suricattus

Jackie Kessler breaks it down for you, so I don't have to


SFWA's response:

http://www.sfwa.org/2009/11/sfwa-statement-on-harlequins-self-publishing-imprint/

RWA and MWR comments, via Pub Rants:

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2009/11/harlequin-news-flash.html

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As a Harlequin author and a SFWA member, I agree with my association's position on this. The establishment of a "pay-to-play" imprint damages the standing of the entire company in the eyes of both writers and readers, and cannot be condoned.

I hate this. I hated it when my then-employer did something business-wise I strongly disagreed with, and I hate it when a company I publish with does the same. It doesn't affect how I feel about my tiny corner of Luna, but... I'm really uncomfortable, all the same.

I love my editor and the rest of the folk on the front lines, and I understand that they are required to walk the company line -- been there, empathize with that. My complaint is not with them, but with the Corporate decision-makers who a) thought this would be a marvelous idea and b) don't see/care what this is doing to the reputation of a company that, until now, had the respect of many of us for doing a difficult job, well.

Woke up this morning snuggled into bed, the temperature a lovely 58 degrees. High today is supposed to be 80. My brain and my body are both "Yes! Let's DO something!" I LOVE this weather. I LOVE autumn. Have I mentioned recently how very much I'm NOT a hot weather person?


On the less happy side...
Sheila Lukins is a name you probably won't recognize. But if you do, you know why I am sad at the news of her death. The Silver Palate Cookbook was a major step for me from 'capable in the kitchen' to 'foodie' and although I rarely look at those cookbooks now, the stepping stone is still valued....


And, for those of you wondering why your authors are all particularly cranky this week, Kat Richardson's take on the Google (mis)settlement deadline. Yeah.

Yes. This.

Yes I remember what it's like to be poor and not to be able to afford the books you want. I remember days when I would literally skip meals in order to save up the cash to buy a new book, and making do with the limited selection at the library. But back then it never occurred to me to start stealing books to feed my habit, and it wouldn't occur to me now.

As I've said before and I will say again -- if publishers can't sell an author's books and make a profit, they will drop that author. You aren't supporting your favorite by pirating copies -- you're destroying them.

(and no, we're not going to do it fortheluv. Do you work every day at your job fortheluv? Or do you do it to buy food and pay rent and medical insurance? How about your favorite actor? Should they do it fortheluv? Or your favorite band? How about your doctor? Your teachers?)


I'm going to go look at some pictures of puppies and kittens, now.

I had this question land in my in-box, and it, plus the asker's response, made me decide to repost my answer.

Question (paraphrased to keep it short) "How do you decide what story idea to follow through on? I have so many ideas, but I never seem to be able to settle on one to write all the way through."

My answer:

I'm really not sure how to answer your question (and I've been thinking about it for a few days now). You settle on an idea the same way you choose the clothes that you put on in the morning: you say "hrm, that works" and you put them on, and unless something happens during the day, you wear them all day until you take them off. Or, in the case of a story, you write it until it's done, or you decide, for whatever reason, that it doesn't work the way you thought it would, and you either rework it until it does work, or you shelve it.

Sometimes you write a project because someone's going to pay you for it. If I had to choose between writing the next book under contract and a new idea, I'd write the book under contract because that's my job. I'd keep the new shiny idea until I had time to develop it (occasionally this leads to me writing several books at once. I don't recommend that).

Coming up with ideas, as the saying goes, is the easy part. Sitting down to write it, start to finish, is what makes you a professional. As you've discovered, it ain't easy...


The response (again paraphrased): "Thanks for trying. I guess I'll keep asking other people until someone tells me something useful."

*headdesk*

People, just as there is no secret handshake that will get you published, there is no secret push that will get your book written. It's AiC all the way down. Pick your shot, follow through, start at the beginning and end at the end, and that's how you write a book. No other damned way. If you get distracted by a shinier idea, over and over again, then you're not a writer, because You're. Not. Writing.

I'm sorry if that wasn't the answer someone was looking for. It's the only answer I know.


/cranky

Amazon Says Glitch to Blame for "New" Adult Policy
By Rachel Deahl & Jim Milliot

A groundswell of outrage, concern and confusion sprang up over the weekend, largely via Twitter, in response to what authors and others believed was a decision by Amazon to remove adult titles from its sales ranking. On Sunday evening, however, an Amazon spokesperson said that a glitch had occurred in its sales ranking feature that was in the process of being fixed. The spokesperson added that there was no new adult policy.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6651080.html


Of course, this does not explain why authors who queried were told by Amazon reps that 'adult' material" was being excluded from appearing in "some searches and best seller lists" as a "consideration of our entire customer base." I'll be very interested what glitch explains that....

-- I was attacked by a nap monster! But awake now and revving up again. Three things to share with you:

-It looks like Blood From Stone got my usual 4 star rating from RT, bless them. Anyone got the actual print review? And fashionista_35 to the rescue, as usual:

"Gilman's sixth -- and hopefully not final! -- Retrievers novel is of a piece with the others -- paced at breakneck speed, compulsively readable and with a believable story. Wren continues to be a compelling protagonist, and her relationship with Sergei is as steady and as sure as her magic." Woot! and emphasis mine, natch.


-"Growls Garden" is surprisingly good to edit with. And now people who thought they knew my musical taste are going "Growls Garden? Clark? Gilman? WTF?" *laugh* My tastes, they are eclectic. Yes. The soundtrack for "Mustang" though is totally Chris Isaak, and the Bonnie books demand smooth jazz, while the Vineart books tend to veer from trance to opera. No, I don't know why, either.

-- And now, the Essential Mockery Moment:

In my spam filter this weekend, an e-mail from one Dr. Michael J. Duckett with the subject header "Make big money writing books."

( Okay, you guys KNOW I HAD to click on that, just for the inevitable amusement factor. )


And yes, this has already been forwarded to Writer Beware, I suspect by a LOT of people.

Barnes & Noble Acquires Fictionwise

Barnes & Noble announced that it has purchased the e-book retailer Fictionwise for $15.7 million in cash today.

The major e-book company operates two websites, Fictionwise.com and eReader.com, and both will remain functioning after the sale. According to Fictionwise, founders Steve Pendergrast and Scott Pendergrast will continue to operate the e-book retailer as a separate unit under the Barnes & Noble umbrella.

Here's more from the official release: "Barnes & Noble said it plans to use Fictionwise as part of its overall digital strategy, which includes the launch of an e-Bookstore later this year. In addition to the closing purchase price, Fictionwise may receive earn out payments for achieving certain performance targets over the next two years." (Via TeleRead)

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/web_tech/barnes_noble_acquires_fictionwise_110402.asp

I really, really like this guy:

(commenting on how many of the confirmed layoffs @HarperCollins had come from editorial) "It seems that the people responsible for 'sales' of our books should be just as accountable as the people who purchase them," he observed. "After all, if you can't find a book in a bookstore to buy, whose fault is that? The author, the publisher, or the sales rep who couldn't get it merchandised and stocked correctly?" - Stephen Viscusi, himself an HC author, of, ironically, Bulletproof Your Job

(via GalleyCat)


Yeah, I know salespeople get laid off too, don't throw things at me. But having been through a few purges in my time, and seen more at a remove, I have to say that the attitude of Corporate during layoffs always seems to be "well, we don't need so many editors, the survivors can just do more work*" but the sales force is like the mafia -- protected.



*I have never, ever, ever met an editor who was not already overloaded with projects. Ever.

First, the bad news: As is already known to the Internet, Realms of Fantasy is being shuttered. Sad day for those of us who read short fantasy fiction (and the staff there too, natch). And so much for the submission I had there. *sighs* I don't think this is Doom, but it's not good news, obviously. Is short fiction dying, or is it moving to another format (electronic) entirely? The discussion rages on. Me, I'm still not ready to call for last rites for the short story. We'll see.


However, in the good news category, I came home to a box of mass market editions of CURSE THE DARK. Yay! So for your amusement, edification, and shopping needs, I give you LAG's release schedule for the first half of 2009:

*January: nothing.
*February: still nothing. Buy other peoples' books.
*March: the mass market release of CURSE THE DARK and BRING IT ON Pre-order 'em now! (seriously: pre-order them now. Bookstores are standing by. And you'll get a sneak peek at Blood From Stone, too!)
*April: the trade edition of Midnight Cravings, the novella anthology containing Anna Leonard's "Dreamcatcher," first time in paper form!
*May: Blood From Stone. Book 6 in the Retrievers series, and a whole new chapter in their lives... This one's PB-riffic!
*June: TBA


Under 'No news': I did not come to the end of Part II -- I am close, but said hellwithit and went downtown for Puppy Time and dinner, instead. Tomorrow is another workday. Tonight, I have to do some invoicing and bill-paying...

However, I am amused to note:

1. I have my hero riding hard all day -- at a steady walk, broken by an occasional trot, and stopping when it's too dark to see the road.

2. I actually know how a sea-serpent would eat someone.

Bargain Hunting for Books, and Feeling Sheepish About It

"For readers and collectors, these resellers, as they are called, offer a great service. Lost in the hand-wringing over the state of the book industry is the fact that this is a golden age for those in love with old-fashioned printed volumes: more books are available for less effort and less money than ever before. A book search engine like ViaLibri.net can knit together 20,000 booksellers around the world offering tens of millions of nearly new, used or rare books.

One consequence has been to change the calculations involved in buying a book. Given the price, do I really want to read this? Now it’s become both an economic and a moral issue? How much do I want to pay, and where do I want that money to go? To my local community via a bookstore? To the publisher? To the author?

In theory, I want to support all of these fine folks. In practice, I decide to save a buck."


EtA: just to clarify, y'all do understand that the above is from the article, and not my own words? I didn't bring the world "moral" into it....




Comments?

Lots of discussion across the blogosphere about What's Wrong with Publishing, How Publishing Is/Isn't Dying, etc and What it All Means.

To that I can only say what I've been saying about the economy all along: it didn't get broken overnight, and if it were easy to fix -- a simple matter of changing A for B -- it would have been don already. Really. TBTB? They're not stupid, most of them. Venal, short-sighted, and stuck in a previous generation, maybe, but not stupid. And none of them want to lose their jobs (or answer to corporate head-choppers) for screwing the pooch if they can avoid it.

So what's the answer? Damned if I know. Got some ideas.

-Telling shareholders to take their narrow profit margin and be happy with it, damn it.
-Adapting faster to new technology.
-Bringing prices back into line with reality -- I love me some books, but even for my addicted-to authors, $25-30 is a lot to shell out. Give me a $12 trade paperback and I'll go away happy. A $6 mass market, likewise. Yes, I know what production costs are. See points 1 and 2.
-creating a single industry-wide format for e-books, by god, and telling manufacturers to create readers around that, rather than scattering their focus.
-Creating a new delivery system -- I used to think that direct-from-publisher sales were a bad idea, because it limited reader access. Now I'm not so sure -- if you can skip around from imprint to imprint via websites to look at what's available, is that any better/worse than a bookstore? And that way every title could be showcased, not just what a buyer thinks will sell. On the other hand, that puts a lot of people in the chain of events out of work, too. So...



Meanwhile, all I can do is keep on keeping on. 38 pages and one rather major comment to hammer into better shape, and HARD MAGIC is done. I've rescheduled my dinner plans [pity the person keeping company with a writer on deadline!] and plan to hit fini by the time I sleep. That may not be until dawn, but...

and more to the publishing industry: this

At Random House, it was clear that saving the imprints was key. Markus Dohle talked about aligning “existing strengths and publishing affinities” and how this imprint or that will be better, stronger, safer. As if that matters. Who really cares if Crown or Knopf or Ballantine or Bantam Dell survives? I’m serious. Who. Cares.

No really, who cares if these groups are retaining editorial independence while combining strengths? Is that really going to change the business dynamic, or is it just focusing on the wrong problem?


Speaking as someone who still has a (thankfully fading) emotional attachement to the imprint she used to run, I understand the insider's view of imprints -- it's your baby, your identity, your chance to say "this is what I think is good." And in a perfect world it would be a useful and understood brand. But that's a lot easier to do in specialized genres (DAW, Baen, Nocturne, etc). For general fiction? Not so much. Not much at all, in fact.


Y'know, it's a very weird thing, being an insider-trained writer. I'm never quite sure if I'm a Christian or a Lion.

The day's frustration of "why is this book not DONE YET?" is, thankfully, tempered by "oooo, neat" discoveries as I go along.

And that's why I slog on through. Not for the end product, although that is deeply satisfying, not to mention rent-paying, but for the "oh wow, that's how this fits in here, and if they do that it's because of this, and everything suddenly makes sense why I built it up that way! Kewl!"

But, seriously. The book needs to be done now.


Meanwhile, if anyone out there knows a Brian Graston of Pueblo, Colorado? You might want to advise him to lawyer up. Running a pirated books website -- and advertising it! -- is stupid enough. Doing it with (among others) JK Rowling's books is asking to get your balls handed to you.

(also? the pdf files are crap. Not worth the effort to save a few bucks.)

Moron.

EtA: Twice a Moron. Apparently, Mr. Ellison's up there, too. And now, so are Mr. Ellison's lawyers. Blood in the water, much? (Jeezus. What part of "if writers don't earn a living you don't get new entertainment" do these people still not grok?)

Mr. G. apparently had a bad few days. Site's down.

In case you were wondering how the banking and consumer credit crunch played out in 'real life':

GalleyCat has received a copy of a "special alert" sent from a major book distributor specializing in independent publishers to its clients, warning them that Borders, whose financial difficulties are widely recognized, "now tell us that they will not be paying us for two months due to anticipated excessive returns," a situation the company views with understandable concern. This distributor "typically carries receivables of approximately two million dollars with Borders," the memo continues. "A default of that amount would by no means put [us] out of business, but it would be painful, weaken the short-term health of the company, and would mean we would have to defer some of our plans for future growth."....

The memo emphasizes, however, that this distributor does not actually recommend that any of its clients start denying Borders their titles:

"Borders has been paying [us], they are reported to have cash on hand and access to credit in the future, and the last thing anyone wants is to have only one giant chain in the retail book market. Borders may prosper, and even in the worst case, given [our] uniquely flexible policy, the value of your inventory would be preserved."

more at: http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/bookselling/major_distributor_raises_concerns_over_borders_99936.asp?c=rss

Yesterday I placed another phone call to the Publisher of Non-Payment, as referenced here, here, and here. The phrase "breach of contract" was used, and mention was made of the power of negative press when one is willing to name names and give details in a public blog. Yes, I bitch-slapped a publisher.

Today I was informed that the check was being cut and placed in the mail.

We Shall See. Six years from contract to publication. Three months from payment due to payment (allegedly) made.


I am told that Mercury went direct again yesterday. *looks at in-box* I believe it.