Why Go All Independent Author on Us, Rob?
(Part I)
E-books and the electronic readers like the kindle are suddenly legion at schools, at writers conferences, even at ironically enough bookstores. I will never forget at a book signing when a lady pushing a baby carriage by stopped long enough to reach into the carriage to pull out her kindle to proudly flash before me to ask my wife, Miranda and I, “Are your books on Kindle?” We were ready for her, both of us replying, “Yes indeed.”
THREE Million plus kindle e-readers have been sold since December of this year, and Mother’s Day is likely to see a huge number sold as well—perhaps more; at least this is the number I keep seeing in articles in The New Yorker and Newsweek. In other words, the future is upon us and traditional publishing has reason to be concerned even if they don’t know it. More and more authors are taking control of their content and making decisions that impact the content—what they create.
Traditionally, the working arrangement between publisher and writer has always been one of you turn over your creation and the publisher “takes all the risks” as if you are taking no risks in spending months if not years on a manuscript. However, since you are taking “no risks” like those faced by the publisher—business risks—the notion is you are now passive cargo and worth about 8 to 10 percent of each “unit” sold after costs incurred such as an advance.
Now all decision-making is out of your hands, and you are supposed to go write another book in the event the first one sells well. Meanwhile, the publisher’s team—all of whom have pensions and paychecks—make the important decisions of pricing, placing, marketing, packaging, title, down to the font and colors on the cover.
In other words, all decisions made by committee, all of whom are making more money on books being pushed than the author. Think totem pole and the author is at the bottom, and wasn’t a camel a horse designed by committee? My point is when the book fails, the guy at the bottom of the totem pole is the one blamed as his/her numbers of unit sales is too low.
So the business model for the author is pretty bleak, and has been since Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press; ninety nine percent of all novelists in the world cannot live on what they earn as writers. Could you live on eight percent of what you sell without health benefits or pension?
That said, let’s turn now to the business model for the author who is now an Independent Author/Publisher—and for starters, the Kindle contract is not an 8-10% cut but a 70/30 split with the 70 going to the author! Aside from this, the author makes all the decisions to package and price the book, no title fights, no arguments over hardcover vs. trade vs. mass market as none of these designations apply in e-books. The added attraction to doing e-books is control and a sense of freedom.
NYC BIG Publishing appears as interested in change as glaciers, and for good reason—status quo is always attractive. Also there is the constant mantra about how they “take all the risks” and they also take the lion’s share of the profits. This glacial attitude is no more evident than now with the sudden growth of e-readers and e-readership as the big houses like Random House and Penguin and others are warring with Amazon.com over price-setting.
They have always controlled the prices, and now suddenly millions of avid readers, rabid readers if you will (as kindle readers can go through forty books in a week) want their books at less than ten dollars—as Bezos, the head of Amazon "suggested" and I paraphrase: “You buy a kindle, no kindle book on Amazon for more than 9.99--unless otherwise priced.” Frankly, I believe Bezos truly wanted to revive an interest in reading, reading more, and more reading among all peoples of the world, that he was concerned as many of us are about literacy.
Fact is, Bezos wants the world to have access to any book you or I want “at the moment” or as close to NOW as Whispernet can make it happen. This is why Bezos named his device “Kindle” to “kindle the passion in readers and non-readers alike.” An altruisitc-based business model; imagine that!
By using the A-B-C directions at www.dtp.amazon.com, I now have some 43 novels for sale online via Kindle Book Store on Amazon.com. The e-books for out of print titles may require getting a company like http.//www.blueleaf.com
to convert an actual book to a scan to doc, and once you have a doc file it must be converted to HTML—which can be the most difficult part of the steps involved. If you already have a doc file of the book in question, you won’t have to send off a book to be scanned. I used Blue Leaf because their prices are three times cheaper than anyone else doing book scanning.
By the way...recently learned that if you send a book doc file to a friend with a gmail address it "automatically" converts to html. I can hardly believe this but have it on good authority! After all, the most trouble involved in the process is converting the file to html and then in reviewing it, correcting the errors that will inevitably come up in the process of conversion—sometimes quite time consuming.
Meanwhile, once the html conversion is complete, once done and placed up on your kindle dashboard, the rest is smooth sailing. The results in terms of sales are astonishing. In the old business model with traditional publishing wisdom has it that your price the book at the top end—as high as the market will bear.
However, in the e-book model, the readers expect and demand low end pricing, very low end pricing. They are savvy readers who know that putting a book onto Kindle is a snap compared to printing on paper, paying for paper, warehousing paper, overhead for paper, paying PR people, paying marketing director and his staff, etc. Since all of this “goes away” in e-book world, the readers expect far cheaper books in the manner Bezos envisioned – and why not?
It is for this reason that I listed most of my forty plus books on Kindle at 1.99 and 2.99. These books at this low end rate are selling like a river flowing, while my three titles placed up by Harper Collins—priced at exactly the same price as the paper books at 6.99—are sitting there like three stones (no sale) while my novels like Children of Salem at 2.99 are my bestselling titles.
I earned 400 dollars last month on books priced at the lowest end of the scale, while my hardcover novel in the same month earned zip. In one year, I earned (after repaying advance, after packager’s 20 percent, after all overhead costs) a mere 141 dollars on my traditionally published hardcover DEAD ON, while in one month, I earned 400 dollars on my lowly 1.99 and 2.99 specials. What does this kind of economic comparison say about the old way of doing things and the new way of doing things?
Part II – Your Guide to Independent Authorship Found Here will continue here next Friday. Hope to see you back in your seat, ears alert, right here next time for the particulars of getting started in this brave new world of becoming an Indie Author.
Robert W. Walker hoping to hear your comments
Find me at Facebook, Twitter, Write Aide, Dirty Deeds – Advice, and Make Mine Mystery
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Final Check-Up for Your Book! by DL Larson
Lately I've been working on final edits for my sci-fi romance. It's past time to finish it to a polished state so it has a chance to become a published novel. In reviewing each chapter, scene and character POV, I realized I've been taking on the role of a doctor.
I've listened to the beat of each chapter, searching for good pacing, proper POV, clear descriptions, suspense building and comic relief.
I've checked for proper flow of words, character dilemma and growth, and checked the pressure building within each chapter.
I've looked for improper use of words, missing punctuation and typos! In other words I've given my manuscript a final check-up before I do one last thing.
The most important step I can do is not rely on my own judgment. I need help in this last stage, so I called in a professional to examine my baby. If you've never used a professional editor, I heartily suggest not missing this vital step in order to have a polished manuscript to offer agents and publishers.
Helen Ginger, editor extraordinaire, found a couple real bloopers in my manuscript. I told you how I've gone over every word with a critical eye. Yet she found simple mistakes in its, it's, they're, their, etc. I know better, but my eyes didn't connect to the mistakes. Basic third grade grammar and I missed it! Then there was the paragraph describing flowers in a field. The pedals floated about in a lazy swirl ... I've read that sentence a hundred times. Of course, I meant PETALS not pedals! Thank you, Helen for having a surgeon's eye for detail!
I'm a firm believer if a book is to survive, a professional editor needs to examine it, adjust and tweak it to its polished state.
Have you or your editor found a blooper in your manuscript? Share with us ~
Til next time ~
DL Larson
I've listened to the beat of each chapter, searching for good pacing, proper POV, clear descriptions, suspense building and comic relief.
I've checked for proper flow of words, character dilemma and growth, and checked the pressure building within each chapter.
I've looked for improper use of words, missing punctuation and typos! In other words I've given my manuscript a final check-up before I do one last thing.
The most important step I can do is not rely on my own judgment. I need help in this last stage, so I called in a professional to examine my baby. If you've never used a professional editor, I heartily suggest not missing this vital step in order to have a polished manuscript to offer agents and publishers.
Helen Ginger, editor extraordinaire, found a couple real bloopers in my manuscript. I told you how I've gone over every word with a critical eye. Yet she found simple mistakes in its, it's, they're, their, etc. I know better, but my eyes didn't connect to the mistakes. Basic third grade grammar and I missed it! Then there was the paragraph describing flowers in a field. The pedals floated about in a lazy swirl ... I've read that sentence a hundred times. Of course, I meant PETALS not pedals! Thank you, Helen for having a surgeon's eye for detail!
I'm a firm believer if a book is to survive, a professional editor needs to examine it, adjust and tweak it to its polished state.
Have you or your editor found a blooper in your manuscript? Share with us ~
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
What could date your book?
It used to be women always wore nylons and slips with dresses or skirts. That doesn't happen much any more.
Also, men never wore earrings before, but now they do.
Nowadays, there are some men whose pants are almost falling off them them, they're situated so low.
What I'm getting at is if you wish to portray a certain period of time in your manuscript, pay attention to the norms of that time. Don't include something that's passe'. Also, be sure to include what's typical for your chosen period.
Can you name other examples of before or now?
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Etiquette - it’s not just a French word
I traveled to Washington, D.C. on business yesterday. I flew in just for the day so I had quite a bit of airport time in a less-than-twenty-four-hour period. We all knw how tiring it is to traverse the airport these days - the undressing, the redressing, the lines, paying for things that once were included or the inability to bring a drink from one side of security to the other and the probability of paying huge fees for one while you wait anxiously for your flight.
But none of this troubled me so much yesterday, despite challenging weather, as an event that happened in a most unlikely place - at least in my experience. Perhaps I'm getting use to the "fun" of traveling these days or perhaps I'm in denial, but other than being tired, the thing that bothered me the most occurred in the restroom. Ah - got your attention!
No sooner did I sit down on the porcelain pedestal to do what one does in this setting when I hear the loud voice of what sounded like a young woman enter the restroom. It wasn't difficult to surmise that she was on her cell phone. People just talk differently on their cell phones - loud and uncensored.
Okay, that seems to be something more and more difficult to avoid these days, but what happened next really shouldn't have happened, especially in a public/semi-public location. The young woman entered the stall next to mine and continued to talk on the phone while she did her business. In a sudden moment, the sense of privacy and respect for boundaries was gone. Call me old-fashioned, but the idea of talking with someone while urinating - or while they're urinating - rates high up on the yuck scale.
Yet, I've even heard stories where people talk on their cell phones while having sex. I hope this is one of those urban myths, but given the blurring of social etiquette boundaries, maybe not.
Perhaps this would be an interesting character point in a story but I strongly suggest that nobody call their editor, agent or other representative in the publishing industry while taking care of such private matters. Some events just shouldn't be done simultaneously despite the drive in society today to multi-task. Besides, often the porcelain pedastal is the only place I get a chance to rest - why would I want to mess with that!
But none of this troubled me so much yesterday, despite challenging weather, as an event that happened in a most unlikely place - at least in my experience. Perhaps I'm getting use to the "fun" of traveling these days or perhaps I'm in denial, but other than being tired, the thing that bothered me the most occurred in the restroom. Ah - got your attention!
No sooner did I sit down on the porcelain pedestal to do what one does in this setting when I hear the loud voice of what sounded like a young woman enter the restroom. It wasn't difficult to surmise that she was on her cell phone. People just talk differently on their cell phones - loud and uncensored.
Okay, that seems to be something more and more difficult to avoid these days, but what happened next really shouldn't have happened, especially in a public/semi-public location. The young woman entered the stall next to mine and continued to talk on the phone while she did her business. In a sudden moment, the sense of privacy and respect for boundaries was gone. Call me old-fashioned, but the idea of talking with someone while urinating - or while they're urinating - rates high up on the yuck scale.
Yet, I've even heard stories where people talk on their cell phones while having sex. I hope this is one of those urban myths, but given the blurring of social etiquette boundaries, maybe not.
Perhaps this would be an interesting character point in a story but I strongly suggest that nobody call their editor, agent or other representative in the publishing industry while taking care of such private matters. Some events just shouldn't be done simultaneously despite the drive in society today to multi-task. Besides, often the porcelain pedastal is the only place I get a chance to rest - why would I want to mess with that!
Monday, May 3, 2010
When Life Gets In The Way….
Here is my current status:
Work Conference – done
Spring Fling – done
One daughter’s confirmation – done
Another daughter’s communion – done
(All in the month of April!)
And now, softball season starts.
For those of you who don’t know, I have three daughters.
They all play softball.
They are in three separate leagues.
My husband coaches them all.
So, life gets in the way.
But we keep on going and hope that we get that few minutes of peace to write a quick blog, read a few pages of a book, write a few lines of the unfinished manuscript you wish you could just get done, but life gets in the way.
It’s crazy, time consuming and ever changing…and I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. If you don’t hear from me every now and then just know, life got in the way, but I will be back!
Best,
June
www.junesproat.com
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Garden Metaphors
Yesterday we spent a good amount of the day working outside and cleaning things up outdoors: weeding the garden, opening the pond, "summer-fying" the front porch, etc. While my hands were busy with these chores, my mind was busy as well. Each of these tasks brought to mind a counter part, if you will, in a manuscript.
Weeding: Well, that one is probably obvious. Spring shoots are popping up all over the place, getting taller and fuller by the minute. However, those pesky weeds tend to pop up as well, ruining the asthetic quality of the "good" plants. They detract from the planned beauty. In a manuscipt it's important to weed out as well. For me weeds include things such as cliches, 'ly' words, passive voice, and the word 'then' to name a few. Once these are weeded out, the story can shine through.
The pond: This year my hubby found a dead rat in there. Definitely gross. (How glad was I that I was tackling the weeding?!) Manuscripts sometimes can have dead rats in them as well. In a mystery, perhaps it's an actual dead body. The writer and the hero/heroine need to decide what to do about that particular situation. Or perhaps it's simply a sub-plot that's not going anywhere anymore and needs to be fished out and discarded. Once this lifeless intruder is dealt with, the story flows much better.
The front porch: With the warmer weather it was finally time to move some plants outdoors. (These had wintered inside safe from the cold.) I also purchased some hanging pots and flats of impatiens as a finishing touch. A manuscript needs finishing touches as well. Even when it's all said and done, there's always the opportunity to go back and make it even better. Check those descriptions. Add those sensory details. Make it real. Make your manuscript come alive and make it a place people want to hang out.
So, what do you think? Do you find a connection to writing in everything you do?
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
Weeding: Well, that one is probably obvious. Spring shoots are popping up all over the place, getting taller and fuller by the minute. However, those pesky weeds tend to pop up as well, ruining the asthetic quality of the "good" plants. They detract from the planned beauty. In a manuscipt it's important to weed out as well. For me weeds include things such as cliches, 'ly' words, passive voice, and the word 'then' to name a few. Once these are weeded out, the story can shine through.
The pond: This year my hubby found a dead rat in there. Definitely gross. (How glad was I that I was tackling the weeding?!) Manuscripts sometimes can have dead rats in them as well. In a mystery, perhaps it's an actual dead body. The writer and the hero/heroine need to decide what to do about that particular situation. Or perhaps it's simply a sub-plot that's not going anywhere anymore and needs to be fished out and discarded. Once this lifeless intruder is dealt with, the story flows much better.
The front porch: With the warmer weather it was finally time to move some plants outdoors. (These had wintered inside safe from the cold.) I also purchased some hanging pots and flats of impatiens as a finishing touch. A manuscript needs finishing touches as well. Even when it's all said and done, there's always the opportunity to go back and make it even better. Check those descriptions. Add those sensory details. Make it real. Make your manuscript come alive and make it a place people want to hang out.
So, what do you think? Do you find a connection to writing in everything you do?
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Romantic Times by Margot Justes
Last Saturday I had a marvelous time time at the Chicago North RWA Spring Fling conference, and didn't post anything, I didn't even bring my computer with me.
This weekend I'm in Columbus, Ohio at Romantic Times, after which things should settle down enough for me to start shopping for A Taste of Italy at the Elk Grove Village Library, coming up May 24th. We're bringing Italian goodies to sample.
But in the meantime, I hope everyone is having a good weekend and I will let you know all about RT. This is my first RT conference.
Till next time,
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
This weekend I'm in Columbus, Ohio at Romantic Times, after which things should settle down enough for me to start shopping for A Taste of Italy at the Elk Grove Village Library, coming up May 24th. We're bringing Italian goodies to sample.
But in the meantime, I hope everyone is having a good weekend and I will let you know all about RT. This is my first RT conference.
Till next time,
Margot Justes
www.mjustes.com
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