Red Flag Warning: Publisher Upheaval

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Christine N.

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Now why didn't I know about the Samhain change? I'm not upset about it, that just puts my print release back to August or November next year, depending whether I get 6 or 9 months, and assuming the e-book release goes as scheduled. I just don't recall reading it, but she may have made that annoucement before I came on board. I'm on all three Samhain loops, so I should have seen it.

Yes, I'm the Stranger in a Strange Land - the YA fantasy author who's with the mostly Romance publisher. So I check in here once in awhile to see what y'all are up to.

Shame about Trisk. December, good for you, getting your rights back. I usually only do one SF/F con, Philcon, but I'm considering driving down to Va for RavenCon next year. Not that that has anything to do with anything, just didn't want to feel left out :D


And hey! I just realized my bio is up on the Samhain Authors page!
 
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veinglory

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There was an admin announcement at Samhain and print releases are specified in their online schedule--it pays to check that to get the exact date.
 

Christine N.

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I found it in the archives. The change is to accomodate the catalog releases from the distributor. Which makes sense.

According to the schedule they have, my Feb. (tentative) e-book release will be followed by a December print release. Just in time for Christmas, so that works for me. :)
 

AllieB

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Christine,

I don't remember seeing it on any of the loops when it first came out, either, so it took me by surprise when I found out somewhat after the fact, as well. Live and learn, I guess.

My e-release is July 24, and my editor told me I should expect my print release to be mid-May 2008, which is actually 10 months, if I'm counting right.
 

pepperlandgirl

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I remember when Christine sent out the announcement re: the change because it was about 2 days after my own book Rayne of Love went into print. I remember thinking "Holy shit! Just under the wire!" lol
 

freebird13

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I'm a Triskelion author.
My, that sounds bad! But on the contrary, I'm really happy there.
I joined Triskelion when it was an e-book only company and doing very well. The ebook side is still doing very well. Last year, Triskelion ventured into print. It was the wrong time. Look at the figures coming out from the industry. Print sales for paperback fiction are down, and they were down the previous year.
The print program didn't work. The warehouse is filled with books, and rather than throw good money after bad, it was decided to restructure. An email was sent to the loops informing the authors of the fact.
No contracts were breached, but some promises were broken.
Authors were hurt, there's no doubt about that, but Triskelion is a new publishing company without the reserves the larger, longer established publishers have.
At the same time, figures were coming in from some other lines that weren't doing well. So Triskelion decided to restructure. The choice was simple - go out of business, or have a rethink. Triskelion has decided to go with the profitable lines, and cut the less profitable lines.
Authors have been offered their rights back if they are not happy. Free and clear, without editing charges. Many publishers refuse to do that, but if they think they can do better elsewhere, they can leave with Triskelion's blessing.
The RWA received word and decided to 'disinvite' Triskelion to the conference in the light of the restructuring news. Nobody has an issue with that, except some of the authors who had appointments. It was done at rather short notice, but it's done now.
So in a nutshell, here it is:

Triskelion is restructuring, keeping the profitable business and cutting back on the unprofitable.
Authors unhappy with Triskelion can have their rights back, free and clear. They may retain the edits done on their work.
The print program isn't closed, only cut back.
Triskelion is still very much alive, and sales have actually increased recently on the ebook lines.
The RWA has not 'unapproved' Triskelion, only 'disinvited' them to the upcoming conference, to give them time with their restructuring. Triskelion is still an RWA approved company.

As a Triskelion author:
I get paid on time.
I get a great deal of help from my editor, not only on the actual book editing, but with marketing and promotion.
I love the cover art I get
My sales have tripled in the last year.
I joined Trisk when it was ebook only, so for me the print was a bonus, which unfortunately didn't work as well as everyone hoped. My ebooks are still selling well.
 

veinglory

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It is certainly better to deal with issues than start delaying or defaulting on royalties like some other publishers out there (cough*GenesisPress*cough).

However putting it onto a general downturn in book sales is somewhat disingenuous. Trade paperback sales are trending up, standard paperbacks are down a few percent compared to a similar period of the year. It's tough doing small print press but the challenges are a little more specifc than the volume of gross print sales which could be healthier but haven't exactly crashed.
 
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freebird13

It is certainly better to deal with issues than start delaying or defaulting on royalties like some other publishers out there (cough*GenesisPress*cough).

However putting it onto a general downturn in book sales is somewhat disingenuous. Trade paperback sales are trending up, standard paperbacks are down a few percent compared to a similar period of the year. It's tough doing small print press but the challenges are a little more specifc than the volume of gross print sales which could be healthier but haven't exactly crashed.

I based my observations on the figures produced by various sources and readily available. It appears that the romance market in mass market paperback terms measured in units rather than value was down around 6% last year, and down 5% the year before that. When you look at the units sold, that's a lot.
What we do know for sure is that bookstores are having a hard time. It's not just that other outlets like Wal-Mart are creaming off the top, it's for a number of other reasons, including the fact that the younger audience prefers other ways of spending its time. So it's harder to get into the stores and harder to make an impact once you're there.
If I wanted more detailed figures, I'd have to pay for them, so if you have access, please let us know.
However, industry consensus seems to be that sales of print books are in long-term decline. This certainly isn't because of ebooks, it's a complex problem involving the distribution of print books as well as their presence in the stores. The shrinking of the allied magazine and newspaper industry has made distribution around the country more expensive, for instance.
Ebooks are on the increase still, but that's to be expected as it's a growing market which hasn't yet acheived maturity. It will be interesting to see where the plateau comes in at.
I have information which I consider privileged, which shows that no e-publisher has done particularly well in print. Some have held their own, and some have failed. Most are currently cutting back.
The print market and the ebook market share few synergies at the distribution level and this may be a principal reason for the current lack of success. A large investment is required, both formally and informally, to get books into stores, and there are few synergies with the same investment in ebooks.
I could do a full report, but only if I have the precise figures, and I can get the proper renumeration for it. I used to charge $500 a day, but if I went back into consulting, my rates would be a lot higher these days, because I wouldn't enjoy it any more.
 

veinglory

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Figures from where? Even in the broadest possible terms it would be useful to know what you are basing that on. The most recent figures from the Association of America Publishers are an overall sales reduction of one third of one percent.

Also, equivalent publishers did not respond to the same pressures (whatever they are) the same way.

Note: I am not saying epublishers make significant print sales. On the whole they don't because if you release a lot of titles getting decent distribution is hell and dealing with returns is hell on wheels. But only one is changing release dates and blaming a general downturn rather than specific business decisions when even a sympathetic reading would have to include both--only mentioning one looks like an excuse to me. Small print presses seem to be doing not much better or worse than in previous years.
 
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aadams73

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On this topic, Gail Northman apparently resigned from Triskelion over the weekend. You can read about it here at Dear Author.
 

giftedrhonda

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I thought the same thing, veinglory...
 

Sandy J

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They've announced on their website they're closing as of July 2.

That's sad. I had a few friends published with them. On the other hand, I noticed in RWR that they seemed to be buying just about everything. Is this a sign that epubs are failing?
 

Sandy J

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No.

It's a sign that they didn't know what they were doing.


Glad to hear it. I have some friends that have sold to Cerridwen and several with Ellora's Cave.
 
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Christine N.

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No, nothing like that. Samhain and the two you mentioned, Sandy, are flourishing, signing deals with bigger publishers for print and such.

Ellora's cave has a good bookstore presence too.

December, looks like you got out just in time.
 

chibeth

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Very sad. I hope some of the authors can get their rights back, though I doubt they will. *sigh*
 

Chumplet

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Interesting news, especially since recently, both Samhain and The Wild Rose Press have pushed back their e-to-print publishing window from 3 months to 6/9 months. Not sure what that means in terms of e-publishers trying to do both electronic and print publication. Too much for them to manage?
Allie, where did you hear that Wild Rose Press was pushing back their print releases? The last information I received was a print release eight weeks after the electronic release.
 
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