by john | Aug 20, 2011 | Appearances, Business of publishing, Travel, Vampires, Writing
Well folks, here we are a hair more than two weeks after the release of Knight Moves, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The new book has already broken 500 copies sold, a figure that’s unheard of for me in the first month (or several) of a book’s release, and with a promo blitz going on this weekend thanks to The Bookish Snob, I think we’ll see that carry through the rest of the month. So here I’ve got a few announcements and a couple of updates for all of you.
Firstly, for the folks who still love paper books – yes, Knight Moves will be available in print. The proof copy has shipped, and if history is any indicator, it should get here Monday or Tuesday. I’ll look over the proof and try to get some copies in hand for Dragon*Con. I won’t have many with me, unless this THING happens that I’m trying to schedule. If the THING goes off, then I’ll probably get 40 copies or so to tote with me. Watch this space for more info on the THING.
But if you’d like a signed copy, and live in the US, you can order yours here. Just click the PayPal button and let me know who to inscribe the book to, and I’ll send it right along. NOTE – books will not ship until after the Labor Day holiday. But $15 will cover shipping and a signed copy of the book. If you live in the Charlotte area, and want to pick the book up, you can click the pick up option. You can do the same thing if you want to pre-order a copy for Dragon*Con (this would really help me know how many books to carry).
As always, the book will be available for $10 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever books are sold. I’ll also be doing a signing in October at The Last Word, a cool used bookstore here in Charlotte, so hopefully some of you folks will come out and say hello to me then.
And for my friends across the pond – I know you currently can’t get my books in print outside the US. I would love for that to change at some point, but I don’t really know how. So if you’d like to see my stuff over there, tell your friendly neighborhood bookstore to pressure the publishers to buy my international rights. Or stop by North Carolina on your next intercontinental vacation. We’ve got good sweet tea!
by john | Aug 18, 2011 | Business of publishing
Blame Kris Rusch and her excellent blog for this post. Kris writes one of the best business of writing blogs out there, and if you desire a career in this business and aren’t reading her stuff, you’re probably missing opportunities. But anyway, that’s irrelevant here, except that she mentioned Yog’s Law in a recent post, and it inspired this rant. So…sorry about that
Yog’s Law, simply put, states that “money flows to the writer.” Traditional publishing companies and writers use this anthem to decry shady business practices by vanity presses and unethical agents, and in those cases it is very valid. If an agent charges a “reading fee” to look at your manuscript, they’re not a real agent, they’re a scam artist getting paid to read books. Agents get paid to sell books. When you make money, your agent makes money. Same as a sports agent or an actor’s agent. None of these people get a thin dime if their client isn’t working. That’s one reason agents have more than one client — so they don’t starve!
And the statement used to be just as valid in the publishing world. Unscrupulous vanity presses trying to pass themselves off as legitimate publishers would come up with fees for all sorts of things that publishers typically do for their authors for free, like editing, layout, formatting, cover art, etc. These are red flags when dealing with a publisher – if they want you to pay for these things, and you’re an author, then you’re not dealing with a publisher, you’re dealing with a crook.
But the world is different now. I say that a lot, because we’re living in the flippin’ future, people! Seriously, my cell phone has more computing power than the machines that put men on the moon! So the world is different, and the usual laws don’t always apply in the same ways.
Or do they?
Does Yog’s Law still apply just as firmly as it used to?
Yes. But in the case of a self-published author it’s important to understand that sometimes the PUBLISHER has to spend money so that the WRITER can make money.
And those people often inhabit the same body. That’s where the wicket gets all sticky. As a self-published author, or even someone just reading about and paying attention to self-publishing, you need to understand that there are times when you wear the writer hat, and times when you wear the publisher hat. When I’m ripping apart Return to Eden: Genesis next month, I’ll be wearing my writer hat. When I just paid a guy to redo all the covers for my Black Knight Chronicles books, I was wearing my publisher hat.
Yes, money should flow towards the writer. But sometimes the publisher has to pay for things. And those two roles may be fulfilled by the same person. So whenever you hear someone toss around “money flows towards the writer” just understand that they haven’t thought through the fact that sometimes you’re the writer, collecting the coins, and sometimes you’re the publisher, spending them.
by john | Aug 16, 2011 | Business of publishing
Yeah, I know it’s redundant, get over it. Here’s my point – if there’s one thing to be gained by pursuing traditional publishing, and I think there’s more than one, but that’s beside the point – if there is only one thing to be gained by pursuing traditional publishing, a thick skin is certainly it. I’ve recently seen several self-published authors either go batshit crazy at a bad review and flame the world, or make some stupid comment on a message board, get hammered for it and then storm off in a huff (or in tears).
I really have only one thing to say to those folks – life’s tough, wear a cup.
No, really. Life is hard, and art is hard. And putting yourself out there for public consumption isn’t just opening yourself up for criticism, it’s inviting crticisim. It’s begging for it!. Trust me, I’ve spent the last two decades (and more, but I might be a little touchy about just how old I am given my recent anniversary of my first trip around the sun) putting myself out there in the public eye. And I’ve gotten hammered for it. And sometimes I’ve gotten accolades for it. And then I’ve gotten hammered for it again.
But I chose this life. I chose to be an actor. I chose to be a writer that publishes. I chose to have a blog with my friggin’ name on it. I don’t write under a pseudonym. I don’t blog under an alias anymore. I stand in front of everyone, me, one fat redneck writing about fairies and vampires and things that go BUMP in the night. And I read too many comics, drink too much and fart too loudly in public. And I write about all of it on the internet. And sometimes I say stupid things in a workshop and hurt someone’s feelings. And sometimes I say too much on a topic and people get mad at me. And sometimes I just look stupid.
And it’s all my fault and I fucking deal with it.
But that seems to be lacking in some of my self-published brethren and sistren – the ability to take the consequences of their actions. Not all of them, mind you. The more professional authors behave, well, as professionals. I know, shocking, right? It’s probably not a surprise that some of them are the people who sell a shit-ton of books. Because they approach everything with the same level of professionalism, from book covers and editing to behavior on message boards.
So I posit that going through the years of rejection typical in the traditional publishing world does a few things for writers that self-publishing does not. First, it builds up a thicker dermis. After dozens of people tell you that your work isn’t good enough, or marketable enough or whatever, you either give up or you toughen up. And either way, you don’t get your panties in a twist about a bad review. Because either you’ve quit before anyone ever reviews the drivel that you put out there, or you’ve toughened up enough to take it.
And there is inherent in that first thing another thing that traditional publishing does for us – weeds out the pansies. Now I like pansies – in a vase. But I don’t like them cluttering up my kindle, or my iPad, or my bookshelf. If you aren’t tough enough to handle a bad review, or someone calling you out on your bullshit on a message board, then be Emily friggin’ Dickinson and put all your crap in a trunk to be released after your death. Because I don’t have time for you.
But if you’re willing to own your mistakes, if you’re willing to take your lumps and get right back up, if you’re willing to say “My bad. I fucked the pooch on that one,” then I’m right here with you. I’ll link arms with you as we skip down the yellow brick road of fuckups together, and I’ll help you up when you fall on your face. I might even loan you a hanky.
</rant> Thanks, I feel better. And I’m sure I’ve hurt someone’s feelings with this rant. And I’m sure there are people out there saying “but but but I don’t do that!”
If that’s your first reaction – then obviously you do.
More updates from the first month of Knight Moves coming soon, and I’ve got a special guest post coming this week, too!
by john | Jun 15, 2011 | Business of publishing
I’m a little tired of them, too. But it’s still a big question. I was reading Nathan Bransford’s blog this morning and he has a poll asking people what they think an ebook should cost. Well, here’s my greedy, whorish, completely money-grubbing response to that question.
An ebook should cost whatever makes the author and publisher the most money. If that means $2.99 maximizes sales without costing profit, then it should cost $2.99. If that means $4.99, then it should cost $4.99. If the most beneficial sales quantity v. revenue per sale price point is $14.99, then a book should cost $14.99. I personally feel like about $5-7 is about right for most ebooks. But that’s my opinion, and means nothing to anyone but me.
But here’s my suggestion to the big publishing houses for a pricing schedule that I think would make most people, if not happy, then at least less whiny than they are now.I have a theory that there should be a sliding scale for ebook prices (and I’m totally stealing this from someone, but I can’t remember who, so forgive me) based on release date. Since it is a lot quicker to get ebooks into stores than hard copies, let’s look at a release calendar like this.
We shall assume a Hardcover release, and a hardcover price of $25.
$30 – 1st Tier – Pre-Release – Sneak Peek – Exclusive Subscriber Release – Whatever you want to call it – This is for the TRUE FANS of an author, the people who stand in line on release day and pay full retail for a book. They pay a premium to be the early adopters, and will happily pay a few bucks extra to know what happens before anyone else.This comes out 1-2 weeks before the hardcover release. Early, but not so early that all the spoilers are out to wreck the HC release.
$20 – 2nd Tier – Timed to coincide with the Hardcover release date. This price is 20% off the HC price, and is for the people who are hungry for the release, but not quite as hungry as the top 1% of fans.This price also won’t hold for long, just for the first few weeks of a book’s life when the biggest marketing push is in effect.
$9.99 – 3rd Tier – As soon as the HC gets remaindered, about 90 days after release. This is where the bulk of sales will land for ebooks, because it’s a significant dip from the HC price, and the mass market paperback isn’t out yet. There may be a $12-15 price in between these Tiers if there is a trade paperback release.
$6.99 – Or whatever matches the Paperback price. This coincides with the paperback release, and matches the paperback price for the first few weeks/months of a paperback release.
$4.99 – Whenever the paperbacks get shipped back to the publisher. Once the bulk of the books are stripped and returned, then the bookstore price is dead for the most part, so make what you can.
$2.99-$3.99 – One year after release, or when the next book in a series comes out. This will feed the series and help the next title.
This is just what I think people might want to look at doing, and just for big releases that are going to get a HC run. If you’re not going to get a HC run, then drop a $10-12 pre-release book a couple weeks before the paperback release, drop the price to match the paperback once it hits, then follow the latter steps. Or don’t.
This is just an idea that big publishers could utilize to mitigate reader angst at ebooks being priced higher than paperbacks, or whatever angst they have about pricing this week. At the end of the day, pricing is a moving target that we’re all playing with – self-pubbed authors, big publishing, Amazon, everyone is still figuring it out. Eventually it’ll all get worked out, but not this week.
