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Writing and reading fiction
Comprehensive survey of DIY writers suggests that despite a few high-profile successes most authors struggle to sell...
The way is uphill. 
I said I would write a bit about my experiences with literary agents. Here is the first one that is worth noting: A few years ago a friend who is in the publishing industry allowed me to use her name...
This post spurred some interesting discussion of trad vs self-pub vitriol across blogs (Nathan Bransford's blog and The Passive Voice.) I report it here as a tale of endurance ending in success. (For the record, I don't think this post is vitriol at all. It's reportage on dealings with a specific agent. I replied in the comments thread on the Passive Voice blog because I felt the crowd was a tad more evenhanded.)
If you read across the blogs, you'll also notice a recurring theme: Some folks in traditional publishing seem to resent indies and don't like it if we complain in a similar fashion. Then you'll see stories of agents and editors who gushed about how great a manuscript was just before they rejected it. Gee, why is this model not working? 
Carolyn Arnold asks some uncomfortable questions about Amazon sales tracking. Are all your sales getting tracked? Pull out your sales report and follow along as she breaks down her questions at the link. 
Over at Moody Writing, mooderino has posted an interesting take on ebook pricing, the competitive market and the value of art. Some stark realities here. Click the Scoopit! link and have a read.
Meanwhile, on a related note, Russell Blake has another thought-provoking blog post about Amazon's changes in how rankings are calculated. Going from tracking unit sales to tracking dollars makes a huge difference to indies. Mr. Blake also predicts the end of free withing the next 30 days! The future is uncertain. On the other hand, same as it ever was. Read that excellent post here: http://russellblake.com/how-it-works/
This morning I was alerted to a big mistake lit agent Scott Eagan made, and then his humorous attempt to cover it up by deleting it, all documented nicely here at Passive Guy's blog. (See, Scott? It's important on the Internet to LINK to posts you reference.)
I was going to spend the morning excoriating the moron, but the commentors at Passive Voice have done an admirable job already, meaning I didn't need to draw extra attention to the stupid things he said.
So instead I'm going to draw attention to the stupid things agent Steve Laube says in his post Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?
(Between the comments on Mandy de Geit's blog post on her bad experience with an editor who was a rewriter --see below-- and Konrath's and Passive Guy's vivisection of this agent's post, the Internet is showing the power of righteous wrath once again. It makes me wonder about our capacity to change as individuals. If everyone is telling you you're wrong, do you at least consider their point of view or do you double down? Can the offenders change, or is a persecution complex forever warm and cozy? Just wondering about our nature as a species this morning. Check out the links and make up your own mind. It's all laid out very neatly. Also, RE: Agent Fail, please be sure to read Konrath's original guest post that Eagan appears to comment upon (and then says he didn't mean that one!) as I feel the ex-Harlequin author's points are diluted and/or mischaracterized. ~ Chazz) Via Nathalie Hamidi 
Wow. This link...oooh, how it burns! The details are a mindboggling. This amazing blog post on Joe Konrath's blog is a call to arms for authors suffering under nasty, cloudy contracts and a warning to publishers with what appear to be very strange practices. Read the link for the full story and just try to keep your jaw off the floor. It's time, once again, to yell, "Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!" Thanks to Mr. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson for sharing this important post. ~ Chazz 
Upcoming Blog Series: Researching the many ways “to skin a cat” in publishing Over the next few weeks I am going to be looking at all the ways “to skin a cat” in publishing. I am going to i...
Author Patti Larsen has some surprising advice: "Don't use social media as a sales avenue." Click the link for much more on branding, the learning curve and doing your research. Solid interview! ~ Chazz 
The times are changing but traditional publishers are not. This is two links in one: the original article is from Futurebook and The Passive Voice comments on the lack of adaptation. Click the link for more. (And follow that blog!) ~ Chazz 
Alison Flood: With online groups working to sift out the hidden gems, and a New York co-operative instituting a 'seal of quality', is the world of independent publishing finally getting organised?
Please read the Guardian story at the link because I'm not feeling like the article is telling me to feel.
The Question of the Day: If you're an independent author, some of the snobs in the comments thread of this Guardian article will make you tear your eyelashes out. However, a "seal of quality" by earnest people will at least appease those who condemn all indie books. What do you think? Could this be the next great thing for the readers who can't be bothered to look and decide for themselves? For everyone? Is it good for authors as well as readers, or is this instituting another star chamber of a small group that gets to decide what is "worthy"? Is this an opportunity or deepening ghettoization of non-traditional literature?
To tell the truth, I got off on the wrong paw with this article as soon as I read the tagline: "Is the world of independent publishing finally getting organised?" Isn't that kind of an oxymoron? Can indie still be indie if it's New York trad publishing all over again? Honest questions. What are your answers? ~ Chazz 
The first chapter was “The Early Decisions” which included picking a business name, setting up checking accounts, and so on. There were no real costs at all in those early steps unless your state had a small fee for registering a business name. Checking accounts are free, so are PayPal accounts, and so on.
So, the question on this second basic business-planning chapter is: “What are your expected costs?”
For those of you with a basic understanding of business, you can now see the structure of how I am setting up these chapters. Before starting into a business, there are certain things that need to be figured. Set-up costs, projected production and business costs, and projected income. You have no real data on the costs or the income, at least not accurate data, but anyone with a lick of sense who is starting a business will sit down and try to figure these factors out to some degree.
It would seem that expected costs should be tough to figure. But actually, in this business, they are not. At least for most levels. It just will take a little homework is all.
So, let me first divide this discussion into three major areas.
Cost in Money.
Cost in Time.
Set Costs.
All three areas are critical to figuring overall expected costs of producing a product.
In the first two categories I’ll divide the discussion down into three major ways of running your company: 1) Do All Work Yourself. 2) Do Some Work Yourself, and 3) Hire all work done.
And, of course, the categories cross over. If you find your time more valuable than your money, then hiring things done will be more of an option. And so on. Via Nathalie Hamidi 
This blog focuses a lot on getting the basics right: a good story, cover, blurb, sample, and price. However, all of that means little if no-one is actually visiting your book page to begin with. 
I've just started to go around to specialty and book shops to see if they are willing to take my paperback on consignment. I'm pleased with the initial results and things are looking up. Pandragon Dan's latest post on promoting your work includes a tip about book promotion by going to the shops in person and I certainly agree. It's too easy to say no over the phone but to get in there and make that contact is worth the time. Even if you don't set up a consignment agreeement, you might sell a book. (I did.) Check out the link for all the tips. ~ Chazz |
Elle Lothlorien lays the foundation for her argument that authors should respond to bad reviews as other businesses do, in an attempt to rectify a bad customer experience. This is a very interesting blog post for a number of reasons, and you may find the comment thread even more compelling. You may even find it disturbing. The post appeals to my affinity for the contrarian viewpoint, but it was the comment thread that had me thinking, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Slow down! Save this level of vitriol and nuclear response for really serious problems, like family reunions!"
This is just Part 1 of her argument and that's where the disturbing subtext emerges in the comment thread. Some commenters rise up, prematurely, I think, to condemn Lothlorien's advice before she's given a chance to lay out her strategy. They attribute motivations and actions to the author and reviewers before she's had a chance to show what steps she takes and recommends. Condemnation before full presentation sounds like a trait you don't want in a book reviewer.
Since the reaction in some cases (in the comment thread) is very defensive so far, I'll be very interested to see how Lothlorien defuses her critics, one of whom goes so far as to threaten her with a bad review now that the author has dared to express an opinion. Wow. It's ironic that Lothlorien is accused of intimidating reviewers to bump up the stars in her reviews in the same thread. Are we so cynical we can't imagine that a listening ear and being nice might actually change a reviewer's perspective? Are all opinions set in granite? Some objectors to the article assume their initial reaction is the best and purest one. Maybe not.
I don't respond to negative reviews because I have accepted dogma (yes, I'm saying I haven't really thought about it past "Don't do it!") and I've seen where it goes awry. As soon as I read the headline, I thought of The Greek Seaman debacle, which Lothlorien even mentions as an example of how not to do what she's recommending. I have to concede that Lothlorien makes some good points.
"Anecdotal evidence!" someone cried. Well, what other evidence might there be? No one is studying this problem wearing a lab coat and clicking on a calculator. That said, I'm not (yet?) convinced responding to bad reviews is ever a good idea. I am willing to hear her out and in the meantime, I'll reserve judgment until the follow-up installments.
Even if by some miracle of business pschology she manages to convince me otherwise, I'm sure it's something I'll never want to do. No one wants to be on the wrong end of the 1-800 line dealing with complaints, though as Lothlorien would point out, that is what businesses do.
There's a fundamental question about ourselves that bubbles up through the cracks in the subtext: Do we have to get so angry about this stuff? We can change, can't we? Flexibility in mind doesn't necessarily equate to flip flopping. Mental agility means intelligence. I'm scared Lothlorien might be right and I hope she's not. If I end up thinking she's right, though, I won't be mad at her. Click the link for the article and read on.
A theme is emerging today: Another remarkable story from the trenches. When Kiana Davenport dared to publish a couple of stories on Kindle, things got ugly and Penguin demanded the advance on her novel back. Fascinating post at the link, and frankly, the author comes out the end of the feces storm smelling of roses and lavender. Read on at the link below. 
Before you pooh-pooh this avenue for your writing, recognize that creating ebooks can boost your writing career in ways traditional books can’t. 
Are agents still necessary in the new e-publishing world? I’m running across a number of people who don’t seem to think so.
(Personally, I think there are some specialized situations where I'd still like to have an agent [such as negotiating foreign rights], but there are more situations where an entertainment lawyer would be a better choice for me. Interesting article that encompasses the spectrum of opinion. ~ Chazz) 
Once again, author Russell Blake gives sane analysis of KDP Select & why he's staying in. You've bookmarked his blog by now, yes? 
Bestselling author Renée Pawlish discusses Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, the second post about KDP Select and indie authors.
(A great follow-up an earlier post that's got me thinking and concerned. I have to wonder, is it really that Amazon has changed a formula so success on free days does not translate to success on the paid lists? Or is it that our Kindles are so full of free books that it will take a long time for us to get back to bother paying for an ebook? Is the market flooded with free? We can only read so much so fast. Your thoughts? ~Chazz) 
Bestselling author Renée Pawlish shares her KDP Select experience, showing what can work for indie authors in their marketing campaigns.
(Great and generous analysis of the author's KDP Select experience. Click the link for more. ~ Chazz) 
Beverly Akerman gleans the secrets of DIY bestsellerdom from Martin Crosbie, who went from mainstream reject to e-book sensation...
(And here, friends, is a calming counterpoint from The Globe & Mail to the article linked below this one. Read both and see what you think. Cheers! ~ Chazz) 
In keeping with last week's theme of how to review well, hit the link to Keta's Keep for an excellent article on the subject. Good stuff! ~ Chazz 7+ GB of storage, less spam, and mobile access. is email that's intuitive, efficient, and useful. And maybe even fun. 
Publishers are trying to adapt as the book industry changes dramatically, and they're doing so in the face of rapidly changing reading habits among consumers. |
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