Songs I've Been Listening to a Lot Lately

And ten years after Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen had One Vision.

The Godzilla-clone Amazon Is Rampaging Again

Yes, the giant behemoth known as Amazon ate Goodreads yesterday. I'm not going repeat all the speculation. And that's all it is right now--speculation.

There's several articles listed over at The Passive Voice that give the range of "Oh, God, Amazon will eat us all!" to "Cool! Best marriage ever."

My two major concerns?

1) My books have more reviews on Goodreads than they do on Amazon. I hope both sets are integrated, and my Goodreads reviews are not purged.

2) I liked Goodreads because it was an alternative to Amazon, and even though I was an author, I could write reviews there. There wasn't any "reciprocity" at Goodreads for me. I could write a review and say whether something I read for fun was "fabulous" or "meh." I'd hate all my efforts to go to waste just because I write for a living.

Like everything else in the insanity that is publishing these days, we'll have to wait and see how it shakes out.

Yesterday, the Titanic. Tomorrow, the Lusitania.

As much as I hate to say it, Barnes & Noble is a sinking ship. Their execs have been making a series of moves lately that smack of desperation.

1) They over-ordered the Nook Touch for last Christmas. And just like in December, they are currently having a sale--buy a Nook HD+ and get a Touch for free.

2) They've added more cute, kitchen-y items as well as foods other than sweets and caffeine. Seriously, when DH and I stopped for coffee at our local B&N after my eye doctor appointment on Monday, three of the five tables between the Nook counters and the cafe were filled with themed utensils, jams and bread mixes.

3) They announced the revolutionary idea of in-app purchases. But they won't be availabel until next month.

4) It used to be that B&N membership meant customers received one 15%-off coupon four times a year. I've received at least five 20-25%-off coupons, not to mention some sweet cafe deals, and it's not even the end of the first quarter yet.

5) B&N is engaged in a battle with Simon and Schuster over the payment for end caps and front table space. As a result, they are under-ordering or failing to order a huge amount of mid-list books. After preaching how much traditional publishers and bookstores need each other to survive, they've now turned on each other.


What's more significant are the things they've promised and haven't delivered, like streaming movies, TV shows or music.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't want to see Barnes & Noble fail. This month alone, I've sold 100 e-books compared to eighteen at Amazon. This is the rough 5-1 ratio I've been mentioning in the last few status updates. I have a vested interest in wanting them to succeed.

But honestly, I don't see how they can without moving into the 21st century. That means streaming entertainment and more digital downloads than just books. This means two-day in-store delivery of ordered books, not two-weeks. This means an honest and radical revision in how they do business, not stop-gap moves.

I'm afraid Barnes & Noble is sailing in a war zone, despite numerous warnings, just like the doomed RMS Lusitania. While it may not take eighteen minutes for Barnes & Noble to sink, the enemy torpedo has already hit the ship. It's just a matter of time until the magazine blows.

Yeah, I'm Still Alive

Friday was the last day of Spring Break, so we had a family day. Breakfast out, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and everything topped off with a stop at The Cheesecake Factory.

The only disappointment for me is that TCF didn't have any of their new orange dreamsicle cheesecake though the white chocolate wild blueberry was an excellent substitute. On the other hand, GK explained in great detail that the Mayans valuing chocolate was a much more interesting exhibit than the Faberge collection to a preteen male. Which may explain why he ordered the Godiva chocolate cheescake.

This morning, we jumped back into our regular routine. Or tried to.

GK worked on four subjects while I was at the eye doctor's first thing this morning. Unfortunately, I was there much longer than I anticipated. What I thought would be a normal prescription adjustment turned out to be a severe reduction in sight in my left eye. My optomologist ruled out the usual culprits: cataract, glaucoma, detached retina. He even did a really cool topography scan of my retina, looking for wrinkles or tears, but he's stumped. And he's worried that he's stumped. So I'm going back in a couple of weeks for more extensive testing.

DH drove me home around noon, but the stupid dilation drug didn't wear off as fast as it usually does. I laid down on the couch with my eyes closed and a blanket over my head. Still couldn't look at the computer screen by 2PM, so I told GK to forget about science and social studies lectures (not that he was sad about this).

Somehow, I fell asleep, which is weird because I rarely take naps. Next thing I know, it's a a quarter to seven. Thank goodness, we run on Pacific time because of DH's job.

So I'm typing this while my pizza dough is rising. Wednesday, I'll be back to publishing/writing news since there's weird crap happening at B&N. Until then, go out and enjoy some cheescake!

Songs I've Been Listening to a Lot Lately

How can anyone not listen to the harmonies in Bohemian Rhapsody and not get a chill? Yeah, I'm still on the Queen kick.

Fear and the New Idea

Normally, when I'm in the middle of writing a novel, some new idea tries to worm its way into my brain. It's like a ferret searching for treasure. "Oooo! Shiny!"

Normally, I can jot down some notes for analysis later, then return to my previous project.

Not this time.

Since Sunday, I've obsessively cranked 6100 words, which is an incredible output for me. I'm a very slow writer compared to some folks. The end result will be a short story for a particular traditional market that I've been a fan of for nearly thirty year.

My goal today is to finish it. About another 1,000 words and it'll be done. I'll hand it over to DH for a beta read, then let it sit for a couple of weeks until the submission period for this market opens. Final edits, then email the text.

I admit I'm nervous. I've never written in this particular subgenre before. Never thought I had an idea that was unique enough for this market. I think I'm more scared that it'll be accepted rather than rejected.

If it is rejected I'll self-publish it later this summer. Let the people decide if it's any good.

In the meantime, I need chocolate...

Status Report - March 2013

Well, it finally happened. For the last three months, my sales on the iBookstore have been closing the gap on Amazon sales. In February, Apple sales of my books edged past Seattle's darling. It wasn't by much though, just a few dollars, i.e. two books. For the record, Barnes & Noble still outstrips both of them by five to one.

Don't ask me why my sales patterns are radically different than so many other indie writers. I don't get it either.

Ironically, today Joe Konrath talks about why he pulled all his books from other retailers and went exclusive through KDP Select.

I'll be the first to admit I don't come anywhere close to Joe's numbers. After talking with several friends who are indie publishing, the radical difference in sales through the various retailers only means book sales are still in upheaval. There STILL ISN'T a perfect answer to best-seller-dom.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm planning some experiments regarding exclusivity for this summer. (To my readers, don't worry. None of the experiments will involve already established series!) I'll definitely report the results.

Songs I've Been Listening to a Lot Lately

Another incredible Queen song from the Highlander soundtrack.

Paper v. Digital

This was too funny not to share. (With a tip of the virtual hat to John and The Passive Guy!)

Scams, Scams and More Scams

There's another scam that's surfaced. This time, it's not a publisher creating a vanity imprint, but a distributor who wants to be God.

Autharium offers to distribute your book and you keep the copyright, but the catch? They keep all worldwide licenses of all types to your primary AND subsidiary rights for the length of the copyright!!!

You cannot get any rights back with permission from them. Period. If you sign with them, you have been royally fucked up the ass without the benefit of soap.

The Passive Voice has a breakdown of some of the terms. And please read the comments to understand further that this IS NOT A GOOD DEAL. Hell, Random House's Hydra imprint is gentler about screwing you over.

Speaking of which, apparently the bad publicity got to Random House. RH has revised their terms for Hydra and its sister imprints. Personally, I don't think they changed enough that I would sign with these imprints, but that's my opinion. Always read the fine print!

For even more laughs, J.A. Konrath talks about a survey Harlequin recently sent to its authors. Unfortunately, I have experience with these kind of corporate surveys. Despite their alleged claims of anonymity and a desire to improve, the suits are looking for the complainers in order to ditch them.

Once upon a time, I thought it would be so cool to write for Harlequin. But after hearing a few horror stories, the urge has committed suicide.

One more time, ladies and gentlemen, WRITING IS A BUSINESS! Treat it like one, and you'll be fine.