Weather Hurts Book Sales; Catherine Ryan Hyde Now Hybrid

Weather Hurts Book Sales

This is a interesting article for me because we lost power last week for five days and I read a lot. Although we have a generator, it can only be used at certain times for the most important things. So even though I was able to work for about four hours each day with the generator I still had a lot of down time next to the fireplace without full power and I caught up on a lot of reading. I purchased six books online that week, in digital format...e-books. I read them on my iPhone. (It took a better charge with the generator than the iPad.) I know others in the same powerless situation who did that same thing. So I can't help wondering what the numbers are for e-book sales last week, too, because this article only talks about how brick and mortar bookshops lost money with print books due to the weather.

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Ashville, N.C., tried to keep its regular hours, but closed at 2p.m. on Wednesday ahead of the snow storm. Thursday it opened two hours late and closed at dark. The cold was also a problem, and the store canceled its Mystery Book Club meeting on Monday night because of it. Weather forced it to cancel its Sci Fi YA panel yesterday as well, which was to have included Meagan Spooner and Amie Kaufman, authors of These Broken Stars; Jodi Meadows, author of the Incarnate series; and Lissa Price, author of Enders. Bookseller/book buyer Caroline Christopoulos described yesterday as “reflectively quiet” and said that business was “quite slow.”

You can read more here.

One more reason why I doubt I could ever go back to reading print books again.

Catherine Ryan Hyde Now Hybrid

I've posted about Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of bestselling novel, Pay It Forward, (and many others I've loved)several times here on the blog. Even though we write in completely different genres I've always been a huge fan of her fiction, and she inspired me to branch out on my own to indie publish a few books. That wasn't an easy decision for me because I'm the kind of author who craves the input from publishers...and from the whole publishing process. I'd rather just write and let them worry about everything else. I truly do let them get away with anything just so I don't have to deal with it. I've always been that easy to work with.

But times are changing and I had to see what indie publishing was like for myself. One reason is that I have four completed novels ready for release at this time and I have NO idea when they will be released. I submitted them as far back as August and the ONLY book I've had released since September has been Cowboy Christmas Miracle. One romance novel is over 100,000 words long. Why the books haven't been released I don't know. But I've learned in my years in publishing not to ask. Publishers...all publishers...do what they want and authors have very little control in that respect...especially unagented authors like me. I indie published because I wanted control, for my readers and for me. It wasn't because I'm unhappy with publishers. I have no regrets and I've always had good relationships with my publishers. So I did a little research and saw that authors like Catherine Ryan Hyde were now experimenting in the indie world of publishing themselves and that made me feel more comfortable about it.

For those who don't know, the term hybrid is an author who is published by trad publishers and also indie publishes his/her own books. Why this article makes it sound so surprising is a little interesting to me, because Ryan Hyde has been open about her indie publishing and she even wrote a book with author/blogger Anne R. Allen titled, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age and Keep Your Sanity. I posted about that here back in 2012. I've also posted about Anne R. Allen many times. I read their book and loved every word of it. In fact, I still revisit sometimes to check things out.

The article in PW about Ryan Hyde discusses what motived her to get into indie publishing.

Agent Laura Rennert, at Andrea Brown Literary, who represents Hyde, said the idea to self-publish her client came out of both curiosity and necessity. Although Rennert said that “99.9%” of her clients are traditionally published, she and her fellow Andrea Brown agents wanted to know how to self-publish, so they could “optimally help [their] authors... if this was something they wanted.” The trial with Hyde, who Rennert noted is very prolific, was with a book called Second Hand Heart, which is published by Transworld in the U.K. Although it was a test—Rennert approached Hyde with the idea of self-publishing wanting authors with “a sense of adventure, a willingness to experiment, and [who] are active on social media”—it wound up laying the groundwork for a turning point in Hyde’s career.

You can read more here. If you are an established or new author thinking of indie publishing it's a worthwhile read.

Review: How to be a Writer in the E-Age, by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Anne R. Allen, Introduction by Saffina Desforges

I finally had a chance to finish "How to be a Writer in the E-Age" this weekend and wanted to post a short review first thing this morning while it's still fresh. Although a good deal of what I read in this e-book tended to be things I've already experienced as a published author in the e-age, there were a few things I didn't know and will retain for future reference. I started writing for e-publishers about seven years ago when everyone was still laughing at the possibility of e-books going mainstream.

I so wish there had been a book like this back when I first started to consider writing for e-publishers. Until that point, all of my publishing experience had been with small traditional LGBT print presses. And because the LGBT market wasn't strong back then I made a point of trying to get my short stories into as many anthologies as I could each year. It wasn't mainstream publishing and the money was terrible, but I loved what I was doing and it was considered legitimate.

When I started to look into e-publishing I read more than one questionable thing about it...or I couldn't find any information at all. To be honest, I wasn't so sure about it myself. So I played it very safe in the beginning and submitted short stories to several e-publishers just to see what it was like. These manuscripts were released as e-books and I found that I loved working with e-publishers. They were just as professional as all the print publishers I'd ever worked with in the past and in some cases even more thorough. And, best of all, it didn't take a year or more to get a book released. That in itself was a novelty to me. The world's slowest industry in the world was now starting to pick up speed.

The moment I started to read "How to be a Writer in the E-Age" I knew it was a winner in every sense. The information is not only valuable to new authors, it's relevant to published authors who might be thinking about making the switch to e-publishing, too. Or for established authors who are interested in self-publishing and have been on the fence about doing it. I found nothing in this book that can be disputed either (not always the case with writer's manuals). From the introductions to the last page it's filled with realistic information that shows writers what the writing experience is like now.

One thing I'd like to point out that I liked in particular was that there are no preachy comments, and this book isn't pushing any one particular way to be a writer...or whether or not traditional publishing is better than e-publishing. There are many aspects of publishing talked about in this book and that's something I don't see often (the authors even read the same publishing blogs I've been following for years). In other words, it's not about hating literary agents and hating those big bad mean publishers and it's not about how spectacular self-publishing is and how it's going to change life as we all know it as writers and readers. The book talks about self-publishing in an objective way, which is something I don't see often these days either.

A while ago I read a writer's manual written by one of my all time favorite authors, Rita Mae Brown who was one of those authors that changed publishing in the 1970's, and I thought that was the best writer's manual I'd ever read. But this book on writing and publishing took what Brown had to say to another level and brought it all up to date so new writers will know what to expect and how to deal with all the changes that are happening in publishing now. But more than that, because it's an e-book and we can now do things like this with e-books, there's a feature I've never seen before. When you buy this e-book you get updates every six months that will allegedly deal with more changes in publishing as they happen. And the changes seem to be happening on a daily basis now.

As a side note, the book is affordable and worth every penny invested. Trust me, I paid far more for books and manuals on publishing fifteen years ago and got far less information.

"Writing in the E-Age," Writer's Manual, and Hunter Parrish on iTunes...

I posted about Catherine Ryan Hyde's and Anne R. Allen's new writer's manual titled, "How To Be a Writer in the E-Age," last week and wanted to follow up today with a short post. I bought the book over the weekend and I'm halfway through it.

So far, not one complaint. I have to admit that although I haven't learned anything new, what I have read in the book validates a lot of the things I've been doing for the past seven years in e-publishing. In other words, I wish there had been a book like this around seven years ago to help me figure things out instead of learning them all the hard way.

And what I'm liking most about the book is that it covers all angles and even mentioned a lot of the literary agent blogs I've been following for years now. It's not against "trad" publishing; it's not pushing self-publishing either.

One of my blog readers left a comment the other day mentioning that he's not comfortable with self-publishing yet. I know a lot of people who feel that way and they have good reason, too. But books like "How To Be a Writer in the E-Age," help validate self-publishing and they show that self-publishing is no longer regarded in the same way it was ten years ago. It's not vanity publishing anymore either. It's not something people do when they get rejected and can't get published. I have over 94 published works listed on Goodreads with publishers and I decided to self-publish this past year. A lot of authors who have previously worked with publishers are doing it and they all have their own individual reasons. And those reasons have nothing to do with being against traditional publishing.

I will post a final review of this book when I'm finished reading it. But right now, even though I'm only halfway through, I would recommend it to anyone who is just starting out as a writer and needs good solid advice. There's also some kind of a deal that when you buy the book you can sign up for electronic updates every six months, which I'll also post more about in the review. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this done before (but don't quote me). I'm assuming that as publishing changes and evolves, new updates will cover more information as it crops up, so to speak.

Now, the reason why I'm posting about Hunter Parrish's new music on iTunes has to do with the way we are now buying and listening to music. It is a lot like the way we are reading and buying digital books. Hunter Parrish is best known for his part on the TV show, "Weeds," as Silas Botwin. I recently read where he's released his own music on iTunes and it looks as if he's self-publishing them on his own. I could be wrong about this, so don't quote me here either. I couldn't find any information stating it as a fact. But my point is that if Parrish is self-publishing his own music in iTunes, he's not the only one who is doing it. I've posted before about many talented artists who are doing this now. And in many ways it's reflecting the same thing we're now seeing in digital book publishing.

I remember an old friend who wanted to break into the music business. In those days, the best way to do it was to find a DJ (or talent agent) who would be willing to play your demo tape. It was virtually impossible to get a good DJ (or talent agent) to do this, and very few people were able to break into the music industry. Well it was the same way with book publishing until recently. Only instead of getting a DJ (or talent agent) to listen to you, you had to get a literary agent (or editor) to read your work. Again, virtually impossible to do.

The music angle is explained well on this web site:

Just as technological innovations have changed the way that customers buy music, technology also has changed how artists distribute music to their fans. In 2010, one-third of all music sales consisted of digital tracks, with the remaining two-thirds made up of CDs and other physical media [source: Jones]. This enormous digital market has removed one of the largest barriers for musicians trying to enter the market -- money. Artists who once needed the support of a major label to release an album can now self-release music online, or even produce CDs at very little cost.

And here's more about Hunter Parrish and his newly released music:

Hunter Parrish may be best known for playing the enterprising and hunky offspring of pot-dealing mom Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) on Showtime’s hit series Weeds, but as it turns out, the actor also moonlights as a singer, releasing his first EP Guessing Games on iTunes today.

Kindle Direct Publishing at London Book Fair This Week

Had I planned earlier, I think I would have gone to the London Book Fair this year. I've always wanted to go, and I would have been able to meet a few people from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). But I didn't even officially decide to publish with KDP until December. For those who read this blog you know I've been talking about indie authors for a long time and I've always been curious about it. It just took a while for me to make the decision...which had to do with many contributing factors in my career I'll eventually discuss at a later date. It should also be interesting because this year Hong Kong is taking part for the first time.

In the most recent KDP newsletter, here's what it says for those of you who are going to the London Book Fair:

As we’d previously announced, KDP will be at the London Book Fair April 16-18, 2012. If you find yourself in London in the next few days make sure to stop by our booth (EC2-W905) to meet us and best-selling KDP UK author Rachel Abbott. We will be hosting several sessions focusing on KDP and Rachel will also be signing copies of her UK Kindle best-seller, Only the Innocent, on Tues 4/17 1-2 pm at our booth. Check out our sessions:

Digital Zone session at Digital Theatre 2
A “how-to” discussion of reaching the growing Amazon Kindle audience and a demo on how to publish your book using KDP.


Tues, 4/17 11-11:20 am

Meet Rachel Abbott at the KDP booth:


Tues, 4/17 3-5 pm

In more KDP news, one of the most recently featured books on KDP was written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, the author of "Pay it Forward," and "Jumpstart the World," also an author I've written about here on the blog several times long before I even knew Hyde was self-publishing with KDP.




Featured KDP BooksWhen I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

When Nathan McCann finds, and saves, a newborn baby abandoned in the woods, he asks the baby's grandmother to someday bring the boy around to meet him. She agrees, but by the time she brings young Nat around, the boy is an angry 15-year-old with a police record and dreams of becoming a professional boxer. And she doesn't just introduce Nat to his namesake, "the man who found him in the woods." She washes her hands of Nat and leaves him with Nathan. Now Nathan must learn how to be both a father and a friend to a troubled kid who doesn't want his help, doesn't trust anyone, and doesn't understand his own heart or the possibilities of his young life.

For those who are interested in looking into more about KDP, here's an interesting piece from the newsletter about the Owner's Lending Program. I opted to do this with "Chase of a Lifetime," and so far I'm happy with the results I'm seeing.

In the month of March, KDP Select-enrolled authors earned an impressive $2.18 per book borrowed. From our recent press release: “Every time a customer borrowed an independently-published book in March, the author earned $2.18. That’s more than many authors earn when their books are sold," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content.

Early sales data indicates that inclusion in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library not only generates additional revenue from loans for authors, but actually increases customer purchases of authors’ work as well.

KDP will also be at BEA this year (Book Expo America), which I'll post when I hear more about it.

Chase of a Lifetime on Kobo, and Amazon Indie Publishing from Catherine Ryan Hyde & Barry Eisler

While I don't want to bore everyone to death with details about the technical process involved in self-publishing a book on Amazon, I did want to show that one of the things I thought was important was to edit/proof my book downloaded to an actual e-reader. I wanted to see how the e-book would look on one of my own e-readers. I have five and I started with the basic Kobo e-reader with e-ink. I don't want to assume anything, so I'll also be testing the book out on every type of e-reader to be sure it looks the same on the most basic to the most recent tablet. And, this is editing that's more like triple checking because the book's already been extensively edited and copy edited down to the last line...both before and after conversion. And, "Chase of a Lifetime" is a 60,000 word full length novel, not a short story or novella.

The one problem I found while I was checking things out last night on my Kobo was that the copy editor I hired made changes, got them wrong, and I had to go back and line edit each small thing. They weren't large. It was more of a matter of style than anything. But since I'm in charge this time and I get the final say, the copy editor isn't going to do anything to my book I don't like. Another problem I'm finding is that things like indentations and page numbers tend to get screwed up during the conversion process. But it's being figured out as I write this post.

Overall, I'm happy with the way the book looks on Kobo. I wanted to be sure people who own Kobo products could download the book on Amazon, too. I won't get into mobi files or epub files because I doubt people want to know about this. Until I started this Amazon project I didn't want to know those details. But if I can download a .99 Kindle e-book to my Kobo, iPhone, or Nook, I would imagine anyone else can.

I also want to link to a great post I read yesterday. I was having one of those "what the fuck did I do now" moments with regard to Amazon publishing. So I did a few searches to see how other authors view the process and found a great interview/post between author Catherine Ryan Hide and Barry Eisler. For those who don't know, Mr. Eisler walked away from a slick deal with St. Martin's to pursue self-publishing, and CRH is the bestselling author who wrote "Pay it Forward." The post helped calm me down and took away all my second thoughts (well, not all, but I'm working on them). That may sound dramatic, but I've always depended on the collaboration with a publisher and doing it alone for the first time ever after doing it with a publisher for twenty years can be scary. I'm also glad I found this post by CRH by accident. I've been a fan and I've read her book "Jumpstart The World." It's one of the best YA books I've ever read with LGBT content. It made me feel much better to know that someone I respect and admire is speaking about the Amazon indie self-publishing process, too.

I'll keep posting more about the process of getting "Chase of a Lifetime" out next week. I'm shooting for a release of early next week. But I'm not committing to anything yet until I know the book is up and ready. But it will be up for sale sometime next week. It will be on Amazon for the first ninety days, and then I'll decide whether or not I need to start distributing it anywhere else. I know there's this mindset that all books should be distributed in as many places as authors can get them. (I'm a huge fan of sites like ARe and 1place for my purchases.) But I also know that most e-book sales do come from Amazon. At least that's been my own personal experience, not hearsay. At the very least, I will probably try to get it up on the most popular romance sites where e-books are sold.