Review of The Red Church up at DigiScrapping. It's kind of cool to get reviews for an older book with a new leash on life. I'm working with Damien Navillus to do print layout and make it available in paper once again, like through a print-on-demand press. Since acquiring an ISBN, paying proof and set-up fees, and other overhead would run in the hundreds of dollars, and the ebooks are doing well with nothing more than time invested, it makes sense to do it directly through Amazon's Createspace, but I haven't made a final decision yet. I've been brainstorming ways to get the book back in print for at least a year, and, well, I'm not getting any younger.
If there's enough interest, I'll probably go ahead and release a print novel of The Skull Ring, probably in trade paperback size, and also work up a couple of graphic anthologies for the long-suffering DIRT series and GRAVE CONDITIONS. Let me know if you still like paper over plastic--I expect it will be three to five years before ebooks take a majority share of the reading market.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
New interview
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A new interview is up at the cool site Omega's Apple, compliments of Anthony Morgan. I'm starting on the Ghostwriter Publications ebooks, with Night of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith heading for the "little screen," a pulp creature classic.
Making the rounds of various digital sites like Mobile Reads, Kindle Boards and the Amazon forums, it seems opinions on digital book prices are still all over the map. I've been trying to approach the issue from a long-term view, notably in how authors will or won't control their long-term royalties, but few seem interested in that. In the meantime, I'm staying busy and going full steam ahead on the ebook effort, with The First going live on Amazon yesterday and soon to be headed for ePub, Sony Reader and other formats at Smashwords and Zulu Express. Work also continues on the freebie download, Write Good or Die, with Douglas Clegg and Alexandra Sokoloff contributing.
If you want to be a working-class hero, we're looking for more Microchips to join the Haunted Computer team--you'll get free advance reads and be in drawings for paper books as well. Email hauntedcomputerbooks@yahoo.com with "Microchip" in the subject line and let's cook some electrons!
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Skull Ring
Ten years ago, anyone publishing a book themselves was either foolish or an unrealistic fanatic. Two years ago, you were still snubbed by the professional writer's organizations and labeled "vanity press." Today, if you don't do it at some level, you're almost assuredly going to be left behind or turning over control of your content to a major corporation. I know, because I was right there laughing at the writers who used Xlibris and Publish America and turned out awful books that lost them hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. I'm not laughing anymore. I am smiling all the way to a cottage industry.
Inspired by success stories like JA Konrath and Lee Goldberg, and thinking of all the different books I have on submission in traditional routes, and grasping this incredible moment in publishing history, the time has come to try an original ebook release. The Skull Ring will be out March 1 for Kindle at Amazon and in most other ereader formats at Smashwords. Because other writers have inspired me with their honest accounting and war stories, I am encouraged to tell the story of this novel.
I wrote this in 2000, and it actually got me my first agent at William Morris. Long story short, The Red Church sold through the slush, the agent liked The Skull Ring, but we were busy with other titles for Kensington and somehow THE SKULL RING never really came up again, because it was a suspense novel and didn't really fit the brand we were all trying to build. The other issue was it featured a Satanic cult, and Satan isn't exactly a hot topic these days--though in the book, Satan isn't assumed to be real, though the cult is real, just as in "real life" there are people who worship Satan and most of us have never seen much direct evidence that the pointy-tailed red dude exists. I even rewrote the novel several times, updating it because back in 2000 cell phones weren't ubiquitous. The Full Moon Press was supposed to publish it in hardcover but the press dissolved after I waited about three years.
Here we are, 10 years later. I love this character, Julia Stone, and if readers like it, I have other adventures planned. There's no way anyone can dismiss it as a "horror novel," because it's clearly suspense, it has a spiritual theme, romance, and no supernatural elements besides a little psychological mindplay that induces suggestion. Sure, readers can dismiss it because it's crappy, or dated, or any of the thousand wonderful reasons that make us all individual readers with perceptions and opinions.
As for my career, though I have been regularly submitting projects and I'm confident a new direction is ahead, I have felt out of the loop the last couple of years, waiting, waiting, waiting. I have five books finished, three more underway, and plenty of ideas. Even if I got a traditional publishing deal, I doubt if all of those books would ever come out, because editors and publishers rightfully like to shape the direction of their investments.
My ebook sales of The Red Church have not been spectacular, but they have been inspiring. The new ebook story collections ASHES and FLOWERS are finding readers while the print versions languished. With the increasing royalty rate for ebooks, it's now a viable way to a professional career, assuming you connect with readers--which still is and always will be the final payoff. If I had 10 books out right now, doing as well as The Red Church, I would be making more than I do in my day job as a newspaper reporter (health insurance aside).
Lastly, there is something satisfying about developing my own vision for my work. If you've known me for a while, you know I love my organic garden, my laying hens, my wood stove, and my simple, low-cost lifestyle. Today I can imagine a cover (with talented support from Neil Jackson, the incredible force behind Ghostwriter Publications in the UK), categorize the book myself, handle the format, do everything a major publisher would do, and take all the blame! I am not sure what the future looks like, and perhaps it will turn out I should have sat on The Skull Ring (there's an image for you...) for another 10 years. But right now, on March 1, I am stepping out onto the ice. I hope you stand by with a rope and a warm cup of joe.
Because this will require either caffeine or a noose...
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Great Kindle Wars of 2010
One totally overlooked aspect of this is that the Big Six are actively nailing down authors for the Long Tail. I am intimately aware of several contracts that give the publisher eternal ebook rights as long as a laughable minimum royalty is achieved...$50 earned in six months in some cases, $200 or so seeming to become a new standard. Authors should be outraged. I have suspicion part of this high ebook pricing is to get more time to rope authors into these eternal deals and build up a huge catalog of ebooks while only paying authors 10-20 percent forever.
And it's an issue authors really don't want to talk about, and publishers certainly won't. Authors are getting screwed worse than anyone, however this goes. I understand many authors are reluctant to reveal contract details. But I can say with Kensington I simply licensed my work in the US for seven years, getting a shifting percentage for various formats. For ebooks, it's a 50/50 split of proceeds, which actually is fair if the publisher is backing you in print. It was fair to me at the time. I would certainly think differently now, especially about the seven years, and especially if the titles are not made easily available as ebooks at reasonable prices (only one is currently available for Kindle). The way I look at it, my partner publisher and I have lost (and are currently losing) a ton of easy money and potential audience. How can that be good for either of us?
We're taught to be so grateful when we get a book deal, and that we are so lucky, we shouldn't question anything. And, I know the delirium of getting accepted can leave one not worried about the fine print. Even as much as two years ago, I thought electronic rights were no big deal, and I think these are matters of personal perspective--because I read on a computer all day, the thought of doing it for leisure just gives me a headache. I didn't foresee screens without backlighting. I didn't grasp the convenience that would cause people to want a library of 1,500 titles on their hand-held, portable readers, or that they would vastly expand their subject areas, genres, and interests.
Authors who are signing pittance royalty deals on their ebooks are really going to regret it, and I think it's going to be a factor in the Great Kindle Wars of 2010 when a few megasellers break ranks. I still seek print deals and good partners because I believe that's the success model of the future. Yet I also value myself enough not to be a lifelong indentured servant who is not fairly compensated.
By the way, did I tell you I had a new ebook out?
And it's an issue authors really don't want to talk about, and publishers certainly won't. Authors are getting screwed worse than anyone, however this goes. I understand many authors are reluctant to reveal contract details. But I can say with Kensington I simply licensed my work in the US for seven years, getting a shifting percentage for various formats. For ebooks, it's a 50/50 split of proceeds, which actually is fair if the publisher is backing you in print. It was fair to me at the time. I would certainly think differently now, especially about the seven years, and especially if the titles are not made easily available as ebooks at reasonable prices (only one is currently available for Kindle). The way I look at it, my partner publisher and I have lost (and are currently losing) a ton of easy money and potential audience. How can that be good for either of us?
We're taught to be so grateful when we get a book deal, and that we are so lucky, we shouldn't question anything. And, I know the delirium of getting accepted can leave one not worried about the fine print. Even as much as two years ago, I thought electronic rights were no big deal, and I think these are matters of personal perspective--because I read on a computer all day, the thought of doing it for leisure just gives me a headache. I didn't foresee screens without backlighting. I didn't grasp the convenience that would cause people to want a library of 1,500 titles on their hand-held, portable readers, or that they would vastly expand their subject areas, genres, and interests.
Authors who are signing pittance royalty deals on their ebooks are really going to regret it, and I think it's going to be a factor in the Great Kindle Wars of 2010 when a few megasellers break ranks. I still seek print deals and good partners because I believe that's the success model of the future. Yet I also value myself enough not to be a lifelong indentured servant who is not fairly compensated.
By the way, did I tell you I had a new ebook out?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Digital daze
After running myself ragged on various forums and blogs reading opinions on ebooks, I've come to several conclusions that work for me:
a) there is no conclusion and we may never know what it was if one ever happens to come along
b) most in the industry really believe low ebook prices mean the death of literature as a career field
c) people will just have to make their own decisions and embrace whatever principles they hold over the issue
It did give me food for thought on low-end prices, and how major publishers who carefully plot a promotional campaign, release date, store placement, and product hype must get really upset when some snot-nosed indie brat breaks the Kindle Top 20 with a 99 cent ebook. I say let the writers price them at whatever they want, which Amazon currently is happy to do.
Thus far, I am releasing previously published (on paper, for the most part) material, so any revenue is gravy to me. I don't think it's demeaning my craft or undercutting my value to sell at a couple of bucks. Indeed, I am honored people want to read my work, and I suspect cumulatively, over time, I will make more off these secondary appearances than I will from their original publication through professional publishers.
Yet my model is predicated on certain assumptions I can't control, any more than major publishers can bank on hardcover sales remaining their bread and butter: Amazon and other outlets will always be open to independent authors and publishers; the ebook market keeps expanding; and readers will still be able to find me once the floodgates are thrown wide and four million writers finally get their chance to be "authors."
Who knows, maybe we bottom feeders will soon be griping about all those writers willing to give their work away for free.
a) there is no conclusion and we may never know what it was if one ever happens to come along
b) most in the industry really believe low ebook prices mean the death of literature as a career field
c) people will just have to make their own decisions and embrace whatever principles they hold over the issue
It did give me food for thought on low-end prices, and how major publishers who carefully plot a promotional campaign, release date, store placement, and product hype must get really upset when some snot-nosed indie brat breaks the Kindle Top 20 with a 99 cent ebook. I say let the writers price them at whatever they want, which Amazon currently is happy to do.
Thus far, I am releasing previously published (on paper, for the most part) material, so any revenue is gravy to me. I don't think it's demeaning my craft or undercutting my value to sell at a couple of bucks. Indeed, I am honored people want to read my work, and I suspect cumulatively, over time, I will make more off these secondary appearances than I will from their original publication through professional publishers.
Yet my model is predicated on certain assumptions I can't control, any more than major publishers can bank on hardcover sales remaining their bread and butter: Amazon and other outlets will always be open to independent authors and publishers; the ebook market keeps expanding; and readers will still be able to find me once the floodgates are thrown wide and four million writers finally get their chance to be "authors."
Who knows, maybe we bottom feeders will soon be griping about all those writers willing to give their work away for free.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
New digital publishing venture
This is really a no-brainer, given the rapid changes in the publishing world. I have launched Haunted Computer Productions as an ebook enterprise, working in collaboration with Ghostwriter Publications in the UK. Our plan right now is to take over the world on each side of the Big Pond. It's a perfect storm of conditions (and I promise we won't use many cliches like "perfect storm") to engage in this--there's a generation of authors who aren't as tech savvy but whose books have already been published, had their day on the shelves, and gone out of print. There is no reason for those books to be gone forever.
Right now we are talking with a couple of genre authors to get their ebooks up on a writer-friendly model. They can pull out at any time. I have been thinking about this a couple of months, having spent the time to learn about ebook formatting and having undergone the frustration of waiting for six months on a submission or two years for a book to hit the shelves. HCP is not about instant gratification by writers who aren't "good enough" to sell in New York. In fact, some of these authors have sold hundreds of thousands of print copies. I am considering a few select original titles, and my standards are as tough as anything in major publishing. The main difference is that I don't have a profit-margin sheet that guides decisions. All I need is passion and a few hours of time.
Personally, I am still pursuing major publishing deals because I still believe that's what authors should do if they want a professional career, and you'll benefit from the nurturing, editing, promotion, and bookstore presence. But there's a growing ebook audience whose needs are not fully met because they are only now realizing their hunger. I hope you will follow us at our new blog and support us if we look interesting.
Right now we are talking with a couple of genre authors to get their ebooks up on a writer-friendly model. They can pull out at any time. I have been thinking about this a couple of months, having spent the time to learn about ebook formatting and having undergone the frustration of waiting for six months on a submission or two years for a book to hit the shelves. HCP is not about instant gratification by writers who aren't "good enough" to sell in New York. In fact, some of these authors have sold hundreds of thousands of print copies. I am considering a few select original titles, and my standards are as tough as anything in major publishing. The main difference is that I don't have a profit-margin sheet that guides decisions. All I need is passion and a few hours of time.
Personally, I am still pursuing major publishing deals because I still believe that's what authors should do if they want a professional career, and you'll benefit from the nurturing, editing, promotion, and bookstore presence. But there's a growing ebook audience whose needs are not fully met because they are only now realizing their hunger. I hope you will follow us at our new blog and support us if we look interesting.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Amazon-Macmillan Peace Treaty
Well, Amazon ceded the battle but the war was already over. Amazon, after pulling Macmillan titles for a couple of days over ebook prices, graciously relented and agreed to Macmillan's desired ebook prices of up to $14.99. I am surprised it was settled so quickly, but it actually makes sense. Amazon could certainly afford to hold out longer than Macmillan, but Amazon also risked its reputation as the world's top bookstore, a difficult claim to maintain when you don't carry one of the six major publishers in the United States. Macmillan risked almost everything, and I never believed the perceived threat of the Apple iPad carried much weight, because many consumers don't see it as a legitimate ebook reader. Instead, it's a computer you can read books on, just as you can your desktop.
Amazon wins by appearing gracious but it has already established the public perception of the value of an ebook, $9.99. No matter what happens from now on, the core foundation of ebook consumers has been presented the value of ebooks. Amazon gets to continue offering Macmillan products while making it clear they think the price is too high, but allowing consumers to make their own choice. Some consumers will pay the higher price for instant gratification. Others will wait for the ebook price to drop, as it inevitably will, in much the same way a paperback crowd bypasses a hardcover version.
Macmillan wins by getting its preferred price, though surely it is only temporary. When authors see they are getting only a tiny fraction of ebook royalties, and Amazon is waving a 70 percent royalty at them, it's clear that some authors will begin withholding their ebook rights unless the publisher is fairly compensating them overall (i.e., their paper sales are more than enough to offset this lost revenue.) Hopefully Macmillan will use the time it has bought to get a reasonable handle on ebooks and embrace the new market instead of trying to ignore the gorilla in the room.
Independent authors and small presses win because they have virtually no overhead and can offer their ebooks for a couple of bucks and compete for readers among value-minded consumers. True, they don't carry the name clout of major authors, but cumulatively they are a force that won't be ignored, because they have no stake in artificially high prices for ebooks.
Apple wins because it was all about promotion for its iPad. Apple and the publishing industry used the issue to get attention, and people who like Apple products will buy an iPad and all the assorted gimmicks, wireless plans, and other tethers that will keep them hooked to the Apple tree, and they will be happy. I don't think many of them will be reading books when they have so many other toys available. Either way, it expands the reality of ebooks.
And ebooks win, because this has been the single most-talked-about book news of the past few years, and brought ebooks to the mainstream. They undeniably exist now, and are important enough for corporations to war over. That is good news for readers everywhere, whether they go paper or plastic. More books, more diversity, more literacy, more stories, more education, and more joy.
Link to a good analysis by JA Konrath
Amazon wins by appearing gracious but it has already established the public perception of the value of an ebook, $9.99. No matter what happens from now on, the core foundation of ebook consumers has been presented the value of ebooks. Amazon gets to continue offering Macmillan products while making it clear they think the price is too high, but allowing consumers to make their own choice. Some consumers will pay the higher price for instant gratification. Others will wait for the ebook price to drop, as it inevitably will, in much the same way a paperback crowd bypasses a hardcover version.
Macmillan wins by getting its preferred price, though surely it is only temporary. When authors see they are getting only a tiny fraction of ebook royalties, and Amazon is waving a 70 percent royalty at them, it's clear that some authors will begin withholding their ebook rights unless the publisher is fairly compensating them overall (i.e., their paper sales are more than enough to offset this lost revenue.) Hopefully Macmillan will use the time it has bought to get a reasonable handle on ebooks and embrace the new market instead of trying to ignore the gorilla in the room.
Independent authors and small presses win because they have virtually no overhead and can offer their ebooks for a couple of bucks and compete for readers among value-minded consumers. True, they don't carry the name clout of major authors, but cumulatively they are a force that won't be ignored, because they have no stake in artificially high prices for ebooks.
Apple wins because it was all about promotion for its iPad. Apple and the publishing industry used the issue to get attention, and people who like Apple products will buy an iPad and all the assorted gimmicks, wireless plans, and other tethers that will keep them hooked to the Apple tree, and they will be happy. I don't think many of them will be reading books when they have so many other toys available. Either way, it expands the reality of ebooks.
And ebooks win, because this has been the single most-talked-about book news of the past few years, and brought ebooks to the mainstream. They undeniably exist now, and are important enough for corporations to war over. That is good news for readers everywhere, whether they go paper or plastic. More books, more diversity, more literacy, more stories, more education, and more joy.
Link to a good analysis by JA Konrath
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