Adventures in Epublishing: Indie Week in Review
Some great stuff going on this week and I just couldn't wait until the week was over to talk about it...
Traditionally published author Barry Eisler turns down a $500,000 deal to self publish his next book. Read about it here on Joe Konrath's blog (warning: it's a LONG one!):
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/ebooks-and-self-publishing-dialog.html
The EU looks into publishers and ebook prices...are the ebook prices that publishers are charging actually illegal? Publishers' offices raided! (posted by author Sibel Hodge on Kindle Boards)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/mar/16/hard-times-publishers-eu-raids-ebooks
Man self-publishes ebook "Why The Kindle Will Fail." Check it out for a good chuckle on Tyson Adams' blog:
http://thetysonadams.blogspot.com/2011/03/define-irony.html
Amanda Hocking on the verge of $1 Million + book deal with a major publisher:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/noted-self-publisher-may-be-close-to-a-book-deal/
I have to say it's a great and insane time to be a part of publishing, no matter which side of the fence you're hanging out on. Published authors are turning down traditional deals to go it alone, epubbed authors are picking up million dollar deals with major publishing houses, and publishing houses in Europe are being raided because of the ridiculous prices they're charging for ebooks. The world's gone mad!
I will say that it's an amazing transition that's taking place at the moment, and while I don't think traditional publishing will die a quick death, I think it's not long for this world in it's current form. We are witnessing the transformation of an entire industry at this moment. And in 5 years we'll look back and laugh about how crazy 2011 was in the industry.
As for Barry Eisler's and Amanda Hocking's news, both of them bode well for us indies. They are really giving us indies the credibility we've been hoping for. Barry gives us credibility because he sees what we're doing as lucrative enough to give up a 500K deal. Amanda gives us credibility because a traditional publishing house is recognizing the value and worth of writers that went about things differently and tried something different because it will now make them money.
There is a TON of debate as to whether either of them is really making the 'right' decision regarding their career, but let's be honest, nobody really knows for sure how either of their moves will turn out. But I will say this...it certainly is nice to have options. When I started querying agents 2 years ago, I thought that's all there was for me, my only chance to reach any readers was through New York and they weren't interested. I'd really thought that if I submitted a few more books and was rejected that I might hang it up because as much as I enjoyed writing, I couldn't justify busting my butt day and night to write books that no one would ever read. We all want to say we write for the love of writing, but I write to share stories and that wasn't happening. I'm just so thrilled to have this opportunity to get my work out there and share others work as well.
Connecting to readers and making some money off of it as well is really the best of both worlds and I'm excited to keep tabs on how everyone does. I'll keep you posted!
Traditionally published author Barry Eisler turns down a $500,000 deal to self publish his next book. Read about it here on Joe Konrath's blog (warning: it's a LONG one!):
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/ebooks-and-self-publishing-dialog.html
The EU looks into publishers and ebook prices...are the ebook prices that publishers are charging actually illegal? Publishers' offices raided! (posted by author Sibel Hodge on Kindle Boards)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/mar/16/hard-times-publishers-eu-raids-ebooks
Man self-publishes ebook "Why The Kindle Will Fail." Check it out for a good chuckle on Tyson Adams' blog:
http://thetysonadams.blogspot.com/2011/03/define-irony.html
Amanda Hocking on the verge of $1 Million + book deal with a major publisher:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/noted-self-publisher-may-be-close-to-a-book-deal/
I have to say it's a great and insane time to be a part of publishing, no matter which side of the fence you're hanging out on. Published authors are turning down traditional deals to go it alone, epubbed authors are picking up million dollar deals with major publishing houses, and publishing houses in Europe are being raided because of the ridiculous prices they're charging for ebooks. The world's gone mad!
I will say that it's an amazing transition that's taking place at the moment, and while I don't think traditional publishing will die a quick death, I think it's not long for this world in it's current form. We are witnessing the transformation of an entire industry at this moment. And in 5 years we'll look back and laugh about how crazy 2011 was in the industry.
As for Barry Eisler's and Amanda Hocking's news, both of them bode well for us indies. They are really giving us indies the credibility we've been hoping for. Barry gives us credibility because he sees what we're doing as lucrative enough to give up a 500K deal. Amanda gives us credibility because a traditional publishing house is recognizing the value and worth of writers that went about things differently and tried something different because it will now make them money.
There is a TON of debate as to whether either of them is really making the 'right' decision regarding their career, but let's be honest, nobody really knows for sure how either of their moves will turn out. But I will say this...it certainly is nice to have options. When I started querying agents 2 years ago, I thought that's all there was for me, my only chance to reach any readers was through New York and they weren't interested. I'd really thought that if I submitted a few more books and was rejected that I might hang it up because as much as I enjoyed writing, I couldn't justify busting my butt day and night to write books that no one would ever read. We all want to say we write for the love of writing, but I write to share stories and that wasn't happening. I'm just so thrilled to have this opportunity to get my work out there and share others work as well.
Connecting to readers and making some money off of it as well is really the best of both worlds and I'm excited to keep tabs on how everyone does. I'll keep you posted!
Interesting timing; I just finished listening to the MacBreak Weekly podcast. One of the last news items discussed was the New York Times' new pay wall and how unlikely it was to work.
ReplyDeleteWe talk about ebooks, but there's lots changing, from web series to social networking to news bloggers. It's one thing for us not to keep up, due to time or personal interest. It's another thing for large publishers not to, because they ought to have people keeping track.
Also: options are good. When I started out 20+ years ago, my options were short story or novel; pro magazine, small press 'zine, or big publisher. Heck, you couldn't even sell something over 10k unless you were a big name author. Now we have loads of options for whatever we write.
Right on Robert!
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting news. I will be watching to see what is going on, but I am in total agreement with you. We have more choices today, but I'm inclined to stay away from traditional publishing for now.
ReplyDeleteYes, J.L, I agree. If I'm selling well enough to attract attention from NY, that would have to be a really good contract!
ReplyDeleteBoth deals sent shockwaves on the web for sure. I think this is such an exciting and fun time to be a writer.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I can't complain!
ReplyDeleteI love checking back here to see what is going on in the ePublishing world! Have any of you been able to check out www.novoink.com? They are one of my fave resources. I like the selections and self-enhancing eBooks. Best to you all!
ReplyDeleteE
Thanks for these links Karly. It's refreshing to hear news from the industry we love and how more authors are finding their way to self-publishing. Yes, it's nice to have options. It's nice for writers to have an alternative in case a top publisher ignores their many nights and days of hard work.
ReplyDeleteVery nice bloog you have here
ReplyDelete