Publishing--T-Rex vs the Raptors

The T-Rex seems to be facing off against the Amazon raptors. We have the commercially published dinosaur authors coming to the defense of the Big Six way of publishing and pricing as evidenced by the recent article featuring Jodi Picoult, who claims, in so many words, that self-e-publishing is allowing way too much crap to be listed for purchase on the Internet. The self e-publishers can be likened to the more agile and numerous raptors, circling the cumbersome Big Six T-Rex, taking nasty bites out of its exposed flesh. We can remember when the T-Rex was king and ruled the high plains with authority, chasing down its prey. That was until we learned just recently that it might have been a scavenger, a view that is held today about the ultimate destiny of the large publishing syndicates. Will the Big Six be left squabbling amongst themselves over the scraps that are left by the multitudes that are rushing to purchase cheap digital books and stories?

I'm not a math whiz, nor do I have volumes of facts and figures. I can only generalize about how I feel about the subject from a personal perspective. So let's examine both sides of the coin.

T-Rex  

I  find it extremely ironic that the Big Six claim that Amazon will become a ravenous monopoly if agented pricing is not allowed. I've seen the Big Six swallow up hundreds and hundreds of independent, small and medium-sized publishers over the past 25 years, making imprints out of them or ingesting them into their lines. How dare they make such a claim about Amazon and its strategy concerning pricing and distribution. Who has been the real monopoly here? Both of my medium-sized advance-paying publishers disappeared under the Big Six umbrella over a decade ago. If that isn't gate keeping and monopolization, what is? They've taken away submission opportunities from writers, not increased them. 

At the very least, e-books require about 10% less in cost to produce, and any publisher who has the audacity to price its e-books above the cost of a normal mass-market paperback, or beyond into the $20.00 range, deserves to fail miserably. And no, I'm not self-published. I'm commercially published and have an A-list agent. This is just pure greed on their part, attempting to hold up the stagecoach and rob the public for the coveted bestsellers, penned by all those famous brand-name authors we've come to know and love. I think it smacks of extortion. If you want that popular title bad enough, you'll empty your purse or wallet, and they know that.

The Big Six and the Dinosaur authors claim that before too long the Internet book vendors will be inundated with mountains of slush, crap, trash--books and stories unfit for human consumption. Great literature will be lost, diluted in the sea of amateurish prose, and difficult to weed out. They seem to think that readers will purchase blindly and end up with this flotsam, become dissatisfied and give up on reading entirely or blame the Big Six, or demand their money back or all of it. Actually, the Big Six are shaking in their boots, aware that they are posed to lose millions, if not billions of dollars because of a much lower price threshold, coupled with the convenience of purchasing digital copy online. Print is taking serious financial hits at the present. They are also neglecting to realize that the reading public is not really that undiscriminating and can tell bad prose from good prose by peeking at the pages offered from the Look Inside Feature. They're also aware that a publisher's brand name will mean absolutely squat when it comes to book purchasing.  Low prices and convenience trump publisher's brand.

Sure, the dinosaur authors will always rally around the huge or medium advances they receive as a testimony to the validity of their publishing house. But they'll not mention the 17.5% average royalty rate they're prone to get, as opposed to the optimum 70% for the self e-published author. T-Rex publishers have got book store and distribution going for them--you have to give them that. That's because they belong in the hierarchy, and are nearly the only houses who are privy to the most prestigious review sources and listings, like Kirkus and Library Journal. Publishers Market also has a tendency to announce new books primarily from the Big Six, and such books also routinely make the the country's top bestsellers lists.  

The Raptors  

The problem with the raptors is that there's so damn so many of them and their numbers are increasing daily. Anyone in sundry can self-publish digitally nowadays, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg. There's scores of programs and tutorials to help you format and create cover art for zero expense. Wam, bam, you're on Amazon, Ma'am. But oh my God, it's gonna be a jam! How in the name of hell are you going to bring attention to your title or titles, generate enough buzz, start a sales momentum and make some steady cash? Yeah, you hear about Rowe and Hocking and wish upon a star, believing if they can do it, then so can you. What you don't realize is how much work must go into this type of promotion and marketing campaign. It's a self-inflicted hell. And if you don't have a huge readership before you begin your self-publishing venture, you best take a few Motrin, go into a dark room, lay down and wait for these dreams avarice to pass. Seriously. You'll need a readership or fan base in place before you even get started. If you think you can play catch up and buy ads, hire a publicist, or invest in blog tours, you'll find yourself a broke, unknown writer at the speed of light. 

It doesn't stop with one book. To be successful at self-publishing digitally you'll have to have tons of books and stories, and you'll have to set up free trial periods for many or all of them, plus stagger the prices until you find their sweet spots. It's a business and you'll be monitoring it on a daily basis, plus trying to find the time to write more and more content. Hint: series work well for digital self-publishing, in a popular genre.

With more and more content comes the problem--the biggest problem of all--the EDITING problem. The faster you write and list on Amazon, the more chance you take in pasting incomprehensible slop in front of the public. If you're not an accomplished, pro editor who can handle structural, copy and proof editing, you'll have to pay for it. Editing is one of the most expensive costs in publishing. It can cost a buck a page from a friend who has experience, or five or $10 a page from a top-of-the-line contractor or service. When it's all said and done, will this book pay for itself in a year, two or five after you list it? What are you going to do about celebrity blurbs, pre-publication reviews and orders? Will you have to hire an assistant? Will you have the funds to do all of this, and risk it, knowing that you might not be compensated for your time and labor?

The good thing about the raptors is, is that the playing field has been leveled (somewhat) for the first time in the publishing industry. Books, any book, need not languish in a trunk or on their hard drive. Therein comes an amount of emotional satisfaction and accomplishment. Yeah, you can call yourself an author, since you certainly went through the moves from page one to the end. You'll reap more per book than the commercial authors, and you'll be totally in charge of every aspect of its production to its eventual sale. You will evolve into a brilliant sales person and financial wizard should you succeed. However, the odds are against you ever getting rich from this venture. It all depends on your expectations.

Whatever you decided, Good Luck!

But wait a minute, Chris. Where do you stand in all of this?

Well, the Big Six really never did anything for me. I'm not a raptor either. But I favor the little guy in this
case. 

SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DINOSAUR COMPARISONS IN RELATION TO PUBLISHING, MAY I BE SO BOLD AS TO INTRODUCE YOU TO A TRICERATOPS PUBLISHER WHO PUT OUT A WONDERFUL BOOK.

  

Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated) by Chris Stevenson and Toni Zhang (Kindle Edition - Jan 7, 2011) - Kindle eBook

Buy : $2.99

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HAS YOUR BOOK FLAT-LINED ON AMAZON?

Your book, story or series has flat-lined on Amazon. That means the rank is steadily climbing, which indicates no recent sales. When the rank bobs up and down over a period of days, it means you have sales activity. It's rather difficult to tell just how many sales, since a 150,000 drop can indicate only a single sale, and usually does. It does depend on the other author's books and how well they're taking off, at any given minute. If you do a fair amount of promotion and marketing every day or a few times a week, and have been doing so for months, you should see a regular roller coaster rhythm in your ranking status. For instance, for the past three months, I pretty much know where I rank on the average. My lows hit around 60,000 and then climb to about 235,000 before I see another dip. And this happens with regularity. My rough average is about 140,000 or so, give or take. You'll see much lower ranks (huge dips and higher sales) upon your book's release. Not talking about that. I'm talking about months of exposure and a consistent push campaign.  

It's also possible that you're doing really well and your rank is somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 on a consistent basis. For those of you who are ranking better than this, like in the top 100, or even top 10, I hate you and don't want to hear about it. But for us average folks who shamelessly flog our books and hawk-eye our Amazon book page, watching a steady increase (numbers rising) in rank and drop in sales is heart-crushing. I know that we shouldn't put too much into the rank thing, but let's face, we're addicted to it and no one is going to pry us away from our stats. Thank you very much. Right now, I'm at the high end of my coaster after about four days and it's beginning to worry me. If after a week I see no sales, I'll know that I'm approaching flat line. I can give it an extra promo and marketing push, doing all my regular links, articles, blogs, display site updates and forum participation, and yet if it has no effect I know I'm in trouble. I can redouble my efforts and still see no effect, and if this goes on for more than eight to 10 days or so, then I'll know I've officially flat-lined. If I haven't done any marketing or promo during or slightly before that time, I know that my book has no sales momentum and can't carry its own without my constant help

This most probably happens when you reach a saturation point. Depending upon how many resources you use (I use about seven or eight large sites or social networks), you get to the point where you've overstayed your welcome, or more precisely, you've introduced your book to the main population and made all likely sales to interested buyers. You only have so many friends on FB and Twitter. You only have so many blog followers-subscribers. You have a fairly finite population in your groups. And if you don't charge your batteries by joining new groups and discussions, you've reached your maximum audience. Of course, there will always be new members, but for the most part, you've roped in all of your potential customers. This can happen anywhere from 30 to 60 days after your debut on Amazon. Most books are bought during this period--when all the announcements and friend purchases hit at about the same time in the early stage.

A real good example of a book that's flat-line is my paranormal romance, Gate Walker:

 http://www.amazon.com/Gate-Walker-ebook/dp/B004GHN5BY/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336012258&sr=1-4

Gate Walker has been sitting there for years with no activity, in spite of me whipping up a huge campaign, loaded with interviews, reviews, press releases and display listings. The title and the cover art are substandard--there's a huge problem right off the bat. No reviews to speak of. And even when the publisher dropped the price to $.99 seven months ago, it still had no effect. I tried reviving it but it floundered just the same--no notice, interest or sales. That book is a true flat-liner. Nothing can resurrect it, short of pulling it from Amazon and starting all over again with new art and an captivating title. It's a shame--Gate Walker sold about 70 books and committed suicide right after the third month of its listing. It's actually a much more popular genre than my current SF book, which outsold it in one month. 

So what can you do to bring that corpse-like book back to life? Find new forums, new groups, and social sites. Add friends on Twitter and FaceBook every day, but keep your numbers down--a few members at a time adds to your little clubhouse. Have you written a romance? Join romance writing and reading groups. Same for SF and fantasy. Look for high group member populations--new people. Search the WWW--Google groups that cover your genre. You might try joining additional (general) writing groups, the one's who have large forums, thousands of threads and dozens of topics. Always follow your genre people, and look for those threads. Wherever you go, drop links to your Blog and website. Don't have a blog? Guh. Get one, make one. Pick a theme or topic and run with it, and blog frequently, at least every three days, or a every week if you're pressed for time.  List your book covers on your website and supply a blurb and reviews for each.

There are thousands of book review sites out there that will review your book for free and list it on their blog or review site. It might cost you an e-book, but it's well worth it. If the reviewer wants a print copy, just make sure their review site is legitimate and large enough to draw some serious traffic. Google lists that contain bloggers who love to interview authors. Write polite but enthusiastic letters to those hosts, explaining who you are and what topics interest you. Nine times out of ten, review and interview sites will direct the discussion around your book/s or stories.

Check out one of my older blog posts: E-Publishing on Amazon and How To Make It Work.

http://guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com/2012/03/e-publishing-with-amazon-and-how-to.html

Just remember, you can market and promote in your old sites, but if you're approaching flat-line, you'll have to go out there and find fresh faces--readers-writers who haven't met you, seen your blog, visited your website, seen your book pages, read your announcements or followed any of your links. Hint: when contributing to discussions in writers forums or in blogs, use a little levity. Yuk it up some. Writing is a deadly serious and oft time negative business, so when you can arrive on a scene and add a little humor to a topic, you'll find people gravitating toward you. You want them to Like-me-like-me-like-me!

                                       ______________________________________

Now the shameless plug. If you haven't found out what Planet Janitor is all about, forget Amazon. Check out the website and read the character profiles. A while back somebody (humorously) summed up my characters thusly: Two nerds, a boyscout, a dumb giant, a crazy bastard, a big-breasted matron, a virgin and a slut. See what you think, ha!

http://planetjanitor.com/Home.html

 

Have Metaphors and Similes--Will Travel

Similes and metaphors are literary devices that help you paint pictures and show visual images to the reader as an expression. Lots of  writers don't use them, or use them infrequently, but they can really add another dimensional depth to your prose, if done right and sparingly. Similes and metaphors can do wonders to enhance your trademark voice/style, and many of the greatest works of literature have and utilize these literary techniques. You'll often see them in works of poetry, stories and songs.

Now, a simile is used more as a comparison or approximation, and usually contains the words "like" or "as". Metaphors do not contain those words, and are more absolute in defining a subject. "The famished girl roared like a lion for an ice cream cone", would be a typical example of a simile, because it expresses a likeness or nearness. Metaphors are more of a statement or absolute, as appears in  the sentence, "The little girl is a fragile flower" or "The man was a dinosaur."

Now the trick is to place these little gems throughout your manuscript without being too obvious or over the top. "The fragile old woman flew through the shop door like a locomotive." Obviously this doesn't work since an old lady who is fragile would have a tough time flying through or to anything and, certainly, locomotives don't fly. Connect your word dots and make sure everything is in agreement and that the metaphor or simile agrees and supports a likely condition of the subject. I don't have a MFA degree in writing, but I have used some metaphors and similes to advantage and have been rewarded by some very positive comments. One example is below, and it's a bit thick with simile, but I got the tone and message across, then backed off for several pages. The thing is, if you are going to use metaphor and simile, carry it throughout the manuscript, using good balance and placement. Let it become part of your style/voice in the prose you write, and use it when it supports and really brings out a scene in 3-D imagery, affecting and heightening, if possible, multiple senses.

"She nudged the joystick, bringing the wheelchair up to the fringe of the jogging trail. Mr. Stud Cake was just making the S-turn on the path like a Standard bred pacer on the homestretch at Woodbine. She pulled the charcoal sketchpad from her side and set it on her lap. Just as the young man approached, she dropped the pad, letting it bounce twice on the grass. The handsome runner chirped to a stop, panting. He walked three steps, retrieved the pad from the grass and stepped up to the wheelchair. His eyes locked on hers for a brief moment before they panned down to her legs."

Can you spot the simile in the paragraph? Does it help you visualize the jogger and his running technique? He's kind of fast, even eloquent maybe, since the comparison is in reference to a racehorse on a track. "Mr. Stud Cake" might be seen as a metaphor, as well. Let's try another example further on in the text:

 

"It took him a while to process the insult. She could almost see the gears trying to mesh in his head, the synaptic nerves groping for contact, the tiny bulbs flickering. The guy's an off-brand computer, with a hard drive crash.  He backed away and resumed his position on the path. With a swagger, he crouched and kicked off. She watched him jog around the bend, mentally scratching him off her list. Next."

 We've made this guy an off-brand computer. He has an obvious mental defect, of course. That's a metaphor. Let's try another simile:

"The next prospect was a distant speck. Clearly, he was moving and sucking oxygen. Always a good sign. As he approached, she became aware that he was wearing an enormous, full-sleeved jogging suit. His arms flapped in spasms, kind of like a large pterodactyl trying to get airborne. His stride was crazy-legged, totally out of firing order. He appeared to run as much sideways as forward. She nearly laughed out loud but thought better of it. Instead, she felt somewhat sorry for him. It might have been his first experience at jogging. Diane was no stranger to barbs or insults. And even with a slung gut and knocked knees, wasn’t Seabiscuit hard on the eyes but chock-full of speed and heart?"

It's pretty obvious that I likened this runner to a clumsy pterodactyl, because he had a hard time trying to build up enough momentum to resume his jog. Experiment and try out a few metaphors and similes in your text. For as simple as they are, they can add a whole new tier to your writing style and imagery.  
Red-shifting otta here,

Chris

 

My Book and its Origins

This is kind of a freebie/promo post, obviously, but it also has some significance when we consider how we came up with our book ideas. I've heard people tell me that they get their ideas from their children, newspapers, movies, songs and dreams. It usually happens pretty quick. My story origins took 15 years or so before it took hold of my consciousness, and later my soul. If I had ignored any segment or facet of the plot or storyline, I doubt any of it would have come together.

Planet Janitor Custodian of the Stars did not suddenly spring forth from my forehead like Harry Potter did with J.K. Rowling. Sometimes ideas come to a writer in puzzle pieces over a long period of time. Such was the way this story gradually unfolded to me. It went something like….

I once heard an inventor friend of mine use the words, “Planet Janitor“ in describing a company he wanted to form that purified water through ionization. He thought the name had an environmentalist quality to it. That was 15 years ago. He never formed the company, but I never forgot the company name – it had a catchy, unique ring to it.

Fast-forward 15 years – I tried to come up with a Science Fiction tale that hadn’t been done before. I imagined some space travelers landing on a planet, where they ended up knee-deep in the bones of some giant alien species. The bone yard stretched for hundreds of miles in every direction.

The crew couldn’t fathom a catastrophe of such magnitude, a veritable genocide that seemed to wipe out the entire planet’s inhabitants. The most profound question amounted to what or who had caused such a global massacre. I imagined their ship was disabled upon landing, so they would eventually find out by unraveling a mysterious chain of events that would have them confront this unknown nemesis/killer. That idea stalled out for awhile.

A year later I read an article about the use of precious metals that were used in the construction of spacecraft, space stations and satellites. We’re talking about gold, silver, magnesium, aluminum, platinum and titanium. The article went on to propose that in the future, some lucky entrepreneur might be able to build a craft that could scoop up all of this wayward flotsam, and make a fortune with the reclamation. My mind wandered, thinking about asteroids that might contain precious metals, as well – kind of like a version of American Pickers IN SPACE.

It wasn’t until I put the three ideas together that I believed I had a plausible story arc. What if I had a crew who were adept at space trash salvage, but they had become so good at it that they mined rogue asteroids, and even ventured further out onto the spiral arm to visit small moons and planets. They’re notoriety would increase, and perhaps they might be hired on as private contractors to save some of Earth’s eco-systems. They would use some special skills that involved pyrotechnics, chemicals and high-tech machinery. Give them an old Russian ore freighter to scout the solar system and wahla! Those were my environmentalists – my planet janitors.

It wasn’t too far of a leap to imagine that this crew might have one last big job to perform before the captain and crew retired, since they’d obviously become quite rich, and a little famous. Then it hit me. Take them on the boldest mission ever, further out than they’d ever gone before. Take them so far out that their cyro sleep would advance the age of Earth’s inhabitants by 25 years – make their departure soul-wrenching, leaving loved ones and relatives behind.

That destination, of course, had to be the death planet I thought of upteen years ago. Blackmail the crew to get them there, sabotage their ship, give them no hope of ever returning, then assault them with the planetary killers. With no weapons, dysfunctional equipment, personality squabbles, betrayal, and dwindling resources, how could any crew manage to survive and make it back alive?

So, with that daunting plot, and in a vintage, old-school style voice and tone reminiscent of Robert Heinlein and Phillip Jose Farmer, I embarked on that journey and finished Planet Janitor Custodian of the Stars two years ago. It was the book that landed my second agent. Since then it has been rewritten and edited so many times, I get the shivers thinking about it. It sold to Engage Books of Vancouver, Canada, to a wonderful publisher/editor/friend of mine, Alexis. They spared no expense in the layout and format, including 26 interior illustrations and a custom-painted full color wrap-around lithograph cover.

I often think of PJ as a cross between Starship Troopers and Robinson Crusoe on mars. I’ve written 17 other books besides PJ, but for some reason this one will remain very near and dear to my heart. I was inspired in the very beginning of my writing career by the late, great Poul Anderson, who became my mentor. I also took many lessons from Alan Dean Foster, and remain a friend and admirer of his to this day.

Planet Janitor is available at Amazon, in hardback and Kindle editions. The Kindle price has been reduced to $2.99! The trade paperback edition will soon be released.

Planet Janitor also has its own website, courtesy of Engage Science Fiction: http://planetjanitor.com/Home.html

I can be reached at: Stevenson_333@msn.com

Are You Ready to Self-Publish?

I'm sure we've all seen the miraculous success stories in the e-publishing world, particularly at Amazon, and to a lesser extent, the other major online publishers. There's a heck of a lot of claims and names being dropped; lists of those who have sold or sell thousands of copies per month. Many of these writers have gone from rags to riches, as can be attested to by their popular blog posts and threads in the large writing groups. I admit that I've seen them, listened to their reasoning, tabulated their facts and figures, and come away from it scratching my head, but also feeling very envious of their sales and popularity. In spite of the naysayers, we are experiencing a revolution of sorts in the publishing industry, and the concept of self-publishing has racked up some pretty good credits and figures. It seems everyone who has failed to sell the conventional route or has just started out, are diving into this lucrative pool.  Even brand-name authors are jumping on this wagon with both feet and landing squarely.

I don't know about others, but I've had just as much difficulty and workload promoting and marketing my trade publisher's e-books, since they are now in direct competition with this flood of new initiates and entrepreneurs. Of course I'm reminded that I'm not pulling 70% royalty fees like they are. And I'm reminded of it every day. And maybe that's where the dollar signs are beginning to fog my judgement. It seems we never hear of the abject failures from those who have made this dive and come up with nada, or very little in the way of sales and readership. Oh, I've been tempted, all right. I've already set up relations with writers who will format me and supply cover art--for a pretty coin, or even a deal that I can stomach. But you've got to ask yourself a bank of questions before considering this publishing option.

Are you ready to expend cold, hard cash to have your books or stories formatted, edited and supplied with cover art, if you don't have this skill? Realize that you will be required to make this cost outlay right up front, without knowing if your book or story will ever sell. To anybody. If you're on a strict budget at the present, and this cost could sabotage your monthly payments, you would be wise to back off and wait until you have the capital.

Are you willing to be honest with yourself and claim that your book or story has gone through a vigorous structural, content and proof-reading stage, so that it appears professional, clean and easy to read? Or are you intent to risk ridicule and bad reviews, because YOU believe your words have been trimmed and polished and that the reader will not likely care or gloss over those types of mistakes? You're fooling yourself and cheating your reader if you think that publishing those pixels are going to, first and foremost, bring in gobs of cash in spite of the low quality, misspellings, goofs and errors. I can tell you that my trade publishers expended untold hours of editing that lasted months for each of my books. I don't have this editing concern.

Are you willing to expend 40 hours or more a week to a constant and unswerving promotion and marketing campaign? Creating your own buzz is hard enough, even when you have a publisher behind you doing everything in their power to get the word out and boost sales. If you self-publish, YOU are the publisher, the publicity manager, sales force, marketing manager, mail room lackey, and overall sales person. It all rides on you. How long do you think you can keep that up without pulling your hair out, and then researching new ways to create buzz after you experience several failures and dead-end roads? Oh, yeah, you'll have to adapt and research every day to find new markets and strategies, once you've exhausted your pool or worn out your welcome. You'll become a spam-bot, as I've nearly done, or have done. Then your popularity will decrease. For those of you on Broadband with limited gig usage, you'll have to watch your monthly tallies to make sure you don't run over your allotted usage.  You'll be googling and clicking on more websites than Carter has pills.

Are you ready for cutthroat competition? You won't be alone out there. You'll be in a sea of millions of writer/authors who have the same mind-set you do--sell thousands of copies to the general reading public. One of two things will happen: either you will start off with a bang and gain an impressive readership and sales, then find an increasing momentum, or you will be lost in that sea of millions of books or stories, and experience lackluster sales or no sales at all. Then panic will set in and you'll be forced to stoop or adopt to chicanery or some fly-by-night method of advertising, promoting and marketing that might not be aboveboard. Desperation drives many to think up new schemes and ideas on how to get their book or story front row and center. The display sites are full of self-publishers, all of them jockeying for position.

Are you ready to undercut your competition's prices? And I do mean slash and burn. If everyone decides to beat the competition by lowering their books to $.99, then the playing field has been leveled and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. You'll exist in a sea of millions of $.99-cent e-books. Once the typical reader understands that these $.99-cent books are primarily put out by self-publishers, they'll become aware of the quality issues associated with them and give them the pass, which is already starting to happen.

If you decide to self-publish e-books or digital shorts, make sure you know what you're getting into--that means all ducks in a row. If you have a non-fiction book that appeals to a large niche audience, let it fly. Your chances of success with NF are far greater than fiction. How popular is your genre right now? Does it stand a good chance for sales? Just me, but I would not e-publish a collection of short stories unless I had a built-in readership. I would not e-publish an autobiography or a memoir, or poetry. Horror and westerns are not real popular, so think twice about them. Romance, erotica, fantasy, YA, some SF, and thrillers seem to hold their own and do very well.

Whatever you decide, be prepared for a long and arduous journey with self e-publishing. It won't be easy. Perhaps one day, we'll be reading about you on that top 1,000 list--a writer who went from rags to riches.

     

The Small Press Stigma

I'm pretty damn sure we all desire publication with one of the Big Six giants, anticipating all the bells and whistles that go with it. I'm talking about nice advances, distribution and book store placement, as the greatest benefits. Fame, friends and eight-by-tens naturally follow, to some degree or another. It usually takes an agent to get to that threshold, so if you're having dreams of avarice, start your search for an agent now. Some of us, who've had an agent or multiple agents, and have been at this writing gig for years or decades, might still be on the want for such a contract. Although, I can truly say that I did have big publication 20 or more years ago, and did catch my share of limelight. It was only until I picked back up on writing again seven years ago that I desired that once notorious position--you know the one that claims you're only a real writer if you publish with one of the big NYC houses. Or one of the out-of-state independents who furnish the same nice advances, distribution and book store placement.

Instead, here I am, and maybe you too, published with some small press outfit that offers POD (print on demand) or e-book format, or a combo of both. Dawg knows we're trying, and often seeing our friends and peers make that NYC publishing leap without us. We cheer them on from the sidelines, but at our core, we're crying, feeling defeated and left out. We're not real writers. We don't get that advance, distribution or book store placement. We might sell 75 to 200 books in a year, whereas our successful  friends (the real writers) are selling 7,500 to 20,000 copies or much more. We don't get get the same trade reviews and hype they do. We certainly don't get the same respect or notoriety. Even agents can take a very dim view on an author who has published with a POD house, and who shows double digit sales. However, there are those writers out there that are perfectly happy with small press publication, and feel it is a great accomplishment--and so it is. For those who strive for more, it's not nearly enough after the initial shine has worn off.

I'm beginning to think that I'm one of the kings of small press. I've torn up or refused more small press contracts than I've signed. Nine rejected and five published. You can do the math. The problem going with small press time after time, is that you begin to realize that you're on a dirt road to nowhere. It might take you six months to a year to write, edit and polish a manuscript. Then when it's bought and hits the sales rack (virtual sales rack, mostly), your compensation amounts to less than a hundred dollars, or more if you're lucky and have a popular genre and a great story. If you've come out in trade paperback, you've probably participated in the conference route or book-signing adventure, where you might have sold a dozen copies or so. You've wasted shoe leather, spent money on ads, promo materials like book marks, posters and banners, and driven qawd- awful distances, which cost you a pretty penny in gas and time. You might have taken out expensive ads in slick magazines or local newspapers. You've probably donated copies to your local library--they certainly won't order it because they never saw you listed in Kirkus or the Library Journal.

So, it is a stigma, isn't it? About the only thing that small press can teach you is how to edit via track changes, how to promote your ass off and hawk-eye your Amazon rank every day, unless you have a publisher who only sells from their website (then you're in real trouble).

Then we have the other side of the coin. Some of the best editors are in the small press field, either as house editors or professional contractors. So you do have that going for you, especially if multiple editors are involved, content/structural/proof types. Chances are your story will be the better for it after going through a gauntlet of small press eyes. You can learn about the insides of the industry and how long it takes a book to materialize from the printed word until it reaches a bunch of printed words slapped between a glossy cover. You'll have a book that your friends and family can purchase, read and enjoy. So it's not all bad.

But there comes a time to turn mother's picture to the wall, figuratively speaking, and get the hell out of small press. If you haven't got an agent, get one. Hold out for an agent who reps the type of book you write, and has real sales to back it up. This is, of course, if you are unhappy with where you're at in your career. You might have a small press series or trilogy bringing in some major attention and sales. Stay if you feel comfortable. But if you're not kicking up your heels, make that major move to an agent who can help you make that major, recognized sale. Although we don't like to admit it, realize that small press is looked upon as the minor leagues. If you've learned everything you can from these publishers, and seem to be stuck in a rut, move on.

Are small press books looked upon as professional credits? Here there be dragons, as far as an answer. Most agents I've talked to believe that small press publication is an award or minor professional accomplishment. There are some who adamantly revile them. Honestly, when have you ever heard of an agent submitting to a royalty-only paying small POD press? It just doesn't happen. In a best case scenario, you can always hold out for the best small press deal you can get, or hit the brass ring of small press. For e-books, Elloras Cave and Samhein come to mind, for instance. You'll have to search diligently. There are small press POD outfits out there that pay anywhere from a $100 to $2,500 advance. I've been on the receiving end of such offers. So it's not impossible.

Consider small press publishing as a trial and learning experience. You are the only one who knows when it's time to graduate. Don't languish in small press just because it makes you feel good to have that book in your hand, or your appearance on your own Amazon, Kobo, or B&N pages. Make the move before that stigma becomes a deadbeat millstone around your neck. I've made the move. The only thing I have to do now is let my agent handle it and write better books.

But I will say this, never, ever let anyone tell you that you're not a real writer because you've published with small press. It can actually be more difficult to be accepted in some of the best small press out there. You did something very right and have come a long ways. Learn your craft and keep improving.

NOW IN DEFENSE OF THE PRODUCTION QUALITY OF SMALL PRESS, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO PLANET JANITOR. SEE BELOW:

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What's the New Self-publishing Trend?

I think we're all aware of the self-publishing e-book trend that is taking the industry by storm at the present. It really had it's beginning roots in POD (print on demand), which really began to take off over a decade ago. The technology allowed just about anyone to set up a publishing company and print books to order, rather than using the more expensive offset, which requires some hefty capital upfront to print hundreds, if not thousands of books. Amazon and other vendors came along with a process by which any writer/author could format their books electronically and list them for sale online, while giving up a percentage of the cut. As a result, we are seeing a tidal wave of new authors, a veritable blitzkrieg of material hitting the electronic marketplace. Everything, it seems, it fair game: poetry, scripts, fan knockoffs, public domain, non-fiction, novels, memoirs, short stories, novellas and novelettes.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), depending upon how you look at this trend, the end is not in sight. In my opinion, it can only get worse, with the addition of millions of more books vying for attention in an already crowded marketplace. One of the biggest industries that has resulted as an offshoot of e-book self-publishing has been the emergence of small and large companies who provide formatting and cover art services. These services can range anywhere from $79.95 on up to $400 and more. Equally compelled to take advantage are the marketing, publicity and promotion outfits that offer packages designed to create a buzz and get your books reviewed and noticed, by literally spamming the WWW. The alternative to making these types of investments, of course, lies with the writer-author who wishes to handle the preparation, editing, and marketing themselves, which is a full-time job, by the way, with no guarantees that they will sell enough books to recoup their invested labor time. And you can take it from me, promoting and marketing a book is a full-time job that will have you pulling your hair out and stealing your valuable writing time.

I've seen and heard self-publishers, time and time again, proclaim that the path to sales is not necessarily story quality, but the amount of material that you can list. Quantity equates to more sales. Forget two or three books that are written and edited well, with compelling plots and memorable characters. Ten books, with so-so editing and slipshod formatting, will apparently out-sell the two or three of better quality. Twenty will outsell ten, and thirty will outsell twenty. It's a numbers game, and books are falling into a deep pit, which has them indistinguishable from nuts, bolts, and carburetors. Book are becoming, not works of art or entertainment, but faceless products. The more you have for sale—the more you get in return. It's very close to the Wall-Mart K-Mart mentality.

I'm going to look into my crystal ball and make a next big-trend, self-publishing forecast. Or, at least, a big sub-trend forecast. Let's say we have an author with several trunked novels or stories sitting on their hard drive. All attempts of publishing these trunkers have met with rejection from all publishers. They're dead, hogging up megabytes on the computer. Let's also assume this author has no desire to re-edit, format and create cover art for these titles, nor does he-she wish to pay for those services. These works of literature are just products to an energetic e-publisher, correct? So what's to stop this author from selling these trunked books and stories for a flat rate, to someone who wants to add inventory to their e-published list? All that's required is to officially release the rights to the material, so the new owner/author can add, subtract, modify and re-edit the material to their heart's content. The buyer can change the title, by-line, character names, or even revamp the plot. They'll have that right, since they officially own the property.

The books and stories are just products, remember? Something to be sold on the internet. Who cares who wrote it. If the buyer can easily format, edit and provide cover art for minimal outlay, how can they lose? More is better, right? It's almost like buying out a storage bin and reselling the objects. How much would you charge to sell a trunked novel or short story? A couple hundred bucks for an average novel might double or triple your money, if you slapped it on Amazon with some catchy cover art and a solid tag line. Conceivably, you might end up with a best-seller on your hands, from a book you didn't even write.

Kind of sad to look at this type of trend catching on (hope you're catching my sarcasm). But how much of a stretch is it, when you consider what's happening now? Can you imagine small companies soliciting trunked books and stories in bulk quantities, for the sole purpose of re-packaging and reselling them on the internet? It's not as far-fetched an idea as you would think, considering the glut of the printed word that is presently being listed. 

I think we're already in trouble as far as literature losing its creative expression and uniqueness. But if we see this type of commercial mentality take hold, you can bet that we can bid farewell to the publishing industry and meaningful literature as we know it.

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

Chris Stevenson (Author), Toni Zhang (Illustrator)

4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) | Like (8)

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Digital List Price:	$2.99 What's this?
Print List Price:	$29.95
Kindle Price:	$2.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save:	$26.96 (90%)

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Length: 372 pages Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Kindle Edition	$2.99		--	--
Hardcover	$29.95		$25.93	$22.91

Is Manuscript Bouncing Okay?

There is nothing ill to be said about bouncing from one manuscript to another. But writing multiple manuscripts simultaneously can present some real problems Ever heard of term “50-page novel?” We've all had false starts, sometimes as many as a half dozen or more. Or we have an archive filled with 20, 30, 50-page novels. They all have their place in our writing career, since they were all born out of the same drive and inspiration. Each and every one seemed to be a good or even great idea at the time. Then one or two them loose their luster and you find the initial excitement has diminished. Yet you are not compelled to toss any of them away. So you bounce from one manuscript to the other, writing a few pages on one, finishing a chapter on another, or compiling notes for yet another.

Stop.

If you're dividing your time between two manuscripts or more and don't seem to be making any headway, it's because you're probably not. You're beginning to feel like a master of none and a jack of all trades. You start one and it bores you. You change to another, looking for that lost thrill. It isn't there so you return to the original. This flip-flopping is confusing, time-consuming and depressing. You can solve the dilemma. Evaluate each of your projects by asking yourself several questions and analyzing your feelings.

Will this manuscript steal you away from the others? How so?

Does this story have the most unique and original premise?

Is this the type of book you would like to read?

What do your beta readers think?

Do you feel comfortable writing this tale, and do you find the tone, pace, genre and POV a good fit for your mood at this time?

What characters appeal to you the most and do you feel comfortable and at ease in their world?

Are you excited with the idea of crafting a special world in this story?

After you read several pages, are you easily drawn in and eager to add to the storyline?

You have to listen/feel for that magic, and a lot of it is gut instinct. The right story/book will flag itself. And I stress a single story. Hint: if you find yourself in a white-hot fit of inspiration and typing agility, go hard and fast, for surely that is the one that wants to hog your time.

Stories are like unruly children vying for your attention. Some are loud-mouthed, some are shy and timid, looking at you with soulful, watery eyes. Consider which one makes you feel happier when your in it. Consider which one seems more commercial. Consider which one is more mapped out and would be an easier trek. Hard choices. If you are comfortable biding your time between multiple manuscripts, and you can multitask, go ahead and give it a whirl. There's nothing wrong with it, if you truly have the talent to give each one the individual attention it requires.

I find that if I divide my attention between different story arcs and characters, I tend to dilute the overall execution of all of them. To keep me on target with one book, after I've settled on it, I copy the books/stories to a flash drive and erase the originals from my files. I'm then less likely to dive back into them, read them out of curiosity or play around with newer ideas. This gives me the impetus to stay focused and finish one project at a time, before I even think about starting or continuing with the next.

That's really the secret to good productivity—finishing one project at a time, slugging it out in the trenches, solving plot problems then and there, editing as you write, but spending all your time on that project. Until it's finished. Then start your questions and analysis all over again, and begin anew.

But just keep writing, even if it is touch and go from one to another. Heck, if you are a true multitasker, they eventually might all get done!

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

Chris Stevenson (Author), Toni Zhang (Illustrator)

4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) | Like (8)

---

Digital List Price:	$2.99 What's this?
Kindle Price:	$2.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

---

Length: 372 pages Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Formats	Amazon Price		New from	Used from
Kindle Edition	$2.99		--	--
Hardcover	$29.95		$25.94	$22.91

E-Publishing With Amazon and How to Make it Work

A few writers have asked me how I published and marketed on Amazon Kindle. This is only my experience, and can probably help the trade or self-e-published author.




My publisher suggested I write a prequel short that ties into the novel. I don't know where he got the idea, but he must have been studying Amazon or reading Konrath or something. Since the novel was a space faring adventure, where the crew performs "missions", it was an easy concept to grapple with and produce. He called it our "sacrificial lamb", because he intended to list it free as many times as we were allowed--something like five times or so in a 90-day period? I forget the maximum free download times. Then he would switch it over to a .99 price point and let it hang by its neck.

Our first free trial pulled about 650 takers, not a real big number. But after it went to cost (.99) the book sales spiked in the top 100. Sales started rolling in. When book sales started leveling off--he listed the short free again. Boom. Spike.

He tried changing the book price from $1.99 to $2.99 then back again over a period of couple of weeks. Another small spike. Then he offered the book for free (over a weekend, I think), and when it came back on cost, it hit another rank spike. So he staggered the free trials between the short and the book back and forth, until ultimately our free trials were used up. But the short started selling all by itself, something like 1 to every 4 books, which was kind of a pleasant surprise. Imagine your short having a slap-fight with your novel for position!

Just in the last 13 days we've had something like 85 sales between the two, the majority of them books. Nothing to write home about, until you consider that the book came out in hardback first and flat-lined after 18 sales over a period of 11 months. Absolutely terrible. Since the book went e-book three months ago, and the short was put up only a month ago, it's sold hundreds of copies. We're still waiting on Kobo and some other online vendor numbers.

So, yeah, a tie-in short to your book makes things really happen. Seriously, I don't/won't pull the money that a self-published author does because I split the proceeds with my publisher. But still...

I went right to work on the second short and just turned it in. My publisher will edit it, format it and publish it on Amazon. Then we'll do the "stagger" thing again. Honestly, I think we can produce and list about five to six more prequel shorts to milk the Amazon system for everything it can give us. Then comes time for the real work--the full length sequel. Wash, rinse repeat.

I couldn't tell you what a standalone short would do. Just experiment and stagger the free trial periods. My first short was 6,500 words, and this second one is 8,500 words. I don't think I would go any lower than 5,000, just for personal reasons.

Did this help my my other genre trade and e-book sales? Nope. My paranormal romance picked up one sale through all this. So from my perspective, not many readers will check out your other genres unless you're pulling some huge sales numbers. I've pigeon-holed myself in SF for the time being.

I'm mini-me compared to some of the other e-book authors who really have the formula down pat. I'm very late to this game--even my blog is brand new, trying to catch up with all these others. But I do market-slut myself every day--places like the Blogs thread at my favorite writing group, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Book Blogs, Goodreads, and all those damn YADS sites, and as many interview and review blogs as I can participate in.

How long does it take to build up inertia and see good results? In my case, it took three months. YMMV.


PJ IS HOLDING AT $1.99 FOR THE TIME BEING. IT IS ALSO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON KOBO AND FROM MY PUBLISHER'S SITE, ENGAGE BOOKS. DON'T MISS THIS SPECIAL OFFER.

Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated) by Chris Stevenson and Toni Zhang (Kindle Edition - Jan 7, 2011) - Kindle eBook

Buy: $2.99

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Are We Seeing the Demise of the Advance?

Are we headed for a No-advance publishing Industry? I'm talking about all these print-on-demand (POD) companies that are masquerading as traditional publishers. With the advent of POD, we've seen a proliferation of amateur printers hanging out their shingles, crafting attractive websites, writing glowing mission statements, and proclaiming that they are "traditional" royalty paying publishing houses. We've had about what, 10 to 15 years of this? 

These POD printers often convey lofty ideals that appeal to dreamers, the rejected, the hopeful or newbie writers. Without doubt, most of these pub outfits are run as hobbies in garages or spare bedrooms, with limited staff and resources. Many of them went through Lulu or iUniverse to publish their own tomes and decided they liked the idea and had enough business savvy to open their doors to fledgling writers. They enlisted their friends and family members to help out with book cover art, editing, shipping and mailing.  Or they hired professionals and provided a commission-sharing royalty agreement.

Presto, we have a publisher!

Not.  Many of these people usually have little or no experience in the commercial trade and don't belong there. They offer higher royalty percentages (they claim), but what they don't tell you is that those percentages are often based on net sales, or the profit they actually receive. No advance means a very low start-up cost. If they request that an author supply them with a large list of friends and relatives, you can bet that they know purchases from THAT source will compensate them for their initial print order, typically moving about 75 to 100 books. What's their initial print order? However many free copies they promised the author, usually 2-5 copies, and rarely more than a dozen to satisfy online vendors.  There will be no large print runs with a POD operation. Unless...they have procured dozens of advance-purchase orders.

First-time authors are so enamored with their books that they'll gladly lay down hundreds of dollars for crates of their own product. They can commission them off to book stores, sell them at conventions, speaking engagements and out of the car trunk. And those that do make these large outlays? congratulations! You have just become that publisher's unpaid sales force. Now they're raking in profits from the sale of your book back to you, less their printing cost. The game plan for these micro-PODs is to print as many authors as possible in a given month or year--quantity over quality--the K-mart mentality. And this is serious "author mill" territory.

Where is their incentive to offer you an advance now?

Look folks, an advance is a publisher's faith and conviction in a book that they expect to sell to the general reading public. They determine potential sales by mapping out extensive, complicated profit and loss spreadsheets. They fully expect to see their books shelved in brick and mortar bookstores, and can deliver them because they use off-set technology, allowing them to deliver warehoused inventory at a moments notice. They send out dozens or hundreds of review copies to legitimate trade reviewers. This is the way it's handled in the big leagues. 

An advance also confirms to the writer that they are being professionally dealt with, and this money offers the author a little leeway and time for them to write their next book. It's also validation--trust. An advance-paying publisher almost always uses an offset print run. Offset is much cheaper to produce thousands of copies. An advance-paying publisher employs/utilizes hard-mail color catalogs, has a trade show presence, retail and advertising budget, a publicity manager (bet you didn't know that), radio, TV and newspaper sources, and a real sales force that bangs on the doors of distributors, wholesalers and book stores. They rarely, if ever, ask for any list of friends and relatives. Author copies number in the dozens and the author discount is always up in the 40% bracket or better.

I can't think of more than 20 to 30 major publishers in my genre that provide an industry standard advance, starting at about $5,000. There are a few dozen (maybe) who offer a few hundred dollars to a couple grand. But there are thousands who are offering zero. The Zero people, I like to call them, think that they are revolutionizing the industry, fixing something they believe is inherently broken, saving money by lowering production runs, and leading the way into the next millennium. They are quick to proclaim that they are ready to get behind a book that proves itself. The trouble is, none of the books reach this milestone. Why? Because there was no advance and promotion/marketing budget.  Remember the Zero people rely on quantity.  An author might sell 100 copies in six months, but 100, 200, or 300 authors who sell 100 books can rake in some serious cash for the publisher. 

A meaningful advance means a publisher is serious about entering the book trade business. It means they have enough clout, prestige, and confidence in their ability to MOVE product.   It means libraries and bookstores will take them seriously, because they will receive the best discounts and quality books. It means the publisher has a real address, is working full time, and houses enough professionals to get the job done. An advance-paying publisher BELIEVES in you, the author and your book.

The Zero people have vision problems, as well as financial ones. They claim that once they are solvent things will change. The problem is, things never have to change when the profit is so good. Things can't change, really. It all goes back to that money thing again, the same reason why they didn't offer an advance in the first place--too much investment. It's just too easy to take the financial risk from the publisher and slap the author with it. It's much safer that way.

So the next time you receive a contract from a publisher who does not pay an advance, has no marketing or distribution, pays on net, asks you for a friends and relatives list, doesn't do offset or even qualify for Ingrams, all you have to ask them is, "Are you serious?"

But you'll already know the answer to that, won't you? Well, won't you?

WHAT'S A BANG POD DRIVE? ARE THEY ANYTHING LIKE A NUCLEAR SAIL DRIVE? WHY DO THEY CALL ROBOTIC AUTOMECHS SMART BOMBS? HOW DO YOU STEAL AN INHABITED PLANET? FIND OUT HERE:

Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars (Engage Science Fiction) (Illustrated) by Chris Stevenson and Toni Zhang (Kindle Edition - Jan 7, 2011) - Kindle eBook

Buy: $1.99

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