Still the centre of the universe? … detail from Andea Cellario’s print Harmonia Macrocosmica showing the Ptolemaic description of the heavens, with the Earth at the middle of creation. Photograph: Enzo and Paolo Ragazzini / Corbis
Belle Whittington
Serial daydreamer, Inkslinger, Author of YA Paranormal Novels, Shopaholic, and Professional Nerd.Join me as I begin my journey to publication. Here, I will post articles of interest, blogs, and interviews pertaining to Indie Publishing.
Check out a sample of my novel, CICADA, posted on my "About My Writing" page. I've also got some CICADA short stories posted here, as well.
Thank you for stopping by! Let's follow each other! :-)
Recent Tweets
@AuthorofCicada
Posts I Like
-
Pg. 254 of David Markson’s copy of Forces in Modern British Literature: 1885-1946 by William York Tindall:
On which Markson placed the text of...
-
My tumblr is one today.
Tempus, as they say, fugit.
-
-
Currently Reading
I was suppose to read 13 reasons why by Jay Asher but i really had a hard time reading it cause i just have the copy...
-
Our thoughts and prayers are with Oklahoma…
From the awesomely fantastic Jane Friedman
One of the biggest questions for authors today is:
Should I traditionally publish or self-publish?
It’s an important question—one that tends to result in heated debate—but it’s becoming an increasingly confusing and complicated question to answer because:
- There are now many varieties of traditional publishing and self-publishing—with evolving models and varying contracts.
- You won’t find a universal, agreed-upon definition of what it means to “traditionally publish” or “self-publish.”
- It’s not an either/or proposition. You can do both. (See this interview with CJ Lyons.)
I spend a lot of time at writers conferences trying to clarify the pros and cons among the different publishing paths and the growing number of services available to authors. There is no one path or service that’s right for everyone; you must understand and study the changing landscape and make a choice based on long-term career goals, as well as the unique qualities of your work—not to mention your own strengths and weaknesses.
With that in mind, I’ve developed an infographic (click to download as PDF) to describe what I see as the key 5 publishing paths, their value to authors, the potential pitfalls, and examples of each. These five paths are:
- Traditional publishing: where you query and submit to agents and editors in an effort to land a contract that pays an advance and royalties (and typically involves nationwide bookstore distribution).
- Partnership publishing: one might consider this the evolution of traditional publishing, where authors are positioned more as partners, receive higher royalties, but usually no advance.
- Fully-assisted publishing: the old “vanity” self-publishing model, where you write a check and get your book published without lifting a finger. I don’t recommend this, but it’s still a significant part of the self-publishing market, now dominated by Author Solutions.
- Do-it-yourself (DIY) publishing with a distributor: while this applies to either print or e-books, today this usually involves e-publishing your work (to reduce financial risk and investment involved with print), and using a service provider or distributor to reach all possible online retailers—and/or to provide some level of assistance.
- Do-it-yourself (DIY) direct publishing: when an author doesn’t put any middlemen between him and the retailer selling his books. Often, this option is combined with #4 above; for example, someone might sell direct through Amazon KDP, and complement it with distribution to all other retailers through Smashwords. This is possible because most distributors and online retailers of e-books work on a nonexclusive basis.
What about an agent’s role in these five models? Generally speaking, agents should serve as an author’s career manager and adviser, not as the author’s publisher. This is why I’ve included agent-assisted models in “special cases” below the chart. Still, though, when it comes to partnership publishing, agent-run outfits (e.g., Rogue Reader) are doing some of the most innovative work, and this only blurs the lines further.
You’ll notice I’ve indicated that, moving from left to right across the chart, an author gains more control over the process, undertakes more risk, and stands to earn more money. This is a generalization and may not hold true in every situation. For fully-assisted publishing in particular, one might argue this poses the highest risk and offers the least control. However, as a general rule, keep in mind that as one moves from the traditional models to DIY models, the author undertakes more risk, work, and responsibility, but stands to gain more financially if successful over the long term.
Feel free to download, print, and share this infograph wherever you like. I will keep developing it as the publishing landscape changes, so leave a comment if you have suggestions for how to make it more helpful.
Did you know I’m on Authorgraph? My lovely readers and fans can request my autograph for your e-books at a mere click of a button. You’ll even get a personal message from moi!
Wanna know what’s super-cool about an Authorgraph autograph? Now you can pin them to your Pinterest board and create a cool collection!
Why not start now by requesting one from me?
Click here to get started:
Did you know that Belle is on Pinterest?
Although she admits that she’s still figuring it out, she’d love for you to stop by and follow! She follows in return <3
Cake. Because MOM=WOW!
Post by Catherine Ryan Howard
#aliensintexas
WARNING: This is one of them long ones. Better go get a fresh cup of coffee before you start…
We all know I love publishers. I still hope, should I ever finish The Novel, to be published by one of them. Say silly things like legacy or gatekeepers, or use something as serious and tragic as the Irish potato famine—or rape or Stockholm Syndrome, for that matter—to describe the relationship between the author and the business that has risked its money to get that author’s book to market, and you go straight onto my Naughty List.
(Well, there isn’t actually a Naughty List. Who has the time? I will roll my eyes at you though.)
I don’t believe for a second, for instance, what is pretty much an accepted ‘fact’ by the majority of the self-publishing community: that traditional publishers don’t publicize and/or care about the books they publish. I’ve seen for myself that this is simply not true. The bad publishers might not, but it’s up to you not to sign contracts with them. (Or at least not sign contracts with them twice, or tarnish all publishers with the same brush just because of one experience.) Even if I took away what I’ve seen firsthand, there would still be the evidence of logic: publishing is a business, and any business that isn’t run by morons wants to recoup their investment, i.e. any advance paid, printing and staff costs. They market and publicize and support their product as much as they can because it’s in their interests for it to sell.
Here’s a nice relaxing photo for you this Monday morning. You’re welcome!
Anyway, I tell you this because I want to make it clear that despite my self-publishing background, I ain’t a publisher-basher. But there is one area where some of them do need a stern talking to, and that’s their attitude towards using social media to promote their books. The Big Ones are all over it (that’s probably why they’re The Big Ones) but others aren’t even making an effort, which is crazy as they’re the ones who stand to benefit the most on the internet’s level playing field.
This is something they have in common with a lot of self-publishers, as luck would have it, so let’s talk about this attitude and the reasons behind it here today.
By Kathleen Schmidt
May 1st, 2013
One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “Should I hire a book publicist?” Whether I am speaking at a conference or tweeting about the state of book publishing, writers are often fickle when it comes to the hows and whys of the publicity for their book. I can’t say I blame them—it seems like there is a new “platform” every five minutes along with articles about the death of newspapers. Though it may seem difficult, there are some things one should know before working with a publicist.
Branding is a simple concept. For an author, in a nutshell, it’s what people expect when they hear your name attached to a book (or story).
If you think of the name Mark Twain, or Stephen King, or Toni Morrison, or J.R.R. Tolkien … many things likely pop into your head. For me, the name Tolkien conjures up images of a professorial fellow with a pipe, the smile of a raconteur on his face, eager to spin long tales that I suspect I’d like hear, maybe sitting close by in a comfy easy chair by the fireplace in his study, sipping a little sherry and traveling to a far-off imaginary land …
This post offers tips to help you think about your brand – how to identify it, strengthen and refine it, and present it to your adoring (right?) fans.
There’s an interesting book I read some years ago that comes to mind to help you think about branding. It’s called Primal Branding, by Patrick Hanlon, a marketing guru who’s worked on famous brands like Absolut, LEGO, IBM, and others. His book equates a strong brand with a culture of belief, one that is similar in many ways to a religious faith.
Before you get illusions of grandeur, let’s look at his points of comparison. Like a religion, Hanlon says, a strong brand has these key elements:
- Creation story
- Creed
- Rituals
- Icons
- Sacred words
- Non-believers
- Leader
It’s interesting to think in those terms about you and your author’s brand. To translate:
an article by Barry Eisler.
The choices offered by digital publishing can only be good news for writers, says Barry Eisler. So why are traditional publishers so angry?
Until November 2007, when Amazon introduced the Kindle, the only viable means of book distribution was paper. Accordingly, a writer who wanted to reach a mass audience needed a paper distribution partner. A writer could hire her own editor and her own cover design artist; she could even hire a printing press to create the actual books. The one service she couldn’t hire out was distribution. And publishers didn’t offer distribution as an à la carte service. If a writer wanted distribution, she had to pay a publisher 85% of her revenues for the entire publishing package: editorial, copyediting, proofreading, jacket design, printing, and marketing, all bundled with distribution.
Was a price of 85% of revenues a good deal for this packaged publishing service? For some writers, it clearly was. JK Rowling became a cash billionaire via the traditional packaged publishing service, and obviously there are hundreds of other examples of authors for whom the packaged service has represented a good value.
But for every author who wanted and benefited from the packaged service, there were countless others who took it – if they could get it at all – only because they had no alternative.
Have you seen the lovely fan art that Laura made and posted on her gorgeous Romanian blog? If not, you should check it out! And don’t forget to show her blog some luv in the comments! <3
Regular readers of this blog or those of you who have ploughed your way through all 120,000 words of Self-Printed will know that I’m a big fan of The Book Designer and the man behind it, Joel Friedlander (@JFBookman on Twitter). It’s a fantastic resource for self-publishers and it always makes for interesting reading too. Joel also runs monthly e-book design awards, which offer a sometimes wonderful, sometimes… um, not so wonderful (ahem) insight into the world of self-published e-book cover design. Recently he launched Book Design Templates for self-publishers, and he’s here today to tell us more about them. Welcome, Joel!
Click here to visit Catherine’s awesome blog and read the rest of her terrific post! :-)
My heart is breaking for the poor folks in the little Texas town of West. May God send angels to their aid…
If you are the praying sort, please join us in saying The Lord’s Prayer today at 11 AM CST (US) for Mark Greening, a friend who is not expected to survive through the weekend. His family is hoping to make it a simultaneous international prayer chain.
I’ll share any comments left here with his family. Thank you, sweet friends and fans <3
Did you enter the #FIREFLYBookBlogTour Contests?
Check your emails, Peeps & Peepettes! Books and Broomsticks has sent emails to the winners!
Many thanks to all the lovely bloggers who participated in the #FireflyBookBlogTour! <3 Thank you so much for all your help with promoting FIREFLY! i <3 u ALL!
Want to know who all those lovelies are? Follow this link to check out their blogs and please show them lots of love! They are all wonderful! <3
http://www.booksandbroomsticks.com/2013/02/firefly-book-tour-agenda.html
