Month: July 2010

The 70 Per Cent Solution

by
By now you’ve probably heard all about Amazon’s new 70% royalty option for authors and publishers who release Kindle books through the Amazon Digital Text Platform (DTP), and many of you who have Kindle books in release may have already opted in for the higher royalty. But there’s a major gotcha here no one seems to be talking about.


No, I’m not talking about the ‘delivery price’ factor, which dictates the fee Amazon will hold back on your 70% royalty Kindle book based on the book’s file size. Despite all the panic-mongering on that point, and all the worry about whether Amazon may choose to increase that fee at some point in the future, I think it’s really no big deal. What I’m talking about is this little nugget from the terms of the 70% offer:

"Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices."

What this means is that if your book is being offered anywhere else, in any format, at a lower price than the price you’ve listed for your Kindle book on Amazon, Amazon will reduce your Kindle book’s list price on Amazon to match the lowest price at which your book is being sold elsewhere. You’ll still get your 70% royalty, but it will be on that lowest price. It’s kind of hard to extrapolate all that from this one-liner in their terms, but I’ve learned it the hard way.

When I opted in for the 70% royalty and raised my Kindle book prices to $2.99 on Amazon to qualify for the program, I didn’t remember my ebooks were being offered on Smashwords and Scribd in non-Kindle formats for $.99. I didn’t realize my error until I was reviewing a sales report a couple of weeks later. So I immediately changed the prices on my Smashwords and Scribd editions to $2.99, and waited for Amazon to catch up. And waited. And waited some more, as every single day, I lost royalty money on every copy sold.

After a week I contacted DTP support, and it took another week to get their conclusive response: that my ebooks were still listed on Barnes and Noble’s website at a price of $.99. See, B&N is among the expanded distribution resellers which carry Smashwords books when the author of the book in question has opted in for expanded distribution on the Smashwords site—which I had. Even though I changed the prices of my books on Smashwords, it can take weeks, many weeks, for those changes to propagate out to all the expanded distribution resellers. This isn’t Smashwords’ fault or doing, it’s just the reality of waiting for outside companies to make database changes according to whatever processes they have in place. And like most things in mainstream publishing and bookselling, it’s a very, very slow process.

So it actually would’ve been wiser for me to stay out of the 70% royalty option until after I’d raised my book prices outside Amazon and waited for those changes to propagate across all distribution channels. Since I didn’t, all I can do is either stay with the 70% on a $.99 pricetag while I wait however long it takes for B&N to catch up, or change back to the 35% royalty option so Amazon will only base my royalties on my Amazon prices.

I chose the latter, but it’s still going to cost me. You see, every time you change the price on your DTP Kindle book, or your royalty option, or pretty much anything else about it, you are forced to "re-publish" that book before your changes will be applied. Re-publishing makes the book unavailable for purchase for a minimum of two business days, and sometimes when you re-publish, the book gets stuck in a ‘pending’ status. When that happens you have to contact DTP support to resolve the issue, all of which means more days your book is not available for sale. When I re-published to opt in for the 70% royalty, my books all got stuck in the ‘pending’ status; one of them was unavailable for purchase on Amazon for seven calendar days.

Today I started that clock all over again, and I am again running the risk of my Kindle books getting stuck in ‘pending’ status—all just so I can get back to the 35% royalty option.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying this is all Amazon’s fault, nor that any of it is Smashwords’ or B&N’s fault. All of my lost royalties in this are ultimately the result of my original oversight.

However, I DO think Amazon should be a little clearer about the full implications of their "price parity" policy, and the importance of matching your Kindle book’s price across all resellers—including expanded distribution partners—before opting in for the 70% royalty. I also think the DTP should not require re-publication of a Kindle book when the author/publisher wants to make changes only to its price or royalty option. Why is it necessary to take the book off the virtual sales shelf for these things?

Here’s hoping I don’t get stuck in ‘pending’ again.

 

This is a cross-posting from April L. Hamiton‘s Indie Author blog.

7 Links That Will Make Editing Your Work Easier

by

As I work my way through Darren Rowse’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, I decided to take on his earlier challenge to write a post with seven links. Since this post was originally going to be about critiquing or editing, I went with seven links on that subject. Without further ado, here they are:

 

  1. Critters Makes for Better Writing — Don’t let the title fool you. It’s not about household pets. This post about finding someone to give you honest feedback on your fiction.

  2. Sandwich Critiquing – this is perhaps my favorite post, giving you a helpful technique to use when you are asked to critique someone else’s not-so-perfect manuscript.
  3. Editing With or Without a Budget — more helpful tips on how to use money to learn how to edit.
  4. Blogosphere Trends + Handling High Word Counts – this is a great guest post on Problogger by Kimberly Turner on how to trim the fat in your writing.
  5. When Editing & Critiquing, Check Your Personal Opinions At The Door – the title says it all. A great post by April Hamilton of Indie Author.
  6. POD People Scares Me – I love this title, but that’s not the only reason I chose it. Find out why editing is possibly the most important thing you can do before sending your manuscript to the publisher or POD (print-on-demand) company.
  7. The Art of Critiquing – receiving criticism is difficult, especially when the person giving it doesn’t give you helpful details you can actually use to improve your work. This post will get you thinking of specifics to address when giving criticism to someone else. 

Editing your work, giving and receiving criticism, it’s all part of the process. Knowing how to do it makes it all the easier to move on down The Road to Writing.

 

This is a cross-posting from Virginia Ripple‘s The Road to Writing.

The New & Improved The Creative Penn: Resources Galore, Now Easier to Find!

by

New Resource Pages: Writing, Publishing, Book Marketing

Amazingly, [The Creative Penn] now has nearly 400 posts and nearly 3000 comments and I get emails every day with questions, so I thought it was time to add some better navigation options. I want this to be a really useful site for all who visit!

So, I have added a new Resources page that has links to my main content. It includes:

Writing – including FAQ like ‘How do I find the time to write?’ as well as creativity ideas, tips on how to write your book if you are just starting out, the psychology of writing and genres.

If you are writing a novel, you might like the page I have done tracking my own progress through my first novel, Pentecost.

Publishing – includes the publishing quadrant of traditional publishing, self-publishing, print-on-demand and digital publishing with ebooks.

Book Marketing and Promotion – includes author branding and platform building, blogging, social networking, podcasting, video, speaking, and other strategies including press releases, TV, radio and more.

Basically, I have found the best posts from the blog including top podcasts and included them on one easy page for reference per topic. I appreciate any comments on other questions you might have that are not answered there, and I will keep adding more info for you.

If you do enjoy the articles and podcasts on this site, please click here to sign up for free updates by email whenever a new post is published.

This is a cross-posting from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.

I Like Customer Reviews

by

In a previous post I wrote about a review I requested from Charlie Courtland for A Promise Is A Promise from my Nurse Hal series. Charlie is the author of Dandelions In The Garden and has a book review website: http://www.bitsybling.wordpress.com. I appreciated her good review and the fact that she put it on Amazon and www.goodreads.com, where it could be seen by [many] people.

According to Steve Weber in his book Plug Your Book, Amazon has some regular customers who offer reviews on every book they read. One negative review can hurt sales. He says keep asking for reviews. The more often your book is reviewed, the less likely a minority opinion can dominate. Numerous authentic reviews lessen the chance that a single review can overtake and monopolize the Spotlight position.

Think about it. Reviewers have likes and dislikes when they pick a book to read. That may play a factor in their reviews. Plus, their intention is to review the book, so they’re naturally watching as they read for what they want to say. What would be great is to see more positive customer reviews on Amazon, but how do we go about getting buyers to respond? I want to know what people who buy my books think of them. Most book readers aren’t reading a book to find mistakes, but to be entertained. Those are the buyers most likely to leave a good review. Anyone who has bought an item from Amazon knows if you don’t leave a review in a certain amount of time, you get an emailed reminder. That means the book buyers don’t just forget. It’s always possible they didn’t like some of the books well enough to write a positive review so they decided not to write one at all.

As far as my books are concerned, I’ve gotten good reviews from ebay buyers and private sales. These are the buyers I was referring to who read my books for the entertainment value. I always make a point to ask buyers for a review so I’ll know how they liked my books. Most of them are glad to comply and all the reviews have been good. I know they aren’t just saying that. They like my books well enough that they want to buy another one.

I thought about how well my ebay buyers respond, and I had to wonder what was the difference between ebay and Amazon buyers. Maybe it has something to do with the reviews left by the experienced reviewers. Most book buyers couldn’t measure up to those detailed critique reviews with one of their own. Maybe buyers don’t know how to write a review they think would be all right. I can tell you from firsthand experience, I’m not good at giving a constructive review. When I was active on http://www.authonony.com I submitted Christmas Traditions and A Promise Is A Promise to get the opinion of other authors. Their reviews and thoughts were very complimentary and detailed, but I found it hard to review their books as well as they did mine. What I know for sure is I either like the books or don’t, and that’s based on the genre and the story in the books I like to read.

I write books I hope are stories people will like to read. These books make you laugh out loud sometimes, describe characters that remind you of someone, and you miss them when the story ends. Those are not my words, but words my customers have used to describe my books. So why is it so much easier to get ebay and private customers to give me positive reviews than it is to get them on Amazon?

Perhaps, there is another simple answer besides knowing how to write a review. On Amazon, customers don’t have contact with the author of the books. Sales are impersonal business transactions. On ebay and private sales I can reach out to customers to add the personal touches to my sales so they get to know me. I sign my books for buyers. I have their email addresses so I can let them know the book had been sent so they can watch for it, and I tell them I appreciate their business. I ask for a review, if they have time to contact me, after they read the books. I think they respond back, because I reached out to them. Many of these buyers have become my email pen pals. They email me to find out how soon another book will be published. I have email addresses on a mailing list so I can notify buyers when a book is for sale. I’ve never been a fan of mass emails. That to me is very impersonal. I know the process takes time, but I email each buyer one at a time. Besides, that way I can visit with many of them. Some of these buyers email me once in awhile to just to say hi. Makes me feel blessed to get to know so many wonderful people in the United States.

With this all in mind, I started two new discussions under Christmas Traditions in the Kindle bookstore on Amazon. The first one explains that I have decided to put my books on Kindle and that I hope the buyers like this book. There’s a short explanation about the use of Old English pronouns, because my book is a historical fiction. The second discussion is Reviews Needed For Christmas Traditions. Since I have sold many of these books on Amazon, I asked if the buyers could give my book a review. I explained I didn’t want or need a detailed review like the experienced reviewers give. It would be great if they could click one to five on the stars and just say they liked the book. That would be enough to encourage other buyers to give my books a try. Now I’m hoping that the customers find the discussion and read it.

I added three sample reviews for Christmas Traditions-An Amish Love Story from other buyers to give them an idea what I’m hoping for:

I had a hard time putting the story down. It has some interesting twists and turns as we follow the customs and false pride of the characters.

You are so descriptive. I felt the little thread of hope Margaret felt, but she didn’t see.

I enjoyed this book very much. You sure made the characters come to life and what a sweet love story you have told. I wondered if you may be thinking about writing a sequel to this book.

What more could any author ask for when the book is already published and in the bookstores? By then it’s too late for a detailed, constructive review if it’s not positive. Reviews as simple as the reviews above show other buyers the books are worth reading for the entertainment value of each one. So book customers on Amazon or other sites: speak up and let your favorite authors know how you feel about their work. Your opinion not only counts with other consumers, but it matters to the author.

 

This is a cross-posting from Fay Risner‘s Booksbyfay blog.

What I've been up to, these past three or four months….

by

I’ve been trying to earn a living. Not the best of times for watching a bank account fatten, as I’m sure you all know. We also lost our companion Obie, our best buddy for 18 years. Being cat-less and sad only lasted a month, then we adopted three shelter kittens, so I’m back to up-to-my-elbows and then some.

Meanwhile, I began actually getting some notices of royalties paid on my first book, The Red Gate, which while not really paying any bills…yet…still feels better than no sales at all.  For an all-too-brief time, my Amazon ranking rose to the mid-600Ks, then of course, pluymmeting like a stone back into the 1-2M, but it was a shining moment. I guess I’m easily amused. Then there were reviews…A few months back, I recieved a review on Amazon — about the same time my book turned up on Barnes & Noble — that rocked my world, but not in the good way. 

The reviewer gave it 5 stars, believe it or not, then told the crowds, er ah, the one or two that happened to read it, all about the typos and writing errors in it. OHMYGODNO! I checked, and sure enough, a proof had been mixed up, and a bad re-format had been approved. Such being the lot of the unwary Indie Author,  I rushed to correct it all, and got the revised copy to press in a record of late-night toothy grinding. But some damage had been done. Oddly enough, the review was closed by the reviewer stating how enjoyable the read was and that he looked forward to the sequel. Go figure.  I tried to replace all the bad copies with good new coipies, but I figure there must be some old crappy ones still out there, so if anyone buys one on Ebay, it will probably be one of the early releases before I caught the…sob…reformatting issue. 

What I have been doing, with all the extra time on my hands is write.  I’ve been writing like a demon was sitting on my back, which is what it feels like to have three Works in Progress swimming around in your brain. Simultaneously. 

To sum up, the (insert highly acclaimed, long awaited, etc.) sequel novel, The Gatekeepers — pun might be intentional — will be out towards the end of next month, and the next book after that is about 3/4 finished.  This is, of course, the best of the lot, having learned the hard way the first time around!  Sometimes, all the free and otherwise obtained advice in the world is not as good as screwing up in a big, ugly way. Having doe so, now I’m duly chastened and more diligent when it comes to my pre-publication checklist. It now includes several beta-readers of pre-Pub proofs.

 

It Isn't Wise to Draw Lines in the Sand That Ultimately Can't Be Defended

by

This post, from Mike Shatzkin, originally appeared on the Idea Logical Blog on 7/25/10.

Apologies in advance for a much-longer-than-usual post.

It is not like the publishers haven’t seen the ebook royalty fight coming. On a panel he and I were on together in March of 2009, John Sargent, the Chairman and CEO of Macmillan, identified ebook margins as the critical issue for publishers going forward. Even though ebook sales at that point were financially insignificant and the growth surge that we’ve seen in the past 15 months wasn’t yet evident, Sargent expressed the belief that ebooks would be the future and that publishers had to be diligent to preserve their margins in the digital environment.

There are three moving parts to the publishers’ margin equation for ebooks.

The one that I think Sargent was thinking most of at that time is ebook pricing. If “misguided” publishers or market forces drive down prices a great deal, that could threaten publishers as sales migrate to digital.

The second one, which was then and remains today a focus of publishers, is the potential consolidation of sales channels so that power moves from a multitude of publishers to a small number of, or perhaps a single dominant, point of contact with the customer. Until the Nook came along from B&N last winter and the iPad from Apple in the spring, Amazon and Kindle looked dangerously close to being able to dictate both pricing and margin in the ebook supply chain.

And third, of course, is the amount of the consumer spend that is taken by the authors: the royalty.

The ebook pricing and channel consolidation issues have been front and center for the past year, ever since Dominique Raccah of Sourcebooks put “windowing”, which had been tried before for ebooks, in the spotlight as her solution to the perceived damage deeply discounted ebooks could do to print book sales, particularly of the hardcover edition. After she announced that she was holding back the ebook for Bran Hambric, similar announcements came from other publishing houses. At that time, only a year ago, Amazon was the dominant ebook vendor with Kindle sales amounting to 80% or more of the ebook sales for narrative trade books.

But the introduction of Barnes & Noble’s Nook device began to eat into Amazon’s hegemony last winter as 700 B&N stores started pushing a Kindle-type experience on their millions of customers. Then, in April, Apple introduced the iPad and changed the game two ways.

First of all, their tablet computing device, which can serve as a larger-than-a-cellphone screen for an ebook reader, started adding tens of thousands of new device-equipped potential book customers every day!

But along with the device competition, the iPad and its iBooks platform added a new business model called Agency. And, under Agency, the pricing of ebooks at retail theoretically becomes standardized across the web, not subject to discounting by individual retailers. This visibly upset Amazon, which appeared to pick a fight with Macmillan over the terms. It looked to those of us with no inside knowledge of their conversations to be an attempt to bully publishers to give up the Agency idea. In retrospect, this was perhaps a bad fight to have picked. Amazon’s threat was to stop selling the print editions of titles from those publishers who sold ebooks on Agency terms. Since five of the top six publishers were moving in that direction, and none of them blinked, Amazon had to, in their own words, “capitulate.” (On the other hand, we are not aware of any other publisher, beyond the Big Five, to whom they also capitulated, so the final score on this fight isn’t in yet.)

So it would seem that the big publishers have solidified two of the major components of their ebook margin. With their help, consolidation in the ebook channel has been reversed and they’ve taken critical steps to control prices to the consumer, while ebook sales have continued to rise at an accelerating pace.

But there remains this tricky question of royalties.

Read the rest of the post on the Idea Logical Blog.

The Secret to Getting Great Book Reviews on Amazon

by
When consumers shop for books on Amazon.com and other online bookstores, many of them read the book reviews before they make a purchase. Even if they came to the site to buy a particular book, they may read the reviews to verify that they are making a good selection.


Positive reviews are a great selling point for all types of books, but they are especially important for nonfiction books, where consumers often compare several books on the same topic. Amazon actually encourages this, by displaying other similar books on your book’s sales page.

So, what’s the secret to getting great book reviews on Amazon (besides writing a great book)? ASK people to post reviews and make it EASY for them by providing a link to your book page on Amazon.com. 

Amazon is by far the largest online bookseller. Anyone who has an Amazon user name and password and has purchased any product on Amazon.com can review your book there, even if they purchased your book elsewhere or got a free review copy.

Here are several easy ways to invite people to post reviews for you: 

  • When you send out review copies to colleagues and influencers seeking testimonial quotes, ask them if they will also post the testimonial or a brief review on Amazon.
  • Any time someone writes a positive review of your book, ask them to post it on Amazon. Before contacting the reviewer, check to see if they have already posted the review.
  • When you receive an email or other correspondence praising your book, reply with a request to post a book review on Amazon. If someone has taken the time to write to you about your book, they are obviously a fan and will probably be happy to post a book review for you. Here’s a sample message:

Thanks so much for your note. I love getting feedback from readers and I’m glad that you enjoyed the book.

I would really appreciate you taking a few minutes to post your comments or a brief review on my Amazon page at www.Amazon.com/mybookpage. Look for the "customer reviews" section about halfway down the page and click on the "create your own review" button to the right. Or, use this link to go directly to the review form: http://yourshortlink.com.

If you’re a Barnes & Noble customer, click the "write a review" button at www.BarnesAndNoble.com/mybookpage.

You can create a link directly to the book review form by clicking on the "create your own review" button and then using a URL shortening service to create a short link to the form. To save time, save your review request in a Word document and copy and paste it as needed or set up an alternate signature in your email program containing this text. 

AmazonReviewer

  • You can ask family members and friends to post a review (or they may offer to do so), but be careful. Anyone who shares your last name (unless it’s a really common name) will look like a relative. Also, you don’t want the reviews to sound contrived. For example, posting something like "My friend Susan has written a great book and everyone should read it" is not a good idea. And of course you want these folks to post an honest opinion – you might ask them to write a couple of sentences stating what they liked best about the book.

Should you write a review of your own book? Maybe, but think very carefully about what to say. I don’t recommend writing a review talking about how great your book is or making a sales pitch. Doing so may turn people off or cause them to question the validity of your other reviews.

However, you might want to consider writing a "review" as a way to provide some information that’s not included in the book description listed on Amazon.com. For example, you could mention your inspiration for writing the book or mention resources available on your website, such as a free sample chapter or book club discussion guide. I suggest keeping it low key and avoiding blatant sales pitches.

Positive book reviews on Amazon and other online bookstores can boost your sales – take the initiative to ask for reviews and you’ll be rewarded. 

Savvy Tip: You may also want to use this email to ask for permission to use a portion of the customer’s message to you as a testimonial quote on your own website. In your request, I suggest pulling out the portion you want to use and formatting it as a quote so the customer can see exactly what it will look like.

  • Another possibility is to seek out reviewers who have reviewed books on similar or related topics or in your genre on Amazon and ask them if they are interested in reviewing your book. You may be able to get the reviewer’s contact information by clicking on their name and looking for their website or blog address on their Amazon profile. Below is an example of how reviewer information is listed on Amazon.com. Anyone who has "Top 500 Reviewer" beneath their listing is an especially active reviewer.

 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer.

I Like Customer Reviews

by

In a previous post I wrote about a review I requested from Charlie Courtland for A Promise Is A Promise from my Nurse Hal series. Charlie is the author of Dandelions In The Garden and has a book review website http://www.bitsybling.wordpress.com. I appreciated her good review and the fact that she put it on Amazon and www.goodreads.com where it could be seen by people.

According to Steve Weber in his book Plug Your Book, Amazon has some regular customers that offer reviews on every book they read. One negative view can hurt sales. He says keep asking for reviews. The more often your book is reviewed, the likely a minority opinion can dominate. Numerous authentic reviews lessen the chance that a single review can overtake and monopolize the Spotlight position.

Think about it. Reviewers have likes and dislikes when they pick a book to read. That may play a factor in their review. Plus, their intention is to review the book so they’re naturally watching as they read for what they want to say. What would be great is to see more positive customer reviews on Amazon, but how do we go about getting buyers to respond. I want to know what people who buy my books think of them. Most book readers aren’t reading a book to find mistakes but to be entertained. Those are the buyers most likely to leave a good review. Anyone that has bought an item from Amazon knows if you don’t leave a review in a certain amount of time, you get an emailed reminder. That means the book buyers don’t just forget. It’s always possible they didn’t like some of the books well enough to make a positive review so they decided not to make one at all.

As far as my books are concerned, I’ve gotten good reviews from ebay buyers and private sales. These are the buyers I was referring to that read my books for the entertainment value. I always make a point to ask buyers for a review so I’d know how they liked my books. Most of them are glad to comply and all the reviews have been good. I know they aren’t just saying that. They like my books well enough that they want to buy another one.

I thought about how well my ebay buyers respond, and I had to wonder what was the difference between ebay and Amazon buyers. Maybe it has something to do with the reviews left by the experienced reviewers. Most book buyers couldn’t measure up to those detailed critiqued reviews with one of their own. Maybe buyers don’t know how to write a review they think would be all right. I can tell you from first hand experience I’m not good at giving a constructive review. When I was active on http://www.authonony.com I submitted Christmas Traditions and A Promise Is A Promise to get the opinion of other authors. Their reviews and thoughts were very complimentary and detailed, but I found it hard to review their books as well as they did mine. What I know for sure is I either like the books or don’t, and that’s based on the genre and the story in the books I like to read.

I write books that I hope are stories people will like to read. These books make you laugh out loud sometimes, describe characters that remind you of someone, and you miss them when the story ends. Those are not my words but words my customers have used to describe my books. So why is it so much easier to get ebay and private customers to give me positive reviews than it is to get them on Amazon?

Perhaps, there is another simple answer besides knowing how to write a review. On Amazon, customers don’t have contact with the author of the books. Sales are impersonal business transactions. On ebay and private sales I can reach out to customers to add the personal touches to my sales so they get to know me. I sign my books for buyers. I have their email addresses so I can let them know the book had been sent so they can watch for it, and I tell them I appreciate their business. I ask for a review, if they have time to contact me, after they read the books. I think they respond back, because I reached out to them. Many of these buyers have become my email pen pals. They email me to find out how soon another book will be published. I have email addresses on a mailing list so I can notify buyers when a book is for sale. I’ve never been a fan of mass emails. That to me is very impersonal. I know the process takes time, but I email each buyer one at a time. Besides, that way I can visit with many of them. Some of these buyers email me once in awhile to just to say hi. Makes me feel blessed to get to know so many wonderful people in the United States.

With this all in mind, I started two new discussions under Christmas Traditions in Kindle. The first one explains that I have decided to put my books on Kindle and hope the buyers like this book. There’s a short explanation about the use of Old English pronouns, because my book is a historical fiction. The second discussion is Reviews Needed For Christmas Traditions. Since I have sold many of these books on Amazon, I asked if the buyers could give my book a review. I explained I didn’t want or need a detailed review like the experienced reviewers give. It would be great if they could click one to five on the stars and just say they liked the book. That would be enough to encourage other buyers to give my books a try. Now I’m hoping that the customers find the discussion and read it.

I added three sample reviews for Christmas Traditions-An Amish Love Story from other buyers to give them an idea what I’m looking for.

I had a hard time putting the story down. It has some interesting twists and turns as we follow the customs and false pride of the characters.

You are so descriptive. I felt the little thread of hope Margaret felt, but she didn’t see.

I enjoyed this book very much. You sure made the characters come to life and what a sweet love story you have told. I wondered if you may be thinking about writing a sequel to this book.

What more could any author ask for when the book is already published and in the bookstores. By then it’s too late for a detailed, constructive review if it’s not positive. Reviews as simple as the reviews above show other buyers the books are worth reading for the entertainment value of each one. So book customers on Amazon or other sites speak up and let your favorite authors know how you feel about their work. Your opinion not only counts with other consumers, but it matters to the author.

Secrets to Fix Your Novel's Plot

by

Listen to a PODCAST of this article. 

Of all the necessary components to a well-received NOVEL, plot is among the top three. Should your PLOT sag at any point, you’ll find the entire novel lacks the intensity needed to make it onto the best-seller lists.

 
There are three major areas that tend to drag down your plot. They are:
 
1. The Beginning is Too Slow
2. The Middle Drags
3. The Ending is Predictable
 
Let’s look at solutions to each of these common problems.

The Beginning is Slow 

If your plot, those events that happen to your major characters, stutters from the outset of your novel, it’s probably because you’ve set too low a standard for your characters. There’s nothing to hook your readers.
 
To fix this, think of how you can make things worse for the major character. What will cause him the most angst? Try a bit of mind-mapping or, as they called it in my day, brainstorming. Just allow those nefarious ideas to ramble around into your mind and see if anything jumps to the fore. The more ideas you conjure, the better the odds the best idea will appear.

Keep this first section simple. Incorporate lots of conflict but not too many people. One character is good, two are ample.

Make this situation self-explanatory. If you spend a lot of your word count to bring people up to speed as to what’s happening, it’ll make your opening drag. That is, consider a great deal of action and dialogue. Descriptions aren’t necessary and don’t add much here.

Another method by which to pump up the start of your novel is to begin with or create a new motivation for your hero. What causes him to do the things he does? That might get your reader’s [interest] to flow. 

The Middle Drags

Should your novel suffer the dreaded sagging middle, the general secret is to inject additional conflict, more confrontation. Just be sure you add conflict and not just action. (Conflict is your character’s emotional response to action.) 

You might also add a plot twist. Take the story in a new and unexpected direction.
 
You can also introduce a major, yet unexpected, character. Just make sure he’s logical and necessary to the story.

Another technique to prop up your sagging middle is to introduce additional motivation. For example, if at the start of your novel your hero hates women, in your sagging middle your reader may find he actually hates women with tattoos. They also need to find out why he hates this "brand" of woman.

The Ending is Predictable

The third typical problem is when everyone sees the trees long before they come upon the forest.

You can fix this issue in a number of ways. First, like the method with which we fixed the sagging middle, add a new twist. Brainstorm a number of potential endings then pick the one that feels best to you. Be sure to insert this twist far enough back in your novel so it works into your plot with ease. If you just plug it in at the end, it’ll look contrived.

You might also survey your ending to see if you’ve spent too much time explaining loose ends and the like. This often leads to too much narrative and not enough excitement.

You may wish to ensure there are no coincidences at this part of your novel. Your ending must follow that trail of crumbs you left in the preceding parts of your novel.

With a little planning, most plot errors can be corrected. Spend some time with an outline and see what happens.

 

Did any of you have plot issues with your novel? How did you fix them?

Until we speak again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

 

This is a reprint from C. Patrick Shulze‘s Author of Born to Be Brothers blog.

Around the Kindlesphere: Two Very Smart People Weigh in on the Idea of Literary Agents Bypassing Publishers

by

I’ve already had my say in the three posts linked [at the end of this post] on last week’s big news, but there are plenty of other intelligent points of view to choose from. Two of the smartest people with fresh things to say about changes in the world of books and publishing are author J.A. Konrath and publishing industry consultant Mike Shatzkin. I don’t agree with them on every word, but their most recent posts on this topic are well worth the time it takes to read them if you have an interest in these matters.

My only real quarrel with Joe Konrath’s post is his concern that a literary agent who becomes a publisher is engaged in conflict of interest:
Wylie is an agent. His job is to sell his clients’ work. If he is also the publisher of his clients, there is a HUGE conflict of interest there, as well as some ethical considerations. 
My take there is just that all the lines are changing and blurring so quickly that I don’t see this as any more significant a conflict than, say, booksellers becoming publishers, publishers become booksellers, or authors becoming booksellers and publishers, all of which is happening. It is all part of the process of experimenting with different kinds of, excuse me for the 75-cent word, disintermediation, as we all try to become more efficient and effective and making better, stronger connections between authors and readers.
 
The biggest flaw that jumped out at me right from the start of Shatzkin’s post is an error of omission. He says that the "three moving parts to the publishers’ margin equation for ebooks" are (1) ebook prices, (2) the potential consolidation of sales channels that could occur through Kindle domination of ebook content market share and, presumably, the failure of brick-and-mortar bookstores, and (3) author royalties. I think that he — and many who are looking at these issues from the Big Six publishers’ point of view — have structured their viewpoints so that they are failing to recognize the importance of another significant moving part, which is the potential decline of Big Six content sales relative to the content provided by other authors and publishers.
 

But once you get beyond that problem, Shatzkin provides the brilliant if obvious solution to the whole mess.
 

There’s a very simple, clear policy they could declare that would make this whole issue go away. Maybe there are one or two already acting this way, but it would be nice if even one publisher would just say this:

“Our policy for all new titles we sign up in the context of all our other standard terms is that we pay 25% royalty on ebooks. But for those books on our backlist which a) have earned out their advance and b) have ambiguity in their original contracts making it unclear what the royalty rate for an ebook should be, we will negotiate a higher royalty in recognition that a contractual element is being negotiated after the value of the copyright has been demonstrated in the marketplace and the risk profile has changed.”

Life is very complicated here. Every deal is different. There are costs and risks for authors and publishers trying to set up these separate ebook deals while a print backlist remains with a legacy publisher. The publisher might sue (although that opens up, for them, the danger that they’d lose, and the consequences of that could be dire.) At the very least, the author annoys the guys with the big checkbooks who are still the custodians of their print sales.

Although it is certainly possible that some authors or estates would want a publisher as talented as Jane Friedman remarketing their backlist, I still believe that if Open Road and others are offering 50%, publishers would find many authors receptive to avoiding the conflict if the publishers were offering 40%. But even if they had to pay 50% to some authors, the publishers would be doing themselves a favor by stating the position articulated above.
It may not be a total solution, but it could well put off the ultimate death of the Big Six publishers at least a few more years.

Related Posts:

 

This is a cross-posting from Stephen Windwalker’s Kindle Nation Daily.

The Truth About Typos

by

They always win.

Always.

Yes, you can catch most of them if you try. If you’re the sporting sort you can hunt them down like the dogs they are and wipe them out with glee.

Sooner or later, however, one of them will survive long enough to make a fool of you.

 

I was reminded of this yesterday, shortly after I found a typo in an Agatha Christie mystery that was first published in 1926. It’s not clear (at least to me) from the copyright page when that particular paperback edition was produced, but in any case it was by no means a newly-minted story.

Here’s the offending sentence:

Normally she regards them as places where you
you get your feet damp, and where all kinds of un-
pleasant things may drop on your head.

 

Agatha Christie ~ The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

That kind of typo can be particularly hard to catch, although modern word processors are good at pointing out such redundancies. (Here’s a famous example of the same thing.)

Now, what caused me to remember that typos always win was not the Christie quote itself. No. Finding the Christie quote actually prompted me to feel cocky about my own ability to find such mistakes. An entire authorial empire exists around the Christie name, and yet the powers that be couldn’t catch that brazen error?

Pshaw….

No, what reminded me that typos always win was a tweet I re-posted shortly after finding the Christie typo. Because there was a typo in that tweet. In a written work limited to 140 characters.

Here’s the gaffe in all its glory:

A Fiction Workshop Primer: http://bit.ly/aGZ8AN Including a caution about workshops the require authors to read their stories aloud.

Yes, that’s right. I not only finger-fumbled my way through that short bit of copy, but I posted and re-posted the same mistake twice. That I happened to spot the error at all was due only to chance.

Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was worn out from writing other stuff — and I have been writing a fair amount of other stuff. Maybe something distracted me. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

It doesn’t matter what the reason was. I missed it. And the reason it doesn’t matter is that at some point the whole typo-identifying process becomes a statistical question. How much time and effort do you have to throw at any text in order to be certain there are no mistakes? Yes, I should have caught the blindingly obvious brain cramp in my tweet. But that tweet belongs to a day in which I produced at least 5,000 brand-new words aimed at various disparate objectives.

The real agony of the typo is not that it exists, but that it is a self-inflicted wound. It is the bloody blade in your finger at the cutting board. It is the liberated digit at your circular saw. It is the crumpled bumper of the car in front of you as you fiddle with your cell.

When a typo survives you have only yourself to blame. And yet you cannot win, no matter how many sanctimonious onlookers beg to differ. The best you can hope to do is limit the number of mistakes.

Looking back, I’m not sure I even re-read my tweet before posting. So that’s the first lesson. Re-read everything at least once.

If I did re-read it, I clearly did so in a distracted manner. So that’s the second lesson. Find a proofreading gear in your head and consciously drop into it for that specific task. Don’t allow your mind to wander or your eyes to speed over your words. Slow down.

If I did re-read it, and I did so in a focused manner, the only remaining explanation — short of a medical emergency — is that I was too tired to concentrate. And that’s the third lesson. If you’re tired, give serious, serious consideration to holding off on publication until you’re rested — even if what you’re writing is a single sentence.

Do your best. Just know that it will never be perfect. You may manage to put out a clean novel, or short story, or tweet, but sooner or later a typo will survive.

Make peace with that now.

And by the way. If you run across a typo in another writer’s content, feel free to drop them a line. I’ve done it plenty, and no one has had anything to say in reply but thanks.

 

This is a reprint from Mark Barrett‘s Ditchwalk.

Screenplay Writing Interview I

by
Because Shannon made such an informative comment on my last post, I asked her to please allow me to interview her. The result was so filled with great info, that I am going to split it into 2 or 3 posts. Shannon can be reached at http://www.shannonlarrant.com/ .

Should a writer convert a novel they’ve written into a screenplay?
That really depends on the novel and the writer. A novel written in the first person where much of the plot is explored inside the main character’s mind might not translate well to the screen without some serious rewrites.

Also, if you’re the type of writer who cannot look at your work objectively and rip it to pieces, then you’re probably not the best choice to write the screenplay for it. Being an author myself, I know that a little piece of my heart and soul gets put into everything I write. It can be difficult to look past that but you have to when you’re writing a screenplay. You have a very limited amount of time to convey your entire novel in. If you’re not prepared to cut out chunks of it, you’re not prepared to turn it into a screenplay.

What is the absolute first thing a writer should do when converting a novel into a screenplay?
Make sure you have the film rights for it. This is an absolute must. No legitimate production company will even think about looking at your screenplay without them.

Even if you’re converting one of your own novels, don’t automatically assume you have the rights. If you’ve published your story through a publishing company instead of going the self-publishing route, odds are you no longer have the right to film it without their permission.

 

There are thousands of novels out there where their copyrights have expired and they are now in the public domain. Anything in the public domain can be turned into a movie without written consent.

How would a screenwriter go about securing the rights to a novel?
There’s a couple different ways you can do this. Which one you choose is really dependent on your personal preference and budget. They both begin with contacting whoever presently holds the rights to the novel in question. If it’s a print novel you can buy off the shelves of a major bookstore, odds are the publisher listed on the inside front cover holds the rights. If it’s a self-published print or eBook, generally the author still has all of the rights to it.

 
There are two ways you can contact them; yourself or with the help of a lawyer. Personally, I think it’s more professional if you use a lawyer. Getting a lawyer might be a bit of an investment but you’ll show that you’re serious as a screenwriter and should be taken seriously in return.
Once you contact the rights’ holder of the novel, the next step is to see if they’re even willing to let you write a screenplay based upon it. If they’re interested, you then get to hammer out the details of the contract: how much the film rights will cost, how much say the original author has in the screenplay, how long you have the film rights for, etc …
If you haven’t consulted a lawyer before now, I highly recommend that you do so for this step. While you can create any sort of contract you want with the rights’ holder, a lawyer will be able to help you plan for any potential complications you might encounter down the road and ultimately protect you and your screenplay in the process.
There is nothing worse than pouring your heart and soul into converting a novel into a screenplay that you can’t use because you didn’t take the time to properly secure the film rights first.
 
Where can a screenwriter find works that are in the public domain?
Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) has thousands of books written before 1933 whose copyrights have expired in the United States. Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org) also has a search feature that will allow you to find works you might be able to use, depending on the Creative Commons license assigned to the novel by the author.
Please note, this information is good for residents of the United States only. Laws vary in other countries. If you live outside of the US, be sure to check with the proper authorities in your country before using any work you find in the public domain to write your screenplay.
 
How would you go about converting a novel into a screenplay?
The first place I would start is by reading the novel. It should go without saying that a screenwriter would read the novel first but it’s amazing how many don’t. Even if it’s one I’ve written, I would take the time to read it from start to finish. I would try to get it read with as few interruptions as possible. You don’t want to rush through it but you don’t want to take weeks to get it finished, either.
 
 
After finishing the novel, I would set it aside for a few days. During that time, I would try not to think too much about it or the screenplay I plan on writing.
 
Once several days have passed, then I would sit down and think over what I read; jotting down any scenes, plot points, and characters that immediately come to mind. Odds are good if it’s something I remembered several days after I finished reading the novel, it’s something that’s integral to the overall plot and should be included in the finished screenplay.
 
With that list in hand, I would go back to the novel to fine tune the scenes, plots, and characters that need to be in the screenplay and flesh out anything else I had forgotten about but feel should be included.
 
What are some things writers need to keep in mind when writing a screenplay? Why are these important?
 
The average feature length screenplay is anywhere from 90 to 120 pages long. With one page of a screenplay equating to roughly one minute of film time, that means the average feature length film is anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours long. It’s very important to keep this information in mind while writing your screenplay because most production companies and screenwriting competitions will not accept screenplays that fall outside of the 90 to 120 page range.
 
Some will make exceptions if you are a few pages under or over but that’s it.
Even though your script most likely hasn’t been picked up for production yet, it’s still a good idea to write with some sort of budget in mind. Basically, you want to try to keep the budget small. It’s easier to spend more money if you have any leftover than it is to cut costs later. A smaller budget also means you can pitch your script to more production companies.
 
The absolute cheapest script to shoot is one that can be filmed with one camera, in one location, with a minimal amount of actors, costumes, and special effects. Obviously, these restrictions aren’t always practical for the screenplay you’re writing but it does help explain why adult films and B-horror movies tend to be the biggest money makers in the movie industry.
 
Generally, action sequences are quicker to shoot than dramatic ones, but can be expensive depending on the props and special effects involved. Unless you know the cast ahead of time, dramatic scenes can be a total crapshoot. You can get a shot done in one take or take all day just getting one good take of one shot. There are so many variables that come into play that can make dramatic scenes deceptively expensive and time consuming.
 
The best course of action is to be flexible and to try to keep a good balance between the two. If you have to write drama, keep the number of actors and locations to a minimum. If you need to go the action route, start small with fist fights and foot chases with dreams of going bigger if the budget allows for it later.
 
There will be much more to follow [in this series].

 

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear’s Book Trends blog.

In Defence of Swearing

by

I swear a lot. I’ll be the first to admit it. I’m the worst person to have around your kids because I swear so casually that I don’t notice I’m doing it. I do try to remember when kids are around, but even that bothers me to some degree. They’re just words.

[Editor’s note—even though it should be obvious—: strong language after the jump]

Though I do understand that little Sally turning up in a schoolyard and telling her teacher to go fuck herself is a potential parent/teacher-relation nightmare.

But they are just words. Of course, they’re words with a certain power. All words have power. Love is not a swear word but it carries enormous power. As does hate. The taboo nature of swearing gives these words added power. We can deliberately drop them like bombs. You want some attention in a loud conversation? Don’t talk any louder than everyone else, just swear more. People will sort of grind to a halt and look at you, their expressions all cautious and surprised. But you got their attention.

That’s why it really bothers me when people say, “Swearing just shows a lack of vocabulary and an inability to express yourself properly.” Fuck off, you pompous cunt. Not swearing shows an inability to use the words that would express your position most clearly.

For example, if someone is all up in your face, as the kids say these days, what expresses your real emotion more:

Go away!

or

Fuck off!

It’s not a case of lacking vocabulary. It’s a case of picking the most powerful word for the occasion – the right word. We recently visited the Writers’ Museum in Edinburgh. The place was a bit underwhelming, to be honest. But while there we got a set of fridge magnets with all of Shakespeare’s best insults on them. A few choice ones include:

Cream faced loon! MacBeth

and

Thou crusty batch of nature. Troilus & Cressida

Or my personal favourite:

Thou elvish-mark’d, abortive, rooting hog. Richard III

But, clever and entertaining as they are, they don’t really work in today’s world for really expressing what you want to say. As I mentioned above, I can understand tempering your language around kids. Give them as much time being all sweet and innocent as possible. But don’t fear the usefullness of some quality, well placed swearing. Don’t overdo it or just swear every other word for the sake of it. That does just sound dumb. But equally, if a situation calls for a powerful word, don’t be afraid to use one.

And don’t ever tell me that swearing shows a lack of vocab or an inability to express yourself, because that’s clearly a load of bollocks.

 

This is a cross-posting from Alan Baxter‘s The Word.

Wylie Agency Circumvent Publishers on e-Books with Odyssey Editions (Updated)

by

The Wylie Agency has launched an e-book imprint, Odyssey Editions, which will initially publish twenty titles of literature’s most influential authors exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle Store. This is potentially one of the most significant pieces of news this year in the publishing world, and perhaps for some time to come if Wylie continues to expand and utilize the availability of their authors’ e-book rights.

Andrew Wylie pulled no punches last month when he was interviewed by Harvard Magazine. In the interview he said that the time had come to circumvent publishers and monetize unassigned digital book rights.


 

 
 
 
“We will take our 700 clients, see what rights are not allocated to publishers, and establish a company on their behalf to license those e-book rights directly to someone like Google, Amazon.com, or Apple.”

Today’s announcement by the Wylie Agency and Amazon delivers on that threat to publishers with the launch of Odyssey Editions for the Kindle. (see update from PW on Random House suggestion that the move by Wylie may be illegal)

From some of the press release:
 
 
Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that The Wylie Agency is publishing 20 books from some of literature’s most influential authors through its new Odyssey Editions imprint (http://www.odysseyeditions.com/) and making them available for sale exclusively in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). This is the first time any of the titles–which include Norman Mailer’s "The Naked and the Dead," Philip Roth’s "Portnoy’s Complaint" and Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man"–have been available electronically, and all of the books are exclusive to the Kindle Store for two years. Starting today, customers can download these books for $9.99 from the Kindle Store and read them everywhere–on their Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC, Mac, iPad and Android devices.

"Our goal with Kindle is to make every book, ever published, in print or out of print, available in less than 60 seconds," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "Having these prominent and important books available through The Wylie Agency’s Odyssey Editions is another great step toward this goal. We’re excited to let our customers read books like ‘Rabbit Run’ for the first time ever electronically."

"As the market for e-books grows, it will be important for readers to have access in e-book format to the best contemporary literature the world has to offer," said Andrew Wylie, President of Odyssey Editions. "This publishing program is designed to address that need, and to help e-book readers build a digital library of classic contemporary literature."

The Wylie Agency operates internationally from offices in New York and London. In business for more than 30 years, it has built a reputation for consistently high standards. The writers and estates it represents include many of the greatest names in 20th and 21st century literature. Odyssey Editions is the first digitally native literary imprint launch of its kind.

Books available in the Kindle Store through Odyssey Editions include modern classics such as Hunter S. Thompson’s "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," Salman Rushdie’s "Midnight’s Children," Oliver Sacks’ "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," Vladimir Nabokov’s "Lolita," John Cheever’s "The Stories of John Cheever" and four novels from John Updike’s Rabbit series.

The 20 e-books published by Odyssey Editions carry an elegant and unified new look designed in collaboration with Enhanced Editions (http://www.enhanced-editions.com/). Features include:

• Newly-designed jackets

• Interior typography adhering to best conventions of book design and reading on Kindle

• Colophon, book covers and series design optimized for the Kindle screen

The 20 books being published by Odyssey Editions and made available exclusively on Kindle are:

• "London Fields" by Martin Amis

• "The Adventures of Augie March" by Saul Bellow
 
• "Ficciones" (Spanish Edition) by Jorge Luis Borges
 
• "Junky" by William Burroughs
 
• "The Stories of John Cheever" by John Cheever
 
• "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
 
• "Love Medicine" by Louise Erdrich
 
• "The Naked and the Dead" by Norman Mailer
 
• "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
 
• "The Enigma of Arrival" by V.S. Naipaul
 
• "The White Castle" by Orhan Pamuk
 
• "Portnoy’s Complaint" by Philip Roth
 
• "Midnight’s Children" by Salman Rushdie
 
• "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks
 
• "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
 
• "Rabbit Run" by John Updike
 
• "Rabbit Redux" by John Updike
 
• "Rabbit is Rich" by John Updike
 
• "Rabbit at Rest" by John Updike
 
• "Brideshead Revisited" by Evelyn Waugh

The Kindle editions of these books are now available for sale exclusively in the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore). Kindle offers the largest selection of the most popular books people want to read. The U.S. Kindle Store now has more than 630,000 books, including New Releases and 106 of 110 New York TimesBestsellers. Over 510,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 75 New York Times Bestsellers. Over 1.8 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available to read on Kindle.

For more information about these books, visit www.amazon.com/odyssey or http://www.odysseyeditions.com/. Eleven of these books will be available globally. Kindle is in stock and available for immediate shipment today at www.amazon.com/kindle.

 

This is a cross-posting from Mick Rooney‘s POD, Self-Publishing and Independent Publishing.

Facsimiles of Evil

by

(I’ll disclose up front that yes, for those of you who know me, having worked at Troma and having partaken in my fair share of horror films in the past, this post may seem inconsistent. Or even self-contradicting.)

There is enough evil in the world that I don’t believe that artists have any moral need to create work that mimics evil. If you can provide me with any examples of these facsimiles of evil that provide some value or insight through absurdist methods or satire, then let’s talk about those. But right now my point is, what the hell are we doing creating, patronizing, and promulgating films and novels that depict evil? Why?

We can discuss the old adage about art mimicking life, or is it life mimicking art; or we can discuss gratuitous violence and freedom of speech. But more to the point, let’s think about why a writer would embark on writing a novel, a good mystery that is well-written, that graphically portrays a serial-killing family that brutally attacks, rapes, and kills women, including its own women. So yes, I’m picking on the Dragon Tattoo thing, among others.

After the news and authorities revealed a few examples of the world’s worst human beings who kept their own families for years under torturous conditions, there is absolutely no human value in recreating these acts in any form of art.

Facsimiles of evil. Just stop it. Do something else, please. Let’s rid ourselves of this genre.

 

This is a reprint from Lenox Parker’s Eat My Book.