Robin Spano's Blog, page 3
March 2, 2012
Romance and Beyond
Today is all about romance.
A few months ago, I read this quirky review of Death Plays Poker that made me curious to know more about the reviewer. So I looked up Sherry Isaac and found this groovy writer chick who lives in my hometown (Toronto) where I no longer live. I contacted her and said thanks for the review, and we engaged in some email banter.
The following month, I invited Sherry to the launch of Death Plays Poker at Ben McNally Books in Toronto. We had a thirty-second conversation (the downside of a good turnout) and she gave me a copy of her book, Storyteller. I've read the first story and love it – it's quietly eccentric, just like Sherry, and very well-written.
Then she invited me to participate in her romance writing blog. She asked for a guest post and some answers to some of the most hilarious interview questions I have ever been asked (like who's sexier, a mechanic or a Mountie?). Here are those posts:
Interview – posted Feb. 28
Guest Post (about Clare and her lovers) – posted today
The guest post is also a GIVEAWAY – so feel free to leave a comment on Romance and Beyond if you'd like to be entered to win a copy of Death Plays Poker. Thanks so much to ECW Press for generously donating this copy.
February 23, 2012
Amazon vs. IPG – What are these mystery terms?
If you go looking for my books on Kindle today, I'm sad to say you won't see them. Or any other ECW Press book. Or any of the 4, 443 other books from publishers served by IPG.
IPG – one of North America's largest distributors for independent publishers – is at a deadlock with Amazon Kindle. All IPG titles have been pulled from Kindle because IPG will not agree to new terms proposed by Amazon.
I think this is cool. It's the small fighting the big, digging their (our) heels in and saying no thanks to terms we can't live with. While Amazon is the leading seller of ebooks, it's never worth bending over for a bully. Better to bite the initial cost and look for creative ways around the problem. My gut says this is a good fight.
But I still need more details to be sure.
Amazon has been a great innovator in a lot of ways, and I agree with a lot of the points in J.A. Konrath's recent post about the so-called evils of Amazon. But in recent months, I've heard more and more people complain about Amazon's bullying. I'm open to the possibility that Amazon has been growing too big and evil to continue to be a positive force for the book industry.
So I'm curious: What are these terms that are keeping our books off of Kindle? This New York Times article gives the most information I've seen. Yet it still doesn't answer the question.
Amazon is asking for something relating to ebooks. Is it a higher margin? Are they insisting on lower prices? Maybe both?
IPG says that these new terms are unsustainable for publishers. Which I sympathize with. Publishers are closing all over the place – it's not the time to punch them in the gut with more financial pressure. It's great that independent presses have a company like IPG who can fight on their behalf, with their survival interests at heart.
But is IPG right that these new terms will harm publishers? I'm having trouble jumping on their bandwagon without more specifics.
Mathematically, I see lower ebook prices as more profitable for publishers. This experiment helps confirm that for me. So if Amazon is asking to sell ebooks for lower prices while keeping publishers' profit margins intact, I'm okay with that. (Though I admit that in IPG's shoes, I'd still want to fight for the right to price books however the publishers want to.)
If, however, Amazon is pulling a Walmart – squeezing a higher and higher percentage from publishers until the people who make the books are effectively Amazon employees – then I'd like to know that too, so I can climb on my horse and fight alongside IPG and all the other people who have been feeling bullied by Amazon.
I support IPG for not yielding to the bully here. They clearly have a strong conviction, I feel like their motives are pure (whether I agree with their math or not), and I'm happy for my books to be included in their leverage.
But if you're using my books as leverage, I'd love to know what the terms are.
What does Amazon want?
February 17, 2012
Money and Murder and Colleen Cross
Good thing I have a blog, huh? I'm averaging one post for every two I write for other people's blogs…
Today I'm over at my friend Colleen Cross's blog, talking about what money reveals about someone's character, both in life and in fiction. Here's the link.
It's also Colleen's book launch tonight, for her debut crime novel, Exit Strategy. (6-9 p.m., Heritage Grill in New Westminster – 447 Columbia St., near Columbia Skytrain). It's a fun read, blood diamonds and international intrigue. Everyone is welcome.
February 10, 2012
Sweater Curse
I'm being interviewed by fellow crime writer Leanne Dyck today – over at her blog The Sweater Curse. Stop in and say hi.
January 20, 2012
Have Your Book & E-Read It Too
A kick-ass move from ECW Press helps independent bookstores get into the ebook game – at least for ECW titles.
Buy any book from their Spring 2012 list – and many, many backlist titles – and get the ebook free.
Says ECW co-publisher David Caron: "When readers pay top price for one of our books, we feel they should be able to read it in the way that fits best with their life: a printed book in a comfy chair, an eBook on their phone on the bus, whatever. We also wanted to find a way to include bookstores that don't sell eBooks, so that both the store's customers and the bookseller feel that they are getting good value from an ECW Press book."
How it works:
1. Buy the book anywhere.
2. Email ECW Press with your sales details (receipt number, where you bought it).
3. They'll email you back with your free ebook attached.
They're also honoring the deal for a large number of backlist titles – including Death Plays Poker & Dead Politician Society, to my delight – on sales going forward.
ECW is a quirky Canadian independent press. They publish over 50 books a year from an eclectic range of excellent authors – like John McFetridge (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is one of the best and grittiest crime novels I've ever read), Douglas Gibson (whose recent book Stories About Storytellers is a fun memoir of his life in publishing, Catherine Gildiner (whose memoir Too Close to the Falls is so fast and funny I thought I was reading fiction), and many, many more.
To find out if your ECW title qualifies you for a free ebook, shoot them an email to find out.
Just one more reason I am stoked to be working with this groundbreaking, word-loving publisher.
December 7, 2011
Ebook Bundle
What should an ebook cost? Opinions are floating around everywhere. Some say $0.99, others say $12.99. There's a big school of thought that says $2.99. My gut says $4.99 is a reasonable price - it both pays the people who work on the book and acknowledges that an ebook is indeed worth less money than a print book. My publisher likes the price around $10.
It's my publisher's call how they price my books. And I'm fine with that - they're smart people with an eye on the changing industry. Like most traditional publishers, they like higher ebook prices than I do. But unlike most traditional publishers, they're entertaining the discussion - they're willing to play with the pricing of my books so we can do market research together.
The next step in the ongoing ebook price experiment with ECW Press and the Clare Vengel series: a 2-in-1 bundle from Kindle.
I'm excited about this one - it satisfies both my thinking that the price of an ebook should be approximately half of a print book, and it satisfies my publisher's position that to sell a book too cheaply devalues the book, makes it appear to be worth less. So for $9.99, both Dead Politician Society and Death Plays Poker are being bundled into one ebook - Clare Vengel Undercover Mysteries
This isn't a deep enough discount that people who aren't excited about the books themselves will buy it (like the $1.99 or even $2.99 experiments were), but it's what I'd call a reasonable price for a book you can't pass on to a friend or leave in your guest room.
I'll post results when they begin to make themselves clear. Still waiting on stats from the $2.99 experiment, but (IMO) the $1.99 results ring loud and clear in favor of lower pricing.
October 7, 2011
Death Plays Poker - Free Playing Cards
If you enjoyed reading Death Plays Poker, I'd love to mail you a souvenir pack of playing cards.
If you share your thoughts about the book - on your blog, Goodreads, Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Shelfari, Library Thing - or anywhere else online, let me know and we'll send cards.
Doesn't have to be a good review - I'm interested in honest reader feedback. (Though naturally I hope you love the book and Clare!)
This offer is good until the end of 2011 - or until supplies last, but we have lots - so no rush if you haven't started reading.
Just shoot me an email - robin@robinspano.com - with your mailing address and links to your online reviews.
BONUS: If you post your review on a poker blog or poker forum, we'll also send you a free copy of Ryan Wiseman's Earn $30,000 per Month Playing Online Poker: A Step-By-Step Guide to Single Table Tournaments. We have five copies of this book to give away, generously donated by ECW Press
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October 4, 2011
New E-book Experiment: $2.99 through October
I think ebook prices are too high. It's not that I think a great read isn't worth $10-$15 -- it's worth way more. But I think lower prices will get books into readers' hands quicker. I think $4.99 is the right price -- the price that sells books and pays the people who work on them.
My publisher, ECW Press, begs to differ - they think the current industry standard is about right. But they've been cool enough to run experiments with me to see if the marketplace says differently.
We ran an experiment in December -- results are here -- that we both interpreted differently. (To me, it was clear that people would buy more ebooks if they were cheaper; ECW felt the success of the experiment lay more in the promotion.)
But ECW is an open-minded press. They publish books with an edge, and they watch the industry with an edge. They want to know what consumers want, and (unlike any other publisher I've ever heard of) they listen to ideas from writers, too.
So they're trying this new experiment -- a slower, less dramatic one. For the month of October, Dead Politician Society will be $2.99 across several platforms.
This doubles as a promotion for Death Plays Poker, the second book in the series that was released a few days ago. (The wicked plan is to get people hooked on the series by giving them a cheap first taste, ha ha.)
But -- like with the first experiment -- my excitement lies in waiting for and interpreting the results. I'm just so curious to find that sweet spot, pricewise.
It's up on Kobo, Nook, Sony Reader Store, iTunes & Kindle.
I'll post the experiment results as soon as they're in.
August 16, 2011
Game One: Win a copy of Death Plays Poker
The first game is on Thursday, September 1 at 7 p.m. Pacific (10 p.m. Eastern). The winner will receive a signed copy of Death Plays Poker: A Clare Vengel Undercover Novel mailed to them upon release. The top 9 finishers will win a pack of Death Plays Poker playing cards.
Games will take place on Poker Stars Home Games - free software that's smooth and glitch-free. To enter:
- If you don't already have it, download the free Poker Stars software
- Open the main poker lobby, then click on the Home Games tab
- Click the 'Join a Poker Club' button
- Enter our Club ID number: 496866
- Enter our Invitation Code: clarevengel
Once we've approved your membership request (which we will - this game is open to everyone), you'll be able to enter any or all of the scheduled tournaments.
More games will be added to the roster throughout September - and as a member of our Home Games club, you'll be notified and invited to join them all. The final game will take place on October 1st - the release date of Death Plays Poker
August 4, 2011
Gambling for Books
Between September 1 and October 1, 2011 - the release date of Death Plays Poker - ECW Press and Robin Spano are teaming up to give away books.
Each prize pack will contain one signed copy of Death Plays Poker, a fun, edgy mystery set in the world of professional poker. ECW Press is also donating books from its poker strategy line to make prize packs more fun and varied.
No skill required - these games are free to enter and loads of fun.
To take part, email me & I'll send back an invite to our online poker room, run on Poker Stars Home Games. Over the next few weeks, we'll be scheduling games and announcing the prize packs. As a member of our poker room, you'll be notified of each new game and invited to sign up to play.
Invite your friends - the more people who join the poker room, the more games we'll run and the more books we'll give away.
See you at the tables!
