Latest Industry News

[Editor's Note: This was the post that would have been last Friday's if Blogger had been functional.  A good thing this was delayed because a few other things have come to light.]

Currently reading - Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (HC)

If you haven't read this article at paidContent.org, go read it now.  (Link is courtesy of the lovely Stacey Purcell of Musetracks.)  At the World E-Reading Congress in London this week, Harper-Collins CEO Victoria Barnsley actually admitted ON THE RECORD that indie publishers were "stiff competition."

Wow.  Maybe H-C will revise its policies toward writers in future contracts.  Maybe my beagle will learn how to fly an Apache helicopter too.

In other news, Amazon has opened its own romance imprint, Montlake Romance.  Longtime romance staple Connie Brockway is their debut author.  And yes, Victoria Barnsley is as worried about Amazon as she is about us indies.

Kobo has dropped the price of its e-reader to $99.  It's supposed to be temorary Spring sale, but I suspect it may launch another round of e-reader price wars.

And one of my favorite authors, Charlaine Harris joins romance vetern Nora Roberts in the Kindle Million Books Sold Club.

What was that again about e-books being a publishing dead-end?

Oh, wait! Publishers and agents HAVE figured out e-books where the money's at.  Publishers are sneaking in clauses that aren't to the writer's benefit.  And agents are setting themselves up as publishers, and some agents are asking for 50% of the net after gross!  Seriously, this makes me want to cry.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but it needs to be said again and AGAIN.  If you're going with a traditional publisher or with an agent, READ YOUR CONTRACTS.  Know what you're signing.

If you want to try indie publishing and you're just scared about doing everything yourself, you're not alone.  E-mail me if you have questions.  I'll be happy to help.  And if I don't know the answers, I'll help you find someone who does.

[Edit to add: Barnes & Noble made a preliminary announcement after the NY markets closed that Liberty Media has an offer on the table of $17 per share.  Supposedly, one of Liberty Media's buy-out conditions is that founding chairman Leonard Riggio stays with B&N.  The offer contingent on an evaluation of a special committee of the B&N board.]

The Latest in E-Publishing

Currently reading - Greywalker by Kat Richardson

Have you been keeping up with the e-book craziness?

Former agent, now tech guru, Nathan Bransford talks about our tablet overlords at the Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show.  Thriller author and ER doc CJ Lyons discusses her e-book pricing experiment over at Pimp My Novel.  Then there's mystery/suspense author J.A. Konrath's ongoing battle with the print overlords, the latest with uber-agent Richard Curtis.

The problem for newbies like me trying to shove their foot in the fiction door?  The publishing business is in a wild state of flux.  And if you're one of those writers who's on the hunt for the perfect idea/query/whatever break into the business?  Well, you definitely won't find it now.  (Though if you do, I'll give you chocolate if you'll tell me.)

In my quest for releasing my stories into the wild, I'm on the fence.  I'm a pros/cons list maker for major decisions.  The two columns are even as far as print vs. electronic.  And I've got people who care about me trying to sway the decision both ways.

Ultimately, I can only do the same thing as the rest of you.  Analyze the situation, then take that proverbial leap of faith.

The Times They are A-Changin'

Currently re-reading - Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I dumped today's original blog post in favor of a link to this story in the L.A. Times Business section from yesterday.  (Thanks to fellow RWA chapter member Chuck Emerson for bringing it to my attention.)

Surprisingly, instead of a "OMG, the sky is falling" piece, it's a decent analysis of where the publishing business is headed.  The e-readers are picking up steam as the latest must-have electronic gadget.  Heck, even my boss at the Day Job got a Nook for Christmas.  (And yes, I'm envious.  *sigh*)  The rapid changes are even making me rethink my five-year-business plan and my ultimate goal.

I spent yesterday evening (since the Eagles' game is delayed until Tuesday) after work reviewing the criteria for uploading a manuscript to Amazon.  Pretty effing simple even with my rudimentary HTML skills.  I know a graphic artist I would LOVE to hire as a cover artist.  That only leaves constructing a dedicated website (on my list of to-do things for 2011 anyway) and hiring a decent freelance editor.

Before I do anything, I must have a long, sit-down talk with my business partner, i.e. DH.  Becoming my own publisher will impact the family.  But the prospects are so damn exciting!

In Which I Join the 21st Century

Currently reading - Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow

Wednesday, I bought my first digital "album," Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster (Deluxe Version) as a reward for completing a novel synopsis.  I'd been eyeing it for a while at a certain department store when DH asked bluntly, "Don't you still have that $50 iTunes gift card from the Brenda Novak auction?"

He had a point.  So why was I reluctant to buy digital music?  I've bought e-books and digital TV episodes to take with me on business trips and vacations years before such downloads exploded in popularity.  Hell, I've written all of my novels on laptops because my typing can keep up with my thought better than my longhand.

Maybe the computer programmer still lives deep inside of me.  Over the years, I've converted everything myself.  (For my own personal use.  Get your hackles down, FBI!)  From records to magnetic tapes to CDs to MP3 files.  So even with an electronic version, I'm used to having a hard copy of everything somewhere in the house.

Maybe I'm reluctant to give up the artwork.  All those iconic images, from Paul McCartney without shoes to Madonna's BDSM Candyland, evoke moods and memories.

Or maybe I don't want to give up the liner notes.  Sometimes the songs make more sense when I actually know what the lyrics are.

And maybe all my worries are for naught.  The Fame Monster even included a .PDF or the CD's liners notes.  So yeah, I understand the folks digging in heels over the e-publishing tsunami a little better.  But I also know I can't stop the change.

Because now I've tasted the future.  "And I'm a free bitch, baby!"**

**Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

To Self-Publish Or Not To Self-Publish

Self-publishing is either the way for decent authors to avoid the soul-crushing machine of New York or the surest sign of unprofessionality and arrogance known to mankind.

Depending on who you ask.

DH surprised me the other day when he asked if I'd considered it. For every argument against it I mustered, he had a counter-argument. I'll give DH credit. He'd been doing his research, citing the fragmentation of audiences cutting into book sales, the problems with NY publishers taking e-books seriously, and the ease of setting up a cyber-business.

I pointed out I still had fulls sitting with agents, which I'd like to follow, and we really couldn't afford to do it right now between house repairs, car repairs and braces.

So the discussion has been shelved for now, but a little part of my brain is wondering just how long NY will survive if the houses don't start adapting to the shifting publishing scene.