Kindle Owners Lending Library: KOLLing on the Pros (and Cons) for Writers

posted by Saul

Ever since Amazon announced that it would be paying authors to allow their ebooks to be borrowed through its Kindle Owners Lending Library (KOLL), the etherscape has been abuzz with opinions spanning every possible extreme. Detractors argue that Amazon is trying to put other book distributors (read: B&N, Apple, Google...) out of business at the expense of writers, and once they do, the terms under which authors publish with Amazon will suddenly become as unfavorable as they already are in legacy publishing. Supporters argue Amazon is offering authors an opportunity to reach more readers and to legitimately offer their works for free for a defined period of time, something Amazon has been loath to support in the past.

Whether the former turns out to be true is irrelevant, since those making such predictions simply don't know, and those with insight into Amazon's strategy won't tell. As for the latter, the question of whether an author wishes to participate must be decided on an individual basis. There are both positive and negative aspects to consider.

In Sony's Flubs, a Lesson for Writers

Entertainment giant Sony [SNE], creator of innovative products such as the Walkman and Playstation, has a market capitalization of 18.5 billion dollars. But not all of their products have been successes. Remember BetaMax? Yeah, that was Sony.

There were other Sony attempts that have since fallen into obscurity: AIBO, PSX/PlayTV, the eVilla Network Entertainment Center. The list is long.

And yet, Sony has not only survived, but grown ever more successful. Why? Because they didn't let their failures define them.

GoodReads Giveaway of SHORTING THE UNDEAD

posted by Saul

To celebrate the publication of my collection of short speculative fiction, SHORTING THE UNDEAD AND OTHER HORRORS: A MENAGERIE OF MACABRE MINIFICTION, I am giving away two signed proof copies on GoodReads. Sign up below for a chance to win!

But wait, there's more! I have one additional copy to give away and additional chances for you to win it. Just mention the GoodReads contest on your blog and email me the link or include it in a comment below (along with some way I can contact you if you're the lucky winner). Alternatively, tweet the contest and include my Twitter handle (@saultanpepper) so I get it. There's no limit to the number of blog or Twitter entries; the more you tweet or post, the more chances you get to win.

Here's the short url for the contest: http://bit.ly/u9y3nY

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Shorting the Undead and Other Horrors

by Saul Tanpepper

Giveaway ends January 31, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The GoodReads contest is open only to US addresses, but the blog/tweet contest is open to anyone, anywhere. Both contests end January 31, 2012.

Best of luck!

Is the Great Debate asking the Wrong Question?

posted by Saul

Publishing Point's Susan Danzinger recently posted a video of this past spring's "Great Debate" at the London Book Fair. Having not attended, this was a good chance for me to see and hear first hand what has increasingly been driving a wedge in the literary community over the past several months. I'd already gotten the basic gist of the discussion from other sources, but I was curious to hear, in its entirety, the debate based on the inciteful premise: “Publishers in the digital age will be irrelevant.”

Or put another way: "All that will matter is the writer and the reader."

The panelists comprised of four experts. Two advocates for the "resolution": Cory Doctorow, bestselling author, blogger, and Publishers Weekly columnist; and London-based tech author and publisher James Bridle. Arguing against the resolution: Richard Charkin, executive director of Bloomsbury Publishing; and Andrew Franklin, publisher and managing director of Profile Books.

First of all, what is a publisher?

Publishers Offer of Real-Time Data a Good Thing?

posted by Ken

The NY Times is reporting that three of the Big 6 publishers will provide real-time book sales numbers to their authors:

Three major publishers said on Wednesday that they would allow their authors to access book sales data directly online, a move that appeared to challenge Amazon and its continued efforts to woo authors.       

The three publishers are Simon & Schuster, Random House, and the Hatchette Book Group. All have all committed to creating author's portals for accessing the data.

According to the Times' Julie Bosman, the publishers hope that the new services:

...help publishers strengthen their relationships with authors who have expressed frustration at the difficulty of getting up-to-date sales information. In the absence of data from their publishers, many writers turn to Amazon, which last year began giving them access to data from Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 75 percent of print sales.

Too much of good thing, or not enough?

I applaud publishers for making changes in response to what writers are expressing they want, but I would caution them to be prepared for skepticism. For too long they have ignored the will of their clients, who are fleeing for reasons beyond ready access to their sales figures. While this is a move in the right direction, it will likely provide only mild relief to those who feel they've been slighted by the megalithic publishing machinery.

There's also the risk that writers, having up-to-the-minute access to their numbers might now be constantly reminded of the relatively small royalties they are making compared to what they might get going indie or publishing through one of Amazon's imprints. This, I think, is a bigger problem for the publishers to address, and they've been strangely mute on the subject. A little good will in that regard will go a lot farther than simply providing authors with what they should have been getting in the first place.

Finally, is this really what writers need? Haven't we already got too much to obsess about without having the urge to constantly refresh our author portal page to see if we've sold yet another copy of our book?

Access to the data is wonderful, but I fear this move may end up cutting both sides of the table in ways unexpected.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope this goes a long way toward rebuilding relationships. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if writers see this as a crack in the wall and begin pounding harder. Maybe this is the opening salvo in a building battle between writers (and their agents) and publishers. Or the first retreat. Then again, wither of those things would be a good thing.


What do you think? Is this a good move? Does it go far enough?

Here's a link to the article:
The NY Times reports three of the Big 6 publishers will provide real-time book sales numbers to their authors.

Planning for an Indie Future: Creating a Business Plan

posted by Saul

All too often I talk to or hear about a writer who's published a book on Amazon or through Smashwords and it's clear they have no idea what to do next. Now, granted, some of these writers don't aspire to a career in writing, but many do, and so it astonishes me to think that they've taken the first step on a very long journey without properly preparing for it.

Where's your plan?

Before the indie movement, before the technology was available to allow Joe Anywriter to publish, the basic book writer's business plan went basically as follows:

1. Write
2. Submit
3. Fret
4. Revise
5. Repeat steps 2-4 ad infinitum
6. Die

For many, the democratization of publishing has simplified this:

How to Prepare for the Inevitable (Publishing) Apocalypse

posted by Saul

(to be read to R.E.M.'s It's the End of the World as We Know It playing in the background)

What will publishing look like in the future? Hell, what on earth will it look like next year? Nobody knows. So, how do writers prepare for it?

By listening to the message and ignoring the hype.

I had originally planned to talk a little bit about my specific self-publishing marketing plan today, but after a week and a half in the tropics doing research on my upcoming YA short story collection Zombies in Bermuda Shorts, I decided to do something a bit less serious (yes, the research was serious; for example, I found out zombies love shrimp cocktails) and talk about the state of publishing, since there seems to be a hell of a lot of arm-waving going on right now that would put the Wall Street protests to shame if it weren't being done in private writer cubbies all over the world.