"Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is funnier."
-- Blore's Razor
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Dear MWA: What's the Problem with POD?
First, I'd like to say that I am a member of Mystery Writers of America (and damn proud of it, thank you). I know people with the organization and consider them friends. The opinions expressed here have nothing to do with that. They are, in fact, suggestions made with the best of intentions and without malice.
Do I protest too much? I hope not.
In any case, as a card carrying member of MWA, I received the following notice (quoted in pertinent part):
"The National Board of Mystery Writers of America voted unanimously on October 6, 2010 to remove Dorchester Publishing from our list of Approved Publishers, effective immediately, primarily because the company no longer meets two of our key criteria.
"First, the initial print run by the publisher for a book-length work of fiction or nonfiction must be at least 500 copies and must be widely available in brick-and-mortar stores (not "special order" titles). In other words, print-on-demand publishers and Internet-only publishers do not qualify."
The second problem was failure to pay advances and royalties. An obvious no-no. But what is the problem with print-on-demand (POD) publishing?
I'd like to (respectfully, of course) make the following suggestion to MWA: POD publishing may not be all that evil.
Here are a few considerations in its favor:
1. It saves resources. By printing copies of books only as needed, paper and ink are preserved. In addition, the energy that goes into the production of print runs is conserved, as well. There's also the energy costs associated with transportation and warehousing the printed books to consider. With POD, books are ONLY produced as needed, when needed for whoever needs them. This eliminates the need for warehousing all those extra copies that don't get picked up by bookstores or other retail outlets.
2. Print runs put pressure on your authors. Yeah. Sell-through. How many presses out there are doing printings of 500 copies? Maybe a few. But not the kind with the resources to actually get them into stores. And to the extent print runs (of whatever size) do get into stores, the pressure is on the author to make sure they sell. Or guess what? They get penalized. It's the authors who bear the brunt of the 100% refund the booksellers get if the books are returned to the publisher. (Not to mention the waste of resources of returning books with torn-off covers. See #1.) This could be avoided, of course, with a business model based on POD. (Radical thought? Just wait ...)
3. Print runs perpetuate an old (and failing) publishing model. Let's face it. Despite the fact that print books still hold the lion's share of the market, that's not going to be true forever. The future (as I keep repeating, over and over) is in ebooks. Now, why would a publisher continue to cling to an old way of doing business when a new paradigm of doing business is emerging? Doesn't it simply make sense to shift to a POD model for producing print books, if ebooks are becoming more popular?
Don't believe me? Have you checked the Amazon rankings for Laura Lippman's latest release? Almost the minute it was released, the ebook version of I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE jumped right out of the gate and outsold its hardcover counterpart by leaps and bounds. The book was in the Top 100 in Paid Amazon for weeks. At $12.99 per download, no less. Now that's SAYING something.
You know Laura, right? I believe she's your president.
Do I protest too much? I hope not.
In any case, as a card carrying member of MWA, I received the following notice (quoted in pertinent part):
"The National Board of Mystery Writers of America voted unanimously on October 6, 2010 to remove Dorchester Publishing from our list of Approved Publishers, effective immediately, primarily because the company no longer meets two of our key criteria.
"First, the initial print run by the publisher for a book-length work of fiction or nonfiction must be at least 500 copies and must be widely available in brick-and-mortar stores (not "special order" titles). In other words, print-on-demand publishers and Internet-only publishers do not qualify."
The second problem was failure to pay advances and royalties. An obvious no-no. But what is the problem with print-on-demand (POD) publishing?
I'd like to (respectfully, of course) make the following suggestion to MWA: POD publishing may not be all that evil.
Here are a few considerations in its favor:
1. It saves resources. By printing copies of books only as needed, paper and ink are preserved. In addition, the energy that goes into the production of print runs is conserved, as well. There's also the energy costs associated with transportation and warehousing the printed books to consider. With POD, books are ONLY produced as needed, when needed for whoever needs them. This eliminates the need for warehousing all those extra copies that don't get picked up by bookstores or other retail outlets.
2. Print runs put pressure on your authors. Yeah. Sell-through. How many presses out there are doing printings of 500 copies? Maybe a few. But not the kind with the resources to actually get them into stores. And to the extent print runs (of whatever size) do get into stores, the pressure is on the author to make sure they sell. Or guess what? They get penalized. It's the authors who bear the brunt of the 100% refund the booksellers get if the books are returned to the publisher. (Not to mention the waste of resources of returning books with torn-off covers. See #1.) This could be avoided, of course, with a business model based on POD. (Radical thought? Just wait ...)
3. Print runs perpetuate an old (and failing) publishing model. Let's face it. Despite the fact that print books still hold the lion's share of the market, that's not going to be true forever. The future (as I keep repeating, over and over) is in ebooks. Now, why would a publisher continue to cling to an old way of doing business when a new paradigm of doing business is emerging? Doesn't it simply make sense to shift to a POD model for producing print books, if ebooks are becoming more popular?
Don't believe me? Have you checked the Amazon rankings for Laura Lippman's latest release? Almost the minute it was released, the ebook version of I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE jumped right out of the gate and outsold its hardcover counterpart by leaps and bounds. The book was in the Top 100 in Paid Amazon for weeks. At $12.99 per download, no less. Now that's SAYING something.
You know Laura, right? I believe she's your president.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Quotation for the Week of October 24
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Quotation for the Week of October 17
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
-- Oscar Wilde
-- Oscar Wilde
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Two Interesting New Digital Book Developments
I'm in a bit of a quandary, because I find myself with two interesting new developments in the ebook and digital publishing world that I'd like to talk about.
Since they're both rather interesting, I'll tackle both subjects.
First, there's Amazon's announcement of its "Kindle Singles" program. (Is it a program? Is it a service? Does it really matter? Okay, whatever.) According to eBookNewser, "A Kindle single is defined by Amazon’s press release as 'Kindle books that are twice the length of a New Yorker feature or as much as a few chapters of a typical book.'
"These new books, which are categorized as between 10,000 and 30,000 words – or about 30-90 pages – will have their own section in the Kindle Store and be priced less than a typical eBook. Amazon did not yet say how much these works would cost, but perhaps $.99 – the typical price of an iTunes single – would be too low."
While I'm not entirely clear on the significance (or, indeed, of the benefit) of putting short fiction in its own section of Amazon, I think it is an interesting development. Will it have the effect of raising short fiction price points? Will it make it easier for readers to find? Again, I have no idea. Opinions, anyone?
Second, I thought it was most interesting that (according to Bookseller.com) the Orange Award for New Writers is being dropped and replaced with a "an Orange Book Club and a new books website, which will highlight 'future' Orange Prize for Fiction contenders, including one new writer a month."
Basically, the Orange Prize for Fiction "will focus on promoting the books across a wider range of digital platforms. As part of these plans, Orange confirmed it will be able to support a greater number of first time writers in a year long campaign, which will replace the current Orange Award for New Writers." Read all about here.
Can you feel the ebook and digital distribution love?
Since they're both rather interesting, I'll tackle both subjects.
First, there's Amazon's announcement of its "Kindle Singles" program. (Is it a program? Is it a service? Does it really matter? Okay, whatever.) According to eBookNewser, "A Kindle single is defined by Amazon’s press release as 'Kindle books that are twice the length of a New Yorker feature or as much as a few chapters of a typical book.'
"These new books, which are categorized as between 10,000 and 30,000 words – or about 30-90 pages – will have their own section in the Kindle Store and be priced less than a typical eBook. Amazon did not yet say how much these works would cost, but perhaps $.99 – the typical price of an iTunes single – would be too low."
While I'm not entirely clear on the significance (or, indeed, of the benefit) of putting short fiction in its own section of Amazon, I think it is an interesting development. Will it have the effect of raising short fiction price points? Will it make it easier for readers to find? Again, I have no idea. Opinions, anyone?
Second, I thought it was most interesting that (according to Bookseller.com) the Orange Award for New Writers is being dropped and replaced with a "an Orange Book Club and a new books website, which will highlight 'future' Orange Prize for Fiction contenders, including one new writer a month."
Basically, the Orange Prize for Fiction "will focus on promoting the books across a wider range of digital platforms. As part of these plans, Orange confirmed it will be able to support a greater number of first time writers in a year long campaign, which will replace the current Orange Award for New Writers." Read all about here.
Can you feel the ebook and digital distribution love?
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Quotation for the Week of October 10
"People who get nostalgic about childhood were obviously never children."
-- Bill Watterson
-- Bill Watterson
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Publishers Still 'Out to Lunch' on Ebooks
Rather than recap what's already written, I'm going to quote the following bit about the Frankfurt Book Fair from yesterday's Publisher's Lunch (with my comments in brackets, of course):
"A Frankfurt hallmark is that some things never change (from booth locations to standing spots on the party schedule, etc.), but change is certainly in the air this year and on the floor. Booths of the biggest publishers sport elevated video screens (Penguin wins, with nine-panel jumbotrons for both Penguin and Pearson, with HarperCollins' six-panel display in second) [Jesus Christ! And these guys have the stones to complain that they're NOT making money!] and iPads have clearly won over the publishing crowd, seen driving meeting displays and note-taking all over [Well, how f*cking trendy -- good for you]. The fair introduced formal on-the-floor discussion stages and an ereading device display and cluster in Hall 8. And since many of the events and conferences are digitally focused, so is much of the coverage, even though the ebook market has yet to become real in most of the world. [Well, it's pretty f*cking real here in the U.S., let me tell you!]
"One well-attended on-the-floor discussion panel featured Google's Tom Turvey querying four executives on the digital transition. 'There's been a sea change in the past few months,' HarperCollins ceo Brian Murray said, [Hey, ya think???] now that for new bestsellers, 'in some cases, on some books, the ebooks are outselling the hardcovers.' [Gee, wonder why. Duh!] On digital royalty rates, Murray said '25 percent is fair and appropriate right now' [there's nothing I can say here that won't be completely obscene!] and he doesn't 'see anything on the horizon that makes me think that's going to change.' [Fine. You f*cking moron ...]
"Bloomsbury executive Evan Schnittman added, 'the real royalty rates are much higher' once you factor in unearned advances. [Uh, yeah. Tell me another one. I think this man would disagree.] 'What needs to be addressed is the entire cash-flow process, which is very different in digital than it is in print.' [Right. More bullsh*t. Thanks.] He added, 'I don't think anyone wants to have that conversation.' [Oh, yeah. I'll bet you don't!] Perseus executive Rick Joyce quipped that 'fighting over points is the hallmark of a non-growth business' and suggested that focusing on growth was the best solution. [Um, yeah, right. Whatever. The question is, what's in it for the authors? You know, those funny little people who write the damn books?]
"Turvey tried to explore the territorial rights issues raised by ebooks, but there were few takers. [Gosh, wonder why. Like anyone really knows this sh*t.] Schnittman said that 'language rights globally will be the dominant model' over time. Were where [sic] the agents during these remarks? Two halls away in the bigger-than-ever rights center making deals." [God help me, I'd certainly hope so. That's their f*cking job. Not listening to more bullsh*t from publishers.]
Okay, I think my work is done here. :)
"A Frankfurt hallmark is that some things never change (from booth locations to standing spots on the party schedule, etc.), but change is certainly in the air this year and on the floor. Booths of the biggest publishers sport elevated video screens (Penguin wins, with nine-panel jumbotrons for both Penguin and Pearson, with HarperCollins' six-panel display in second) [Jesus Christ! And these guys have the stones to complain that they're NOT making money!] and iPads have clearly won over the publishing crowd, seen driving meeting displays and note-taking all over [Well, how f*cking trendy -- good for you]. The fair introduced formal on-the-floor discussion stages and an ereading device display and cluster in Hall 8. And since many of the events and conferences are digitally focused, so is much of the coverage, even though the ebook market has yet to become real in most of the world. [Well, it's pretty f*cking real here in the U.S., let me tell you!]
"One well-attended on-the-floor discussion panel featured Google's Tom Turvey querying four executives on the digital transition. 'There's been a sea change in the past few months,' HarperCollins ceo Brian Murray said, [Hey, ya think???] now that for new bestsellers, 'in some cases, on some books, the ebooks are outselling the hardcovers.' [Gee, wonder why. Duh!] On digital royalty rates, Murray said '25 percent is fair and appropriate right now' [there's nothing I can say here that won't be completely obscene!] and he doesn't 'see anything on the horizon that makes me think that's going to change.' [Fine. You f*cking moron ...]
"Bloomsbury executive Evan Schnittman added, 'the real royalty rates are much higher' once you factor in unearned advances. [Uh, yeah. Tell me another one. I think this man would disagree.] 'What needs to be addressed is the entire cash-flow process, which is very different in digital than it is in print.' [Right. More bullsh*t. Thanks.] He added, 'I don't think anyone wants to have that conversation.' [Oh, yeah. I'll bet you don't!] Perseus executive Rick Joyce quipped that 'fighting over points is the hallmark of a non-growth business' and suggested that focusing on growth was the best solution. [Um, yeah, right. Whatever. The question is, what's in it for the authors? You know, those funny little people who write the damn books?]
"Turvey tried to explore the territorial rights issues raised by ebooks, but there were few takers. [Gosh, wonder why. Like anyone really knows this sh*t.] Schnittman said that 'language rights globally will be the dominant model' over time. Were where [sic] the agents during these remarks? Two halls away in the bigger-than-ever rights center making deals." [God help me, I'd certainly hope so. That's their f*cking job. Not listening to more bullsh*t from publishers.]
Okay, I think my work is done here. :)
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Quotation for the Week of October 3
"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting."
-- George Orwell
-- George Orwell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)