From Joe Konrath:

One of the things I enjoy most about self-publishing is doing things that legacy publishers wouldn’t do.

Earlier this month I self-pubbed Haunted House. This is a Jack Kilborn novel, which means scary parts and shocking horror, but it also has more humor in it than the other Kilborn books.

The thing that made Haunted House liber non grata to legacy publishers was that it was a sequel to five other novels.

. . . .

I really love this idea. Blake Crouch, Ann Voss Peterson, and I have intertwined our universes in all sorts of ways, using each others’ characters in our stories, collaborating on new stories, making timelines that show how they all interact.

For example, Ann and I wrote three short Codename: Chandler novels (Hit, Exposed, Naughty) and three long Chandler novels (Flee, Spree, Three). They all form one long story, and include characters from Ann’s book Pushed Too Far, my Jack Daniels novels, Shot of Tequila, and two of Blake’s books, Abandon and Snowbound.

. . . .

I think of these as crossovers. Like when Spiderman makes a guest appearance in Uncanny X-Men. You can be an X-Men fan without knowing who Spiderman is and still enjoy the issue, but if you know him it’s like an added bonus.

Every one of our stories and books can be read as a stand-alone, with no prior knowledge of any other books and characters. But fans will find a lot of Easter eggs to smile at, old friends to revisit, and new friends who appear in other works they can seek out if they desire.

. . . .

From a writing standpoint, this was fun to do. As you know, every character should have a back story. In this case, I knew the back stories for these characters already, because they’d lived them in previous novels. Plus it was really satisfying to bring back my old heroes and see how they got along with newer ones.

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing and thanks to Joshua for the tip.

PG says if you want to see innovation in publishing, watch the indies.

From Joe Konrath:

Perhaps you’ve seen the ad James Patterson recently ran in the NYT. [Click Here if you haven't.]

. . . .

I respect Patterson for his marketing genius. I also like many of his books. He makes 94 million dollars a year, so he’s obviously doing quite a bit right.

But I’m not finding much to agree with here.

“what will happen to our literature?”

Perhaps writers will write it? Aren’t they the ones who wrote all of those books on that list?

One of those books mentioned above was Different Seasons by Stephen King. Does anyone think King will quit writing because the publishing world keeps changing and evolving? Is there anything that could get him to stop writing?

There are thousands of authors self-publishing. I’m sure some of them are writing great, important literature.

. . . .

“Who will discover and mentor new writers?”

When did writers become invalids who are incapable of growing, learning, and improving without hand-holding?

Are books such rare, delicate hothouse flowers that the utmost care must be given to their nurturing and feeding or they’ll perish without it?

With ebooks, the readers are the ones who discover new writers. And those readers actually have a chance to discover more books than ever before, because many of them were never mentored by the establishment.

. . . .

While there are substantive differences between mentoring and nurturing, I must say that while I was taught many things about legacy publishing by those in the business, I didn’t require any mentoring, nurturing, or hand-holding. I was lucky to find a good agent, Jane Dystel, who believed in me and was willing to work hard on my behalf, even when countless publishers rejected my books. Books that never were traditionally published, but have gone on to earn me over a million dollars.

The publishing industry did not teach me craft. I never required much editing. And though I never considered my books “important” I sure tried in vain to get my publishers behind them. Which never happened.

. . . .

And bookstores? Well, as my friend Ann Voss Peterson said, look how every musician stopped making music once all the record stores went out of business.

Oh, wait. People are still making music. Good music, in fact. And lots of it. Even without record stores in every town.

I also need to point out that there are a lot of great books released by legacy publishers that fail to ever find their audience, and then go out of print. Publishers can discover important novels, and then fail to properly promote them. Which brings up an interesting point: All of those important books on the above list are big bestsellers.

What about all the great books that don’t hit the NYT list? Who speaks for those?

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing and thanks to J.M. for the tip.

From Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing:

Barry: There are a lot of substantively interesting aspects of “Authors Guild” president Scott Turow’s April 7 New York Times op-ed, ”The Slow Death of the American Author.”

. . . .

Ask yourself, in fact, whether Turow’s latest cri de coeur might more accurately have been called, “The Slow Death of Legacy Publishing.”

In fairness, in misleading readers right from the title, Turow is doing no more than following the lead of the organization he represents, which given its consistent advocacy for the interests of legacy publishing has no business pretending it fundamentally concerns itself with what might be best for authors.

. . . .

Once upon a time, technology was such that the Great Guardians of Rich Culture and All That Is Good (AKA, the Establishment) could pontificate to the unwashed masses and there was no effective way for the masses to respond. In those days, anyone with access to a platform like, say, the New York Times had tremendous asymmetrical communication power. It’s hard to argue that this kind of one-way communication was a good thing — unless you believe that a lack of accountability, a lack of peer-review, and a lack of diverse pressure-checking is good for society.

Obviously, the Internet has in many ways leveled the communications playing field, and now, when the high and mighty speak down to the masses, the masses can — and do — respond. What’s fascinating is watching the reaction of people like Scott Turow, who act as though we’re still living in a world where two-way communication isn’t a real possibility and the masses can be safely ignored.

. . . .

Joe sez:

. . . .

1. The vast majority of authors have gotten screwed by legacy publishing. The legacy system has treated authors like you well, but most of us have been taken advantage of. This includes most of the members of the Guild you represent. Listen to their stories of rejection, poor royalties, broken promises, unconscionable contracts, rights grabs, terrible covers, orphaned books, undereported sales, shrinking advances, and how the legacy system you endorse is treating them worse than ever.

. . . .

Also, while I certainly understand and respect rushing to the defense of those who have done you a solid (in this case, the publishing industry that helped you earn a lot of money), that should be your agenda as Scott Turow NYT Bestselling Author, not Scott Turow President of the Authors Guild.

The Guild purportedly exists to help authors. For over a year, I’ve seen you do the opposite, spreading BS that hurts those very authors you and the Guild are supposed to

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

For PG, most April Fools website posts/articles are pretty lame. Writing humor isn’t a talent that’s frequently found among bloggers and journalists.

Joe Konrath is the only one who has generated a real chuckle so far today. PG won’t excerpt the post because it does a nice job of building to its conclusion.

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Q and A from Joe Konrath:

I’m going to answer emails in this blog post. Not specific ones, but amalgams of the kind of email I get on a regular basis. If you’ve emailed me before, and I haven’t replied, here’s the answer you were seeking…

. . . .

Q: I read your old blog posts, and you recommend things that you now advise against. What’s with the hypocrisy?

A: As new data comes in, I change my mind.

It is one of Joe’s Axioms that people would rather defend their beliefs to the death instead of admitting they might be wrong. I try to admit when I’m wrong, and I adjust my beliefs accordingly. I think the ability to learn and adapt can only help while seeking success.

Q: Why are you so down on publishers, and those authors who choose the legacy route?

A: This blog has documented all the reasons I believe self-publishing is preferable to legacy publishing, ad nauseum. It used to bother me when I saw writers signing bad contracts (hint: they’re all bad unless you are a huge bestseller) and I believe that writers make bad decisions because they aren’t edumacated. So I try to edumacate them, and adopting a controversial tone helps get this blog more traffic, thus making people more aware of the topics I discuss.

But frankly, it is none of my business what other writers do. If you want to sign away your rights, forever, for 17.5% ebook royalties, forever, knock yourself out. I no longer have a horse in this race. I got all of my rights back, and my six week Kindle total is $116,000, which is more than the first three-book deal I signed. For those same books.

Do whatever makes you happy, and follow whichever path you think is best. But do yourself a solid and research all of your options. Writers never had options before. Now we do. You owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can before deciding which route to take.

. . . .

Q: You keep bragging about all the money you’re making. I think you’re a liar.

A: I don’t consider it bragging. I post my numbers to show what is possible.

Before I started blogging, writers were pretty much kept in the dark about money. No one knew what anyone else made. As such, there was a lot of suspicion, misinformation, envy, and floundering.

I was one of the first writers to openly talk about earnings. I felt this transparency was necessary in order to show my peers the difference between self-pub and legacy.

Now, lots of writers openly discuss money. I like to think I played a part in that.

And while I’m not perfect, I don’t lie. There’s no reason to. If I wasn’t making a lot of money, I’d be honest about it.

Sometimes I use this blog in an attempt to instigate change, because there are certain things about this industry that should be changed. But I don’t make shit up to prove my points. I draw conclusions after having experience, I don’t fake experience to pimp an agenda.

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Harlequin sent out a survey to its authors and, though he is not an author, Joe Konrath answered it.

From A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing:

Harlequin just sent out a survey to its authors, seemingly asking for sincere feedback.

Maybe it has to do with their current lawsuit. Maybe it has to do with their recent financial woes.

Or maybe, just maybe, they really want to try and improve their relationships with the one group of people who are essential to their survival.

. . . .

Are you there, Harlequin? It’s me, Konrath. And I’ll answer your questions honestly.

If you really want to know what your authors think of you, I’m friends with dozens of them, and have been going to writing conventions for over a decade. I’ve spoken to hundreds of HQ authors at RT. I’ve listened to so many tales of woe and hardship and mistreatment that the Big 6 look like angels compared to you.

. . . .

Marketing support is no longer needed in a digital world, except for prime placement on Amazon.com and free ebook announcement websites. Those are the only two marketing efforts I’ve seen that directly translate into sales.

. . . .

Fair monetary compensation is essential to keep me happy. In fact, I think it may be the number one concern of the vast majority of authors.

. . . .

HQ has the worst reputation among writers out of every publisher I know, with the exception of the recently departed Dorchester. But now that they’re gone, you’re Number 1!

. . . .

Transparency? How about allegedly licensing rights to yourself in order to avoid paying authors full royalties? Was that transparent?

. . . .

It is 2013. The benefits that publishers have traditionally supplied, including editing, cover art, jacket copy, formatting, proofing, can all be hired out for fixed costs. There is no need for any author to sign to HQ for ebook publishing. I can reach just as many, if not more, ebook readers on my own than Harlequin can.

With print, HQ still has its large distribution network, which has value. But that value is fading as more bookstores close and more readers embrace ebooks. And that distribution network doesn’t benefit authors much when they are making literally pennies per copy sold.

. . . .

Think about this long and hard: Writers no longer need HQ to reach readers. They can do it themselves, via Amazon.com, and make a lot more than HQ pays them.

Why should any author stay with HQ? Because you throw great parties? Because they have a desire to see their book in Walmart (for as long as Walmart still sells books)? Because they want to (ack) experience a sense of belonging?

HQ was once the only game in town when it came to serial romance. But you are becoming obsolete. And the one group that could save you–your authors–has been paid so poorly for so many years that they are eager to pursue other avenues.

. . . .

I’m very unhappy with HQ, and I don’t even work for you. I’m unhappy with your royalty rates and low advances. I’m unhappy with the sneaky, underhanded way you allegedly licensed rights to yourself. I’m unhappy with how you’ve strung authors along for years, contract to contract, with barely a cost of living increase. I’m unhappy how you keep their rights forever because you claim you sold one ebook in Bulgaria, even though there have been no other sales in years.

I think you prey on the naive and needy, treat your authors poorly, and the best thing for the world would be HQ gone.

But I do like your parties.

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

From Joe Konrath:

So the six week KDP total updated last night and I made a bit over the $90,000 mark, assuming borrows are $2 each.

These past two years have been interesting, because I really haven’t had a new IP of my own.

. . . .

I attribute most of this to getting my rights returned. Being able to properly exploit my backlist with free promotions and paid advertising has really helped their ranks, their positions on the bestseller lists, and their sales.

But these books are old. So why are they still selling well?

Let’s look at the old, analogue way of bookselling.

Years ago, getting published was extremely difficult. So difficult it took me ten years to sell a book, during a decade where I wrote ten novels. Those novels garnered over 500 rejections.

When I finally signed my first book deal, it was 2002. My book Whiskey Sour came out in 2004, more than 16 months later.

When it did, stores ordered a few hardcover copies. These were kept in the Mystery section, spine-out, at full price ($23.95). They went to the chain bookstores, and some indie stores, but not to any bix boxes like Walmart.

Without front table space, and without multiple copies in the bookstores, customers who might have liked these books didn’t find them easily. They had to search for them. And if they did find them, there was no discounting, and twenty-four bucks plus tax was a hefty price to pay to try someone out.

. . . .

Those rejected novels? They weren’t rejected because they sucked. They were rejected because the publishing industry was, and still is, archaic, short-sighted, self-serving, broken, and often either stupid or evil, depending on which pro writer you talk to.

These rejected novels got something that my published books never got; a chance to succeed.

I no longer needed publisher coop to discount my titles and make them more attractive to readers–something I never had. Instead I could do that myself.

I no longer needed more shelf space in stores, or more retailers to carry me. I had just as much shelf space as any NYT bestseller.

I no longer was at the mercy of publishers for bad editing decisions, cover art, and title changes. I was in control.

That control meant I could publish a book two weeks after it was complete, not 16 months.

It meant I could change prices, covers, and even edit instantly by uploading a new version.

. . . .

A combination of good covers, low prices, good descriptions, and good books put me on Amazon’s bestseller lists, which then got me the eyeballs I never had before.

In the past, many bookstores didn’t stock my backlist titles. They had to be special ordered by a customer who knew about them.

In a digital world, my backlist is instantly available to anyone. And it isn’t a backlist.

To many readers, my old books are frontlist titles.

The readers who never discovered my Jack Daniels and Jack Kilborn books in print can now do so easily. If they see Whiskey Sour for the first time, it’s a new book to them. And now that my publisher isn’t controlling the price, I can make that book more affordable and more tempting. I can even make it free.

It’s always been about exposure and cost. Cheap books, available everywhere, is why bestsellers are bestsellers. That was true in print, and it is true in ebooks.

. . . .

My previous publishers priced my ebooks too high. Now that I have the rights, I’ve made them more affordable.

As a result, I’m netting $2100 a day. Actually more than that, but I’m going by my six week report, and that first week was slower because I didn’t have my backlist live and integrated into Amazon’s system yet.

I’m not the only one doing this. Look at the bestseller lists. Lots of older titles on them. Many of them self-pubbed.

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

From Joe Konrath:

So after a six month hiatus where I spent very little time experimenting with my sales, I got back on the horse and started playing around with KDP Select.

Some folks may remember last year, when a KDP free period for my ebook The List lead to me earning $100,000 in six weeks on Amazon.

I haven’t been able to replicate that experience, but I have been pleased with the numbers I’ve gotten in the last few weeks due to KDPS.

In January, I made The List free for a five day period. Prior to that, it was ranked around #10,000. When I did the promotion, I managed to hit the Top 10 in Free, and gave away over 35,000 ebooks.

Since coming off the free promo, The List has sold 623 copies at $3.99, and had 742 borrows (I assume at $1.80). So it has made over $3,000 in 12 days, or about $250 a day. It is currently ranked at #1974, and is #39 in the Top 100 Police Procedural category.

I’m happy with this. After hearing lots of writers moaning about how KDP Select is no longer working, I’d argue it worked pretty well for me. A title that was off the bestseller lists is now on several of them, and selling steadily. While $3k isn’t $100k, I’ve still paid my mortgage, health insurance, and several utilities in twelve days with only one title. Who could complain about that?

. . . .

When I got my Jack Daniels titles back earlier this month, I put Bloody Mary up for a five day free period, ending yesterday. It hit #2 on the Top 100 Free list, and I gave away 42,000 copies. Currently is is ranked #693, and I’ve sold 150 copies and loaned 70 in a 15 hour period. So Bloody Mary is currently earning me $35 an hour.

One of the things I’ve always believed is that a rising tide raises all boats, and it is nice to see that confirmed by Bloody Mary. It’s the second in the Jack Daniels series. While it was free, it buoyed the sales of the first in the series, Whiskey Sour, to the tune of 450 sales and 100 loans.

Whiskey Sour, which went live on Feb 4 and didn’t get fully integrated into Amazon’s website until the Feb 11, has earned me $1400 in nine days. It is currently ranked at #850.

Link to the rest at Joe Konrath and thanks to Joshua for the tip.

Joe Konrath’ resolutions, beginning in 2006:

Every December I do a post about resolutions for writers, and every year I add more of them.

2006
Newbie Writer Resolutions

• I will start/finish the damn book
• I will always have at least three stories on submission, while working on a fourth
• I will attend at least one writer’s conference, and introduce myself to agents, editors, and other writers

. . . .

2009

This year I’m only going to add one resolution to this growing list, but if you’re writing for a living, or trying to write for a living, it’s an important one.

I Won’t Blame Anyone For Anything

It’s tempting to look at the many problems that arise in this business and start pointing fingers. This is a slippery slope, and no good can come from it.

Do agents, editors, and publishers make mistakes? Of course.

You make mistakes too.

Hindsight is 20/20, so we can all look at things that didn’t go our way and fantasize about how things should have gone.

But blaming others, or yourself, is dwelling on the past. What’s done is done, and being bitter isn’t going to help your career.

. . . .

2011

 

I Will Self-Publish

Just twelve short months ago, I made $1650 on Kindle in December, and was amazed I could pay my mortgage with ebook sales.

This December, I’ll earn over $22,000.

The majority of this is on Kindle. But I’m also doing well self-pubbing in print through Amazon’s Createspace program, and will earn $2700 this month on nine POD books. I’m also finally trying out B&N’s PubIt program, which looks to be good for over $1k a month, and I’m doing okay on Smashwords, with Sony, Apple, and Kobo combining for another $1k.

This is nothing short of revolutionary.

The gatekeepers–agents who submit to editors who acquire books to publish and distribute to booksellers–are no longer needed to make a living as a fiction writer. For the first time in history, writers can reach readers without having to jump through hoops, get anointed, compromise integrity, or fit the cookie-cutter definition for What New York Wants.

. . . .

2013

I’ve lived long enough to see my advice become obsolete, and that gives me hope for the future.

Back when I began, this business was all about finding an agent, finding a publisher, then doing whatever you could to promote yourself.

This blog spoke at length about social media, and book tours, and partnering with your publisher.

Things have changed.

I have 10,000 followers on Twitter, but I only use it occasionally  Facebook? Haven’t been on there in eight months. I witnessed the rise and fall of MySpace. I’ve opted out of Google+ because I saw no benefits. LinkedIn? I can’t even remember my password.

I’ll never do another book tour. I doubt I’ll ever do another official booksigning. I’ve stopped speaking in public, stopped attending events. Once it was important to meet fans and network with peers. Now I can do that just fine via email.

Partnering with your publisher? Why would you do that, when they offer so little? 17.5% ebook royalties with them, vs. 70% on your own.

I haven’t blogged or Tweeted in months. I’ve been busy doing what writers should be doing: writing.

And guess what? My sales have remained constant.

Many times this year, I took industry practices to task. I saw stupidity, or unfairness, and I did my best to discredit it. I fought, tooth and nail, for what I believed, and wasted untold hours arguing with pinheads.

Which brings me to my resolution for 2013.

Get Over Yourself

I have turned off Google Alerts, and don’t Google my name or my pen names.

I don’t go on message boards.

I don’t read my book reviews.

I don’t care what people are saying about me, good or bad, in blogs or on Twitter or in the media.

There will always be people who don’t like you, and don’t like your books.

Ignore them.

Trust me, it is liberating to be free of the opinions of strangers. We all need to focus on our writing. Because the millions of readers out there don’t care about your blog. They aren’t searching for you on Twitter and avoiding your books based on the comments of others. They aren’t taking one star reviews seriously.

It’s very easy to obsess in this business. But I haven’t seen a single shred of evidence that obsession helps careers.

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

From A Newbie’s Guide to Pubishing:

Barry Eisler here. Joe has generously offered to host this interview I did with Guy Kawasaki, the former Chief Evangelist of Apple; serial entrepreneur; lecturer; and writer of numerous books on marketing, start-ups, and entrepreneurism. I just finished Guy’s extraordinary new book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book, and it’s easily the most comprehensive, best organized, nuts-and-bolts-useful work on self-publishing I’ve seen to date. I think Guy has written the bible on self-publishing, and I expect it will be recognized—and widely used—as such.

. . . .
Now let’s learn a bit more about this terrific book—straight from Guy.

1. Guy, there’s more on this topic in APE itself, but can you tell us a bit about why you decided to write the book, which, while drawing on your core areas of expertise in marketing, entrepreneurism, and evangelism, is also a departure for you? Can you talk a bit about why you decided to self-publish it?

I wrote APE because of my experiences self-publishing a book called What the Plus!. I wrote What the Plus! because the publisher of Enchantment could not fill an order for 500 copies of the ebook version. By self-publishing What the Plus!, I learned firsthand how idiosyncratic, confusing, and inefficient that process is, and I decided to do something about it. As Steve Jobs used to say, “There must be a better way.”

2. You’ve published about a dozen books with legacy publishers like Harper Collins and Penguin. Were you tempted to go that route with APE?

I did run it past my agent and the publisher of Enchantment, but we couldn’t come to terms. The core problem was that I wanted to retain ebook rights and sell the paper rights. That said, for a sufficient amount of money, anything is possible.

3. What did you see as the pros and cons?

The advantage of a traditional publisher is that it takes care of so many details for you such as content editing, copyediting, cover design, interior design, printing, sales, distribution, and returns. It also provides a large advance. The disadvantage is that it rightfully pays you a lot less and reduces your flexibility. Of course, if no traditional publisher wants your book, then you don’t have to weigh the pros and cons. You just do what you have to do.
. . . .

5. I’m continually fascinated by the politics of publishing—by what I see as a struggle between a publishing establishment and a publishing insurgency. Joe and I touched on the politics of publishing in Be the Monkey, and naturally one of my favorite sections of APE was the one that put the current battle in publishing in a historical context. Some of that history was new to me, and I wondered if you could talk a bit more about it here.

The historical trend of publishing, like many other industries, is towards democratization and an open system. It used to be that only the church and royalty had scribes. This meant a lower level of literacy, and that one had to go to church to learn about God. Then Gutenberg invented the printing press, and it was possible to print many more copies of the Bible. Now people could learn about God by reading the Bible without going to church.

Fast-forward to the introduction of Macintosh, LaserWriter, and PageMaker, and now anyone with these products could print a book. The current curve doesn’t even involve printing: anyone with a computer, a word processor, and Internet access can upload a book to Amazon. Then anyone with a computer, smartphone, or tablet can read the ebook. The democratization of information is not something to get in the way of.

When the industry crossed the chasm from print to ebook, the rules changed. There were physical limits to publishing: how many titles a store could physically display and stock. This meant that gatekeepers—arbiters of taste—were necessary to act as filters. If Random House or Penguin published a book, it must be good. And only a Random House or Penguin could print the book on dead trees and get the dead trees to the store.

This isn’t true anymore. Do you care who published a book? Do you even look to see who the publisher is before you buy a book? I don’t. I just look at the number of stars it has on Amazon and read a few reviews and buy it. Seconds later, I’m reading about John Rain and the yakuza. [Excellent choice. J]

Link to the rest at A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing