Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Chapter Two: The Troubles Begin


Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words Or Less):
Promotion is a bi*ch, and so's her sister, Marketing.


Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Got Nuthin' But Time Version (can't promise it won't go on forever):

I've got two Kindle-edition novels up for sale in the Kindle store at Amazon, and the trade paperback editions of those novels will go on sale in the 'regular' Amazon bookstore shortly. When they do, I can get some free review copies out to local newspapers and magazines to try and drum up some coverage. In the meantime, I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding legitimate, socially acceptable ways to promote my work.

I originally generated some interest in the Kindle editions by posting to some Kindle discussion groups on Amazon and elsewhere, but you can only do that once without risking the label of 'spammer' and the ire of the group. When a new book comes out the publisher generally tries to get some quality editorial reviews, i.e., in Publishers Weekly or the Times Book Review, but those types of publications are too busy pointedly ignoring self-published authors to give us the time of day.

So I thought, "Hey, enthusiastic readers enjoy discovering new voices, just like film and music fans. I should approach one of these enthusiastic reader groups to see if any of them might be interested in forming an editorial review body specifically for independent books!" What a lovely, simple idea it seemed at the time. Now that the smoke has cleared, the bodies have been removed from the field of battle and we're free to sift through the rubble, let's see if we can piece together what happened.

I located an ebook reader group that described itself as interested in new technology and the lively discussion of books both old and new. I politely asked this group if any of their members might be willing to form an editorial review circle for books from self-published authors, whereby they would get free review copies of the books and have their reviews posted in the Editorial Review box on Amazon book pages. I'm still not sure precisely what part of this idea inspired such irritation in them: the free books, the prestige of becoming a recognized editorial reviewing body, the opportunity to be a driving and influential force behind the indie author movement, or the idea of all the free promotion their group would get as a result.

Whatever it was, what I thought had been a nice, friendly and productive discussion between me and a few other, interested group members was soon characterized as some kind of attempt to take over and subvert the group---though why anyone thought I could have possibly accomplished such a coup with my one thread out of over 30, I can't say. Then I noticed a thread in which one of the objectors posted about celebrating the sense of friendship and community in the group, and just about got whiplash. That's when I decided that maybe my definition of friendship and community is quite different than the standard for this group, and perhaps it would be best for all involved if I left them.

One member emailed to tell me she'd also decided to quit the group as a result of what was said to and about me there, and another posted to say he wished I'd return because he was also interested in my idea. But I'm afraid I've soured on the whole thing; I'm fiercely protective of my positive attitude, which has been absent all day on account of this fracas, and I'd prefer not to delay its return any further. I'm gonna need all the willfull-idealism-in-the-face-of-hopeless-odds I can muster in the coming weeks, as I begin soliciting for editorial reviews on my trade paperback editions. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Toward An Indie Author Movement

Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words Or Less):
Big publishers are run like movie studios, only interested in prestige titles, potential blockbusters and genre fare that earns predictably. When quality, affordable DIY tools became available, aspiring musicians and filmmakers jumped at the chance to go indie. Why haven’t aspiring authors likewise turned to ebook and POD technologies? Conventional publishing industry wisdom states ebooks and POD are merely new forms of vanity publishing for inferior manuscripts, but do readers share that opinion? I intend to find out. I'm releasing two of my novels exclusively for POD and Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader using only Amazon technologies, though not in a bid to attract publisher attention, as many others have done before me. I intend to bypass publishers and brick-and-mortar stores entirely, and remain independent. The experiment is thus far succeeding, as my Kindle-edition novels Snow Ball and Adelaide Einstein are selling well and garnering good reviews. Both will be released as Amazon POD trade paperbacks in March. If sales and acceptance continue, mine will be the first totally indie author success story.

Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Got Nuthin' But Time Version (can't promise it won't go on forever):
I'm an agented novelist who's been struggling against the 'gatekeeper' system employed by the publishing establishment to locate new talent. Books are a matter of taste. I don't enjoy every bestseller out there, and neither do you. Yet if my agent, the publishing house editor, or the publishing house marketing department rep simply isn't "passionate" enough about a given manuscript, any one of them can put the kibosh on its further progress for the time being.


Big publishers are run like movie studios, only interested in prestige titles, potential blockbusters and genre fare that earns predictably. When quality, affordable DIY tools became available, aspiring musicians and filmmakers jumped at the chance to go indie. Why haven’t aspiring authors likewise turned to ebook and Print On Demand technologies?

Conventional publishing industry wisdom states ebooks and POD are merely new forms of vanity publishing for inferior manuscripts, and that brick-and-mortar bookstore presence (which is denied to virtually all POD books) is a prerequisite to a successful career in authorship. These suppositions are widely accepted as gospel among aspiring writers, largely due to a bizarre sort of Stockholm Syndrome fostered by the publishing industry: aspiring writers have come to not only accept the industry establishment's absolute control over their future careers, they've come to believe there's inherent value in that control and will even defend it.

Not long ago I would've been right there with them, because until recently the publishing establishment had a complete monopoly on publishing. There was simply no way to get your book to market other than via established publishers with established supply chains. Along came vanity presses, but they were quickly discredited and dismissed, and far too expensive for a typical aspiring writer to afford besides. Now, at last, ebook, POD, and online viral marketing technologies have leveled the playing field such that anyone with a modest budget, some basic computer skills, a little time and a lot of passion can duplicate or approximate almost every service offered by a big publishing house. I say almost because the establishment still has a stranglehold on that one, last piece: supply chain and distribution to brick-and-mortar bookstores.

However, with Amazon the #2 bookseller in North America and perhaps the largest international bookseller, I believe we've reached a tipping point. Brick-and-mortar bookstores may have become marginalized to an extent where bookstore presence is no longer a required piece of the writing success puzzle. If I'm right about that, then the publishing establishment truly has nothing to offer me.

They reserve their promotion and marketing budgets for their prestige clients, bestselling author clients, and celebrity clients. Unless you come with a built-in 'angle', you're on your own to publicize your work whether you self-pub or not. They can't compete on the money front; author royalties on self-pub titles tend to run about three times the standard percentages offered by major publishers. And as for the 'prestige' factor, it's irrelevant to readers. No reader gets pulled in by jacket copy or a free excerpt, then rejects the book after a glance at the publisher details, exlaiming in horror, "Why, this book was published by Joe Bob's Falafel Hut, Bait Shop and Press, not a legitimate publisher at all!"

So, I'm putting my authorial money where my mouth is in an attempt to blaze a trail for truly indie authors. I've released two of my novels exclusively for POD and Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader using only Amazon technologies, though not in a bid to attract publisher attention, as many others have done before me. I am bypassing publishers and brick-and-mortar stores entirely, attempting to reach the same level of sales and success as a typical mid-list author through online sales of ebook and POD editions only.


I've rambled on quite long enough for one post, but stay tuned to this bat-station for future posts with details on what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and how it's going. For now, you can check out my Kindle-edition novels: Adelaide Einstein and Snow Ball. Support the indie author movement!