Kae Cheatham's Blog: Whoa! Another Author?, page 22

Why are Bookstores Closing?

Can ebooks be the total blame? I think not. There's a lack of logic in many of the chain stores. For instance, Why have 40,000 titles on shelves for people to browse, and probably not buy? Not only are you in debt to your earlobes to publishers and distributors (Joseph Banks reportedly owes nearly $200,000 to Ingrams), but many of those books can't be returned. Also, many large chain bookstores are set up like a library; you can sit and read—have latte.... If you went every day or so, you could finish a whole book and not have to buy it.

The "chummy" attitude is also lost in large chain bookstores. Very few have knowledgeable sales people who will recommend a title, or, more importantly, who know what you read last and ask if you liked it. Hmm, Amazon does all that electronically, offering suggestions, and encouraging reader reviews. But Amazon doesn't supply the human factor that you can find with smaller indy booksellers.

Then there are other factors in the bookstore-closing dilemma. John B. Thompson's book Merchants of Culture (Polity Press 2010) covers a lot of them. This interview tells more. "The publishing industry is in trouble—but not just because of the digital revolution."

Some other reasons? You tell me.

Self Promotion - What You Know

I'm not one to hit the road on a big self-promotion tour, but I've found that the side route works rather well and can be used years after the book came out. That is, talk about and publicize the history behind the story and/or your experience as a writer.For two of my historical fiction titles Kansas Dreamer and Spotted Flower and the Ponokomita, I've developed presentations based on the history

Odds and Ends

The Google ebookstore is open. Which bookstores across the country have already signed up to be Google eBook distributors? You can find out if any are in your area at Indie Bound
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If you like natural light shows, this one is touted as being the best this year. Earth is headed into the stream meteorites created by the asteroid Paethon and will be best viewed in the wee hours of December 14th

Fluke Opportunities

Six rounds down and four to go in the National Finals Rodeo. This might not seem related to writing and books, but...Rodeo has been very good to me.Back in the 1990 when I lived in Tennessee, I freelanced in action photography and writing (huh, I still do). A horseman training my gelding to be a header (rodeo term) suggested I take pictures at his ranch for a charity team-roping competition. 5-

Poetry Forms

In a lot of modern poetry, form and structure seem to have disappeared. I like reading it, though. I often use traditional poetry to jump start a prose project; word usage is crucial in poems and the discipline gets me focused.Poetry comes in many forms, some of which have been around for centuries. The sonnet dates back to 13th century Italy. Japanese haiku: evolved from the 16th century; this

Poetry-Form Quiz

What poetry form became popular in the mid-19th century?
haikufree verselimericksonnetnone of the above

?? Here's the answer
Another quiz next Sunday
There's also a different quiz on the Get It Together Productions blog.

Does it matter?

More negativity for the ebook revolution.
Matthew Carter, a highly-reknown and international type designer, is bummed that with ebooks, "every book is identical" with no font variation or page size, etc.
Does this matter to you?
I really don't pay much attention to font, unless it's hard to read. The words are what draw me, not their physical presentation. Seems like just another bah-humbug on

MS Rewrite rewrite

I've been struggling with detailed rewrite of my longtime (I've been working on it for more than a decade) SF novel Dead Heroes. I knew the MS was too long. Nearly 137.000 words. My gut feelings were confirmed by Peter Watts' preface in his SF book Behemoth. He says, "...books by midlist authors will not receive wide distribution if they [the book] cost too much--that is, if they weigh in at more

Mystery Definitions

A few years ago, Steven Womack invited me to the opening autograph party for his book By Blood Written, from Severn House. In the 1990s, Steve and I were both part of the indefatigable still-in-existence Nashville Writers Alliance (the group started in 1978). He knew I couldn't get to the event (1800 miles away) but he usually keeps me in the loop on writing endeavors. About By Blood Written,

Early American Writer

James Fenimore Cooper is one of America's first novelists. In his first series, The Littlepage Manuscripts, Corny Littlepage was the hero of the Satanstoe. Other books in the series, (written in two years!) are The Chainbearer and The Redskins. All the novels deal with the anti-rent controversy of the mid-1840s.Cooper's strong political feelings in favor of the landed gentry progressively colored