Buzz, Balls & Hype

Looking for Answers

There are a lot of people debating the pros and cons of the DOJ suit.

That’s not what this post is.

I have a question that has come out of what I’ve been reading on other sites, blogs and articles and would like to ask it here and open up the floor for comments because I am really confused about this one issue and feel like I'm missing something.

 I both self publish and traditionally publish.

 But for the purposes of this post I’m speaking here as a self published author only!

 Many self published authors are saying the Agency model is not in the interest of authors but rather supports publishers and the old system.

 But for me the Agency model has been a huge boon to my self published sales.

 I’ve been able to put my self-publisheid novels up for sale for whatever price I want – and I’ve mostly used $3.99 as well as have done special introductory offers at 99c and free.

 All my prices are far below what traditionally published books cost.  (Including my own btw.)

Many many readers, who won’t pay the price of agency model books and price shop only,  have bought my self pubbed books. (Over 50,000 of them have sold in less than a 8 months which has been terrific.) And I’m sure I am hardly the only author who has benefited by being able to price my self published books below the cost of traditionally published books.

 So my questions is -  if the Agency model goes away won’t self publihsed authors books be at a disadvantage? Won’t self published authors lose?  Can someone please explain to me how the eradication of the Agency model benefits all authors – self and trad published.

 

 

5 Stages of Grief by Katharine Weber

Exchange the goals depending on your genre and this by Katharine Weber is great!

STAIRCASE WRITING - Katharine Weber's Writing Journal: A WRITER’S FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF AT AWP 

Guest Post: Meet and Greet the Award Winning Authors at the London Book Fair

Springtime brings in the arrival of the much anticipated London Book Fair 2012. The literary buzz is that the readers and writers will be joined together under one roof at Earls Court Exhibition Centre,

 The London Book Fair has been attracting world-wide spectators and lovers of the written word for 41 years. The 2012 Exhibitor directory professes over 1900 participants thus far.

The London Book Fair 2012 is a well-respected event for promising new comers, established authors, publishers and their audiences. The book fair opens its doors promptly at 9AM on April 16^th up through April 18^th.

Besides browsing the booths, there are over 250 seminars and events taking place.

The “Author of the Day” series is a popular pastime.  On opening day, the first speaker on-hand and “Author of the Day” will be Peter James, offering creative insight into his novels, including “Dead like You.” Since the 1990’s, Mr. James happens to be an advocate of the e-book concept

An international array of guest speakers has been included in several programs. The London Book Fair celebrates the literature and culture of China with scheduled seminars.

The acclaimed Chinese writer, Bi Feiyu, winner of the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize for “Three Sisters,” has been designated as the “Author of the Day” on day two of the fair. He is the recipient of other literary awards, including receiving the Xu Lun Prize twice. Bi Feiyu is a screenwriter also and co-wrote the script for the Golden Globe nominee film, “Shanghai Triad.”

On the last day of the fair, children's author Patrick Ness is selected as the “Author of the Day.”  Her highly credited accomplishment of “Chaos Walking Trilogy” is acknowledged by Amazon.com and Publisher's Weekly's listing of the “Best Books of the Year.” The work has won the Costa Children's Book of the Year Prize, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

All ticket holders are free to attend any seminar available for that day. However, they are limited in seating capacity, making attendees a first-come first-serve scenario.

Planning a visit:

Secure a hotel room in London for the London Book Fair by visiting cheaphotels.org or holidayapartments.net as a sure bet for the extra space an apartment provides.

Location of venue: Earls Court Exhibition Centre Warwick Road London SW5 9TA

To visit the London Book Fair 2012 public transportation is the way to go.

Tube: Take District Line (green) in Zone 2 to Earls Court station

Train: Eurostar arrives at St Pancras International Station in London. From there, take the Piccadilly Line (dark blue) to Earls Court.

Bus: The following buses stop outside Earls Court on Warwick Road; 31, 74, C1 and C3.

"Secure a hotel room in London for the London Book Fair visiting cheaphotels.org or holidayapartments.net as a sure bet for the extra space an apartment provides."

 

 

 

The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense

The Book of Lost Fragrances is out today and I do hope you'll buy a copy.

Publisher’s Weekly named it one of spring's 10 best suspense books and called it a “deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense.”

 It’s an Indie Next Pick for March. A Starbucks Book Club pick and a Pulpwood Queens pick for this summer.

Heres' what some early reviews and readers have said... and here's a link to buy the book at the store of your choice.

 

"The historical data and the liberal sprinkling of invented historical detail mesh together like an ancient puzzle with the modern and real current world events.Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year's best books." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“A spellbinding love story and historical novel of mystery, reincarnation, ancient Egypt. Rose's in-depth research about fragrance adds to the pleasure in what I think is her most exciting book yet. Being immersed in Rose's fictional world is one of those times when you don't want to come back to the real world." —Bookworks

"Smoothly blends historical events, compelling characters, and international intrigue into an absorbing and thrilling ride through the centuries." —Library Journal

"Amazing... utterly engrossing. Elegantly written, with unforgettable characters. Will keep you up all night—and leave you with powerful feelings of revelation, wonder, and the infinitude of human possibility." —New York Times best selling author Douglas Preston

"A simmering brew that mingles the erotic sensuality of Patrick Suskind's Perfume with the dark and timeless obsessions of Rider Haggard's classic, She." —New York Times best selling author Katherine Neville

"Sweeping, heartbreaking and full of sumptuous detail..." —RT Top Pick 4 1/2 stars

"Resonates with spirit, blending myth with reality, tragedy with triumph, pain with joy. You'll find yourself questioning everything you believe—and wanting more." —New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry

“Clever, with beguiling characters; a wonderful mixture of suspense and pace and good old fashioned storytelling." —New York Times Bestseller, Kate Mosse

Guest Post: Celebrate the Written Word at the Upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Los Angeles is many things to many people but seems to carry a torch with the written word. For the 17^th year in conjunction with the Los Angeles Times, the occasion is simply titled as the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to be held at the University of Southern California (USC).

The complete schedule has yet to be released, but promises to be just as exciting as 2011. 1,140,000 people turned out to celebrate the sounds of text hosted by more than 200 international exhibitors and authors. 

The annual literary gathering is open to the public and considered one of the country’s largest outdoor book fairs. This year’s event is organized by returning sponsor Target Stores. They donated four thousand books to a donation station last year to benefit classrooms and libraries.

Prior to the event’s date of April 21^st to 22^nd, the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes is scheduled for April 20, 2012. The honors bestowed will be given out at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.  Finalists and winners have been preselected by a three writer board with experience in the chosen genre they are judging.

The coveted Robert Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Rudolfo Anaya, author of such books as “Bless Me, Ultima” and “The Man Who Could Fly and Other Stories,”

The late Robert Kirsch, the man behind the award ceremony, worked for year at the LA Times as the newspaper’s book critic. In addition to his critiques, Kirsch was a novelist, editor and teacher.

Come face to face with hundreds of authors on numerous panels that are planned to take place. 2011 was the first time that USC was used as the venue. The large campus proved to be a rousing success by waving in a sea of students and visitors.

Attending the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is free of charge.

Planning a trip:

Secure accommodations for Los Angeles and be near to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books by visiting LosAngeleshotels.org.

Location of venue: The USC is at the intersection of Exposition Blvd and S Figueroa St, Los Angeles  

To visit the LA Book Festival, use any of the following:

Shuttle Bus: Target provides free shuttles that will run continuously. Known as the Bullseye Bus, it will run between Union Station, Los Angeles Convention Center and USC.   

By Metro: The Red, Purple, Gold lines stop at Union Station. Take the free Bullseye Bus to USC.

The Blue Line heads to the Pico/Convention Center stop. Pick up the Bullseye Bus there.

By Dash: The DASH “F” line reaches the USC campus.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Ready to Read in Paris at this Year’s Salon du Livre 2012

A guest post about  Salon de Livre 2012

In Paris the written word rules. Books have always held a place in the heart of Parisians, with many writers from near and far calling Paris their home. Expats such as Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein have resided here, and their legacy is celebrated year after year at the Salon du Livre.

The Salon du Livre 2012 is considered one of the top cultural events in Europe, held this year from March 16^th through 19^th. There is anticipation that those who attend this once a year event will discover a premier marketplace for all those in the book industry. 

Open to the general public, it also brings together publishers and booksellers with more than 250 conferences. Salon du Livre 2012 will introduce new works with book signing from sought-after authors from France and the international community.

Audiovisuals will also be made available, including a documentary film that shows how the written word transposes to the cinema, reinforcing the strong bonds existing between the two.

Each year a theme is emphasized to make the book fair event memorable. This year, a special exhibit will be dedicated to the Japanese verse. Approximately thirty Japanese authors consisting of novelists, mystery writers, children’s books, and poetry will be highlighted and available for seminars.

A tradition continues at the Salon du Livre 2012. One city is highlighted as the guest of honor and this year’s event has chosen Moscow. 10 authors will hold a dialogue with the viewing public by sharing their personal inspirations gathered from their city.

Planning a Visit:

Address of venue: Porte de Versailles – Pavillon 1 - Boulevard Victor, Paris 15ème

 

Secure accommodations either near the Salon du Livre 2012 or anywhere else in Paris by visiting parishotels.net. 

To visit the Salon du Livre 2012 Paris Book Festival via public transportation by:

 

Subway: Board the number 12 to Porte de Versailles or number 8 to Balard

Tramway: Embark lines T2 & T3 to Porte de Versailles

Bus: Take 39 – 80 to station Porte de Versailles

 

 

 

 

 

Sales Appeal

It’s taken me a long time to understand something about why some books sell and others don’t. 

 It’s taken me having written novels and marketed more than 1200 others via AuthorBuzz.com.

Sales don’t always have anything to do with good or brilliant or original.

Sales are about appeal. 

The marketability, the success of a book, ultimately rests with whether or not people will find the concept/characters/title/cover appealing.

What’s appealing?

It’s in the eye of the beholder, but readers know it when they see it. And we see the results.

Bridges of Madison County, The Da Vinci Code, The Help and Sarah’s Key have very little in common with each other. But they all had that certain indefinable something that appealed to readers.

Nora Roberts, Stephen King, Lee Child and George R. Martin write wildly different books. Their writing, plotting and styles little or nothing in common.  But they all write books /characters that readers find appealing.

It’s helped many writers I know… writers who sweat every word… who write truly magnificent books… when I explain this seemingly simple idea.  

You can write the best book you can and that might still not be enough. Appeal isn’t something that most writers can’t strive for or identify. It 's something even the best agents and editors can’t always identify. 

So beat yourself up over a whole lot of other things, but don’t assume that because you book didn’t take of it wasn’t good. Or even brilliant. It might just not have been appealing enough.

 

Win a book and the fragrance it inspired!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Book of Lost Fragrances

by M.J. Rose

Giveaway ends February 29, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

THE DOCTOR IS IN

AUTHORS AND TWITTER

Last Sunday's NYTBR featured an article by Anne Trubek on the benefits of tweeting for authors. In it, Trubek addresses the "common conception of 'the author'" as solitary and asocial, noting that a number of writers use Twitter to establish closer communication with readers. She writes:

Many authors have little use for the pretension of hermetic distance and never accepted a historically specific idea of what it means to be a writer. With the digital age come new conceptions of authorship. And for both authors and readers, these changes may be unexpectedly salutary.

She goes on to quote clever tweets from writers that may draw additional readers to their books and to describe ways that writers can collect reader feedback, presumably as a type of market research.

I think it's great that social media offer writers whose books aren't necessarily getting a big push from their publishers a way to connect with readers directly. But I have questions about what seem to be the underlying assumptions of the article.

First, how much do we want writers to be influenced by readers? Of course, most writers want to reach the widest possible audience, and both professional and reader reviews can be important in helping writers recognize when they are not communicating well or are indulging in flights that are significant only to themselves. But I can't help wondering whether constant back-and-forth with readers is likely to result in a homogenization process.

Second, while it is true that not all authors require "hermetic distance," some are more social than others, and some really do need hours of focused effort to write. There is not, as far as I know, any correlation between a writer's personality style and the quality of his or her work. So I don't think Mat Johnson's statement that "It’s a meritocracy; if you’re interesting, you get followed” is accurate. Rather, it seems to be a popularity contest: If you can entertain potential readers and make them feel a personal connection to you--and possibly allow their opinions to influence your choice of covers, titles, etc., as Jennifer Weiner does--then your books may sell better. There is nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make you a better writer than the person who can't bear the constant interruption of Twitter or who doesn't think in one-liners. And as publicity becomes more and more the job of the author, I am afraid that these quieter voices may be drowned out.

 Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with a New York City-based practice. A fiction writer herself, she specializes in issues affecting writers and other creative artists. She is the author of Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide to Unblocking Creativity (Seal, 2007). Her Career Coach column appears every Monday on Inside Higher Ed's Mama, Ph.D. blog, and she is a regular guest panelist on Litopia After Dark. She can be reached at Dr.Sue at mindspring dot com.

THE DOCTOR IS IN

Thoughts on Publishing Envy

In this week's Kind Reader column, Jessa Crispin offers interesting and helpful advice to an unpublished writer who is repeatedly asked to share in her/his friends' joy in their publishing success. Crispin reminds the LW that William James was not published until he was forty-nine, and urges him/her to channel these feelings of envy into greater focus and productivity.

I think this is excellent advice, as far as it goes. (And it goes exactly as far as intended, since the premise of the column is the application of literature to life problems.) But it assumes that the writer will, eventually, be published, and statistically, this is nothing like a sure bet. Maybe the LW is a lousy writer. Maybe s/he is a wonderful writer whose subject matter doesn't have great popular appeal. Maybe s/he is a great writer on universally appealing topics, who yet will never be discovered. There is no way to know.

So the question remains: How do we deal with envy and resentment toward friends who have achieved (or, we may feel, been handed) our hearts' desire?

I think one important factor is acknowledging that life is inherently unfair. If it were fair, nobody would own two houses while others go homeless. We wouldn't eat in nice restaurants while some people are hungry or malnourished. And so on.

This is not to shame anyone for having a more pleasant or easier life than others may, but merely to point out that we can only play the hand we're dealt. And the deck is not distributed equally among players.

Some  are dealt superior intellectual or artistic gifts, or experiences that foster the development of self-confidence and assertiveness that will help them push forward in the face of repeated rejection. Some have educational advantages; some are economically privileged, able to pursue writing time, coaching, and workshops that others cannot. Some are born into the "right" ethnic group or social class. Some are physically conventionally attractive, which is increasingly important to publishers' marketing departments. And some have simply led lives that others deem more interesting or valid.

The point is, there is no such thing as a level playing field. Each of us starts at a different place and follows a unique trajectory. Conventional success doesn't indicate artistic or moral superiority; neither does starving in a garret for pure art.

So comparisons are futile. Our friends' success has little to do with us--it's not a race, and the finish line, if there is one, will be different for each of us. The best "cure" for envy--either envy of others or fear of others' envy--in my experience is to acknowledge this and live by it. We choose to write because writing nourishes us. We choose our friends because we love them. We are not in competition, because we can't be. So we can rejoice in their happiness while still wishing for our own, possibly elusive, success. There is a conflict only if we create one.

Obviously, this is easier to say and understand than to put into practice. But I think it is worth keeping in mind.

An artist friend sent the following quote as her New Year greeting this year. I plan to make it my resolution:

"Don't think about making art, just get it done.  Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it.  While they are deciding, make even more art."

--Andy Warhol

 Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with a New York City-based practice. A fiction writer herself, she specializes in issues affecting writers and other creative artists. She is the author of Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide to Unblocking Creativity (Seal, 2007). Her Career Coach column appears every Monday on Inside Higher Ed's Mama, Ph.D. blog, and she is a regular guest panelist on Litopia After Dark. She can be reached at Dr.Sue at mindspring dot com.