Kelly McCullough's Blog, page 57
July 10, 2011
Chris on E-Reading
I should also mention the comment by Chris on my "Publishing and E-Publishing" post of
July 6. She talks about ways to find the e-books you want to read. Again, this is all interesting stuff. This is our future, as writers and readers, that is being talked about.
July 6. She talks about ways to find the e-books you want to read. Again, this is all interesting stuff. This is our future, as writers and readers, that is being talked about.
Shawn Enderlin on E-Publishing
Shawn Enderlin has a good comment on my "More About E-Publishing" post of July 6. If you are interested in this topic -- I certainly am -- then go read it.
July 9, 2011
Last Launch
Space shuttle orbiter Atlantis left planet Earth on Friday, July 8, embarking on the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. The momentous launch was the final one in NASA's 30 year space shuttle program that began with the launch of the first reusable spacecraft on April 12, 1981. In this reflective prelaunch image from July 7, Atlantis stands in a familiar spot on the Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A, after an early evening roll back of the pad's Rotating Service Structure. The historic orbital voyages of Atlantis have included a Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, deployment of Magellan, Galileo, and the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, and seven trips to the Russian space station Mir. Scheduled to dock once again with the International Space Station on Sunday, Atlantis has now made its 33rd and final trip to orbit.
July 8, 2011
Friday Cat Blogging
Could you turn the sun up a bit? This is good but…
They assembled the damn thing around me…
Meglet Cat of the Wild! (or reasonable facsimile therof)
Hold that pose…I'm a jump on your head!
They assembled the damn thing around me…
Meglet Cat of the Wild! (or reasonable facsimile therof)
Hold that pose…I'm a jump on your head!
July 7, 2011
More Stuff to Rile You Up
Scott Westerfeld talks about the WSJ kerfuffle over YA "darkness."
And the "Death of Science Fiction as Mythogenic Rejuvenation" part one and part two.
And the "Death of Science Fiction as Mythogenic Rejuvenation" part one and part two.
Even More About E-Publishing
Doug comments on my post below, asking how likely is it that anyone would buy foreign rights for a self-published e-book. Not likely, I would think. Two questions occur at once. Could English language readers get the original e-book on Amazon? This would knock out the British and Commonwealth Market. Given that translating costs money, would it be cost-effective to translate an e-book, which may be available at Amazon in English? How would it be sold? As print on paper or an e-book? How big are the markets involved? How creative are most publishers?
Doug also points out that Michael Stackpole is an established author in the world of paper books. Marketing becomes less of a problem, if people already know you name.
Finally, Stackpole writes very fast. Per his essay, he can write a novel in two months. That's six novels a year. This will give you a considerable backlist, over time. It also means you might have enough spare novels so you can try self-publishing.
If it takes you a year or more to write a novel, you are less likely to take risks with it.
I'm glad that people like Stackpole are testing the waters. I'm going to watch and see how they do.
Doug also points out that Michael Stackpole is an established author in the world of paper books. Marketing becomes less of a problem, if people already know you name.
Finally, Stackpole writes very fast. Per his essay, he can write a novel in two months. That's six novels a year. This will give you a considerable backlist, over time. It also means you might have enough spare novels so you can try self-publishing.
If it takes you a year or more to write a novel, you are less likely to take risks with it.
I'm glad that people like Stackpole are testing the waters. I'm going to watch and see how they do.
July 6, 2011
More About E-Publishing
In his essay Michael Stackpole writes:
A dozen books a week is 624 a year. Stackpole prices his books at $5. This results in an annual gross of $3,120. Stackpole's net will be between $2,964 and $2,184, depending on whether the books sell off his website or at Amazon.
Kelly and Lyda and Doug and Naomi can correct me, but my understanding is the current New York advance for a book by a new author is $5,000. I think there's an argument for selling to the New York houses, if you can.
The old advice for SF short fiction was start with the top markets, the ones that pay the best and are the most visible, and then work down.
It would seem to me that the hierarchy for novels starts with the New York houses, then goes to the SF specialty presses. Like the New York houses, the specialty presses produce books that look like science fiction. Some of them can get their books into chains. All of them (I think) are on Amazon. They have websites and catalogs. Many of them sell at conventions. And the best of them have good reputations. What they publish is worth looking at.
I would put self-publishing last. You get to keep more the revenue, if you self-publish, but you also do more work; and you are alone, without whatever help a publisher can provide.
When does one self-publish? My tendency right now would be to self-publish work that cannot be otherwise sold. Short story collections are very hard to sell, especially to the New York houses. Out-of-print novels have almost no market. You aren't going to make a lot of money, unless you have an extraordinary back list. But money is money, and it will mean that people who like your work can find it.
(Having said that, all of my out-of-print novels are available on Amazon, along with the three small press books I have done. All of Lyda's Archangel books are available, as are all of Naomi's books. Of course, if they are being sold by used book sellers, we don't get a cut.)
I would also argue that it's important to keep publishing, to remind yourself and the world that you are alive and writing. So if you hit a dry spell and can't sell, it may be a really good idea to self-publish a chapbook or collection or novel. It's another line in your bibliography. It's a new and recent publication date at Amazon.
When you get to the end of this blog, you'll see advertisements for books of mine. I know from experience, that the advertisement will sell, over the next week, a dozen copies of the books mentioned. The ones sold off my website will pay me 95% of the asking price immediately. The ones sold through Amazon will make me 70% which gets paid in 60 days.
A dozen books a week is 624 a year. Stackpole prices his books at $5. This results in an annual gross of $3,120. Stackpole's net will be between $2,964 and $2,184, depending on whether the books sell off his website or at Amazon.
Kelly and Lyda and Doug and Naomi can correct me, but my understanding is the current New York advance for a book by a new author is $5,000. I think there's an argument for selling to the New York houses, if you can.
The old advice for SF short fiction was start with the top markets, the ones that pay the best and are the most visible, and then work down.
It would seem to me that the hierarchy for novels starts with the New York houses, then goes to the SF specialty presses. Like the New York houses, the specialty presses produce books that look like science fiction. Some of them can get their books into chains. All of them (I think) are on Amazon. They have websites and catalogs. Many of them sell at conventions. And the best of them have good reputations. What they publish is worth looking at.
I would put self-publishing last. You get to keep more the revenue, if you self-publish, but you also do more work; and you are alone, without whatever help a publisher can provide.
When does one self-publish? My tendency right now would be to self-publish work that cannot be otherwise sold. Short story collections are very hard to sell, especially to the New York houses. Out-of-print novels have almost no market. You aren't going to make a lot of money, unless you have an extraordinary back list. But money is money, and it will mean that people who like your work can find it.
(Having said that, all of my out-of-print novels are available on Amazon, along with the three small press books I have done. All of Lyda's Archangel books are available, as are all of Naomi's books. Of course, if they are being sold by used book sellers, we don't get a cut.)
I would also argue that it's important to keep publishing, to remind yourself and the world that you are alive and writing. So if you hit a dry spell and can't sell, it may be a really good idea to self-publish a chapbook or collection or novel. It's another line in your bibliography. It's a new and recent publication date at Amazon.
Publishing and E-publishing
I read the Michael Stackpole essay and Doug's comment on it.
I agree with Doug, though I am going into a bit more detail.
Stackpole begins by talking about how little the New York publishing houses do for most of the books they publish. This is true. It's also nothing new. I had four SF novels published by New York houses between 1986 and 1993. What did the houses do for me? They copy edited the books, not always well; they printed them; they put covers on, usually with bad art; and they sold the books to bookstores, especially the chains. My books might have gotten a modest ad in Locus. That, so far as I know, was it; and that was 20+ years ago.
At the time I was furious at the lack of marketing. Now I think of it as par for the course; and it is not nothing. The New York houses do produce books that look like science fiction, which is important for reaching a science fiction audience. Much of their cover art is not good, though it has gotten better, due to the use of photography and computer graphics. (You no longer need to worry about artists who can't draw hands or do a three-quarters view of the human figure.) However, the blurbs and the cover copy are often pretty good. According to my editor of 20+ years ago, it's the covers and word of mouth that sell most books. Not reviews and not ads. The art grabs attention, and then -- I suspect -- the cover copy finishes the job of selling. If one is lucky, there is also word of mouth.
The New York houses get their books into bookstores, especially the chains. I check every time I go to my favorite Barnes & Noble and always find books by Kelly, Lyda and Doug.
All of this matters, even though we wish our publishers would do more.
Stackpole goes on to argue for self-publishing; and there are times when self-publishing may be a good idea, especially now, when you can produce e-books and sell them via Kindle and Nook. But the problem remains marketing.
The current system filters and channels. First if all, publishing houses do not publish just anything, though it sometimes seems they do. People who (in theory) know about books make decisions. Work that looks unsellable is not bought. The art and marketing departments decide how to package the book; and the sales team pitches the book to book store buyers. This is not a trivial task. The buyers can refuse to buy. I had a book pulled from production back in the 1980s, because the chain buyers did not like the (marvelous) cover.
Then the book store shelves the book in a section devoted to SF. In most cases, the section is of limited size and mostly contains recent books from New York houses, though some books and authors remain in stock, because they keep selling. When books first come out, they go onto the new release shelves, where they are more visible and have less competition.
I pick books by going to the new release shelves on a regular basis and looking first for authors I know and then for books with covers that look interesting. And I am influenced by word of mouth and (in some cases) reviews.
So even the minimal job a New York house does gets your book to a place where potential readers are likely to see it.
I have no idea what happens, if you self-publish an e-book. How do readers find it, among all the books on Amazon, Kindle and Nook? If they know your name and can spell it, they will find you. But what if you're an unknown author?
I agree with Doug, though I am going into a bit more detail.
Stackpole begins by talking about how little the New York publishing houses do for most of the books they publish. This is true. It's also nothing new. I had four SF novels published by New York houses between 1986 and 1993. What did the houses do for me? They copy edited the books, not always well; they printed them; they put covers on, usually with bad art; and they sold the books to bookstores, especially the chains. My books might have gotten a modest ad in Locus. That, so far as I know, was it; and that was 20+ years ago.
At the time I was furious at the lack of marketing. Now I think of it as par for the course; and it is not nothing. The New York houses do produce books that look like science fiction, which is important for reaching a science fiction audience. Much of their cover art is not good, though it has gotten better, due to the use of photography and computer graphics. (You no longer need to worry about artists who can't draw hands or do a three-quarters view of the human figure.) However, the blurbs and the cover copy are often pretty good. According to my editor of 20+ years ago, it's the covers and word of mouth that sell most books. Not reviews and not ads. The art grabs attention, and then -- I suspect -- the cover copy finishes the job of selling. If one is lucky, there is also word of mouth.
The New York houses get their books into bookstores, especially the chains. I check every time I go to my favorite Barnes & Noble and always find books by Kelly, Lyda and Doug.
All of this matters, even though we wish our publishers would do more.
Stackpole goes on to argue for self-publishing; and there are times when self-publishing may be a good idea, especially now, when you can produce e-books and sell them via Kindle and Nook. But the problem remains marketing.
The current system filters and channels. First if all, publishing houses do not publish just anything, though it sometimes seems they do. People who (in theory) know about books make decisions. Work that looks unsellable is not bought. The art and marketing departments decide how to package the book; and the sales team pitches the book to book store buyers. This is not a trivial task. The buyers can refuse to buy. I had a book pulled from production back in the 1980s, because the chain buyers did not like the (marvelous) cover.
Then the book store shelves the book in a section devoted to SF. In most cases, the section is of limited size and mostly contains recent books from New York houses, though some books and authors remain in stock, because they keep selling. When books first come out, they go onto the new release shelves, where they are more visible and have less competition.
I pick books by going to the new release shelves on a regular basis and looking first for authors I know and then for books with covers that look interesting. And I am influenced by word of mouth and (in some cases) reviews.
So even the minimal job a New York house does gets your book to a place where potential readers are likely to see it.
I have no idea what happens, if you self-publish an e-book. How do readers find it, among all the books on Amazon, Kindle and Nook? If they know your name and can spell it, they will find you. But what if you're an unknown author?
July 5, 2011
So True it Hurts
A very depressing, if realistic look at the e-publishing "revolution" by Michael Stackpole.
Book Biz News
Cheryl Morgan discusses Amazon.com's purchase of The Book Depository at her blog this morning.
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