How Much Are You Willing To Invest?

This week, a statement in Hugh Howey’s blog, Renting vs. Owning, hit home for me. Howey states that many writers still believe that traditional publishers do most of the promotion and marketing. I realized how right he was when I gave a workshop (mentioned in last week’s blog) on landing a book contract.

I explained to attendees how authors are expected to do a variety of tasks that include everything from arranging book signings, to creating their own website, to paying for conferences, and buying copies of their own book at a discount. This was an eye-opener to most of them and unwelcome news for some who later told me they had no desire to do all that promotion and marketing.

In his blog, Howey claimed that, although both traditional and self-published authors work hard, the traditionally published do it because they have to while self-publishers do it because they want to. Huh? That’s not what I’ve heard.

I’ve spoken with many self-publishers who work hard because they have to, because they know no one else will do it for them. Trust me, like traditional authors, indie authors would much rather be writing the next book. If they work harder than traditionally published authors, it's because they are eager to recoup money spent on production costs. Others are hoping for at least a little profit. Most have become realistic enough to understand that they won’t  make a living at this right away. Sure, some indie writers do, but they are still in the minority.

Aside from asking yourself what you want to write in the first place, the next most important question is how much time, energy, and money you’re willing to invest in promoting and marketing, regardless of how your book will be published? If you don’t know the answer, do some soul searching. Ask yourself, if you’d be happy selling just fifty copies? Do you want to sell five hundred? Five thousand? Five million? You’ll need to tailor your plan according to your goals and your lifestyle. Certainly, an author with young kids at home and/or a demanding full-time day job simply won’t have time for all-out seven-day-a-week promoting. Realistic expectation is as important to success as talent, tenacity, and marketing skill.

Regardless of how busy your life is, though, there is always something you can do to move your plan forward. The most counter-productive thing you can do is to publish your book, then have no idea what to do next. Based on some of the forums I belong to, there is still far too much of that happening.

Debra

Self-Pub v Trad Pub: 3 Reasons I Like Each

I was going to make these lists 5 items long, but I got long-winded, so I'm only doing three of each. Besides, my reasons kept getting subsumed in the general headings. I'm not mentioning small indie presses, because they can emulate the best of both.

Self-Publishing provides these benefits for readers and authors:

1. Niche publishing: Since the advent of self-publishing, biographies and memoirs no longer have to be by celebrities or people with big or exotic stories to tell. A cousin of my husband self-published a biography of his grandfather, my husband's uncle. I read a self-published biography of an old woman who taught everyone who knew her to be joyful and spread joy. Neither of those would have been published traditionally, but they were well worth reading. Quirky fiction can find -- indeed, can create -- a niche.
2. Responsiveness: If the formatting in a self-published eBook, which looked perfect in Preview, is wonky on a buyer's eReader, the author can be personally contacted, the book can be corrected, and the updated version can be online within days at the longest. The relationship between a self-published author and readers is, on the whole, much closer than that between most traditionally published authors and readers.
3. Control: The self-published author can choose whether or not to have professional help. If the author chooses to publish without being critiqued or edited, to make their own covers, to publish but not promote, and then let buying happen or not happen, the author can choose to do so. If the author chooses to only publish digitally, only publish in print, or do both, if the author chooses to be exclusive to one platform (Amazon, Kobo, iTunes) or to distribute as widely as possible or to have the book only available as a PDF download from a website, so be it. If the author wants to price the book at $100 or free, so be it.

Traditional Publishing, on the other hand, has these benefits:

1. Readers can, on the whole, expect a certain level of technical quality from traditionally published books. The story may be less than stellar or may be superb, but the spelling, grammar, and punctuation will most likely be correct. If poor proofreading puts you off (it does me), you want to buy from a traditional publisher (or good small and/or indie press). If you feel you need help in those regards as a writer, and you can sell your work to a traditional publisher, you can have those things done for you. Traditional publishers will handle the covers, too, with no input from the author.
2. Variety of formats: While many self-published authors and small presses publish only electronically, most traditional publishers publish mainly in print, with electronic offerings. Bigger-ticket books may be published in more than one paperback format and in hardback, and may be issued as audiobooks. As a reader, I like these choices. I'll sometimes buy or download free an eBook and, if I really like it, buy it in paperback; if I LOVE it, I'll buy it in hardback. 
3. As an author, I concede that The Big Six (or however many of them there are at the moment) have a lot of clout. Movie deals and international publishing deals are more likely through major publishers, as of this writing, anyway. As a reader, I'm more likely to find a book if it comes from a house with advertising dollars to get it in front of my eyeballs. It's more likely that people I meet will have read it so we can talk about it.

The variety of paths from one person's imagination to another's has grown and will go on growing. What are some reasons you, as a writer and/or reader, love one or more of the paths?

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

One Writer's Clash Between Traditional and Self-Publishing

As I cruise through the newsletters I subscribe to, I’m reading an increasing number of negative stories about traditional publishers’ (it always seems to be the large houses) response to the rapidly growing world of self-published e-books. First, I want to say that, for me, this hasn’t been a problem so far, but could it be in the future? I had to stop and think after reading a fascinating, and somewhat disturbing blog by a writer named Kiana Davenport, who reports of a unsettling experience with her traditional publisher. Here’s what happened.

To earn some much needed income, and while waiting for her Big 6 publisher to publish her novel in August 2012, Davenport self-published two collections of short stories. Many of those stories had already appeared in magazines and have nothing to do with the topic of her upcoming novel. The first collection was published before she signed her contract, and the second was published afterward. When the big-6 publisher learned about the self-published books, well, let’s just say things didn’t go well. One of the publisher’s editors phoned her and apparently began yelling at her for breaching her contract, which she maintains she didn’t. The editor also basically accused her of colluding with the enemy, which is Amazon. The editor then demanded that she withdraw this second collection from ALL platforms and remove any reference to the book. She has 600,000 Google hits! As she says in her blog, how does one even do that? Additionally, she must guarantee that she not self-publish anything until her novel has been released in both hard back and paperback. Needless to say, Ms. Davenport has a lawyer handling the matter.

I don’t know the publisher’s side of the story, but what captures my attention is the growing uneasiness between writers and publishers. Not a lot of Big 6 publishers (and others, I imagine) are fond of Amazon, so if you’re doing business with either party, will you be trapped in the middle down the road? Clearly, it’s more important than ever that you understand exactly what the publisher expects from you regarding any e-book and self-publishing ventures. To read more of Ms. Davenport’s blog, go to http://kianadavenportdialogues.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleeping-with-enemy-cautionary-tale.html

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://bit.ly/i983XE, Chapters/Indigo http://bit.ly/gtFSFw
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Where Publishers Went Wrong, According to Some

There are many blogs and opinions which say this is a great time to be a writer, and they’re not wrong. Let’s face it, the ease of publishing your work in print and electronically, and the many opportunities to promote books through the same platforms big name writers use, allows people to bypass the lengthy process of traditional publishing. Traditional and self-publishing have their ups and downs, but I came across a really interesting blog by Alan Rinzler in forbes.com who goes into some depth about why it’s so good to be an author these days. His piece is worth reading because he worked on the inside of the publishing industry and what he has to say might floor you.

As Zingler and others have pointed out, the balance of power is shifting from publishers to authors. More authors are choosing to control their publishing destinies, and this change in paradigms is finally being admitted aloud, by some publishers anyway. According to Zingler, technology isn’t the only reason this has happened; it’s that publishers have messed up big time, and not just because they’ve been slow to change their ways. The big reason, Zingler says, is that many of them don’t know what they’re doing in the first place!

Most traditionally published books lose money, Zingler says. Publishers have no clue which book will become a bestseller, and they can’t rely on the old models of selling books through bookstores and book tours. Shelf space has diminished and book tours definitely don’t pay for themselves. In fact, pretty much all expenses, not to mention marketing plans, fall on the authors’ shoulders now, so is it any wonder more of them are choosing to self-publish?

Zingler goes on to list the three big myths about self-publishing: that commercial publishers won’t touch a self-published book, agents won’t represent self-publishers, and that it’s easy to succeed as a self-publisher. To read what he has to say about these go to http://blogs.forbes.com/booked/2011/06/06/good-day-sunshine-for-writers/

Recently, I was speaking with a writer who was told at a conference last month that self-publishing isn’t the way to go with one’s career. Other established writers state that you’re dumb if you do sign with a publisher because you lose control and possibly income. Who’s right? It’s a good question, and I can only speak for myself.

Self-publishing my first two novels opened some doors for me and taught me a lot about the production process and about book promotion. I understood the business and the financial risks before I signed with my traditional publisher. As an unknown writer, I felt it was important to go with a traditional publisher because their distribution avenues for print books (and print still matters) are far better than mine. Also, a publisher can publicize my books in ways that I couldn’t. For instance, my traditionally published novel, The Opposite of Dark, has had far more access to established reviewers than my self-published novels did.

I don’t believe that publishing is about choosing just one option. I believe in learning and making use of whatever avenue is available in the best possible way. Not everyone will agree with my decisions, but at the end of the day, I’m the one who must live with them.

THE OPPOSITE OF DARK, http://bit.ly/i983XE, Chapters/Indigo http://bit.ly/gtFSFw
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

How Old are Traditionally Published First-Time Authors?

Earlier this year, the Humber School of Creative & Performing Arts conducted a survey to find out how old the average prose writer is when he(she) publishes his first book through a traditional publisher. The survey did not include academic writers.

1,500 questionnaires were sent out last spring and 475 writers responded. Survey results show that the average age of a first-time published author is 42, which is older than the survey team thought it would be.

42, huh? Isn’t this the answer to the meaning of life spewed out by that super-computer in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Well, let’s face it; traditionally publishing your first book does provide one’s life with meaning, I suppose. And the Hitchhiker’s Guide came from the imagination of a writer, the late great Douglas Adams.

Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that the average age is only 42. I know of several writers who took about twenty years just to find a publisher for their first books. And I know of one writer who traditionally published his first two books this year at age 87.

My first traditionally published book, The Opposite of Dark, will be out this spring, and I’m 55, so, you see, there’s plenty of time for you aspiring writers out there.

If you’d like to see more about the study, including charts (although they’re too small to easily see on your screen) go to http://creativeandperformingarts.humber.ca/buzz/writers/?p=1197

My Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n

Thoughts on the Future of Publishing

This week, I had an interesting discussion and read a couple of articles about the explosion in e-publishing that is throwing traditional print publishers into a bit of a tailspin. There’s no doubt that the e-book market is growing rapidly. When I first wrote about e-publishing sales, they captured only about 1% of the market. Several months later, I read statistics indicating that the market was up to 3%. A recent article by Christine Kearney published in The Vancouver Sun suggested that e-books now account for 5% to 6% of all U.S. book sales, although this is still a fledgling market not yet making money for most publishers. Also, traditional print publishers are losing money on books and have been for several years. For this reason, Kearney believes that publishers will accept the work of proven authors with great sales records, a trend they’ve been leaning toward for some time, in fact. This doesn’t bode well for up and coming midlist authors who’ve already taken their share of hits over the past twenty years.

There is a growing battle for readers from traditional publishers, Amazon, e-publishers, and independent authors. While independent authors have been marking down their newly published e-books to a dollar or less to attract readers, it seems that some of the big publishers are following suit. According to a piece in the Southern Review of Books, Harlequin is actually giving away a 15,000 e-book novella to readers, hoping to entice them to purchase the author’s full length work.

So, I’ve been wondering, where is all of this going to lead? As author and publisher, Julie H. Ferguson suggests in her insightful blog, the e-book explosion will definitely impact a writer’s contract. As Julie points out, it’s up to writers to keep up with the times and trends whether their publishers are on board with the e-book world or not.

The thing is, with over one million books being published (not including reprints) every year and with so many more people choosing to publish electronically, is there a real market for even a fraction of all those books? Statistics indicate that people aren’t reading more than they used to; in fact, they’re reading and buying fewer books. As I’ve mentioned in the past, the average book sells maybe 250 copies. With so many more books being published, could that figure drop to say, fifty copies in another five years? A writer’s world has always been challenging and competitive. While producing and promoting a book is certainly easier than it was fifteen years ago, the battle to rise from obscurity and sell lots of books might be harder than ever. It wouldn’t be wise to count on royalty income as one’s sole retirement plan. Given the way things are going, the odds aren’t great. On the other hand, I know a few fairly unknown independent authors who sell far more than 250 print copies of their work, so who knows?

To read the entire Kearney article go to http://tinyurl.com/36al3wh

You’ll find the Southern Review of Books’ piece on e-books under No. 26 at http://anvilpub.net/southern_review_of_books.htm

To read more of Julie’s insightful blogs on this and other topics go to http://beaconlit.blogspot.com/2010/02/explosion-in-e-books-will-affect-our.html

Understanding the myths regarding self-publishing versus traditionally publishing

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there regarding the pros and cons of either self-publishing or traditional publishing. I recently came across a blog that was advising writers on 5 Reasons to Self-Publish Your Next Book, and I found all but one of the 5 points to be very misleading. Of course, this is my opinion, based on the fact that I know a lot of authors who have done either or both, and I have done both.

Without printing the author's explanations, here are the 5 reasons the author offered, and my opinion on them.

Reason #1: Self-Publishing is Not Nearly as Difficult As You Think
Reason #2: Publishing Companies Don’t Actually Do Anything.
Reason #3: You Will Make More Money.
Reason #4: You Will Spend Less Money.
Reason #5: A Publisher Will Never Care As Much As You Do.

While I heartily agree with #1, I find the rest of the points quite misleading, especially to newer, less experienced writers. As an author who has both self-published and published traditionally, I am not speaking from one bias. There are definite pros and cons to both sides and I am pro-self-pub and pro-trad-pub.

Allow me to clarify...

#2: Publishing Companies Don’t Actually Do Anything: 
This is untrue for the most part. Publishers do a LOT for their authors; much of it is behind the scenes stuff that authors never have to worry about, such as sending copies to Library of Congress, obtaining and registering ISBNs, obtaining UPC and other codes, finding good editors, finding great cover designers, aligning with a solid distributor so your books get to bookstores and events on time, preparing review lists and packages to entice advance reviewers to read your book, sending out ARCs (advance reading (or review) copies), and so many other tasks BEFORE your book is ready to sell. Of course, self-pub'd authors CAN do these things themselves, but it'll cost time, money and they may not have the connections needed.  

When the book launches, many publishers will assist with book tours and launches (some financially, some with setup), they often pay for co-ops in bookstores (endcaps or special bins that get more notice and advertising), represent the author at book fairs like BEA and the former BEC and more, print brochures and mail out to libraries, schools, bookstores and other book retailers.  

I'm not saying that every traditional publisher does all of this. But a reputable and good one will do much of this. I have heard this from MANY of my traditionally published author friends. 

#3: You Will Make More Money: 
This is very misleading. When you self-pub a book, you WILL make more money per copy--providing you sell them all and AFTER you've paid for them. But the average s/pub'd author prints short runs, anywhere from 200-1000 books on average. S/pub'd authors who write non-fiction and have a strong platform and venues like colleges or organizations to sell their books to will generally print larger runs. These are the s/pub'd authors who tend to make more money. But they also spend more in traveling expenses.  

The average self-pub'd fiction author will make more per copy but sell far fewer copies than they would if they were traditionally published. I know this from experience and from my fellow authors who have shared their stories. I self-pub'd Whale Song in 2003. It was quite successful and I made back my initial investment (subsidized costs and print costs) very quickly. In the first 3 years I made a fair amount of money. In 2007, Whale Song was published by a trad. publisher. A larger print run was printed (one I didn't have to pay for) and the distributor got my books into more libraries and stores than I had on my own. In the first 2 years, I sold more copies because of distribution and advertising that my publisher did. I made MORE money this way.  

#4: You Will Spend Less Money: 
After reviewing my income tax forms, I can safely say that I spent very close to the same amount with each method I used. When I self-published I had a lot of start-up expenses and printing costs. When I was traditionally published, I had other expenses, like sending out review copies to anyone I wanted to (not including the major reviewers that my publisher took care of). My promotion costs in both cases were nearly the same. However, I spent more on my book launch for my last self-pub'd book than I did for the trad. published one. No matter if you're self-pub'd or trad pub'd there are opportunities out there that will cost money or save you money. (I'm a book marketing coach, and I coach authors about promotion.)  

#5: A Publisher Will Never Care As Much As You Do: 
This statement is both correct and incorrect, in my opinion. You, the author, will care more about your creation as a whole, because you thought it up, slaved over it, perfected it, struggled with it, loved it/hated it, etc. You WANT success so badly that you see your work as a pedway to the top.  

However, a publisher cares too. They see your work as an INVESTMENT. They've purchased the rights, taken a huge leap of faith on it and YOU, they've risked their finances, time and reputation on you and your work. Of course they care. But yes, for different reasons (for the most part) than you, the author. Although, I have heard that there are still some publishers out there who genuinely care about their authors, the books and everyone's success.  

#1: Self-Publishing is Not Nearly as Difficult As You Think: 
This statement is absolutely correct. Nowadays, self-publishing is as easy as a good printer and binding equipment. That doesn't mean the work itself is any good--or the editing. I advise my clients who are considering self-publishing to ensure that their work meets the same high standards of trad. pub'd books. Yes, even a bestseller can have typos, but on average they are better edited. If you self-pub, hire an editor. If you aren't artistically talented, pay for an eye-catching book cover design, not some cheesy looking cut and paste design a ten-year-old could make. You can self-pub completely on your own (I call this DIY self-publishing) or with the assistance of a subsidy publisher (they often have great distribution set in place to get you up and selling much faster than DIY) and some subsidies offer decent editing.  

Regardless of how you publish, make sure you check the publisher (printer, distributor, editor) out very carefully. Contact some of their past and present authors and ask how their experiences were. Check them out on Preditors and Editors and Absolute Write. Above all, be informed about all the pros and cons.  

Happy writing, publishing and promoting!  

Cheryl Kaye Tardif, 
bestselling author & book marketing coach 
http://www.cherylktardif.com  
http://www.shamelessbookpromoter.com