Fatal Encryption Back in Ebook Format!

Last month I reissued one of my favourite mysteries, Fatal Encryption, as an ebook, using Draft 2 Digital (which was quite user friendly). The book was published in 2008 and I still sell print copies locally. I’d thought about letting this one go out of print, but as it turns out the topic of computer hacking is more timely than ever. I knew hacking incidents would increase over the years, but I had no idea by how much!

Of my seven published novels, this is the one that incorporates scenes of Port Moody, where I’ve lived for nearly thirty years. With the extension of the SkyTrain (our above rail transit system), now just a five minute walk from my house and the enormous number of construction that’s happening in this city, I’m really glad to have captured certain sites back then. The Port Moody I’d be writing about today is quite different.

After much debating with myself and consulting with colleagues about price point, I’ve decided to set the book at $1.99 US. Time will tell if this was a good idea or not.

If you like whodunits with a bit of romance and humor than try FATAL ENCRYPTION at any of the links listed below, and thank you!

Blurb Promo:

Dressed as Kermit the Frog on Halloween, unemployed Alex Bellamy wonders where his life went wrong. It could be worse. A few miles away, Zachary Ternoway is stabbed to death at his front door. In need of cash, Alex agrees to help catch a computer hacker at McKinleys’ Department Store. But things turn serious when the hacker threatens to permanently encrypt the store’s data and torch the building unless ten million dollars is handed over fast. Alex knows there’s a connection between the murder and the extortionist, yet time’s running out. People are questioning his competency, and a killer’s threatening his life.

Ibooks: http://ow.ly/zwTd301pY3T

Amazon:  myBook.to/FatalEncryption

Kobo:   http://tinyurl.com/z5sagyl

Nook: http://tinyurl.com/ju8krvs

Breathing New Life Into an Old Favorite

If all goes well, I’ll finally issue an ebook release of my favorite Alex Bellamy mystery, Fatal Encryption. The print version appeared in 2008. What took me so long, you ask? Well, a number of things.

Back then, I spent a great deal of time finding reviewers and preparing a mail-out to hundreds of libraries here in Canada. I  joined forums, launched a social network presence, and began blogging.

I was also working on my Casey Holland mysteries and starting a new day job in security. Learning how to format an ebook was a daunting task, and in those days a number of start-up publishers were accepting ebook submissions.

So I signed with an American publisher, a relationship that lasted for two or three years, but as neither of us were doing much marketing, few copies were sold. By 2010, I’d also signed a contract with another publisher for the Holland series, which resulted in publishing a book a year from 2011 to 2014.

A colleague told me about Draft 2 Digital, a company that does ebook formatting in multiple platforms and only takes a small percentage of each sale. I’ve heard great things from others about D2D, so this is the route I’ve chosen for now.

This week, I also came across an interesting piece by Chris Meadows who offers Kobo’s Mark Lefebvre’s thoughts on publishing pitfalls to avoid. The one that caught my attention, and which I’m still struggling with, is price point.

Fatal Encryption is 370 print pages. Other than tweaking a word here and there, and updating my front and back cover information, it pretty much stands as is. I’m trying to decide whether to price the book at $1.99 or $2.99, or even higher? I don’t plan to write more Alex Bellamy mysteries, so it will be a stand-alone.

So far, self-publishing gurus advise against charging $.99 for a first title, but I’m wondering what your thoughts are. All feedback is welcome, and stay tuned for the release of Fatal Encryption!

Debra

New Rules Have Improved Ebook Quality

As someone who reads and reviews a lot of indie novels, I’m happy to say that the quality of ebooks is starting to improve. It’s possible that part of this is due to Amazon’s crackdown on those who’ve published books filled with spelling, grammatical, and formatting problems. Amazon’s warning letters to clean up the mess or have their books pulled is paying off, which is good news. Authors should show the same care and attention  to producing ebooks as they would if submitting to a traditional publisher! If you’re an author who has little time for production, experienced, reputable companies  will do it for you. There are also plenty of scammers, so do your research!

Recently, Amazon changed the rules to now insist that authors place their table of contents at the front of ebooks, for good reason. As stated in Nicholas C. Rossis’s blog, scammers been making millions off of KDP’s Select Program, specifically Kindle Unlimited, where subscribers can borrow an ebook. In a nutshell, authors are paid for every page read. This has inspired scammers to create a click-bait-link page at the front of their books which immediately takes readers to the back and therefore pays the author for all of the pages in the book, even though those pages haven’t been read. And why would they? Rossis states that those pages are often filled with junk, multiple translations, or even unrelated content. Amazon’s attempts to stop this are proving successful, but we’ll see what happens in the future. One thing about cheaters, their resourcefulness is astonishingly good.

To that end, I came across another helpful blog from Digital Book World offering great tips about formatting your ebook. The blog discusses ragged vs. justified text, hyphens, em dashes, and of course, the table of contents issue. Since I plan to do more self-publishing in the future, I’ve bookmarked that link.

Things have changed so much from the days when I self-published Taxed to Death and Fatal Encryption. One of the best aspects about this is the bounty of useful resources to help writers produce a quality product in this hi-tech age.

One note about quality of writing in indie ebooks…I’m starting to see a big improvement there as well. Many months ago I read blogs from experienced, savvy authors who stated that those writers more interested in making money than writing would fall by the wayside; that the serious writers would start releasing quality content regularly. This trend has started and I’m delighted to see it.

I’m still working on preparing my quality content, but one day…

I Thought I was Over It

Last week, I cleared out the bottom drawer of my desk. It was jammed with file folders containing short story ideas from the days when I primarily wrote short fiction. I’d had trouble opening and closing the drawer for some time, so I just stopped looking at the files. I’d also read that one should keep everything, in case a gem of an idea would be needed some day. Maybe those writers hadn’t been at it long enough, but I have, and there clearly comes a time when one has to take stock and toss what is no longer useful. So, I went through each of the 20+ files and found only one idea worth keeping.

What astonished me about this exercise was the number of ideas I’d had, and the number of stories that were half finished. It’s a small miracle that I managed to not only complete but publish nearly sixty short stories, six novels and a novella. It was a long, hard haul to work on twelve drafts of that first book, Taxed to Death, and to learn to typeset it with Pagemaker, then do the same again with Fatal Encryption. But I did. Truthfully, I thought I’d mastered the art of finishing WIPS to the point of being publication ready, but I’m discovering, the hard way, that it’s still far easier said than done.

Over five years ago, I got the idea for my first urban fantasy, which will be quite different from anything I’ve ever written. Last year, I prepared a lot of notes and I felt ready to start writing, yet something kept stalling me. Based on a blog I read by James Clear, it turns out that this “something” is me.

Clear writes about the Akrasia Effect, which is why we don’t follow through on what we set out to do. (I recommend you read the whole piece)  In other words, it’s procrastination combined with the fact that human beings value immediate rewards rather than future ones. In fact, our brains prefer it, so we’ll do more immediate things to reward ourselves.

It sounds right, but for me, I think something else at play here, like the fear of messing up. Of spending huge amounts of time and energy going down a rabbit hole and realizing a) there is no way out, or b) I went down the wrong hole! Either way, facing the fear is a challenge. It doesn’t help that I have three major WIPS, two of which have an April 30^th deadlines, on the go.

Clear’s blog outlines three strategies to help with procrastination. I’m definitely setting a date, time, and place to finally begin writing this fantasy. I won’t tell you when that it, but I will tell you once I’ve started.

Debra

Do You Sell Paperbacks Through Amazon Anymore?

A curious thing happened last week. Amazon sent an order request for one copy of my oldest mystery novel, Taxed to Death. It was the first print order in two years. Given that I published the book nearly two decades ago, I’ve done zero promotion for this book in recent years. Working on the Casey Holland series with my current publisher takes up all the time I have. So, even though the book isn’t an e-book (that’s another story), I was surprised to see the order. It was also funny to see my ranking drop from about 5 million, to 700,000 with one sale, but that also is another issue. Anyhow, this out-of-the-blue order got me thinking, why now? It’s possible that someone came across the title during tax season, and wanted to read something more fun than income tax guidelines. Who knows?

When the sequel to Fatal Encryption was released in 2008, I got involved with social media and took part in a number of Amazon forums for independently published authors. My posts resulted in a few paperback sales for both titles. But then the e-book revolution took hold. To no surprise, paperback copies of my books stopped selling. By 2011, I’d left the Amazon forums to focus on the Casey Holland series. Writing and publishing one book a year has left little time for social networking.

Yesterday, I checked the rankings of all five of my titles and found that the paperback versions of the second two Casey Holland mysteries have never sold on Amazon. But since I’m a Canadian author with a Canadian story, the book does sell through Canadian stores and Kobo, so I’m not complaining. Like most people, I’m buying a lot fewer paperbacks than I used to. Also, it costs me quite a bit to mail a book from Canada to Amazon’s warehouse. Since Amazon expects a 55% discount, I’m actually losing money with sales. So, you see why I’m not complaining? They also want me to keep at least one copy of my books in their warehouse, otherwise they’ll list the book as out of print. You may ask, why not go out of print where Amazon is concerned? Well, I’m planning to add more self-published titles in the future, and some of them may involve the further exploits of young intrepid tax auditor, Alex Bellamy.

I’ve read occasional posts on other forums about dwindling paperback sales, so I’m curious about the sales of other authors, especially those from Americans who either publish independently or with smaller publishing houses. Have your paperback sales noticeably dwindled over the past five years? Do you notice a bump in sales if you start promoting your paperbacks?

A few months ago, I blogged about a survey which revealed that about 70% of all books sold are paperbacks, however I’m not sure if this applies to mysteries. As for paperbacks in general, do you think most paperback sales are generated from the titles of well known authors? Let’s discuss.

Bestselling Fiction Authors of All Time?

One of the newsletters I subscribe to posted a list of the top bestselling fiction authors of all time. The list comes from Wikipedia, so I’m not sure it’s completely accurate, but it is fun to read. This list includes only those known to have sold 100 million copies or more. Since precise numbers are impossible to determine for many, a column of minimum to maximum estimated sales is provided. Not enough is known about the sale records of some well-known authors to include them in the list at all. Also, the list doesn’t include comic book authors, but it does include the number of titles each author published. Here’s the top eleven:

William Shakespeare, 2 billion minimum to 4 billion maximum (44+ titles published)
Agatha Christie, 2 billion – 4 billion (85 titles)
Barbara Cartland, 500 million – 1 billion (she published 723 titles!)
Danielle Steel, 500 million – 800 million (72 titles)
Harold Robbins, his minimum and maximum is 750 million (23 titles)
Geroge Simenon, 500 million - 750 million (570 published books!)
Sidney Sheldon, 370 million – 600 million (only 19 titles, my how lazy!)
Enid Blyton, 300 million – 600 million (children’s author with 800 titles)
Dr. Seuss, 100 million – 500 million (44 titles)
Gilbert Patten, 125 million – 500 million (209 adolescent adventures)
J.K. Rowling, 350 million – 450 million (7 titles. That in itself is one heck of a record)

You can find the complete list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_fiction_authors Through that link, you can click on each individual’s name to learn more about them. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the keyboard. Clearly, I have some work to do.

DEADLY ACCUSATIONS, (now also out on Kindle) http://tinyurl.com/7b5dfub
THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

What’s Up with English Curriculums in Canadian High Schools?

This morning I heard part of an interesting CBC radio discussion among three well known Canadian publishers about publishing and bookselling. Those who don’t live in Canada might not be aware that keeping Canadian publishing alive has always been an uphill battle. One of the main reasons well-established and respected publishing houses, of all sizes, still exist (although some have fallen) after thirty years is because they’re subsidized by government grants. This has allowed Canadian publishers to publish some truly amazing poets, novelists, and short fiction writers, a number of whom have won major international prizes.

So why, the interviewees asked, are high school English curriculums still showcasing writers like Tennessee Williams, and requiring students to study older books like The Chrysalids, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Lord of the Flies (which my son just finished reading this year in Grade 11 English class)? For crying out loud, To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies, although fine books, were on my high school reading list 35 years ago! Not only is the required list outdated, it seriously lacks Canadian content, although my daughter did reading Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale in IB English 12 six years ago, along with To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies. As a Canadian writer, I find the neglect of Canadian authors offensive. The panelists pointed the finger at provincial governments who seemed not to care much about English reading lists, and they should.

It’s hard enough to get teenagers to read, so why subject them to dated material? There are wonderful Canadian science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writers, humorists, novelists, and so forth to entice kids to want to read again. Why not give students a choice but with more current material? Publishers and authors need readers, school curriculums need an overhaul. It’s a win-win, as far as I’m concerned. Of course, it all comes down to money, doesn’t it? Pulling out those same books year after year is a lot cheaper than buying new. Still, I’d like to see someone place a stack of Canadian books under the noses of decision-makers, make them do their homework, and then ask them how much they value Canadian literacy and Canadian culture?

DEADLY ACCUSATIONS, http://tinyurl.com/7b5dfub
THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Ebook Pricing Issues Could Wind Up in Court

This week’s hot topic in the publishing world is that the U.S. Department of Justice has told Apple and five of the big six publishers that they are facing lawsuits for colluding to raise the price of ebooks. The complaint is that Apple and the publishers are making books more expensive for consumers by altering the way retail prices are set. Whether the lawsuit proceeds remains to be seen, however the outcome could have a big impact on Barnes & Noble.

But there’s more to the story. Author’s Guild president Scott Turow has written a letter stating that the lawsuit would be grim news for anyone who cherishes a “rich literary culture”. Hmm. I’m not exactly sure what he means by that, and as you’ll see below, neither do Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler. I won’t go into a lot of detail or analysis here, but Turow apparently views amazon and the changes they’ve brought to the publishing and bookselling world as a huge threat to traditional publishers and brick and mortar stores. There are a number of points made in the letter, but at the end of it he says that the lawsuit could kill real competition in order to save the appearance of competition. You can draw your own conclusions after reading the letter at
http://blog.authorsguild.org/2012/03/09/letter-from-scott-turow-grim-news/

Finally, Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler have responded to Turow’s letter, shall I say, less than favorably. To start with, they are also suspicious of words like “rich literary culture” and have their own take on the situation, which you can read at http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/03/barry-joe-scott-turow.html

And you think you have trouble finding the right price point for your ebooks? Sheesh! Things seem to get more complicated and tumultuous every month, and I find myself asking, do they really need to be?

DEADLY ACCUSATIONS, http://tinyurl.com/7b5dfub
THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Fraud is a Shape-Shifter

This week, I read an interesting—if not alarming article—by Angela Hoy, owner of WritersWeekly.com, about an online course which is teaching writers how to write ebooks and become rich. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Can you see how newbies would be attracted to the pitch of no financial investment and guaranteed success?

The instructor of this particular course informed his students that they could quickly produce nonfiction ebooks by taking information from other books on a subject and compiling it to create their own book! But it gets worse. Said instructor also advised students to create a pseudonym that would complement their topic and purchase a portrait from a stock photography website. The implication was that students could take this a step further by adding letters behind their name to establish “credibility”. Are you kidding me? As Angela states, this is fraud, folks. And any writer who attempts to do this is setting themselves up for lawsuits, which they could quite possibly lose.

Apparently, there are several websites and online courses offering writers the path to riches by pilfering other writers’ work. Unfortunately, plagiarism, get-rich-quick schemes, blatant scams, and misleading promises targeting writers is nothing new. Remember those American poetry contests who tell you how wonderful your poem is, publish it as part of a collection than sell the book to you for fifty bucks? Remember those publishers who said your work needed a bit more editing and they gave a recommendation, only that individual had a business relationship with the publisher which involved grabbing as much of your cash as possible?

Fraud is a shape-shifter. It changes form to suit the needs and opportunity of the day. It’s always there, right before your eyes, all nicely packaged in a deal that sounds wonderful. I’m betting that most of you are savvy writers who know better. But I’m also betting that most of you know a newbie who’s just starting out and wonders about these courses. Guide them down the right path, okay? You can visit Angela’s website at http://www.writersweekly.com/, or go directly to her article at http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/007184_02082012.html

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Those Elusive Book Reviews

Lately, I’ve read a number of complaints from authors whose books have been downloaded hundreds of times (many through the KDP Select program), yet they haven’t received any reviews. Some authors indicated that for every 2,000 downloads, they’ll receive maybe one or two reviews, and those might be negative. So, why aren’t authors getting reviews, how do they go about acquiring reviews, and should they even bother?

Although I have no concrete answer to the first question, I can speculate that the huge rise in free ebooks has inspired Kindle owners to download lots of books, few of which they actually have time to read right away, if ever. Heck, I’m still reading through print books I acquired ten years ago (yes, I’m on a mission to deplete my to-be-read pile). Because I review books, I’m a careful reader, and these days I’m averaging four books a month. Now, if I had a spiffy new Kindle and downloaded 200 books in my favorite genres, or by my favorite author, it would still take me four years to get through them all. In other words, writers need to learn patience.

Of course, it’s quite possible that readers have given the free downloads a try, didn’t like the books, and won’t look at them again. The book was free and it’s disposable. After all, no money was invested. Then there will be readers who liked the book, or even loved it, but simply don’t have time to write a review, or don’t feel they write well enough to attempt it.

This brings me to the question, should authors even bother seeking reviews? The answer is yes. Authors far more experienced than I maintain that reviews still sell books, and I agree. Reviews not only generate sales, but they help spread the word about a book. Word of mouth sells ebooks just as well (if not better) than it sells print books.

I’ve also read that, given the enormous number of ebooks out there, more readers are turning to online reviews to decide which book to buy. Many established reviewers in the print world also now have online columns. In fact, a growing number of reviewers are losing print space in their newspapers, so they’re actually producing more online reviews than ever.

So, how does one go about acquiring reviews? Through diligent research. Investigate other books in your genre or topic and see who’s reviewing them. Social networking sites like Goodreads have forums for people who are willing to review books. To help you get started, here’s a list of reviewers of both print and ebooks. Find those who are willing to read self-published, ebook authors in your genre, and follow their guidelines. Good luck!

http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/ (offers a free book reviewer list, or a more comprehensive PDF download to purchase)

http://laurenwaters.net/2011/11/07/book-reviewers (this blog provides a good list)

http://labotomyofawriter.com/review-links (blog by Anastasia V. Pergakis provides a 797 links to reviewers!)

http://indiebookreviewer.wordpress.com/index

http://writersresourcedirectory.com/


THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Trying to Do Your Best for Readers

A number of years ago, I attended an interesting workshop given by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, about the publishing biz, and things that aspiring writers should ponder. It was an interesting discussion. One of their comments was that every writer needs to make a decision about whether to commit to writing as a career, which means living with no regular paycheck, or taking the risk of writing fulltime. Kristine and Dean chose the latter at a fairly young age and succeeded. In fact, in her Jan. 25th blog, Kristine says she considers a professional writer as someone who makes between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. I don’t agree. I also remember her saying that she wrote 25 new pages of work everyday in the morning, and spent the rest of the day editing, which she doesn’t consider writing. Again, I disagree. She also estimated that she put in, at that time, roughly 90 hours a week on her career. After that discussion, I made a conscious choice to put my children first and keep the day job, as we needed the money, and I knew it wasn’t going to come quickly by choosing fulltime writing.

Recently, I found Kathryn’s blog, and noticed a distinct change in her approach to self-publishing. I was self-publishing in print form when I attended her panel a decade ago, and at that time, she was pretty clear that self-publishing was a horrible career move. Not anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I do agree with a lot of what she says. Rusch is one of the few authors who not only writes prolifically, but understands the business side. However, I find myself once again disagreeing with a point she made in her Jan. 25th blog. It’s about indie authors ignoring readers, just as the big publishers have been doing. Rusch explains that the traditional publishers have an annoying habit of making the first book in a series out of print before the next installment hits the shelves. She maintains that indie writers are committing the similar sin of ignoring readers. Rusch is furious (her word) that indie authors are promoting the heck out of their first books and offering no follow up. Well, wait a sec. Kindleboards is crowded with authors who are serving up sequel after sequel in their series. She also says that if indie authors don’t produce new books before one or two years they’re insulting their readers. Again, I disagree.

I also know of many indie authors who are writing fast and publishing unpolished books far too quickly. Look, few authors are intentionally ignoring readers. It’s just that most of us don’t have the skill or time to produce quality books quickly due to day jobs, children, health obstacles, and so forth. No doubt, authors will say, well work around it...find a way. Well, we are, trust me. Readers might grow tired of waiting for the next book, but I think many of them are quite willing to wait longer for a quality sequel rather than a job full of typos, grammatical errors, and a weak plot.

Please, let’s not blame writers who are trying hard with whatever time, energy, and skill they have. It’s not about ignoring or disrespecting readers. It’s about struggling to write (and being serious and professional about it) while living with health and/or family challenges that certain six-figure income writers either overcame or never had to deal with in the first place. You can read her entire blog entry here http://kriswrites.com/2012/01/25/the-business-rusch-readers

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Responding to Negative Reviews

I’m one of those writers who likes to know what’s going on in the publishing world, but a recent article in Guardian.co.uk caught me by surprise, and then it bothered me a little.

The article is about hostile responses to a negative book review. Apparently, one incident in particular recently invaded Goodreads and Twitter. I love Goodreads. It’s a wonderful place for readers and writers to gather and share a love of books, and although I only belong to a handful of groups, I’ve never seem flame wars erupt there, but it seems at least one has happened lately. The war apparently spilled onto Twitter where authors and even agents have also stepped into the fray.

According to the article, a much-hyped young adult novel called Tempest by Julia Cross received a negative review, which caused the author’s friends to put down the review and the reviewer. Even the author’s agent offered up comments. Their responses caused more backlash from readers until all hell broke loose on the forums, resulting in reader and review bashing on both sides. The article makes it clear that the author at the center of all this responded gracefully.

I want to reflect on reviews in general. First there’s a difference between a negative review and a bad review. In my mind, a bad review is a poorly written condemnation (or the exact opposite) that misses the point of the work, but caters to the reviewer’s agenda. Bad reviews, if totally off the wall, can be removed from places like amazon, if one is so inclined.

But why respond to negative reviews? Aren’t they simply one person’s opinion? Maybe some reviews will hurt sales, but maybe they’ll help. There is some merit to the line, “a bad review is better than no review at all”, and I know indie authors who’ve garnered impressive sales numbers, reviews notwithstanding.

The bottom line is do you want to harm your reputation as a reviewer, author, publisher, or agent by jumping into these types of name-calling squabbles? Is it worth it to create the kind of bad blood that will make future readers not want to buy your books, or read your reviews? Sure, lots of opinions on the Net are irritating. If we feel compelled to reply, shouldn’t we at least take time to think carefully before we reply? As the article demonstrates, words are powerful. Let’s use them wisely.

You can find the whole article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/16/ya-novel-readers-publishing-establishment

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Who Owns the Ebook Rights to Decades-Old Titles?

The title of this blog is a question posed by journalist Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in a recent article for The Wall Street Journal. It also works as a follow up to my blog last week about the importance of bequeathing your intellectual property.

The latest battle for ebook rights involves HarperCollins and a company called Open Road Integrated Media Inc., whose owner is a former HarperCollins CEO. Open Road released an ebook version of a popular children’s book published in 1972 called Julie of the Wolves. (To date, 3.8 million copies have been sold). HC is suing for copyright infringement, claiming they still have rights to the book, even though the original contract was made long before the digital age flourished.

It’s a huge issue. As one publisher noted, ebook revenue for publishers could be as much as 40% by the end of 2012. HC states that the ebook is directly competitive with the print book, which is still being sold. They also indicate that they had planned to bring out an ebook version. A spokesman for Open Road states that HC is trying to intimidate authors and grab rights that were nonexistent several decades ago.

And this is the crux of the matter. If there were no clauses in an author’s contract addressing ebook and other digital rights, does a publisher have rights to those books? Do family members? Some publishers are claiming that they do. Since big bucks are at stake, you can expect this issue to be played out many times in the near future. To read more, go to http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203436904577153142705735660-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwMDExNDAyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64 and on Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Why Bequeathing Your Intellectual Property is Crucial

Recently, I came across a couple of interesting articles on the WritersWeekly website owned by Angela Hoy (www.writersweekly.com) If you have a chance, you should subscribe to her weekly newsletter. It’s full of good information.

Two of her articles that really struck me were about the copyright of a deceased author’s work. As Angela points out, it is absolutely wrong to assume that the work a deceased writer, even that of a close friend or relative, can be used by you, unless this has been clearly stipulated in their will. Verbal intent is not enough! Angela, who also publishes books through her company, booklocker, gives an example of a writer coauthoring a book with someone who died. Legally, the family of the deceased could halt the project, unless the rights to that work had been bequeathed to the coauthor in the will. You can read the whole article here, http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/007076_12072011.html

Angela explores this issue further in another article, where she’s had the relatives of a deceased writer, whose work she’s published, fight in court for the right to acquire royalties and copyright to the deceased’s books. She’s also been approached by relatives of a deceased writer who try to claim royalties and rights, when in fact, the legal beneficiary was actually someone else. Angela now puts a beneficiary clause into her contracts, to prevent from becoming embroiled in court battles.

With the prevalence of ebooks and unlimited shelf life, a deceased author’s work can go on selling long after his or her death, so the question is, who do you want to bequest your intellectual property to? Every writer needs to address this issue, published or not. Those of you who have a drawer full of unpublished work could have a relative wanting to put them on the market after you’re gone, so they can collect royalties. Angela’s article about relatives going after a deceased writers’ work and royalties is filled with examples that will make your head spin. You can check it out at http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/007095_12142011.html

The whole issue of who owns rights to books, and in particular ebooks, is a hot topic these days. Old contracts are being scrutinized and family members of deceased authors are looking to cash in on their relative’s earlier print books by turning them into ebooks. The New York Times wrote an interesting piece about the case of William Styron, author of Sophie’s Choice and The Confessions of Nat Turner, among others. My Styron’s family is claiming that they have the ebook rights to his work, however his longtime publisher, Random House, is claiming that they have the rights, which they have no intention of giving up. These types of legal battles are now being played out all over the country as the relatives of famous writers from bygone eras now want to cash in on the ebook revolution, as do their publishers. To read more, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/business/media/13ebooks.html

The moral of all this is that you must pay careful attention to your contracts, and you must make it clear to whom you intend to bequeath your work to. If you don’t, things could get messy and costly for your family.

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback and Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Banished Words for 2012

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m not going to bore you with my resolutions, which are pretty much the same as they were last year, so I thought I’d start the year off with a fun blog.

In case you haven’t seen it in the newspapers, Lake Superior State University has come up with a list of twelve words or phrases that should be banished in 2012, due to overuse or downright misuse. LSSU acquired this list by seeking nominations, and responses came from far and wide. So, be warned: if you choose to use any of these words in your writing this year, do so at your own peril!

The most nominated word is “amazing”, which probably won’t surprise you, because frankly, it’s both overused and misused a great deal. The other nominated words are:

baby bump
shared sacrifice
occupy (fill in the city of your choice)
blowback (often used by corporate types to mean reaction)
man cave
the new normal
pet parent (I wasn’t familiar with this one)
win the future (especially common in American politics, I’m told)
trickeration (come on, now. Is that even a word?)
ginormous (a favorite of my daughter’s when she was in her early teens a decade ago)
thank you in advance (I’ve never been fond of that either)

You can read some of the voters’ comments at http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8, Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/7kxuat8 and in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64

FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl

TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Learning from Other Blogs

I discovered an interesting blog shared by eleven thriller and mystery writers, here on blogspot.com . Many of the contributors are familiar to me, and they’re writing about timely issues, which of course includes the traditional versus self-publishing debate.

One of these writers, James Scott Bell, posted a blog last Sunday about why he decided to self-publish. Since Bell is another traditionally published author with several books to his credit and who has earned his share of readers, I was curious about what he to say. Among the things he likes about self-publishing is that “it’s real money” and he’s paid every month which, as you probably know, traditional publishers don’t do. Secondly—and I agree with this point—it’s not about either/or. Why can’t authors embrace both, given the opportunity? If you want to read more of what he has to say, visit his blog and scroll down to older posts. A number of the bloggers at Kill Zone are worth reading, and you can find them at http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/

While I’m at it, here are a few more of my favorite blogs:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com Whether you agree or disagree with Joe Konrath’s views, he’s always interesting and thought provoking.

http://poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com is a shared blog by six women mystery and thriller authors. They feature a number of guest bloggers and share poignant opinions on a variety of topics.

http://www.thepassivevoice.com/ is a great site updated nearly everyday and is filled with tons of info about writers, stats, libraries, and the publishing world.

There are more, but I don’t want to overload you, but if you have favorite sites filled with great info about writing and publishing, I’d love to hear about them.

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Confusion about KDP Select’s Program

Have you seen the email that’s been circulating from Amazon regarding its KDP Select program? Here’s an excerpt:

"We’re excited to introduce KDP Select – a new option dedicated to KDP authors and publishers worldwide, featuring a fund of $500,000 in December 2011 and at least $6 million in total for 2012! KDP Select gives you a new way to earn royalties, reach a broader audience, and use a new set of promotional tools.

Here’s how KDP Select works:

When you make any of your titles exclusive to the Kindle Store for at least 90 days, those with US rights will automatically be included in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and can earn a share of a monthly fund. The monthly fund for December 2011 is $500,000 and will total at least $6 million in 2012. If you haven’t checked it out already, the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is a collection of books that eligible US Amazon Prime members can borrow for free once a month with no due dates.

You’ll also now have access to a new set of promotional tools, starting with the option to promote your KDP Select-enrolled titles for FREE for up to 5 days every 90 days.

How your share of the monthly fund is calculated:

Your share of the monthly fund is based on your enrolled titles’ share of the total number of borrows across all participating KDP titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. For example, if total borrows of all participating KDP titles are 100,000 in December and your book was borrowed 1,500 times, you will earn $7,500 in additional royalties from KDP Select in December. Enrolled titles will remain available for sale to any customer in the Kindle Store and you will continue to earn your regular royalties on those sales.

What this means to you:

KDP Select gives you access to a whole new source of royalties and readers- you not only benefit from a new way of making money, but you also get the chance to reach even more readers by getting your book in front of a growing number of US Amazon Prime customers: readers and future fans of your books that you may have not had a chance to reach before! Additionally, the ability to offer your book for free will help expand your worldwide reader base."

I’ve been following several threads from authors on kindleboards.com who’ve tried the program, and the feedback is interesting. In fact, some cautionary tales are cropping up. First and foremost, by opting into KDP Select, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket because you’re giving Amazon exclusive rights to sell your books. In other words, they can’t be sold on Smashwords, or through other venues while you’re in the Select program. Secondly, authors are noticing that the sales rankings are becoming increasingly skewed because rented books count as sales in Amazon’s world. Therefore, those who don’t use this program might see (and some have) a significant drop in their rankings because their books aren’t in the program. It’s confusing and uncertain situation that seems to making a number of authors unhappy. Keep in mind that this is simply anecdotal information from a handful of authors. Since I’m not in this program, I really don’t know if it’s worthwhile. I want to stress, however, that if you are considering this option, research it before you commit. Talk to others who are in the program. You’ll find several of them at www.kindleboards.com in the Writer’s Cafe forum, and a few have been sharing stats from their experiences.

If anyone is using KDP Select, I’d love to hear if you think it’s a good option for authors.

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

New Stats and Predictions in the Ebook World

According to the Association of American Publishers, net sales revenue for adult mass market paperbacks dropped by 54% in September 2011 compared with sales in September 2010. Wow! Also, adult hardcover sales dropped by 18% while ebook sales doubled over the same period last year. The only print category listed that showed a small increase was children’s and young adult hardcovers, however their paperback counterparts were down by 14.6%. It’s quite likely that the poor economy has a lot to do with lower sales, aside from the growing popularity of ebooks.

I’ve sold books at four craft fairs over the past month, which has been a new and enlightening experience. Veteran craft fair sellers claimed that sales overall are down by about 30% this year. Still, there are plenty of people buying print books, especially as gifts. Only two people out of the many dozens I’ve chatted with asked if my books were available on Kindle. Ebooks are growing, but they haven’t taken over the world yet. I still believe that print will always have its place, albeit a more modest one. To see more of the chart provided go to http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/mass-market-paperback-sales-down-54_b43204

Based on a study conducted by UK-based Juniper Research, this year’s $3.2 billion in worldwide ebook revenue will triple to about $10 billion by 2016. The study suggests that bookstores which don’t move with the times and learn to combine digital and physical bookselling, won’t be around much longer. The study predicted that 30% of ebooks will be purchased on tablets, 15% on Smartphones, and 55% on ereaders. Pricing will be problematic for traditional publishers, the report states. Actually, it already is, as traditional publishers attempt to compete with self-published work offered for free and very low prices. To read more, go to http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/research-e-books-at-10-billion-bookstores-under-pressure-in-2016/

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Notable Lists to Ponder

Based on The New York Times most notable books of 2011, I’m not a very well read person. As I scanned down the list of the 44 fiction titles, I didn’t recognize any of them, but then I don’t read The New York Times book reviews either. Heck, I can barely keep up with my local newspapers. Happily, I did recognize the names of several authors, so I suppose that’s something.

The list also includes 56 nonfiction titles which were also unfamiliar, although many of them do sound interesting. Several are biographies that include Malcolm X, Kurt Vonnegut, Catherine the Great, John and George Keats, and of all things, Rin Tin Tin. Needless to say, there’s quite an assortment of topics to choose from if you’re looking for Christmas gifts. The list is far too long to print here, so here’s the link http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2011.html?_r=3&pagewanted=all

Speaking of lists, I came across a list called 11 Famous Writers Who Were Rejected Before Making it Big. What the list really shows is how important tenacity is for writers to succeed. For instance, C.S. Lewis was rejected over 800 times before he sold a single piece of writing! I know people who’d give up after eight. Gone With the Wind was rejected by 25 publishers before it found a home. Bestseller, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times. Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s work was rejected 40 times. Louis L’Amour faced over 200 rejections before any of his work sold. See what I mean about tenacity? To read the complete list, which will probably have you shaking your head, go to http://www.bubblecow.net/11-famous-writers-who-were-rejected-before-making-it-big?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bubblecow+%28BubbleCow%29

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Have You Tried Writing Contests?

In a world filled with instant publishing opportunities, plenty of writers have opted out of the lengthy process of submitting to traditional publishers. Given the increasing number of authors who are choosing to self-publish short fiction as well, I’ve been wondering if authors are also giving up on submitting to short fiction contests.

Although novel writing has kept me from working on much short fiction these days, I still love short stories. One of the best things about short fiction are the many opportunities to submit to contests. Writing competitions, regardless of the length of your work, have many benefits that include:

. Finishing a piece. Many new writers have trouble finishing and polishing a work to the point where it’s publishable. Contest deadlines are great motivators.

. Stretching yourself creatively. If you like to read other genres besides the one you write in, what about writing in another genre?

. Gaining valuable feedback. Some contests provide feedback, which can be really helpful. Most of the stories I’ve had published were first rejected by an editor who offered helpful comments and asked to see the piece again.

.Winning cash, or even placing, shows that you’re on the right track, and who couldn’t use some extra money?

. Gaining publishing credits for your CV. Editors and agents do take these into consideration when you’re submitting work.

. Selling the piece elsewhere. Some of my favorite contests are those that will offer a cash prize, but not publish the work. If you win a cash prize, great! But it’s even better if you are free to submit your piece to other paying markets.

. Building a collection of short fiction. Over time, you might want to consider publishing a collection of your work, particularly if you’re building a readership.

. Working with editors who might accept your work in future. Creating a professional relationship with an editor is a good business move. Even if your piece doesn’t win, or place, helpful comments and a possible invitation to submit other work is a foot in the door.

There’s always been debates about whether to submit to contests that charge fees or not, and I’ve done both, depending on the contest. As a general rule, I submit to contests if the fee is reasonable for my budget, and if the prize money is substantially more than the fee. In other words. A $10 fee might not be worthwhile for me if the prize money is $100 for the winner but nothing for second or third place finishers.

If the magazine sponsoring the contest is new or unknown, do your research to see if there are past winners, or if there are red flags. Some contests (and poetry has been notorious for them in the past) are nothing more than scams. Be sure to study the contest deadlines. Many are understandably strict about word length, whether the work is previously published (and that definition can be different among contests), and submission date. If you’re submitting to a number of contests, keep detailed records, as it’s often up to you to know when the results come out. For many contests, if the results announcement date has past and you haven’t heard anything, you didn’t win. Some will email you a list of winners, but not all of the contest coordinators do. Contests should be specific about when results will be announced. If they aren’t find out. If they won’t tell you, think twice about entering.

Be professional. Don’t argue with the judges's decisions, or complain about it on social networking sites. Contests are subjective, with perhaps one to three people judging. You can write a great story, follow the guidelines, and still not even place. But so what? You’ve still gained more than you lost. You have a polished piece of work you can either submit elsewhere, or build into something you never dreamed of before the contest began.

There are too many contests to list here, but if you Google contest guidelines for your genre, you’ll find a good start. Many writers’ organizations have websites with links to contests as well. They’re not hard to find with a bit of research, so go for it, and good luck!

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, now available for iphones, iPads, and iPodTouch at http://bit.ly/nZLlS8. Also available in paperback at http://tinyurl.com/30dlx64
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n