Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Trespassing Over the Transom

Over the transom” is a reference that used to be applied to writers who tossed their unsolicited manuscripts over the top transom part of a publisher's office door. Uninvited. And it usually applied to the very large (Bix Six-type) publishers, who were not the Big Six back then, but consisted of dozens of smaller independents that were just as sought-after. Although the preferred wisdom prevailing today stipulates following the publishers submission guidelines to the letter, sometimes un-agented authors cannot resist sending in (cold) email or hard-copy book proposals to publishers who frown on this practice, and warn that such tactics will result in immediate rejection. And yet it still happens.

This subject is a hot potato. There are proponents for and against this practice—mostly against. I know of several un-agented writers who have thrown caution to the wind and defied these rules of etiquette—they use, and have used this system, repeatedly, unashamedly. There have also been claims that contracts were offered, in spite of the transgression. How can this happen if it's so wrong? How could contracts be offered, or manuscripts even read by editors when, plainly, these writers have broken the rules? It's because editors, generally and by their nature, are courteous and sympathetic to the plight of writers. Most are willing to overlook such a practice, if it appears to have been committed in ignorance or by accident. They also realize it's part of the duties of wading through mountains of slush, which comes with the job. They know there's bound to be some submission errors.

Problems arise when editors are subjected to repeat offenders, those writers who blatantly disregard the rules and continue submitting manuscripts without representation—to all in sundry. Even after warnings. The worst that can happen is ending up on an editor's blacklist, or a type of BOLO (be on the lookout for...” which is a negative brand that ends up being broadcast to the other imprints and editors of the publishing house. And in that case, the writer's material is destined for the trash can or cyber space. It's also a bad idea because it's an inconvenience to agented writers who have sent in their hard work, according to house guidelines. The slush inventory is high enough, without interlopers trying to shoe-horn their material over yours. Not mention, it takes up valuable editorial time, when it can be better spent on trusted and legitimate submissions.

I've gone over the transom about three times in a span of 20 years. Once by accident, and twice deliberately. I never received a hot-headed reprisal, or even a suggestion that I re-read the publishers submission guidelines. I was confident that my proposal was read, even considered. But I never made sale.

I don't condone this practice because it reeks of desperation and unprofessional behavior. There was a time when I would agree that a little experimentation couldn't hurt your chances, and that you might possibly pick up a deal as a result. There's just to much to lose, and your integrity (face) is just one of them. Publishing is a fairly small community, where editors, and even agents, communicate and meet with each other on a daily basis. Name-dropping is a huge part of the business, and it doesn't take long for a writer who breaks the rules to be found out and tagged as an undesirable candidate for a book deal.

The only time an un-agented writer is justified in sending in a manuscript to an “agent-only” publisher is when they have received a legitimate referral from an agent or another reputable publishing house. And in that case, the writer should include the name and date of the referring person. Or by direct personal contact via a meeting at a seminar or writing conference. So try to avoid this glaring practice at all costs. Strive to get that agent, and let them worry about approaching the big guns. Really, what kind of a client could an editor expect from a writer who has broken the rules upon their very first contact? It's a trust issue, folks. 

Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated)
 
 

Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated) [Kindle Edition]

Chris Stevenson , Toni Zhang

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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Self-Published E-book riches. How?

Amanda Hocking, John Lock, Joe Konrath, Darcie Chan and Throwawaywriter, the list goes on and on--a veritable who's who in the self-publishing phenomenon, writers who have dismissed agents and publishers in favor of a unique trail-blazing experience in digital self-printing/publishing. Upload a formatted file and cove art, and you too can join the ranks of the digital rich and famous at Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, Kobo and other retailers. I'm all for the digital revolution. The projections are pretty favorable, since e-readers are currently being introduced to the classroom, including the Kindle Fire (color version) which is being adopted for the younger classroom age group. Digital sales are right around $870,000,000 at the present, and by the end of the 2013, they are expected to reach nearly 2-billion.

So what's the problem?

There's a major caveat to it, or several. It's great listening to all these success stories and seeing the screen shots of these incredible dollar figures, posted by the elite writers who have gone this route. But it's another thing knowing precisely how they gained and maintained these ranks to begin with. It's what they, sometimes, don't tell you that can land you in a bucket of shite. If you plan on going this route.

Content. The majority of these people have multiple books and short stories listed, or an incredible back-list. The more content you have, the larger your reading base, and this goes for series titles or standalone genre books and stories. Some of these writers have re-published their entire back-list and out-of-print books. Some have taken trunked novels, put a spit shine on them, and thrown them out there. Any short story that didn't hit the big leagues is fair game for an e-pubbed reprint. A noted exception is Darcie Chan, who has a one-book best-seller, but we'll get to that topic in a minute.

Platform. These writers, for the most part, have had running, active websites and blogs for months, if not years. Joe Konrath, and many others like him who had gone the "legacy" route, had enormous fan and readership bases from the very beginning. Non-celebrity writers, via their social networking skills, have accumulated hundreds, if not thousands of followers and subscribers on websites and blogs that were already in place. If your blog or website is getting several hundred or several thousand page-reads a day, and has been for a very long time, you're a great candidate for starting your own e-publishing business. If you have multiple, active blogs, your chances of selling e-books and stories are that much better.

Ads. Many of these e-pub success stories are the result of purchasing ad space or reviews, sometimes at considerable cost. One writer spent $475 on a Kirkus review, as well as ad space in several  mid-size to smaller genre publications. Some have hired publicity departments, while others have invested in blog tours and banner ads. All of this costs advance money, just to get the word out, with the hopes of recouping the costs with book sales. This is something that many of these successful self e-publishers won't tell you. Darcie Chan, at least, admits to this tactic, and the reason was to create buzz about her single title. So, if you don't have a huge website or blog following, are you prepared to toss a thousand dollars or more at this venture and hope for the best? Because if you're unknown, it will take approximately one year or more of solid social networking to get your name and your book/s titles out there in cyber space.

Driving rank up and self-purchasing. I've had several people propose that I drive up my sales rank by purchasing my own books. And you can do this and keep yourself in the top 100 best selling lists by making periodic self-purchases. Amazon, for example, doesn't care a wit about who is purchasing these books, only that they are being bought. Some writers enlist friends to purchase their titles in exchange for monetary compensation--a tit for tat type exchange. If you don't believe this is happening, you have your head in the sand. I've never done it, but I can imagine how well it could work if you have 99-cent e-book up for sale. What would keep you in the top 100 lists? Five bucks a day? Seven? You'd have to experiment to find out. But keep that up for 30 days, then you can claim such a "Best-seller" victory, and probably stay in the top 100 list because of the inertia that you've created.    

Time and labor. Anybody who thinks internet marketing and promotion is a gas, will wake up one day after a year (or several) and smell the Yuban. It's incredibly labor intensive and requires nearly all of your time, or at the very least, a half working day, just to maintain your sales momentum. Then there's the chores of writing and publishing new content to keep the fan monster fed and happy. Then it's right back to marketing and promo again, over and over and over again. You'll have write polite letters of introduction to book reviewers and blog hosts, waiting and hoping that you'll be given some pixel ink. Then you'll need to announce your reviews and interviews all over hell's half acre. Link-link-link. You'll will be your own sales force, unless you hire a publicity agent to do all of that for you.

After taking all of that into consideration, and these are just some of the major points, I'm considering self-publishing in the e-book format. But I'm tech illiterate and that is going to cost me for formatting and cover art. Another ching-ching. However, I am going to make sure I have a huge following, or at least a sizable fan base readership before I even attempt it. Can I or you get rich too? It's a crap shoot. If you have all of those points covered and realize what it takes to join the self e-publishing venture, you stand a great chance of making some money off your inventory and future-written books. But I would caution anyone considering this to go into it with your eyes wide open.

The Boy Scout motto is "Be Prepared." That applies tenfold to self-publishing in the e-book industry.
Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated)
 
 

Friday, March 2, 2012

My Favorite Review

Just a little break here in the regiment...I found a SF Review in my archives that nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was that good, in my opinion, save a few typos. I'd forgotten about. So I'm listing it here. I would encourage anyone who has such a review on your book to drop links to it when appropriate and feasible. This is the type of review I wish I had on Amazon. In fact, I'll contact my publisher and see what he thinks. I'll let you know what happens.

Planet Janitor

by Chris Stevenson

na Star Rating
a review by Antony, in the genre(s) science fiction
Planet Janitor Custodian of the Stars is a science fiction novel by Chris Stevenson.

The Planet Janitor Corporation are experts in the handling of environmental clean-ups and close system jumps to pick up precious ores and space trash, led by Captain Zachary Crowe they have won a number of accolades. They have also however also got a growing number of mishaps under their belt and as Bad news always shouts louder than good, they feel obligated to accept a clandestine operation that no one else wants, offering as it does more money than they could spend in three lifetimes.

The crew will lose 26 years on Earth due to the cryo jump, but that is the least of their problems. What they find on Tau Ceti will test their wits, and threaten their very survival.

I was discussing science fiction with a friend the other day who has recently caught the scifi bug and for him the interest began when I lent him a Philip K Dick novel. While he was reading small bits of information were given out but not explained, and he felt compelled to keep reading to find out just what it all meant. In that conversation the example was the novel "Flow my tears, the policeman said" where at the very beginning we are told "could it be because your a six?", and you just have to find out just what the heck a "six" is.

The hook here is the all very secret mission to a strange planet in the Tau Ceti system and that hook really does work, you just have to find out why they are being sent there and what will happen once they arrive. This takes up the first quarter of the novel, and then when you are there you again have to find out just what happened on the planet. The second half of the novel is given over to a faster pace with plenty of action as events unfold.

The science is very plausible based on current understanding and the author clearly has a good grasp of physics, I especially liked the "Bang Drive" which essentially detonates a nuclear bomb behind the ship to propel it forward at high speed. Most of the technology is just a few steps away from our own current tech and there is nothing really outlandish or unrealistic.

Planet Janitor is in many ways a hark back to the Golden age of science fiction, although clearly a science fiction story the novel is very much plot driven with tight descriptive narrative and interesting, likeable characters although these can seem a little two dimensional at times. You may be thinking that a rag tag group of misfits on board a creaky rust bucket spaceship may be a very well used trope, and you would be right but it doesn't detract from the exceptional quality of the novel, and the original, intelligent and thought provoking ideas the author throws at the reader.

The novel's got a great energy about it, but also an undefinable maturity that gives it that "Golden Age" feel. The cover art goes some way to re-enforcing this feeling, with a behemoth of a ship that looks very much like a beached whale lying on a clearly alien planet.

Planet Janitor Custodian of the Stars is an accomplished novel of immersive depth and imaginative scope, highly recommended.