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02-13-2014, 10:08 AM | #1 | |
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Author turned down $1.5 million book advances to continue to self-publish
Saw this post from the PassiveVoice, it's interesting so I thought I would share.
http://www.thepassivevoice.com/02/20...in-trad-deals/ From author H.M. Ward on Kindleboards: Quote:
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02-13-2014, 10:48 AM | #2 | |
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There's really lots of those stories floating around.
Like this one from Lilliana Hart: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/top...tml#msg2458287 Quote:
The tradpub party line for the last year is that indie publishing will float up stories and authors that they can then swoop in and sign the starry eyed innocents for "six figure contracts!!!!"'. Cue up Dr Evil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKKHSAE1gIs Now, Ward didn't get to where she is without a lot of hard work marketting herself and her books--she is no starry eyed innocent looking for validation, not with that photography resume--so she knows the kind of marketting program it takes to make $100k a week and, understandably, she wants to see something an order of magnitude better. (And paying B&N to place a couple stacks of books on a table isn't going to wow her.) The publishers haven't really internalized the new publishing economics and what they mean. They think they can cherry pick today's indie author-publishers with advances right out of 2004. And much like time-warped Dr Evil are getting laughed at. Those deals might get them a top-1000 indie author but not the Top 10 class they're aiming at. They need to up the ante or cut back the predatory contract terms. Probably both. It really is an entirely different era. Last edited by fjtorres; 02-13-2014 at 10:54 AM. |
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02-13-2014, 12:24 PM | #3 |
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I agree with you from the stand point of marketing. Many of the authors who are on my must read list have their own web sites and make quite an effort to connect with their fan base. Simply doing the book tour once a year just isn't going to hack it anymore.
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02-13-2014, 01:14 PM | #4 |
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Is Jeff Bezos the only one in publishing who has read The Innovator’s Dilemma?
Amazon is the only publisher with a halfway serious campaign to promote independent authors (in fairness, they are the only one with the weight to get serious at this point). Amazon’s Day One and Kindle Singles imprints promote short stories, essays and shorter nonfiction. They they use their visibility in book-selling to highlight successful independent authors and their works. They pay independent authors a fair share of the profit from their work too. It seems as though while Amazon is innovating the future of publishing the big publishing houses seem merely to concentrate on killing eBooks. The only place Amazon backs off from promoting innovation in publishing is in their failing to promote independent bookstores as well. At least there is Kobo to pick that up and who knows where it will lead. It’s exciting to watch the evolution of publishing. What's next: emerging markets in professional editing services with room for independent editors to offer innovative pricing to attract and hold onto promising authors? Perhaps revised expectations for what agents can and should do in a market where having contacts in publishing houses is less important than having keen insights into marketing a book? To me, it all looks to be good--or at least necessary--but I can't wait to see what happens when big publishing quits their rear guard approach to innovation and embraces the changes. |
02-14-2014, 05:26 AM | #5 |
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This part is also interesting. H.M. Ward wrote:
Someone asked about paper only deals – NO ONE IS INTERESTED. I thought that was insane, but it’s not. It lines up with Hugh’s report. Paper is not where the money is at- ebooks are. I made the NYT list this week. Ebook only rank was #7 and Ebook and paper combined was #8. No preorder. Minimal paper sales – a few hundred. That also lines up with what Hugh’s report. Which makes me think, there isnt a lot of money in paper and the risk is greater than the reward. I am trying to do paper distribution myself. It’s too early to say what will happen. I’ll let you know, but I’m thinking there is a reason why the trad pubs are backing off of paper sales. It’s not arbitrary, despite their other actions I think they’re right about paper. If Indies stopped chasing paper, if they stopped thinking that paper would be the difference, well, that would be major. |
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02-14-2014, 08:14 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
I don't understand the downside of a paper only deal. Can someone explain? Some people prefer to read paper. |
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02-14-2014, 09:39 AM | #7 | |
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Quote:
The publisher reps come in with low-ball offers and/or toxic contracts and the authors counter with an offer to license print rights. When Howey negotiated a print-only deal for SILO it was assumed to be a sign of things to come. It wasn't. Publishers now run from print-only deals like vampires from full-spectrum lamps. As is, many indies are in fact doing pbooks side-by-side with their ebooks but they are finding they serve mostly as marketing tools and holiday gift editions. Even when they get them into B&M stores (easily done these days, even without a publishing house behind you) sales are a trickle. All signs are that print, especially at B&M, is primarily the domain of bestsellers and specialty books. No shock, really, as the price advantage of indies vanishes in the print domain and people that will risk buying a $5 ebook from an unknown are not going to risk $13 on a pbook by the same author. |
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02-14-2014, 11:29 AM | #8 | |
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This might provide the perfect opportunity for Barnes and Noble. 1) Set up an print-only imprint 2) Sign print-only rights from successful indie authors like HW Ward, Hugh Howey, A.G. Riddle, Liliana Hart, Courtney Milan, Bella Andre etc... Amazon is wildly successful with its imprints. Mostly through ebooks. B&N could be successful too with physical books. Last edited by Top100EbooksRank; 02-14-2014 at 11:33 AM. |
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02-14-2014, 11:49 AM | #9 |
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The problem with self-published print books is that the economics just don't work the same way as for ebooks.
POD is expensive, and the same book that runs $3-5 in ebook format comes out around $15+ in print. That's moving from coffee to lunch prices, so people take fewer chances. |
02-14-2014, 12:08 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
Now, however, the more successful indie publishers don't have to limit themselves to POD. Nowadays it is possible to order up small print runs of books from chinese print operations at sub-POD prices and get books indistinguishable from tradpub hardcovers. Works for the folks who have been around and won.t sweat a few thousand dollars' investment. |
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02-14-2014, 12:48 PM | #11 | |
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02-14-2014, 02:46 PM | #12 | |
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02-14-2014, 03:02 PM | #13 |
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