Mark Phillips's Blog, page 4
September 9, 2014
On the importance of Community
Your neighbors aren't your friends.
I suppose that's not entirely true for everyone, but it is certainly more true than it was thirty years ago.
Block parties, barbecues, getting yelled at by the neighbor for playing in the street and playing bridge was once the norm.
The people of your neighborhood were your community. You looked after each other, you cared about each other and you were friends.
Our society has become more isolated and introverted and this is no longer the case.
Except on the internet.
Community thrives on the internet. Sure, it's not the same as the face-to-face interaction that we once had with our own neighbors, but it's something.
Look around the vast internet and you will find all sorts of communities. Some good, some bad.
Independent writers have a fairly strong community presence.
The question is: what kind of community are we going to be?
Liking Facebook pages and buying each other's books is helpful, but it doesn't reach our ultimate goal.
If all we do is buy each other's books then we are essentially trading the same money back and forth to each other.
Now I'm not saying that it isn't a good idea to support your fellow indie writers, far from it, what I'm saying is that we need to find a way to promote each other as much as we support each other.
We all have a certain fanbase and that fanbase consists of readers. And that's what we all need more of, readers. People who buy our books not because we will buy theirs, but people who only expect to be entertained for their money.
If videos of cops beating up citizens and people dumping ice on their heads can reach millions of people in several countries then there is no reason why word of our books can't reach the same number of people.
You see, the people on Facebook and Youtube are a community even if they don't realize it. They are in a community with every other person on Facebook even if they've never met them.
What binds them all together is their willingness to share things will a mass amount of people and spread it to all corners of the globe.
It's an internet daisy-chain that never ends.
This is what indie authors need to be doing. Promoting each other.
We are not in competition with one another, people read all types of books in this day and age.
We can all talk a big game and we can all promise to take action, but it's easier to think about doing something than it is to actually do it.
What we need to do is start introducing our readers to our fellow indie authors.
If this revolution is going to reach full steam it will require us to move it along.
There is no publishing company to help, there is no publicist.
There is only us. Helping each other and ourselves in the process.
So what kind of community are we going to be?
I suppose that's not entirely true for everyone, but it is certainly more true than it was thirty years ago.
Block parties, barbecues, getting yelled at by the neighbor for playing in the street and playing bridge was once the norm.
The people of your neighborhood were your community. You looked after each other, you cared about each other and you were friends.
Our society has become more isolated and introverted and this is no longer the case.
Except on the internet.
Community thrives on the internet. Sure, it's not the same as the face-to-face interaction that we once had with our own neighbors, but it's something.
Look around the vast internet and you will find all sorts of communities. Some good, some bad.
Independent writers have a fairly strong community presence.
The question is: what kind of community are we going to be?
Liking Facebook pages and buying each other's books is helpful, but it doesn't reach our ultimate goal.
If all we do is buy each other's books then we are essentially trading the same money back and forth to each other.
Now I'm not saying that it isn't a good idea to support your fellow indie writers, far from it, what I'm saying is that we need to find a way to promote each other as much as we support each other.
We all have a certain fanbase and that fanbase consists of readers. And that's what we all need more of, readers. People who buy our books not because we will buy theirs, but people who only expect to be entertained for their money.
If videos of cops beating up citizens and people dumping ice on their heads can reach millions of people in several countries then there is no reason why word of our books can't reach the same number of people.
You see, the people on Facebook and Youtube are a community even if they don't realize it. They are in a community with every other person on Facebook even if they've never met them.
What binds them all together is their willingness to share things will a mass amount of people and spread it to all corners of the globe.
It's an internet daisy-chain that never ends.
This is what indie authors need to be doing. Promoting each other.
We are not in competition with one another, people read all types of books in this day and age.
We can all talk a big game and we can all promise to take action, but it's easier to think about doing something than it is to actually do it.
What we need to do is start introducing our readers to our fellow indie authors.
If this revolution is going to reach full steam it will require us to move it along.
There is no publishing company to help, there is no publicist.
There is only us. Helping each other and ourselves in the process.
So what kind of community are we going to be?
August 27, 2014
On the importance of Mark Coker
I don't want this post to turn into one long commercial so I'm going to get that all out of the way upfront. This does relate to the point of this post; I promise.
There are two pieces of news here before I get to what I want to say. One is that my novel, Re-Test is currently free. The second is that my two novels, A Way Back to Life and Two Worlds are available for pre-order through all channels. Including Amazon.
Below are the links and then we get into the actual discussion.
A Way Back to Life:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Two Worlds:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Re-Test for Free:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Man, that was a lot of html. Okay, all that aside, let's get into this.
As you can see from the links above, Amazon has finally decided to allow indie authors to be able to make their books available for pre-order. As I stated in a previous blog, this is a wonderful marketing tool for all writers and one that is especially valuable for indie authors.
So why did Amazon decide to do this? I'm sure that part of it was to engender good public relations in the midst of the Amazon/Hachette dispute. Some of it was probably due to pressure from indie authors and some of it was because of Mark Coker.
Mr. Coker (for those who don't know) is the founder of Smashwords, one of the first direct publishing sites, which allowed the rise of indie authors.
Smashwords was one of the first to allow indie authors the chance to make their books available for pre-order.
Coker is a former silicon valley publicist and indie author who decided to found his website to democratize the publishing landscape and allow indie authors to publish to major platforms like Barnes & Noble and iTunes.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand that Mark Coker is trying to make money for himself. I know that many of his decisions are based on what will increase his profits.
Yet, there are two ways that companies can be profitable. One is by suppressing the people they serve and the other is by uplifting them.
Mark Coker has chosen to uplift indie writers. At this point, Smashwords is a pretty successful business model and he could sit back and just watch the money roll in, but he doesn't do that.
What he does is search for ways to help indie authors become more successful. He reaches out to many authors through email and talks to us one on one. He offers tips on marketing and formatting and he advocates for indie publishing.
When you're the little guy in the big pond having someone with some clout on your side is a big deal and Mark Coker has been that for many indie authors.
He pushed for pre-orders when others just wrote that off as something that was reserved for mainstream writers. He gave us the confidence to demand equal treatment from outlets like Amazon.
Now Amazon has been forced to come along and offer pre-order buttons for indie authors.
This is an exciting time in the publishing industry. There are many changes happening and it is energizing both readers and writers. Part of the reason for that is people like Mark Coker who followed a vision of what the publishing industry could become.
All of this is basically a long-winded way of me saying thank you to all the advocates of indie publishing out there.
If you haven't picked up an indie book before I urge you to try one.
Sure, there are many that are filled with errors and not very good, but there are also many hidden gems out there that never would have seen the light of day if not for Mark Coker and others like him who do what they can to promote indie authors.
Not to delve back into commercial status again, but I would like to throw my two newest books into the ring of novels you should read.
A Way Back to Life, and Two Worlds, are the two best novels that I've ever written. I would put them up against anything being published today. Literally any book. I think they are that good. I hate to sound arrogant, but I am immensely proud of these novels and I think anyone that reads them will love the time they spend with the characters.
If you're a writer that's interested in indie publishing there are few places you can go for information that are better than Smashwords. Check them out, and thank Mark Coker for making this all possible.
There are two pieces of news here before I get to what I want to say. One is that my novel, Re-Test is currently free. The second is that my two novels, A Way Back to Life and Two Worlds are available for pre-order through all channels. Including Amazon.
Below are the links and then we get into the actual discussion.
A Way Back to Life:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Two Worlds:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Re-Test for Free:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Smashwords
Man, that was a lot of html. Okay, all that aside, let's get into this.
As you can see from the links above, Amazon has finally decided to allow indie authors to be able to make their books available for pre-order. As I stated in a previous blog, this is a wonderful marketing tool for all writers and one that is especially valuable for indie authors.
So why did Amazon decide to do this? I'm sure that part of it was to engender good public relations in the midst of the Amazon/Hachette dispute. Some of it was probably due to pressure from indie authors and some of it was because of Mark Coker.
Mr. Coker (for those who don't know) is the founder of Smashwords, one of the first direct publishing sites, which allowed the rise of indie authors.
Smashwords was one of the first to allow indie authors the chance to make their books available for pre-order.
Coker is a former silicon valley publicist and indie author who decided to found his website to democratize the publishing landscape and allow indie authors to publish to major platforms like Barnes & Noble and iTunes.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand that Mark Coker is trying to make money for himself. I know that many of his decisions are based on what will increase his profits.
Yet, there are two ways that companies can be profitable. One is by suppressing the people they serve and the other is by uplifting them.
Mark Coker has chosen to uplift indie writers. At this point, Smashwords is a pretty successful business model and he could sit back and just watch the money roll in, but he doesn't do that.
What he does is search for ways to help indie authors become more successful. He reaches out to many authors through email and talks to us one on one. He offers tips on marketing and formatting and he advocates for indie publishing.
When you're the little guy in the big pond having someone with some clout on your side is a big deal and Mark Coker has been that for many indie authors.
He pushed for pre-orders when others just wrote that off as something that was reserved for mainstream writers. He gave us the confidence to demand equal treatment from outlets like Amazon.
Now Amazon has been forced to come along and offer pre-order buttons for indie authors.
This is an exciting time in the publishing industry. There are many changes happening and it is energizing both readers and writers. Part of the reason for that is people like Mark Coker who followed a vision of what the publishing industry could become.
All of this is basically a long-winded way of me saying thank you to all the advocates of indie publishing out there.
If you haven't picked up an indie book before I urge you to try one.
Sure, there are many that are filled with errors and not very good, but there are also many hidden gems out there that never would have seen the light of day if not for Mark Coker and others like him who do what they can to promote indie authors.
Not to delve back into commercial status again, but I would like to throw my two newest books into the ring of novels you should read.
A Way Back to Life, and Two Worlds, are the two best novels that I've ever written. I would put them up against anything being published today. Literally any book. I think they are that good. I hate to sound arrogant, but I am immensely proud of these novels and I think anyone that reads them will love the time they spend with the characters.
If you're a writer that's interested in indie publishing there are few places you can go for information that are better than Smashwords. Check them out, and thank Mark Coker for making this all possible.
August 9, 2014
On the importance of Debate
After my latest blog post, I received emails from a lot of you who wanted me to expand my point of view on the Hachette v. Amazon dispute. I've decided to take a different approach with this in an effort to present impartial facts.
Below are a list of points in the dispute and the argument/thought process of Hachette and Amazon. After that I will present my own opinion. Feel free to skip my opinion until the end so that you can form your own without bias.
Issue 1: Price, the biggest issue in the dispute by far.
Hachette: wants to control their own prices and wants to release e-books at $14.99 to $19.99.
Amazon: wants e-book prices to be 9.99 and below. They claim that for every book that would sell at $14.99, 1.74 would sell at $9.99. Example: 1000 books at $14.99, 1740 at $9.99
My thoughts: Hachette has not stated why they want their books to be priced so high so this is speculation on my part. It is not unreasonable for Hachette to want to control the price of their ebooks, what is unreasonable is the reasons.
Amazon has shown a brilliance at using their algorithms to figure out price points, trends, etc... so I believe their claim that people would buy more e-books at $9.99. Of course, Amazon fails to mention that the additional e-book sales will take away from hardcover and paperback sales for the author.
My opinion is that Hachette wants to keep prices at $14.99 and above for two reasons. The first (which has been speculated before) is that it will serve to protect more expensive hardcover books. The second (which has not be speculated as far as I can see) is that authors earn 25% royalties from e-books and only 12.5% royalties on hardcover books. Publishers have a larger profit margin on hardcovers and so they want to discourage e-books overtaking hardcover and paperback books.
Issue 2: Amazon wants to become a monopoly
Amazon: Doesn't really address this issue, but does say they support the free market.
Hachette: Understands that Amazon has a huge percentage of the e-book market and is looking to win this fight and establish a dominate position.
My thoughts: This is a lot of speculation on the part of Hachette authors, who are all too eager to shoot their mouths off and isn't based on facts. Currently, Amazon controls about 80% of the e-book market, which is a big chunk of the pie.
Gee, I wish there was one or five giant, billion-dollar corporations with some stake in publishing that could help make a more competitive marketplace for e-books. Oh wait, I just thought of someone, the "Big Five" publishing companies.
If you don't want Amazon to become a monopoly I'm with you. Now do something about it. What prevents Hachette, Simon and Schuster and the other major publishing houses from launching their own websites to sell e-books? What's that you say? Some of them do?
I checked out Simon and Schuster's website where they do sell e-book editions of their author's books. Why aren't they chipping into Amazon's market share? Look at the prices. It's kind of a fun game (not really) I selected Stephen King and all of his e-books were more expensive on Simon and Schuster's site.
That's not how the free market works. You can't just price something higher and then complain when Amazon prices it lower. How about this: actually compete with them. Make your prices lower and steal some of their market share. You know, the basis of our economy.
Basically, Hachette is saying we have our e-books priced at $14.99 on our website, you should just do what we're doing.
Issue 3: Readers are better served with lower e-book prices.
Hachette: Doesn't directly address this issue, but I'd like to share with you a tweet from Sherman Alexie: "If you love books & authors so much then why would you want to pay pennies (or nothing) to read them?"
Amazon: Believes that since e-books cost so much less than printed books that readers deserve lower costs.
My opinion: Sherman Alexie believes that $9.99 is pennies. I love when famous writers tell me to give them more money. It's so down-to-Earth.
It's a balancing act to be sure. You want affordable pricing because we all deserve that and yet we don't want lesser-known writers to starve. Yet, $9.99 won't starve them, and according to all the data will actually make them more money.
What I can't fathom is the ignorance of people like Sherman Alexie, Donna Tart and even my favorite author Stephen King. Your gripe shouldn't be with Amazon (who pays me 70% royalties) it should be with your publisher who takes a disproportionate amount of the money for themselves.
Issue 4: Amazon has unfairly screwed with Hachette author's books by taking away pre-orders on some and not stocking print versions in their warehouses and delaying shipping.
Hachette: Believes this is a dirty practice and shouldn't be tolerated.
Amazon: Claims that this was the only way to get Hachette to the bargaining table.
My opinion: Sorry Amazon but Hachette is right on this one. I don't know why Hachette failed to come to the negotiating table and I think it's wrong that they didn't do it sooner. However, Amazon could have easily claimed the moral high ground if they had left the authors alone and just pointed out that Hachette wasn't willing to talk.
Now they've lost that ability. I don't understand why Amazon did it but it has cost them a lot of good-will in this fight and it should. Messing with the authors was not the right tactic and I'll bet they regret it now.
My conclusions:
Amazon played it a bit heavy-handed at first and has since backed off a bit, but in the final analysis Hachette should be the one who comes off looking bad here. They are wrong in how they treat their writers, readers and business partners.
Amazon is not a perfect company and they are certainly out for higher profits, it just so happens that in this case their methods of earning higher profits is good for readers and writers. It's not good for bookstores and publishers.
The publishing world is changing. Everything is becoming electronic. Amazon can see that, Hachette cannot. That's what this fight is about. In the end Hachette will lose even if they win this fight because they don't seem willing to change their business model for a future that's inevitable.
You might not like it but e-books aren't only here to stay. They're here to dominate the marketplace. That's what's going to happen because it's what the majority of consumers want to happen. There is no stopping it, Hachette just isn't willing to accept it.
Below are a list of points in the dispute and the argument/thought process of Hachette and Amazon. After that I will present my own opinion. Feel free to skip my opinion until the end so that you can form your own without bias.
Issue 1: Price, the biggest issue in the dispute by far.
Hachette: wants to control their own prices and wants to release e-books at $14.99 to $19.99.
Amazon: wants e-book prices to be 9.99 and below. They claim that for every book that would sell at $14.99, 1.74 would sell at $9.99. Example: 1000 books at $14.99, 1740 at $9.99
My thoughts: Hachette has not stated why they want their books to be priced so high so this is speculation on my part. It is not unreasonable for Hachette to want to control the price of their ebooks, what is unreasonable is the reasons.
Amazon has shown a brilliance at using their algorithms to figure out price points, trends, etc... so I believe their claim that people would buy more e-books at $9.99. Of course, Amazon fails to mention that the additional e-book sales will take away from hardcover and paperback sales for the author.
My opinion is that Hachette wants to keep prices at $14.99 and above for two reasons. The first (which has been speculated before) is that it will serve to protect more expensive hardcover books. The second (which has not be speculated as far as I can see) is that authors earn 25% royalties from e-books and only 12.5% royalties on hardcover books. Publishers have a larger profit margin on hardcovers and so they want to discourage e-books overtaking hardcover and paperback books.
Issue 2: Amazon wants to become a monopoly
Amazon: Doesn't really address this issue, but does say they support the free market.
Hachette: Understands that Amazon has a huge percentage of the e-book market and is looking to win this fight and establish a dominate position.
My thoughts: This is a lot of speculation on the part of Hachette authors, who are all too eager to shoot their mouths off and isn't based on facts. Currently, Amazon controls about 80% of the e-book market, which is a big chunk of the pie.
Gee, I wish there was one or five giant, billion-dollar corporations with some stake in publishing that could help make a more competitive marketplace for e-books. Oh wait, I just thought of someone, the "Big Five" publishing companies.
If you don't want Amazon to become a monopoly I'm with you. Now do something about it. What prevents Hachette, Simon and Schuster and the other major publishing houses from launching their own websites to sell e-books? What's that you say? Some of them do?
I checked out Simon and Schuster's website where they do sell e-book editions of their author's books. Why aren't they chipping into Amazon's market share? Look at the prices. It's kind of a fun game (not really) I selected Stephen King and all of his e-books were more expensive on Simon and Schuster's site.
That's not how the free market works. You can't just price something higher and then complain when Amazon prices it lower. How about this: actually compete with them. Make your prices lower and steal some of their market share. You know, the basis of our economy.
Basically, Hachette is saying we have our e-books priced at $14.99 on our website, you should just do what we're doing.
Issue 3: Readers are better served with lower e-book prices.
Hachette: Doesn't directly address this issue, but I'd like to share with you a tweet from Sherman Alexie: "If you love books & authors so much then why would you want to pay pennies (or nothing) to read them?"
Amazon: Believes that since e-books cost so much less than printed books that readers deserve lower costs.
My opinion: Sherman Alexie believes that $9.99 is pennies. I love when famous writers tell me to give them more money. It's so down-to-Earth.
It's a balancing act to be sure. You want affordable pricing because we all deserve that and yet we don't want lesser-known writers to starve. Yet, $9.99 won't starve them, and according to all the data will actually make them more money.
What I can't fathom is the ignorance of people like Sherman Alexie, Donna Tart and even my favorite author Stephen King. Your gripe shouldn't be with Amazon (who pays me 70% royalties) it should be with your publisher who takes a disproportionate amount of the money for themselves.
Issue 4: Amazon has unfairly screwed with Hachette author's books by taking away pre-orders on some and not stocking print versions in their warehouses and delaying shipping.
Hachette: Believes this is a dirty practice and shouldn't be tolerated.
Amazon: Claims that this was the only way to get Hachette to the bargaining table.
My opinion: Sorry Amazon but Hachette is right on this one. I don't know why Hachette failed to come to the negotiating table and I think it's wrong that they didn't do it sooner. However, Amazon could have easily claimed the moral high ground if they had left the authors alone and just pointed out that Hachette wasn't willing to talk.
Now they've lost that ability. I don't understand why Amazon did it but it has cost them a lot of good-will in this fight and it should. Messing with the authors was not the right tactic and I'll bet they regret it now.
My conclusions:
Amazon played it a bit heavy-handed at first and has since backed off a bit, but in the final analysis Hachette should be the one who comes off looking bad here. They are wrong in how they treat their writers, readers and business partners.
Amazon is not a perfect company and they are certainly out for higher profits, it just so happens that in this case their methods of earning higher profits is good for readers and writers. It's not good for bookstores and publishers.
The publishing world is changing. Everything is becoming electronic. Amazon can see that, Hachette cannot. That's what this fight is about. In the end Hachette will lose even if they win this fight because they don't seem willing to change their business model for a future that's inevitable.
You might not like it but e-books aren't only here to stay. They're here to dominate the marketplace. That's what's going to happen because it's what the majority of consumers want to happen. There is no stopping it, Hachette just isn't willing to accept it.
July 31, 2014
On the importance of Perspective
Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert want my children to starve.
It's a crazy, joking claim, but let me explain.
Recently, Stephen Colbert went on his show with a vehement anti-Amazon rant and Sherman Alexie joined him in an interview to call for a boycott on Amazon.
All this is happening because of the bitter contract dispute between Amazon and Hachette, which is one of the "big five" publishing companies.
Now I don't care which side of this debate you're on. If you want to read more about the issue, I invite you to do so, but what I want to talk about is far more personal.
I understand that Stephen Colbert and Sherman Alexie want to stick up for their publisher, but does anyone honestly believe that pushing for a boycott of Amazon is going to bring that company down? Because that is an insane idea.
No, Amazon won't be hurt by a boycott. The people who are going to be hurt are the thousands of indie authors (including myself) who depend on the modest income we eke out by selling our books on Amazon. Money that we use to buy our children food.
If they're afraid that Amazon is going to monopolize the publishing industry, I don't blame them. I love Amazon, they have allowed me to do something that I never thought was possible--make a living from writing--but I don't want any company to have a monopoly.
Yet, it's not Amazon's job to stifle itself so that the publishing companies can pull themselves out of their old way of thinking and catch up to the rest of the world.
All this has happened before in the music industry. Do you think that record labels wanted to sell singles for .99 cents? I'm sure they didn't, but they dealt with the realities of new marketplace and they adjusted accordingly. Traditional publishing has not.
And, excuse me, but I am NOT going to weep over a billion dollar company like Hachette because they aren't getting their way. Traditional publishing companies like them have dominated the field of publishing for roughly two-hundred years.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think it's pretty shitty that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert are advocating a boycott of Amazon that won't hurt anyone except for independent authors.
Now maybe they hate indie authors? I hope that isn't the case, because I have been a fan of Stephen Colbert for many years and I would hate to think that he is that petty and insecure. They are basically advocating a position that will impede my livelihood and hurt my ability to earn the small living I make through Amazon sales.
We are the real victims of your boycott. This move will take food out of our children's mouths. If I sound angry about this, it's because I am God damn angry about it.
I didn't do anything to either of you. I watched Stephen Colbert's television show and I read Sherman Alexie's books. I was a small part of the support system that allows you to do what you do for a living.
Now I feel as if I have been stabbed in the back.
And it's important to note that Stephen Colbert and Sherman Alexie are members of a small group (less than one percent) of people who make a great deal of money from books. Most authors are royally screwed over by publishing companies as far as earnings go. A practice that Amazon doesn't endorse and has never done.
I don't care what your personal opinions are, I don't care what you tell your friends about the issue, but I do care when you go on your show and advocate a boycott that hampers my ability to make a living.
Maybe I'm not famous like you and maybe I'm not nearly as good of a writer as you, but does that mean that I, and all the other independant authors, should be thrown under the bus? Should we be the casualties of a war to try and hold onto an antiquated business model?
I'm sorry if you view me as the enemy. I certainly don't view you as the enemy, even though you probably sell more books in a day than I do in an entire year.
With the kind of popularity that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert possess, I think there comes a certain level of responsibility. Maybe that's wrong of me, but that's how I feel. When you have millions of fans who follow everything you say and do some of your actions could have very real consequences for a lot of other people.
Stephen Colbert's decision to rant on his show is certainly having an affect on my ability to provide for my family.
I hope that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert are not mean people. As I said before, I am fans of both of them.
I hope that all that happened was that they got caught up in something and didn't think about the ramifications of what they were doing.
I hope that one of both of you reads this. I know it's an enormous long-shot. I know that you're both for more important and far busier than I am. But I do hope that, somehow, you read it. Not to shame you, or make you feel bad, but to open your eyes to who you're really hurting.
Jeff Bezos will be fine no matter how successful your boycott is. Me, and the thousands of other indie writers who depend on Amazon to make a living, we won't be fine.
For more on this issue, I urge you to read Hugh Howey's blog and the Amazon blog. Mr. Howey states our shared position far more eloquently than I ever could and Amazon backs up their position with actual numbers and facts.
In this case, Stephen Colbert comes off looking like Fox News (in an unintentional way this time) by ignoring basic facts and relying on speculation.
Amazon Blog
Hugh Howey Blog
It's a crazy, joking claim, but let me explain.
Recently, Stephen Colbert went on his show with a vehement anti-Amazon rant and Sherman Alexie joined him in an interview to call for a boycott on Amazon.
All this is happening because of the bitter contract dispute between Amazon and Hachette, which is one of the "big five" publishing companies.
Now I don't care which side of this debate you're on. If you want to read more about the issue, I invite you to do so, but what I want to talk about is far more personal.
I understand that Stephen Colbert and Sherman Alexie want to stick up for their publisher, but does anyone honestly believe that pushing for a boycott of Amazon is going to bring that company down? Because that is an insane idea.
No, Amazon won't be hurt by a boycott. The people who are going to be hurt are the thousands of indie authors (including myself) who depend on the modest income we eke out by selling our books on Amazon. Money that we use to buy our children food.
If they're afraid that Amazon is going to monopolize the publishing industry, I don't blame them. I love Amazon, they have allowed me to do something that I never thought was possible--make a living from writing--but I don't want any company to have a monopoly.
Yet, it's not Amazon's job to stifle itself so that the publishing companies can pull themselves out of their old way of thinking and catch up to the rest of the world.
All this has happened before in the music industry. Do you think that record labels wanted to sell singles for .99 cents? I'm sure they didn't, but they dealt with the realities of new marketplace and they adjusted accordingly. Traditional publishing has not.
And, excuse me, but I am NOT going to weep over a billion dollar company like Hachette because they aren't getting their way. Traditional publishing companies like them have dominated the field of publishing for roughly two-hundred years.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think it's pretty shitty that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert are advocating a boycott of Amazon that won't hurt anyone except for independent authors.
Now maybe they hate indie authors? I hope that isn't the case, because I have been a fan of Stephen Colbert for many years and I would hate to think that he is that petty and insecure. They are basically advocating a position that will impede my livelihood and hurt my ability to earn the small living I make through Amazon sales.
We are the real victims of your boycott. This move will take food out of our children's mouths. If I sound angry about this, it's because I am God damn angry about it.
I didn't do anything to either of you. I watched Stephen Colbert's television show and I read Sherman Alexie's books. I was a small part of the support system that allows you to do what you do for a living.
Now I feel as if I have been stabbed in the back.
And it's important to note that Stephen Colbert and Sherman Alexie are members of a small group (less than one percent) of people who make a great deal of money from books. Most authors are royally screwed over by publishing companies as far as earnings go. A practice that Amazon doesn't endorse and has never done.
I don't care what your personal opinions are, I don't care what you tell your friends about the issue, but I do care when you go on your show and advocate a boycott that hampers my ability to make a living.
Maybe I'm not famous like you and maybe I'm not nearly as good of a writer as you, but does that mean that I, and all the other independant authors, should be thrown under the bus? Should we be the casualties of a war to try and hold onto an antiquated business model?
I'm sorry if you view me as the enemy. I certainly don't view you as the enemy, even though you probably sell more books in a day than I do in an entire year.
With the kind of popularity that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert possess, I think there comes a certain level of responsibility. Maybe that's wrong of me, but that's how I feel. When you have millions of fans who follow everything you say and do some of your actions could have very real consequences for a lot of other people.
Stephen Colbert's decision to rant on his show is certainly having an affect on my ability to provide for my family.
I hope that Sherman Alexie and Stephen Colbert are not mean people. As I said before, I am fans of both of them.
I hope that all that happened was that they got caught up in something and didn't think about the ramifications of what they were doing.
I hope that one of both of you reads this. I know it's an enormous long-shot. I know that you're both for more important and far busier than I am. But I do hope that, somehow, you read it. Not to shame you, or make you feel bad, but to open your eyes to who you're really hurting.
Jeff Bezos will be fine no matter how successful your boycott is. Me, and the thousands of other indie writers who depend on Amazon to make a living, we won't be fine.
For more on this issue, I urge you to read Hugh Howey's blog and the Amazon blog. Mr. Howey states our shared position far more eloquently than I ever could and Amazon backs up their position with actual numbers and facts.
In this case, Stephen Colbert comes off looking like Fox News (in an unintentional way this time) by ignoring basic facts and relying on speculation.
Amazon Blog
Hugh Howey Blog
July 25, 2014
On the importance of Perseverance
It is difficult to continue with something when you think you're heading in the wrong direction. It's more than self-doubt, it's the absolute assurance that what you're doing is not going to be good.
That's what I'm going through right now.
I have begun the first book of a fantasy series (I'm projecting about five books in the series) and I'm just over 45k words in.
It's dreadful. That's what I tell myself most days that I'm writing. Sure, there are a few good days here and there where I think "This isn't so bad" but more often than not I finish my writing for the day and shake my head in shame.
People who don't write might say, "Just change it up, start over, make it more interesting." Well that's a bit like telling a sculpture to just put a little of the marble back that he's chipped away.
Writing has never worked like that for me. I don't always feel completely in charge of what's going on. Stories have a life of their own and they unfold in their own unique ways.
My biggest obstacle is that I've never really written fantasy fiction before. I've read some of it and I've enjoyed it, but I haven't written anything.
So why write a fantasy series? Well, because I had the idea. A kernel of knowledge from my past came back to me and I had what I thought was a good idea. I still think it's a good idea, I'm just not confident that I'm doing it justice.
Add to all this the fact that I'm thinking about writing four more of these books and it's enough to make me scared to go to the computer.
This has rarely been a problem for me. But it did happen once, and it was quite recently.
I wrote a book called, Two Worlds, which will be released in September and I was convinced that the book was boring and dull and I just wasn't doing it justice. I slogged through and continued to write until the book was done and then I put it away for a couple of months.
I worked on other things and one day I realized that it was time to take, Two Worlds, out and read through it for the first edits.
What I discovered surprised me. Enough time had passed so that it seemed as if I were reading someone else's book.
And it was good.
Not to pat myself on the back, but better than good really. It was all that I wanted it to be and more. I think it's some of the finest work that I've done. I am very proud of that novel.
While I was writing it, I had doubts that it would ever be good enough to see publication.
Therein lies the lesson. When you are down in the trenches and fighting through the words and fighting to see the pictures in your head, it can all look gray and gloomy. It's wonderful when you feel the electricity hum through you and know that you're doing good work but that doesn't always happen.
Yet, you don't need that feeling to be doing good work. I certainly never had it when I was writing, Two Worlds, and yet it was there. The old magic that writers live for. It was on the page the whole time.
I just couldn't see it until I took a step back.
So no matter how hard it gets, no matter how ugly the sentences seem to you, don't give up. Continue clicking those keys and getting out your story. It will never be perfect (none of us ever are) but I'm willing to bet that it will be much better than you think.
Trust yourself and let the words come.
That's what I'm going through right now.
I have begun the first book of a fantasy series (I'm projecting about five books in the series) and I'm just over 45k words in.
It's dreadful. That's what I tell myself most days that I'm writing. Sure, there are a few good days here and there where I think "This isn't so bad" but more often than not I finish my writing for the day and shake my head in shame.
People who don't write might say, "Just change it up, start over, make it more interesting." Well that's a bit like telling a sculpture to just put a little of the marble back that he's chipped away.
Writing has never worked like that for me. I don't always feel completely in charge of what's going on. Stories have a life of their own and they unfold in their own unique ways.
My biggest obstacle is that I've never really written fantasy fiction before. I've read some of it and I've enjoyed it, but I haven't written anything.
So why write a fantasy series? Well, because I had the idea. A kernel of knowledge from my past came back to me and I had what I thought was a good idea. I still think it's a good idea, I'm just not confident that I'm doing it justice.
Add to all this the fact that I'm thinking about writing four more of these books and it's enough to make me scared to go to the computer.
This has rarely been a problem for me. But it did happen once, and it was quite recently.
I wrote a book called, Two Worlds, which will be released in September and I was convinced that the book was boring and dull and I just wasn't doing it justice. I slogged through and continued to write until the book was done and then I put it away for a couple of months.
I worked on other things and one day I realized that it was time to take, Two Worlds, out and read through it for the first edits.
What I discovered surprised me. Enough time had passed so that it seemed as if I were reading someone else's book.
And it was good.
Not to pat myself on the back, but better than good really. It was all that I wanted it to be and more. I think it's some of the finest work that I've done. I am very proud of that novel.
While I was writing it, I had doubts that it would ever be good enough to see publication.
Therein lies the lesson. When you are down in the trenches and fighting through the words and fighting to see the pictures in your head, it can all look gray and gloomy. It's wonderful when you feel the electricity hum through you and know that you're doing good work but that doesn't always happen.
Yet, you don't need that feeling to be doing good work. I certainly never had it when I was writing, Two Worlds, and yet it was there. The old magic that writers live for. It was on the page the whole time.
I just couldn't see it until I took a step back.
So no matter how hard it gets, no matter how ugly the sentences seem to you, don't give up. Continue clicking those keys and getting out your story. It will never be perfect (none of us ever are) but I'm willing to bet that it will be much better than you think.
Trust yourself and let the words come.
July 17, 2014
On the importance of Genre
There is an old adage in self-publishing. Except, I can't really call it an old adage because indie publishing has only really been flourishing for the last three years or so. We could call it a rule, but I prefer to call it what it really is: a lie.
The lie is this: You can only make money self-publishing romance or science fiction.
This is often said by the old guard. The few people inside and outside the publishing business that would love to hold on to the antiquated model of publishing.
Of course it's a pretty big thing that they are now admitting it's possible to make money through indie publishing.
Well Author Earnings has released their latest report and it's pretty surprising Report
My favorite graph is the one right at the bottom. It highlights that not only can indies sell romance and sci-fi/fantasy novels, but that they are doing it at a greater clip than the big five is.
What's more, in the coveted Mystery, thriller, suspense category the big five only have a slight lead over indie and small publishers.
The area where the big five dominates the most is in the literary category. This is a little disheartening for me, because I have two literary novels coming out in September. Yet, I take solace in the knowledge that just a few years ago it would be unthinkable that indie authors could make up almost a quarter of all mystery, thriller, suspense ebooks sold.
Perhaps an indie literary novel hasn't broken out because not many people are writing them. All I know is that I believe in my literary books. I put a lot into each of them and I think they will entertain while at the same time forming an emotion connection to readers.
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but then aren't we all? The writers and the readers alike? Aren't we all just dreamers who love the realm of imagination?
What this news really highlights is the trend towards electronic reading and a de-emphasis on the publisher. No one cares who published an ebook they buy on Amazon. If it's a brand-name author they care about that. If not, then all they care about is if the story sounds interesting, or if a friend recommended it.
I can't deny that romance and sci-fi/fantasy are the two most popular genres for indie books. But that doesn't mean that anyone needs to limit themselves. These numbers are only going to continue to slide towards indie publishing. Now is the time to make a name for yourself. No matter what the genre.
The lie is this: You can only make money self-publishing romance or science fiction.
This is often said by the old guard. The few people inside and outside the publishing business that would love to hold on to the antiquated model of publishing.
Of course it's a pretty big thing that they are now admitting it's possible to make money through indie publishing.
Well Author Earnings has released their latest report and it's pretty surprising Report
My favorite graph is the one right at the bottom. It highlights that not only can indies sell romance and sci-fi/fantasy novels, but that they are doing it at a greater clip than the big five is.
What's more, in the coveted Mystery, thriller, suspense category the big five only have a slight lead over indie and small publishers.
The area where the big five dominates the most is in the literary category. This is a little disheartening for me, because I have two literary novels coming out in September. Yet, I take solace in the knowledge that just a few years ago it would be unthinkable that indie authors could make up almost a quarter of all mystery, thriller, suspense ebooks sold.
Perhaps an indie literary novel hasn't broken out because not many people are writing them. All I know is that I believe in my literary books. I put a lot into each of them and I think they will entertain while at the same time forming an emotion connection to readers.
Maybe I'm a dreamer, but then aren't we all? The writers and the readers alike? Aren't we all just dreamers who love the realm of imagination?
What this news really highlights is the trend towards electronic reading and a de-emphasis on the publisher. No one cares who published an ebook they buy on Amazon. If it's a brand-name author they care about that. If not, then all they care about is if the story sounds interesting, or if a friend recommended it.
I can't deny that romance and sci-fi/fantasy are the two most popular genres for indie books. But that doesn't mean that anyone needs to limit themselves. These numbers are only going to continue to slide towards indie publishing. Now is the time to make a name for yourself. No matter what the genre.
July 9, 2014
On the importance of Support
Sometimes, when I sit down to write for another day, I reflect on the eighteen-year-old kid that I once was. A kid that had the wild idea that he should write a novel.
That novel (a space adventure called, Alone in the Darkness) never saw the light of day. In fact, only two people on the planet ever read it.
It was a bad book. Clearly an amateur attempt by a young man who didn't know any better. The great part about it though, was that I didn't know it sucked until about six years later when I pulled it out of a drawer and read it again.
I had completed five other novels in that period of time--none of them ever to be published--and I understood a lot more about the craft than I did when I sat down to write that first book.
But I will always love Alone in the Darkness, because it was the first. It was the book that ushered me into the hobby that would eventually become my profession.
As I continued to write short-stories and novels I began to show them to more and more people. I had grown confident that I wouldn't be completely humiliated. For the most part I was right.
Not all the comments were glowing, but almost all of them were helpful and they all spurred me on to keep writing even while the rejections from publishers piled up in my email inbox.
Then I met the woman who I will spend the rest of my life with. My beautiful wife, Carol.
Support is wonderful and great when it comes from interested family and friends, but it takes on a whole new meaning when it comes from the person who shares the house with you.
My wife helped me make the decision to begin writing full-time and see if I could make something of myself on the digital shelves.
She never once complained, she never once worried about money, she never once questioned any aspect of the decision. She was a constant source of love and support. She believed in me.
For a struggling artist, that belief means more than all the money in the world.
I know that some of the people who read my early works were being nice. They didn't tell me that the books weren't very good, because they were trying to spare my feelings. I can't thank them enough for sparing my feelings. If they had decided to crush me with brutal honesty I might have given up.
By the time Carol and I were married I had become a much better writer. I had read enough and written enough to be publishable.
Now, I suppose the jury is still out on how good of a writer I have become. I know that I am no longer embarrassed about my writing and that's a start.
I also know that my wife believed in me enough to take a giant leap of faith.
If you have that in your own life, cherish it. Turn to that person who supports you right now and let them know how much they mean to you.
Not everyone has that, you know. We are the lucky ones. We should never forget it.
That novel (a space adventure called, Alone in the Darkness) never saw the light of day. In fact, only two people on the planet ever read it.
It was a bad book. Clearly an amateur attempt by a young man who didn't know any better. The great part about it though, was that I didn't know it sucked until about six years later when I pulled it out of a drawer and read it again.
I had completed five other novels in that period of time--none of them ever to be published--and I understood a lot more about the craft than I did when I sat down to write that first book.
But I will always love Alone in the Darkness, because it was the first. It was the book that ushered me into the hobby that would eventually become my profession.
As I continued to write short-stories and novels I began to show them to more and more people. I had grown confident that I wouldn't be completely humiliated. For the most part I was right.
Not all the comments were glowing, but almost all of them were helpful and they all spurred me on to keep writing even while the rejections from publishers piled up in my email inbox.
Then I met the woman who I will spend the rest of my life with. My beautiful wife, Carol.
Support is wonderful and great when it comes from interested family and friends, but it takes on a whole new meaning when it comes from the person who shares the house with you.
My wife helped me make the decision to begin writing full-time and see if I could make something of myself on the digital shelves.
She never once complained, she never once worried about money, she never once questioned any aspect of the decision. She was a constant source of love and support. She believed in me.
For a struggling artist, that belief means more than all the money in the world.
I know that some of the people who read my early works were being nice. They didn't tell me that the books weren't very good, because they were trying to spare my feelings. I can't thank them enough for sparing my feelings. If they had decided to crush me with brutal honesty I might have given up.
By the time Carol and I were married I had become a much better writer. I had read enough and written enough to be publishable.
Now, I suppose the jury is still out on how good of a writer I have become. I know that I am no longer embarrassed about my writing and that's a start.
I also know that my wife believed in me enough to take a giant leap of faith.
If you have that in your own life, cherish it. Turn to that person who supports you right now and let them know how much they mean to you.
Not everyone has that, you know. We are the lucky ones. We should never forget it.
July 3, 2014
On the importance of Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey website
Some of you might be asking, "Who is Hugh Howey?"
Well, if you are a self-published author you should find out who he is very quickly. I've included a link to his website and excellent blog. If you drop him a line mention my name. Not because it will mean anything to him, I just think it would be cool if he knew my name.
Anyway, Hugh Howey is the bestselling author of Wool and several other books. He is the gold standard when it comes to indie authors.
Mr. Howey, decided to self-publish Wool because he is from the future. Okay, not really, but he has proven himself to be more than just a great writer; he is a visionary.
Howey could see that ebooks were the wave of the future, he could see that self-publishing offered more options than traditional publishing, he saw the value in an author having a chance to grow an audience.
You might ask yourself what was his secret? What kind of marketing caused his book to be a breakout hit?
The answer is none. There was no grand marketing scheme, no instant-bestseller button that he pushed. Howey told an interesting story in an entertaining fashion and people read it. Then those people told other people and they read it. Then (like in the old Heather Locklear commercial) they told some friends and so on, and so on, and so on...
After his brilliant success (including selling 20,000 to 30,000 copies a month. Yes, A MONTH!) Howey hooked up with an agent and they decided to hunt around for a very specific kind of publishing deal.
Howey turned down two seven-figure advances to sign a six-figure advance with Simon and Schuster, which allowed him to keep his digital publishing rights. It was a groundbreaking deal that made him into a "hybrid author".
Hugh Howey has written the blueprint to self-publishing success. No, there is no secret. All you have to do is write a great story in an entertaining fashion and then get lucky.
But if you keep doing it, if you keeping plugging away (and if your writing is good enough) you will get there.
If you do, the smart bet is to follow Howey's advice and hold on to your digital rights. Books go in and out of print all the time; digital is forever.
Some of you might be asking, "Who is Hugh Howey?"
Well, if you are a self-published author you should find out who he is very quickly. I've included a link to his website and excellent blog. If you drop him a line mention my name. Not because it will mean anything to him, I just think it would be cool if he knew my name.
Anyway, Hugh Howey is the bestselling author of Wool and several other books. He is the gold standard when it comes to indie authors.
Mr. Howey, decided to self-publish Wool because he is from the future. Okay, not really, but he has proven himself to be more than just a great writer; he is a visionary.
Howey could see that ebooks were the wave of the future, he could see that self-publishing offered more options than traditional publishing, he saw the value in an author having a chance to grow an audience.
You might ask yourself what was his secret? What kind of marketing caused his book to be a breakout hit?
The answer is none. There was no grand marketing scheme, no instant-bestseller button that he pushed. Howey told an interesting story in an entertaining fashion and people read it. Then those people told other people and they read it. Then (like in the old Heather Locklear commercial) they told some friends and so on, and so on, and so on...
After his brilliant success (including selling 20,000 to 30,000 copies a month. Yes, A MONTH!) Howey hooked up with an agent and they decided to hunt around for a very specific kind of publishing deal.
Howey turned down two seven-figure advances to sign a six-figure advance with Simon and Schuster, which allowed him to keep his digital publishing rights. It was a groundbreaking deal that made him into a "hybrid author".
Hugh Howey has written the blueprint to self-publishing success. No, there is no secret. All you have to do is write a great story in an entertaining fashion and then get lucky.
But if you keep doing it, if you keeping plugging away (and if your writing is good enough) you will get there.
If you do, the smart bet is to follow Howey's advice and hold on to your digital rights. Books go in and out of print all the time; digital is forever.
June 30, 2014
On the importance of Pre-order
You can pre-order my collection of short stories, Typewriter Blood, using the links below.
Barnes & Noble
Apple ibooks
I don't think it's any surprise that marketing is the biggest difference between traditionally published books and indie books.
Companies like Simon and Schuster simply have greater access to professional reviewers, newspapers, magazines and tons of other marketing platforms.
Thanks to the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and the internet as a whole, this advantage has been cut into a bit, but it's still an uphill climb for indie authors.
Now, however, indie writers have access to one marketing strategy that the traditional publishers have used for years: pre-orders.
Pre-orders help promote your book by allowing readers to see a sample of the book and buy it before the release date. Once the release date hits, the book is automatically downloaded to their ereading device.
It's great for writers because all those pre-order sales are saved and posted on the release date of the book. This helps the book move up the charts faster, which helps make it more visible to other readers.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not allow pre-orders at this time, but I think it will come.
The world of publishing is an ever-shifting landscape and I think pre-orders are here to stay.
As you can see, I am making my next book, Typewriter Blood, available for pre-order. If you're interested you can click the links at the top of the page and order it.
This is the fist time that I am participating in a pre-order and I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for reading.
Barnes & Noble
Apple ibooks
I don't think it's any surprise that marketing is the biggest difference between traditionally published books and indie books.
Companies like Simon and Schuster simply have greater access to professional reviewers, newspapers, magazines and tons of other marketing platforms.
Thanks to the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and the internet as a whole, this advantage has been cut into a bit, but it's still an uphill climb for indie authors.
Now, however, indie writers have access to one marketing strategy that the traditional publishers have used for years: pre-orders.
Pre-orders help promote your book by allowing readers to see a sample of the book and buy it before the release date. Once the release date hits, the book is automatically downloaded to their ereading device.
It's great for writers because all those pre-order sales are saved and posted on the release date of the book. This helps the book move up the charts faster, which helps make it more visible to other readers.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not allow pre-orders at this time, but I think it will come.
The world of publishing is an ever-shifting landscape and I think pre-orders are here to stay.
As you can see, I am making my next book, Typewriter Blood, available for pre-order. If you're interested you can click the links at the top of the page and order it.
This is the fist time that I am participating in a pre-order and I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for reading.
June 27, 2014
Typewriter Blood
My collection of short stories, Typewriter Blood, will be released on August 14th.
I am very much looking forward to the release of this collection. I think it has some excellent stories included that you will all enjoy.
I am very much looking forward to the release of this collection. I think it has some excellent stories included that you will all enjoy.
