Tag Archives: publishing

The Other eBook Superstar

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Everyone remotely interested in ebook publishing knows Amanda Hocking’s story, but fewer, I am sure, have heard of John Locke.  No, not the 17th century philosopher.  I mean John Locke, the Louisville businessman who was the first self-published writer to sell a million ebooks on Amazon.  I first heard of him this week when a critique group friend handed me a clipping from the Aug. 23, print edition of The Wall Street Journal.

John Locke

Since 2009, Locke has written eight thrillers featuring former CIA assassin, Donovan Creed.  He has also written westerns and a self-help book for other writers who plan to publish digital books.  http://donovancreed.com/2011/06/lower-your-expectations-really/

The Journal article, “E-Book Author Tries New Format: Real Paperbacks,” described a contract Locke has signed with Simon & Schuster, to handle sales, distribution, and returns of eight paperback versions of existing digital books.  Locke will do the printing under his “Locke Books” imprint.  Simon & Schuster approached Locke’s New York agent to form the partnership.

Such distribution-only contracts are becoming more frequent as traditional publishers look for ways to compete with self-published books in the face of the loss of Borders as a major point of sale for printed books.  I heard a literary agent this spring confirm that successful ebook publishing is another possible avenue to traditional success, as measured by getting a New York agent and a contract with a “real” publisher.  On the other hand, only eight authors have sold a million books for Kindle – pretty long odds.

“For every John Locke, there are probably 5,000 authors trying and falling short,” says Arthur Klebanoff, CEO of RosettaBooks LLC, a digital publishing house.  But Klebanoff also says that, “The e-book world has created an opportunity in self-publishing that simply didn’t exist 18 months ago.”

The odds may be long on striking it rich and becoming a topic of cocktail party conversation, but the friend who gave me the article is going down the ebook road, as I may do someday.  I am a great believer in opportunities, and that is what Locke’s story represents.

Guest Post by Indie Author, Jayden Scott – Part 2

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Yesterday, our guest blogger, Jayde Scott, spoke of what led her to publish her novels on Smashwords.  Today she describes all the work behind her growing success, (in addition to writing novels).  She cautions that:   Independent publishing isn’t an easy route to go and it’s certainly not a ‘get rich quickly’ scheme. Be prepared to invest more time than in a nine to five job.

She includes a link to her blog, Fiction and More, and I’ve added it to my blogroll, since her stated intent is to help writers promote and market their work.  

Also, If you have not already done so, please visit her Smashwords homepage to look at the full range of her books: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JScott

My sincere thanks to Ms. Scott for sharing all she has done to champion her own work.  This is vital information to anyone thinking of following her path into print.

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So how did I do it? With lots and lots of marketing such as contacting blog hosts for reviews, giveaways, interviews and book spotlights. I don’t just copy and paste the information about my book into my emails to possible reviewers; I take the time to get to know their blogs and preferences and try to send them all information as requested in their review policies. Since they invest so much of their time and effort into reading my books, it’s only respectful that I at least try to make it easier for them to decide whether my book is something they might enjoy or not.

Independent publishing isn’t an easy route to go and it’s certainly not a ‘get rich quickly’ scheme. Be prepared to invest more time than in a nine to five job. Establishing a presence with all the fierce competition is tough work. Several times I changed the covers of my books, which involved days of searching sites like istockphoto.com and fotolia.com for the right digital art; once I changed the title, after which sales picked up. I also spend days on designing my print books and book trailers, and promoting those on various sites. As a very active Goodreads member, I devote a great amount of time to answering messages and updating my blog, http://jayde-scott.blogspot.com/, in case readers stop by to find out more about me and my books. And finally, I try to keep in touch with many author friends because, like in every job, connections matter. One of the most important tasks for any indie author, however, is writing and publishing a constant flow of well-edited quality work to keep up with fast moving trends. Even though I can’t afford paying a professional editor, I have two editor friends who proofread my work. My critique group helps with brainstorming and provides feedback on character development, story elements and pace. Even though my books are cheap, I try my best to give readers good quality for their money.

Writing has gifted me with a purpose in life, and nothing gives me more pleasure than hearing how much readers enjoyed my books. I’m a full time writer now who’s still sending out application forms to get a job, but the job market in the UK is shaky and doesn’t seem to want to recover any time soon. Independent publishing has at least helped ease my financial struggles and I know it’s helped many of my fellow authors, too.

Guest Post by Indie Author, Jayden Scott – Part 1

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At the start of May, Jayde Scott, a young writer from England, invited me to review her eBook, A Job From Hell.  Based on the professional presentation of her Smashwords page,  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/56864, I agreed, though with some trepidation:  vampire romance isn’t normally “my thing.”

To our mutual relief, I enjoyed A Job From Hell and posted my review here at the end of May:  https://thefirstgates.com/2011/05/25/a-job-from-hell-by-jayde-scott-book-review/.  During the process, we exchanged a few emails – enough for me to realize what a complex operation an ebook publishing and marketing venture can be.  I invited Ms. Scott to describe her process, and she found the time – despite publishing two new titles this summer – to send a very detailed reply.  So detailed, in fact, that I’ve split her post into two sections.

In this section, the author describes what led her to the world of Indie publishing.  The next section outlines the nuts and bolts of her procedure.  Anyone who is interested in ebook publishing will find a wealth of information in Ms. Scott’s account.

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Jayde Scott

A year ago, I would never have thought I’d be an indie author one day. At that time, I was unemployed, like many people in the UK, and could barely afford paying the rent let alone meet the monthly repayments of my student loan. Even with two good degrees, I had been looking for a job for three years without much success. During breaks from filling out application forms and struggling to get freelance work, I kept myself sane by writing as much as I could. It was my way to deal with the stress and pressure of not having a regular job.

Writing had been a hobby of mine for more than ten years. I had six books ready for publication and was actively seeking an agent or publisher for my work. Several times I came very close to landing an agent and did the ‘suggested’ changes to my manuscripts, only to have my hopes dashed again. With publishers I had similar experiences, some rejected me because I wouldn’t cut down on a 94k manuscript, others because they didn’t like a particular character. There was a time when I just couldn’t afford the horrendous postage charges for sending a manuscript to the US, so I kept postponing sending off large parcels until I got a freelance gig and had some money left.

After reading about Amanda Hocking’s success, I realised publishing doesn’t start and end with landing an agent and selling one’s work to one of the big six publishers. Sure, that would be a nice accomplishment, but I figured I might be more likely to win the lottery. It took me a long time to take this step because I kept hoping someone might make an offer soon, but when the offer never came in and I was more and more struggling to get a job and pay the bills, I decided I had nothing to lose by going the independent route. At least I had tried my best.

So, instead of wasting yet more time, I spent two weeks getting my first manuscript, Alex Gonzo, Royal Spy, ready for publishing via Kindle. It took a few attempts (actually, more than I care to reveal), but I finally figured out how to format it correctly after which it became easier with every book published.

Needless to say, I knew next to nothing about self-publishing a book or the marketing involved. I had heard of authors using Twitter and Facebook to promote their work, but that about summed up my knowledge of social media. My first attempts at Tweeting were pretty much useless and Alex Gonzo, Royal Spy didn’t sell a single copy. Five months later, I had barely sold 100 copies of that book, but I wasn’t ready to give up and self published A Job From Hell, which is the first book in the Ancient Legends series. That book didn’t take off straight away. In fact, I only sold about 60 copies in the first month. However, the more time I spent researching on the Internet and reading as many blog on publishing as I could find, the more I was determined to succeed, not least because I still hadn’t found a job and it didn’t look like I would in the near future.

Three months and a few more books later, I sell a few thousand copies a month. My books aren’t doing as great on Amazon as those of some of my fellow authors and I’m thinking maybe my coverart isn’t that great, maybe my blurbs would benefit from a makeover. However, at a price of 99c a book, my earnings at least pay the monthly rent, which is more than I would’ve earned if I kept contacting agents and publishers only to have my confidence crushed.

TO BE CONTINUED

Six Writer’s Digest Short Story Competitions

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I just received a notice from Writer’s Digest, announcing six short story competitions in six different genres:  http://tinyurl.com/3bdoueq.

In each genre, the first prize is $1000, plus $100 worth of Writer’s Digest books, and the 2012 Novel & Short Story Market.  Second prize is $500, $100 worth of books and the Novel & Short Story Market.  Honorable Mentions receive the Novel & Short Story Market.  The three top entries in each genre will be published in “a Writer’s Digest outlet.”

Stories must be previously unpublished and not accepted by any other publication at the time of submission.  WD retains “one time publication rights” for the “outlet” mentioned above, their website or magazine, I imagine, though they are not specific.  Entries are $20 each, and the maximum length for all genres is 4000 words.  The genre competitions have different deadlines:

Science Fiction/Fantasy – Sept. 15, 2011
Thriller                                – Sept. 15, 2011
Young Adult                       – Oct. 1, 2011
Romance                             – Oct. 15, 2011
Crime                                    – Oct. 22, 2011
Horror                                  – Oct. 31, 2011

Short story competitions pick up in the fall, so here is a chance to explore something off your beaten track.  It was a dark and story night, y’all!

Disruptive Technologies and the End of Borders.

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In the electronics industry, one of our truisms was that change is the only constant.  We also talked and thought a lot about “disruptive technologies.”  The term was coined by Clayton Christensen in a 1995 article and elaborated in his 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma.  Even well managed firms (and Borders does not seem to have been one of these), can be blindsided by failing to recognize “the next big thing.”  This is because its first manifestations tend to be clunky and crude.

The makers of fine coaches were probably not too worried when the first loud, dirty, and expensive horseless carriages appeared.  The empty factories and smokestacks in Rochester, NY are mute witnesses to Kodak’s failure to recognize the threat that digital photography posed to their chemical business.  Tower Books, which I loved, failed to develop an online presence, and Borders, among other things, was late to the eReader party.

There is no good news in this for anyone, least of all the 11,000 employees who are out of a job.  Or everyone who found wonderful things while browsing the stacks.  Even the idea that disappearing big-box bookstores will give indies a second chance seems unlikely.  One writer interviewed on NPR, whose books are carried by Borders, suggested that future bookstores may resemble what you find in airports:  “cookbooks, vampire novels, and celebrity tell-alls.”  http://www.npr.org/2011/07/19/138499967/mich-book-chain-borders-closing-after-40-years

I remember a college town where a wonderful independent bookstore closed soon after a Borders opened. Now it has come full circle and both are gone.  All I can think of are these words of the late George Harrison: All things must pass.

Harry Potter Fan Fiction

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione in The Sorcerer's Stone, 2001

Fan fiction did not begin with Harry Potter or the internet.  According to Lev Grossman’s article, “The Boy Who Lived Forever,” in the July 18, issue of Time, xeroxed fanzines appeared after the premier of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” in 1964, and really took off with “Star Trek.”

In the broader sense, telling original stories with borrowed settings and characters is nothing new at all.  Homer did not create the Trojan War, Achilles, or Odysseus.  Shakespeare did not make up either King Lear or Henry V.  But with the internet and Harry Potter, fan fiction has exploded.  There are more than 2 million pieces on fanfiction.net and more than a quarter of these are based on Potter – everything from short stories to full length novels.

The final movie will not be the end of original Potter creations

Grossman explodes most of the stereotypes of those who write and read these tales.  One 38 year old writer and actress says it’s like character improvisation.  A best selling fantasy writer whose novels have been optioned by Peter Jackson says, “Fanfic writing isn’t work, it’s joyful play.”  This raises the key question of why writer’s of fiction write.  Joyful play, a platform, and an appreciative audience are there – and it’s not like many creators of “original” stories get to leave their day-jobs.

Well known authors fall on both sides of the unanswered copyright issue.  J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer encourage new fiction based on their characters and worlds.  Orson Scott Card, Anne Rice, and George R.R. Marin, author of A Game of Thrones do not, and threaten lawsuits.  It may or may not be coincidence that the authors Lev Grossman names as supporting fanfic are more recent and write for a younger audience than those who are in opposition and write for adults.  So far, all cease and desist requests have been honored, so there are no legal precedents in the world of fiction, though court cases involving music have been liberal in their interpretation of what constitutes “fair use.”

This begs the interesting question of who a character or world belongs to.  Groosman says that until recently:

Writers weren’t the originators of the stories they told; they were just the temporary curators of them.  Real creation was something the gods did…Today the way we think of creativity is dominated by Romantic notions of individual genius and originality and late-capitalist concepts of intellectual property, under which artists are businesspeople whose creations are commodities they have for sale.

Personally, I have always loved the poet’s invocation at the start of The Odyssey:  Sing in me, muse, and through me tell the story… 

In my experience, the “I” does not invent worlds or characters.  Whether you call it the muse, the gods, or the collective unconscious, fictional worlds and imaginal people come from somewhere else.  With a bit of luck and humility, the “I” may get to witness what happens, and may even get adept at finding new rabbit holes.  To me, the idea of “owning” a “product” of imagination smacks of hubris.

There is no real data on whether fanfic hurts an author economically.  Intuitively, I can only imagine it benefits Rowling and Meyer.  I hope so.  Creativity is creativity, regardless of what spark ignites it.  I’m thinking of dropping by some of the sites to see what these authors are up to.  For those who write for the joy of it, I wish them a lot more.

Victory to the Outsiders?

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In 2009, 288,355 books were traditionally published in the US, and 764,448 were self-published.  The numbers for 2010 were similar, though I don’t have the exact figures handy.  A million new titles a year.  No wonder my book queue does not grow any shorter!

As the sheer quantity of books in print grows, the amount of advice for writers seems to grow too.  Four smiling faces stare at me from the cover of the new Writer’s Digest, next to titles of the following articles I will find inside (this is their “10” issue):

  • 10 Markets Open to New Writers
  • 10 Writing Myths Busted
  • 10 Ways to Start Scenes Strong
  • Bestselling Secrets for 10 Top Genres
  • 10 Ways to Stretch your Creativity
  • 10 Tips for Beating the Fear of Rejection
  • Take your Writing on the Road:  10 Inspiring Destinations.

Last week at the gym, I had a minor epiphany.  The talking-heads were doing their thing on CNN, and I realized the TV financial advisors and those who offer writing advice have a lot in common.  They can inspire; they can stimulate the flow of ideas; at the right moment, they can spark individual creativity, but no one who depends on them, who tries to practice their often contradictory advice is going to do better than average in either arena.

After my workout, I took a book out to the pool area for a read and a swim.  Summer poolside reading is a pleasure I jealously guard.  No reading to self-educate.  This is where I let stories carry me away.  Where I forget the million titles a year for the one I hold in my hand.

This time at the pool, I was rereading passages from the wonderful, Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, that I reviewed here:  https://thefirstgates.com/2011/06/08/the-emerald-atlas-by-john-stephens-a-book-review/.  This time, because of my earlier thought train, I noticed all the rules Stephens broke in his novel.

Common “wisdom” says that not only is the omniscient viewpoint passe, but it confuses middle-grade readers – and yet here it was, masterfully executed and just right for the story.  Similarly, the consensus on the proper age for middle-grade protagonists is 12, yet  Kate is 14.

Fortunately for us, John Stephens had a successful career writing for television before he started his novel, so I’m guessing he hasn’t read how-to articles for writers in quite a while.  For here is a built in contradiction – if a million books are published each year, and the brass ring goes to those that step”out of the box,” we are not going to get there by heeding advice on how to get into the box!

I want to be very clear:  I am not disparaging learning one’s craft – badly handled omniscient viewpoints aren’t pretty.  What I am saying is that if we slow down and listen, won’t our stories tell us what they want?  If stories come from deep in the part of ourselves that dreams, isn’t it somewhat rude to meet them with an armful of rules?

I find myself wondering how many truly original novels were written by outsiders, people who bypassed the whole seductive promise of 10 Ways to Break Into Print.  Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games was a TV writer like John Stephens before she wrote her novel.

Stephanie Meyer had not even written a short story before Twilight and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no talent for writing.  The idea for her vampire tale came to her in a dream, and she started writing because, after the birth of her first child, she wanted to stay at home and be a full time mom.  Echoes of the now-famous story of J.K. Rowling.

My cousin knew Jane Auel as a neighbor in a wooded Portland suburb, and never dreamed she was writing Clan of the Cave Bear at the kitchen table.  I doubt that the Inklings tried to tell Tolkien the proper age for Hobbits – 30 rather than 40.

What I am suggesting here – mulling over aloud, actually – is that all our lists of 10 Ways to do things are far less important than finding ways to remain Outsiders.  Outsiders who can dream without any fetters.  It isn’t easy, as anyone who even attempts it discovers, for the promise of an article or a friend’s advice on how to break into print can be as seductive as the lotus blossoms to the men of Odysseus’s crew.  Yet I am coming to believe it’s necessary to learn how to drop it all for extended periods of time.

For as the great Japanese teacher of Zen, Shunryu Suzuki said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”

What is YA and Who Reads It?

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Recently someone suggested a novel to me, but cautioned that I might not like it because it was “women’s fiction.”  That sparked a mini-revelation.  I realized I read a lot of women’s fiction because I read a lot of young adult books, and the two have become synonymous.  As if to underscore the notion, an email from Amazon popped up in my inbox called, “New Releases in Young Adult.”  Of the ten recommendations, nine were by women, and the single title written by a man was a paranormal romance with a female protagonist.

That got me wondering about the history of YA, its origins, its audience, and its nature in the olden days, which I guess means before Twilight.  Wikepedia came to the rescue with a well done page on the history of YA fiction:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young-adult_fiction.

The honors for coining the phrase, “young adulthood,” and distinguishing “books for children” from “books for young persons,” goes to Sarah Trimmer, in 1802.  Even so, 19th century publishers did not use any distinct classification for young readers, though some of the titles published remain classics to this day:  Swiss Family Robinson, Oliver Twist, Alice in Wonderland, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Kidnapped, and The Jungle Book to name a few.

The trend continued into the 20th century, and the roaring 20’s established young adults as a group apart, but it wasn’t until the 50’s and 60’s that “young adult” as a classification entered the publishing world.  The genre as we know it did not begin to emerge until the 70’s and 80’s, for books like The Catcher in the Rye (1951) and The Lord of the Flies (1954) bear little resemblance to what you find in the YA section today.  In case I’m being too subtle, I don’t really think that’s a good thing.

Neither did a thoughtful blogger named Annalee Newits, who posted a piece called, “Stop Writing Young Adult Science Fiction,” in 2008.  Though she writes in defense of her favorite  genre, her observations transcend such confines:

If we really want to open science fiction up to new readers, we won’t do it by dividing our audience up into smaller and smaller groups. Nor will we expand the minds of young people by telling them that they should only read specially-designated novels for young people. Why not admit that teens have a place in the world of adult imagination, and vice versa? Adults and teens are different in all kinds of ways, but surely they can meet in the world of fiction.  http://io9.com/5037686/stop-writing-young-adult-science-fiction

I posted earlier about my frustration one day when I cruised the blogs, in search of the “proper” age for protagonists in young adult vs. middle grade fiction.  It turned out that just as in real life, no one knew what to do with the 14 year olds.  The real question is why we are asking this question at all?  Who told us we have to, and why?

Ursula le Guin, Madeline L’Engle, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien of course, Mercedes Lackey, Robin McKinley, and Neil Gaiman – these are just a few of the names that pop right to mind when I think of writers who have played by their own rules, who have written stories for young adults that have weight, substance, and staying power, and defy our feeble attempts at classification.

The blurb for the young adult winner of the 2011 Amazon Breakout Novel Award begins, “In the increasingly crowded paranormal marketplace…”  Apparently that’s what it has all come down to in young adult – we introduce an award for excellence by noting how the book has positioned itself in the marketplace.

Life is way too short to play by this kind of rule.