We've Come a Long Way, Baby! By Morgan Mandel

It wasn't long ago that those in the writing community looked down on self-publishing, considering it the only means less talented writers could get published. Large and small publishers made sure to propogate this notion. I suspect it was their way to stay in control and reap profits from books they hadn't written themselves.

Publishers held the cards and called the shots. Many hired readers, young twenty-somethings, to vet manuscripts. If by chance a reader thought a manuscript worthy, an actual editor would then deign to look it over. And that manuscript better be in tiptop condition, free of grammatical errors, and following specific guidelines as to format and topic, because many editors didn't have time to do full edits. So much simpler to receive an error free manuscript and set it up for production than to spend time actually editing.

Then, if a writer was fortunate enough to be among the chosen, input may or may not be allowed concerning the cover art. Even if suggestions were made by the writer, that didn't mean they'd be followed. You got your cover and you better be happy with it, unless you were a big-name author with lots of pull.

And, you wouldn't dare object to a release date as being such a long way off, even if it was almost two years away.  And if your book didn't come out on the release date, you'd have to accept that inconvenience.

Also, if you were lucky, your publisher would send in Arcs for reviews, and mail you a few Arcs so you could garner reviews as well. If you were extremely lucky, a few magazine ads might also appear publicizing your book.

The upside was if it were a large publishing house, you'd get an advance, after which if you earned it out, you'd also receive royalties. A small publisher couldn't afford to pay you an advance, but you'd get a percentage of the sales as royalties, after all the expenses were first deducted.

Seeing your book in print, being paid anything at all for writing it, no matter how miniscule the amount, still made you feel validated. You'd finally made it as an author. People were actually reading what you wrote. Some of your advance and/or royalties you gladly socked away to cover your own advertising, travel and clothes expenses for book signings and special events to get your brand known. You happily attended conferences at your own expense because it was so much fun to be finally recognized as a published author.

That was then. This is now. There are still many authors who choose to go the old-fashioned way, for a variety of reasons, but many are jumping on the self-publishing bandwagon.

Barry Eisler



Robert W Walker happily self-publishes

 Barry Eisler, a successful traditionally published author, is part of the new revolution. He's had the temerity to turn down a $500,000 offer from St. Martin's and opt for self-publishing instead. J.A. Konrath is another author who has happily  made the transition, and is reaping profits. One of our own bloggers at Acme Authors Link, Robert W. Walker, has also chosen to go the self-publishing route. If you've read any of his posts, you'll understand he's thrilled with his decision and added bankroll.



Morgan Mandel is a happy self-publisher

  Upon the advice of Austin S. Camacho, I also chose the self-publishing route. I self-published Killer Career in August, 2009. That's when self-publishing wasn't cool. Now it is, and with the emerging popularity of the kindle and Amazon.com, Killer Career is coming into its own.

 It's a heady experience to be able to choose your own cover, either by devising one yourself, or by collaborating with a skilled professional. It's wonderful to know the book of your heart can get out to the public, even if it's about something publishers consider unmarketable. Not only that, it's your decision when to get it published, either electronically, such as on kindle, which is the most popular right now, and/or in print, through such avenues as Create Space and/or Lightning Source.

 As a warning to the unwary, it's best not to get carried away with power. Don't think your manuscript is so great it doesn't need changing. You have the choice and means to provide a quality product, so don't get impatient. Take the time, make the effort and be sure to get a skilled editor to check your manuscript before you release it.


So much more is yours for the taking, if you want it to be. Yes, it requires more responsibility, but self-publishing is worth going the extra mile.

It's a brave new world out there for authors. More than ever the fate of our books and our brands are in our own hands, where it should have been all along. We've come a long way baby, and we're not going back!

Morgan Mandel

Killer Career is now 99 cents on

Kindle!

  

WELCOME OUR MAN OF MYSTERY, J.A. KONRATH - INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT W. WALKER, RESIDENT BLOGGER

Joe Konrath has done his very best to step into my shoes, to follow in my footsteps, and I first noticed it while living in Chicago and meeting him at The Red Lion Inn the night of his reading there. What with the snowbanks outside, yes, he literally allowed me to go ahead so that he, wearing sandals, could follow in my boot-steps. Some years later, he stood up as my best man at my wedding to Miranda, and I have had repercussions from famiy ever since who did an intervention on learning my best friend was Satan in disguise. Now I dare to turn over my time at ACME to the man with trepidation mixed with love. Rob Walker


Joseph Andrew Konrath was born in Skokie, IL in 1970. He graduated from Columbia College in Chicago in 1992. His first novel, Whiskey Sour (2004), introduced Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. Others in the series include Bloody Mary (2005), Rusty Nail (2006), Dirty Martini (2007), Fuzzy Navel (2008), and Cherry Bomb (2009). The books combine hair-raising scares and suspense with laugh out loud comedy.

Joe is also the editor of the hitman anthology These Guns For Hire (2006). His short stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines and collections.

Under the name Jack Kilborn, Joe wrote the horror novel Afraid (2009).

Joe's been nominated for several awards, including the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, Dagger, and Barry, and has won the Derringer, Bob Kellog, EQMM Reader's Choice, and two Lovie awards.

His blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing (jakonrath.blogspot.com), has had over 400,000 hits since 2005.

Joe is married, has three children and three dogs, and currently lives in a suburb of Chicago. He occasionally teaches writing and marketing at the College of Dupage.

AND NOW, WE GIVE YOU THE MAN OF MYSTERY, J. A. KONRATH --


The Myth of the Good Book

No, we're not debunking the bible here. We're talking about the pervasive idea that if you write a good book, it will sell. The writer doesn't have to have an internet presence, or make any public appearances, or do any marketing, self-promotion, or publicity. All the writer needs to do it write a good book and it will magically find an audience.

It makes no difference the years of experience or the amount of success a writer has had, many still believe this.

It's baloney, of course.

As I've said many times on many forums, "good" is subjective. There's no universally accepted standard for "good" because everyone has an opinion. Editors and agents, who believe they know what "good" is, still represent and publish books that fail more often than not. We've all read crappy books that are big hits, and we've all read wonderful books that are now out of print.

"Good" is a really poor indicator of sales potential.

But the myth still persists: Write a good book, and it will sell.

Instead of poking holes in this concept (I'm privy to the "You can write the best book in the world but people won;t buy it if they don't know it exists" rebuttal), maybe we should look at why so many writers feel this way.


1. Naivete. If a writer is only responsible for writing a good book, they don't need to know anything about this mysterious business known as publishing. This offers the artist a nice, insulated cushion from real life, where they feels they only needs to worry about writing the best book they can and everything else will be taken care of for them.

2. Stubborness. It's a publisher's job to sell books. Period. The writer writes, and nothing else. If the writer does their job, the publisher will promote the heck out of it, and the book will find a wide audience.

3. Fear. It's a scary business, and self-promotion is expensive, time-consuming, and difficult. It's much easier for an author to focus on writing than learn the skills needed to become a salesman. Writers get rejected often enough by agents and editors. They shouldn't have to risk getting rejected by readers as well.

4. Envy. We all know a few indefatigueable writers who are constantly promoting heir brands. We don't like to think that perhaps we should be promting our books with equal vigor, instead clinging to the belief that the book should sell itself based on its own merits. It's much easier to attack someone else than blame ourselves.

5. Bad results. Perhaps the writer has tried to self-promote, had a bad experience, and now refuses to do anything else. This is a shame, because we all swallowed some water learning how to swim. Practice makes perfect.

Now let me make it clear that writers do need to write the best book they possibly can. That should go without saying. But in a world with so many forms of entertainment competing for our time and money, in a world where 200,000 new books are published every year but only 1 out of 5 makes a profit, in a world where selling a first book is difficult, but selling a second book is impossible if the first one didn't do well...

Obviously, it is in the writer's best interest to make an effort in selling their books.

Here are some things to remember about self-promotion.

1. People are looking for information and entertainment. They aren't looking for ads or commercials.

2. Sales isn't about selling a book to someone who doesn't want it. It's about finding people who are looking for your type of book and offering it to them.

3. Books sell one at a time, and every effort you make has intangible benefits.

4. Think about the last ten books you bought and why you bought them. These are the strategies you should use when selling your books.

5. Set attainable goals. Becoming a bestseller isn't a good goal, because it is largely out of your hands. Going to three writing conferences and introducing yourself to 100 new people is within your power.

6. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Self-promotion is about planting seeds, and these often take a long time to grow. The longer and harder you work at this, the better you'll do.


If you're a writer who wants to know more about craft, publishing, and promotion, visit my blog A Newbie's Guide to Publishing at http://jakonrath.blogspot.com.

Joe

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