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The Tenth Circle
- Thread starter Calla Lily
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Less than a month to go before Wolf's release, and I've talked to at least two book bloggers who have it on their plate to review. I feel nauseous.
I'm just so freakin' anxious about audience reaction to this one. It's different than Shot, both in pacing and in tone, and I just... Bleh. I'm gonna sit in the corner and gibber for the next four weeks.
I'm just so freakin' anxious about audience reaction to this one. It's different than Shot, both in pacing and in tone, and I just... Bleh. I'm gonna sit in the corner and gibber for the next four weeks.
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So, what are our thoughts on big publishers offering digital-only contracts?
(Not that anyone has offered me such a thing, just that I've heard of others having that, and I was curious)
(Not that anyone has offered me such a thing, just that I've heard of others having that, and I was curious)
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It would make me 
. We're talking Big 6 here, yes? I still contend that getting a contract at that level ought to mean print runs.
That being said, I tried an experiment last week. There's no Big 6 in the CBA, but there are a few major players: M00dy, Tyndal3, Z0nd3rvan. A few years back, Z turned its major focus to NF and Bibles. They are the major Bible printer in the US, IIRC. Anyway, my theory is that they took a bigger monetary hit than anticipated when they dropped some fiction. So they're dragging themselves kicking and screaming into the 21st century and starting an e-only arm. It has the carrot of "sell 10k e and you'll get a print run".
I have a trunked religious horror that The Agent gave me his blessing to sub there. Z says they're looking for edge and want to expand.
I'm cynical. CBA loves their sweet fiction. Even their mysteries and suspense are sweet. Gack.
We'll see. Their FAQ says if you don't hear in 3 months, it's a pass. I'll keep y'all updated. It's different for me in this one situation because the book was trunked anyway.
If Z passes, I'm going to turn it into a graphic novel script next.
. We're talking Big 6 here, yes? I still contend that getting a contract at that level ought to mean print runs.That being said, I tried an experiment last week. There's no Big 6 in the CBA, but there are a few major players: M00dy, Tyndal3, Z0nd3rvan. A few years back, Z turned its major focus to NF and Bibles. They are the major Bible printer in the US, IIRC. Anyway, my theory is that they took a bigger monetary hit than anticipated when they dropped some fiction. So they're dragging themselves kicking and screaming into the 21st century and starting an e-only arm. It has the carrot of "sell 10k e and you'll get a print run".
I have a trunked religious horror that The Agent gave me his blessing to sub there. Z says they're looking for edge and want to expand.
I'm cynical. CBA loves their sweet fiction. Even their mysteries and suspense are sweet. Gack.
We'll see. Their FAQ says if you don't hear in 3 months, it's a pass. I'll keep y'all updated. It's different for me in this one situation because the book was trunked anyway.
If Z passes, I'm going to turn it into a graphic novel script next.
Honestly? I've come to the conclusion that this is the way that many mid-list mass-market authors are heading, because this is where the publishers are going. P@cket Star has a digital only imprint separate from their paperbacks, and that's where my MetaWars series went for books three and four. It's less advance money and less exposure (no in-store availability), but it's still everything else I love about working with P@cket. And I'm not the only mid-list UF author of theirs who was only offered digital.
Bestselling authors will stay in paperback and hardback. The rest of us? *sigh*
The rest of my thoughts are this are not really something I want floating around in public.
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I've heard several authors talking about how their digital sales were far exceeding their print sales, but for me it's the opposite. I have to wonder, do the print sales just disappear when you swap to a digital only, or do you see them reflected in people who buy digital instead because they wanted the book anyway?
Just pondering.
Just pondering.
I'll let you know next year, I guess....
I don't know. As a reader, I prefer buying paperbacks. But if a series I really love changes format, I'll buy it in digital so I can keep up. If it's a series I'm so-so, I may just stop reading it.
Looking at Amazon, the Kindle version of Changeling has always ranked higher than the paperback, so it's probably safe to guess my digital sales are beginning to take over print. I know "lower than expected" sales for Trance was part of the reason for the transition to digital only. My hope is that the handful of people who read and love the series will follow it to digital. I'm really pleased with book three, because it offers something a little bit different than the majority of UF....
Same here with my book - but since I haven't had any digital sales figures yet, I wasn't sure how the two relate. There are a lot more print titles on Amazon than ebooks, despite the self-pub revolution...
I would definitely be sad to be offered an ebook-only contract from a big publisher, esp in the UK where we're behind the US on the technology curve. We still have bookshops in most towns, and non-specialists like WHSmith (which is primarily a magazine/stationery chain) seem to be stocking more books, not fewer.
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I've heard about more and more e-pub only imprints popping up in the romance genre, but with so many romance/erotica authors successfully self-pubbing, I'd have to ask an e-pub what they could do for me that I couldn't do for myself. Why not hire a freelance editor and cover designer, then keep all the profits?
At least in my own circumstance, I know that the cost of said editor and cover designer would be an impediment. I don't have a lot of upfront cash to cover things like that.
I've worked with Samhain on a book published under a pseudonym and honestly, they offer everything I want in a publisher: a good editor, good cover art, formatting, marketing, review copies, a recognizable publisher on the "spine" that is known for producing good quality books. Books from epubs like Samhain and Carina are hitting the NYTimes list and doing extremely well.
Self-publishing works well for some authors, and it seems to be work well for romance and erotica writers. But I don't write romance or erotica, and I'm not sure how well self-published UF is doing right now.
Unless I was already a bestselling author (which I'm not), I'd hesitate to give up working with an established publisher to go it alone. Everything that P@cket provides for me was a huge factor in deciding to stay with them.
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I can't speak for UF, horror, SF, etc.
But among my RWA chapter, it seems the indies are doing better financially than the e-pubbed. However, I know some houses do more than others. For example, I've heard Entangled's short contemporaries are doing very, very well.
But among my RWA chapter, it seems the indies are doing better financially than the e-pubbed. However, I know some houses do more than others. For example, I've heard Entangled's short contemporaries are doing very, very well.
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I don't have anything to add to the digital convo (since I can't find my royalty statements re digital ATM), but I wanted to pop my head in to say "Wah! I'm a-skeered!" I got my (very thoughtful and wonderful) edits for my book proposal in, and I'm just kind of...terrified. Which is pitiful, but it's been a while, and I'm wondering if I have any chops at all or if I am just an imposter who accidentally had a book published by mistake. I'm sure this is familiar to all, and that surprise surprise, the solution is WORK. Here's my commitment that I'll have the proposal done by week's end, regardless.
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I'm embarrassed to tell you how often this thought crosses my mind. Nice to know I'm not alone.
I'm right there with you. I keep thinking this was a total accident and there's no way I can pull it off again. Then I get bogged down in worrying about cultural perception issues or minor physics problems. Even though I wrote an erotic romance, it's set in a science-fictional universe that I want to get right, dammit.
So the best I can do is ignore my yammering doubts and keep writing.
So the best I can do is ignore my yammering doubts and keep writing.
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Having sold my third book, I am here to tell you...Second Book Syndrome is REAL! I had so many of those same thoughts, "What if I can't do it again?! What if that first book was a fluke??" Just rest assured that it's a normal response, and keep on keeping on.
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You guys have no idea how much this helps. For what it's worth, every single one of my debut writer friends is rasslin' this one down as we speak. The solution: WORK. As usual!
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I hesitate to share this because it betrays what a true dork I am, but I made a short film called Raiders of the Last ARC (sort of an anti-trailer) to capture the depth of my ARC love. I know advance copies are intended for reviewers, but I am SO keeping the last one for myself!