Hi, kids. Just letting you know that Chuck Wendig posted a great blog over at “Terrible Minds” about this issue. Catch that HERE.
And catch my take on it over at Women and Words HERE.
The upshot? There is no battle between the types of publishing. As writers, we should be helping each other tell great stories, and quit ragging about the vehicles that bring them to market.
Just some food for thought. Happy Thursday.
Well, hi, kids!
Hope everyone had a groovy weekend. I was thinking about that link I posted last week in which author Graham Swift noted that authors are in danger of getting screwed with regard to ebook royalties.
And today, thanks to one of my writers’ associations (that would be Sisters in Crime), I was apprised of this story at BookBaby.
It’s an article titled “Do Publishers Pay a Fair Royalty Rate for ebooks under the Agency Model?”
Here’s what I found kind of interesting:
But despite these costs which publishers incur [read the piece to see what those are; it’s short]…they’re saving buckets full of money on not having to print or ship books – savings which range from the production department to the warehouse – and the authors simply are not being credited for those savings.
And while the price of ebooks generally is lower than hardcover, the publisher’s contribution on every sale of an ebook has remained equivalent to that of a hardcover, whereas the author’s share has dropped by about 1/3.
source: BookBaby
So I then followed the suggested link to THIS blog, with an article titled “How Ebook Royalties are Cheating Authors.” The blog includes figures, which look pretty crappy for authors.
QUOTE:
E-book royalty rates for major trade publishers have coalesced, for the moment, at 25% of the publisher’s receipts. As we’ve pointed out previously, this is contrary to longstanding tradition in trade book publishing, in which authors and publishers effectively split the net proceeds of book sales (that’s how the industry arrived at the standard hardcover royalty rate of 15% of list price). Among the ills of this radical pay cut is the distorting effect it has on publishers’ incentives: publishers generally do significantly better on e-book sales than they do on hardcover sales. Authors, on the other hand, always do worse.
[…]
So, everything else being equal, publishers will naturally have a strong bias toward e-book sales. It certainly does wonders for cash flow: not only does the publisher net more, but the reduced royalty means that every time an e-book purchase displaces a hardcover purchase, the odds that the author’s advance will earn out — and the publisher will have to cut a check for royalties — diminishes. In more ways than one, the author’s e-loss is the publisher’s e-gain.
source: Ask the Agent (emphasis mine)
Go to the link for the specific examples that’ll show you just how bad authors do on ebooks.
Anyway, I’m not going on a rampage against ebooks. I’m an author, after all, and I like that my stuff is available in multiple formats. However, I am concerned about ebook royalties, and about the invalidation of an electronic format as “work,” thus allowing publishers to contract a lower royalty rate. Or just because they like the greater profit they make from ebooks, and sadly that doesn’t seem to be trickling down. Just some stuff to think about.
Happy reading!
Hi, folks!
I came across a couple of interesting links the past day or so. This one is self-explanatory: DON’T PLAGIARIZE. It’s just plain sucky to do that to someone. Here’s one author’s experience with it. And yes, it does happen in the fanfic world. In this case, the plagiarizer posted the work on a fanfic site.
Plagiarism is theft. If you’re a writer (whether aspiring or not), show the world your individual creativity. You don’t need to steal somebody else’s work. Make your own. You’ll feel better about it. For reals.
And the second link has to do with ebooks and how they can threaten the livelihoods of aspiring writers. Award-winning author Graham Smith offers his concerns:
“The e-book does seem at the moment to threaten the livelihood of writers, because the way in which writers are paid for their work in the form of e-books is very much up in the air.
“I think the tendency will be that writers will get even less than they get now for their work and sadly that could mean that some potential writers will see that they can’t make a living, they will give up and the world would be poorer for the books they might have written, so in that way it is quite a serious prospect.”
source: The Telegraph
I think he has some valid concerns, especially when it comes to the idea that things in digital format should somehow be “cheaper” than things that are not. That’s a raging debate, by the way, in book land. The pricing of ebooks. The thing is, the same amount of work goes into creating a digital file as goes into a product that becomes a print book. That is, author time/effort, the various editors’ time/effort, the cover designer’s time/effort, and the typesetter’s time/effort. All that time and effort costs money. The only difference between a print book and an ebook is that one doesn’t go to a printer for binding. And that does save a little bit of money, but it doesn’t negate all the work and time that went into the back end. Make sense?
Anyway, just some stuff to ponder. Happy reading, happy writing!
Hi, folks–
I also blog over at a site called Women and Words, and today’s post is about the process a manuscript goes through once it’s contracted. Specifically, the editing process.
Click HERE to go right that post at Women and Words.
I’ve also blogged about the kind of money a writer can expect (not much) in my off-and-on series. You can catch that post HERE.
Just a heads-up for you readers who are interested, maybe, in what goes on behind the scenes for writers. And for beginning writers, it might help you out, too.
Happy reading, happy writing, happy Friday!
Hi, folks–
Just some quickie links for those of you who are chained to the written word and constantly seek ways to make your own work better.
Write Anything
Multi-author blog that includes writing prompts and tips with regard to the craft of writing.
Inkygirl
The blog of Toronto-based Debbie Ridpath Ohi, writer and illustrater. She posts writing tips and often includes her own comics; tips on using the Internet as a writer.
Backstory
This one might interest readers, too. It’s a blog where writers post on where they got the inspiration for what they’ve written.
The Urban Muse
Freelance writer Susan Johnston with handy tips and musings on finding markets, and living a working writing life. She’ll help you navigate finding clients an being your own businesswoman.
Writers Write
This one might interest readers, too. News and info about writers, books, and publishing.
There you go. Some stuff to peruse (as if you didn’t have enough already!).
Happy writing, happy reading!
That’s according to a piece published today in the Washington Blade.
The article‘s author, Julie Enszer, notes that
While there is much to celebrate in queer literary culture, there is something to bemoan as well, particularly for lesbian writers and readers. The lack of attention by mainstream publishers to lesbian writing, particularly lesbian fiction, is appalling.
As it has for more than four decades, lesbian publishing is flourishing in small, often lesbian-owned, publishing houses like Bold Stroke Books, Bywater Books, and Naiad Press. These small publishers are vital and important to our literary culture, but they must operate in conjunction with mainstream publishing. By mainstream publishing I mean (generally) New York-based trade publishers, who market books to broad audiences and sell books through mainstream bookselling venues, now primarily big-box bookstores, but also locally owned booksellers. Mainstream publishing brings us Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling, and Stieg Larsson, but it is also brings us Rita Mae Brown, Jeannette Winterson and Emma Donoghue.
source
Sadly, she’s right. Mainstream publishing in this country (Enszer notes that lesbian writers and subjects make major mainstream publishing houses quite a bit in the UK) does ignore lesbian fiction — especially genre fiction. There are a number of reasons for that. I’d argue that persistent homophobia is one; ignorance about the thriving lesbian publishing industry flying underneath the mainstream radar is another; and fears that the target audience for lesbian fiction (genre fiction) isn’t big enough to sustain a book starring lesbians. Sure, homophobia lingers, but ultimately, publishing is a business and they want profits. These publishers don’t think that a lesbian writer could make enough money for them to justify publishing her.
I think that the expansion of ebooks could change that, because large mainstream houses won’t have to worry about whether or not they can sell that minimum print run of 10,000 books. Ebooks might actually end up being an inroad for lesbian writers into mainstream publishing. It’s something I’m intrigued about, and I’m keeping an eye on it. Anyway, more food for thought.
Happy reading, happy writing!
H/T to some Facebook friends for posting this article link.
That’s the news from the BEA — BookExpo America, a giant-ass convention/conference with tons of publishing and book vendors, filled with book freaks, books, and all things books and publishing.
Publishers Weekly notes:
Despite the way e-books dominated the publishing conversation over the past year, it was obvious from the moment one set foot on the volume-packed BEA show floor that the printed book is still very much at the center of the publishing industry.
source
Check out that article, because it notes that the philosophy of booksellers and book publishers isn’t necessarily that electronic media will replace print, but rather that the two can complement each other.
Case in point. I purchased a Kindle for myself a few months back and what I decided is that it’s not quite like reading a book. It’s a different medium, and that doesn’t make it bad or good. It just makes it different. I appreciate the ease of taking my Kindle on a plane, and having it in my backpack when I’m out and about. I love the ease of downloading titles, and I really enjoy being able to “sample” a title before I buy it. I also like that I can buy things like The Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, Toqueville’s Democracy in America, and Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for around a dollar.
I also like that I can try writers out for a couple bucks or less, though I would also like an option to “rent” ebooks, too. Hell, I rent movies on Netflix. Why not do the same for ebooks?
Anyway, I like the ease of having a bunch of classics right at my fingertips. But it’s not the same as taking a book to a coffee house, opening it, and reading it. And I still use my local library quite a bit, because I like that my tax dollars pay for books and I can go and check ’em out, read ’em, and take ’em back because I’m in an anti-clutter phase at the moment and I like that anybody can have access to books that way.
So no, I don’t think ebooks will replace print books. Not any time soon. But I do think they can complement each other, and I think that’s a great and wonderful thing for publishers, readers, and authors.
Happy reading, happy writing!
The blog Buzz, Balls, & Hype has been doing a series on self-publishing titled “Tough Love: Things No One is Brave Enough to Tell Self-Published Authors.”
Quote, from Part 1:
Self or traditionally published, you need to produce the very best book that you can. That means being committed enough to rewrite your book three, four or twenty-five times. Even pros who have been at it for years and have dozens of books under their belts don’t have their first drafts published. So far it’s the same for self-published or traditionally published authors. But then the traditionally pubbed author turns his or her book over to professional editors.
If Lee Child, Sara Gruen, Laura Lippman and Jennifer Weiner all get edited, can self-published authors afford not to do the same thing?
Yes, an editor costs money. And yes, an editor might require you to do more rewrites. Yes, you might be tired of writing the book and not even want to work on it anymore.
But if your goal is to sell books, get readers, and build word of mouth – you absolutely need professional help.
source
There’s great advice and great nuts n’ bolts in this series. Check it out.
Happy writing, happy reading!
Hey, amigas y amigos–
In this age of info immediacy, we’re used to just slamming stuff onto the web and going with it. We cut and paste, we disseminate, we make things go viral. But sometimes, the information we’re disseminating isn’t always correct.
I’m reminded of a game my elementary school classmates and I would play called “Telephone.” Usually, this was a game that a teacher implemented to demonstrate how information can be distorted and why it’s important to listen and pay attention. This was before household computers, folks. Before the interwebs.
So read on to find out why the hell I’m telling you this.
Hey, folks–
I came across this today while running around the interwebs. It’s a new site geared toward helping writers of genre fiction called Book Country.
Those genres: romance, mystery, fantasy, sci fi, and thriller. Those genres are further broken down into subgenres.
This New York Times article explains it. The site is affiliated with the Penguin group, and in its initial phase, writers will be able to post their work and get critiques from other users and/or comments about writing craft and various aspects of the work that was posted for free. Later on this summer — to generate revenue — Book Country will launch a self-publishing venue for a fee by ordering printed copies. The books will bear the stamp of Book Country, and not Penguin, because it’s considered a separate venue.
The site will also provide info for writers with regard to things like finding an agent, marketing and promotion, using social media as an author, and handling things like digital and subsidiary rights. It’s being spearheaded by Molly Barton, the director of business development at Penguin. Book Country hopes to attract editors and agents and even publishers scouting for new talent. Hopefully, Book Country will allow authors to create more polished work and attract attention from the industry.
Sounds intriguing. Keep yer eyes on this one, kids. It might prove an interesting hybrid model from big publishing to self-publishing.
Happy writing, happy reading!
Andi Marquette 