AKY6GG
Crime Stories - http://www.amazon.com/Crime-Stories-ebook/dp/B003AOA73I
Babe on Board - http://www.amazon.com/Jailbait-McGlade-Daniels-Mystery-ebook/dp/B004U341M6
The Skull Ring (Bonus Edition) http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Ring-Bonus-Screenplay-ebook/dp/B004EEOO6E
Disintegration (Feb. 1) http://www.amazon.com/Disintegration-ebook/dp/B0048EL5M6
Flowers http://www.amazon.com/Flowers-ebook/dp/B0036TH3IO