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Inklings Issue 5.20
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i n k l i n g s
Inkspot's newsletter for Writers on the Net
http://www.inkspot.com
Issue 5.20 * Over 45,000 subscribers! * Oct.13, 1999
*****************************************************************
<http://www.inkspot.com/inklings/issues/ink0520.html>
This issue features an interview with author M.J. Rose and advice
about when to seek another agent from Ginger Knowlton (ASK
THE AGENT).
This issue sponsored by:
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FREE SUBSCRIPTION to T-Zero Xpandizine: The Writers' E-Zine.
Learn about Writers' Village University's FREE WRITING COURSES,
and find out how you can become a part of the world's friendliest
international writers' group. It's the fun way to learn the craft
of writing and meet writers! http://wvu.org
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The WRITER'S SOFTWARE COMPANION: award-winning CD by Writer's
Digest's Nancy Kress rapidly accelerates writing/publishing
process--with SOFTWARE DREAMPACK FOR WRITERS, 57 free writers'
programs: brain trainers to time-savers and writing coaches.
Free downloads and extras: http://www.novalearn.com/sites/ink.htm
*****************************************************************
ISSN 1205-6413. Copyright 1995-1999 Debbie Ridpath Ohi. See end
of issue for copyright/contact info. http://www.inkspot.com
*****************************************************************
CONTENTS THIS ISSUE:
From The Editor's Desk
Fresh Ink and Market Information
Ask The Agent
Interview with M.J. Rose
Writers' Classifieds
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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK:
-----------------------
I'm pleased to announce that Inkspot will be moving to a new home
within the next few months, both physically and virtually. I've
been working out of my home for the past eight years, but have
finally decided to move my business into an outside office. I
will also be moving Inkspot to its own server; this change should
be transparent to users, and the URL will remain the same
(http://www.inkspot.com). Both these moves will help me continue
to gradually improve and expand Inkspot. I'll be posting more
details soon, and will also be having a virtual "office warming"
party online...you're all invited. :-) Our new address is:
Inkspot, 67 Mowat Ave., Suite 239, Toronto, ON Canada M6K 3E3.
I will be giving a few workshops at the Surrey Writers'
Conference, October 22-24th, and hope to meet some of you there;
if you're at the conference, please do say hi! And sign up for a
Blue Pencil Cafe meeting; I'd be happy to talk about online
promotion, setting up your own webpage, e-mail newsletters...
pretty much anything you'd like. :-) For more information about
the conference, please see:
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/swc/
Coming in next week's Global Writers' Ink
-----------------------------------------
Upcoming topics: How to market a column to overseas
publications, and how to choose the right translator. Only a few
weeks left to subscribe as a Charter Subscriber (Deadline:
November 1st, 1999)! Charter subscribers get discounts on some
Inkspot services and products, and will also be entered in prize
drawings for Michael Sedge's _The Writer's and Photographer's
Guide To Global Markets_ and _Writer's Market 2000_. $12/year.
For more a free sample issue and more info, please see:
http://www.inkspot.com/global/
- Debbie
*****************************************************************
FRESH INK
---------
PRIZE GIVEAWAYS: WRITING FOR THE WEB
------------------------------------
By Crawford Kilian (Self-Counsel Press, 1999). The author is an
Internet veteran; I remember seeing his online writing course
when I first got on the Web. This book includes topics such as
hypertext, how to structure and organize website content, writing
and editing web text, corporate web writing, personal pages,
resumes, self-marketing.
Deadline: Oct. 24, 1999. For more info about this book and how
to enter, see: http://www.inkspot.com/admin/giveaway.html
RECENT PRIZEWINNERS:
Keith Rockmael - SELLING SCRIPTS TO HOLLYWOOD
by Katherine Atwell Herbert (Allworth Press, 1999)
Fiona Macdonald - WRITER'S MARKET 2000
(from the Word On The Street prize draw)
Mangla Sachdev - Inkspot pen
(Inkspot Classifieds Secret prize draw)
Mind's Eye Fiction
------------------
Maintained by Ken Jenks (ASK THE ELECTRONIC PUBLISHER columnist).
New publishing concept: visitors can view the beginnings of
stories. If they wish to read the rest of any story, they can
pay a micro-fee or opt for a free version with ads.
http://tale.com/
GL: http://tale.com/writech.phtml
Preditors and Editors
---------------------
Guide to publishers and publishing services. Includes a special
"warnings" section for writers.
http://www.sfwa.org/prededitors/peesla.htm
Free translation
----------------
Free, web-based language translation service.
http://www.freetranslation.com/
Proper manuscript format
------------------------
An article by William Shunn, presented as a sample manuscript.
http://www.shunn.net/format.html
Trademark checklist
-------------------
Tips on proper trademark usage.
http://www.inta.org/tmcklst1.htm
Agent FAQ
---------
Answers to frequently asked questions about agents. By
Lawrence Watt-Evans, member of the Horror Writers' Association.
http://www.horror.org/agent.htm
MetaJournals
------------
Webzine about the "art of online journals".
http://www.metajournals.com/main.html
Digital Feed
------------
Part of the AJR website. New and archived articles about
online journalism.
http://ajr.newslink.org/ajrwww.html
Interview with children's author, Edith Tarbescu
------------------------------------------------
Win a copy of her book, _Annushka's Voyage_. See URL below
for details. Deadline: October 31st, 1999.
http://www.inkspot.com/feature/edith.html
** Please send suggestions for Fresh Ink to freshink@inkspot.com
*****************************************************************
GOTHAM WRITERS' WORKSHOP: Creative writing classes in Fiction,
Nonfiction, Screenwriting, Poetry, Children's Books, more.10-wk &
1-day classes in NYC and online for adults and teens. For free
catalog, call 212-WRITERS or visit http://www.WritingClasses.com
*****************************************************************
Advertise here! Send e-mail to sales@inkspot.com for details.
*****************************************************************
MARKET INFORMATION
------------------
Please get current, detailed guidelines before submitting to
publications if possible. Don't submit to email addresses unless
specifically stated. Include a SASE for surface mail replies.
More market info at: http://www.inkspot.com/market/.
**-----------------------------------------------------**
"FNASR": First North American Serial Rights, "SASE":
self-addressed, stamped envelope, "simsubs": simultaneous
submissions, "mss": manuscript, "RT": response time, "GL":
guidelines.
Markets Editor: Sal Towse (ST). Research assistants: Shane Stacks
(SS), Margaret Shauers (MS), Kathie Meyer (KM), Jan Edwards (JE).
FRESHWATER SEAS
---------------
Freshwater Seas. 2401 Colony Court, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.
313.975.0925. FAX: 734.975.0925. Editor: Robert Bethune. On-line
magazine for people who sail the Great Lakes. FREQ: Published
continuously. Content is divided into monthly issues, each issue
is updated continuously during the month. CIRC: 5,000 readers/mo
SIZE: Currently 70 stories on-line in addition to a wealth of
information. AUDIENCE: People who care about sailing in the Great
Lakes. NEEDS: For this Halloween ~ ghost stories with Great
Lakes themes, especially those that involve sailing in some way.
Include illustrations if possible. Material that directly
relates to Great Lakes sailing. "Solidly researched, thoroughly
developed, readable text with a minimum of two illustrations.
Additional illustrations are welcome and highly desirable."
Traditional kinds of sailing materials are welcome: cruising
narratives, regatta accounts, destination profiles, classic yacht
profiles, sailing how-to stories. Encourage non traditional
writing as well: policy questions, environmental issues, Great
Lakes sailing history, the sailing industry. Interested in seeing
fiction, poetry, music and visual art that relates to Great Lakes
sailing, past or present, either in fantasy or reality.
Illustrations include photographs, art work or animations. Still
images may be in any image format that can be processed in
Photoshop 5.0. Animations may be in GIF or MPEG format. Audio
material should be sent in .WAV format (both should be one
megabyte or less). See Guidelines for additional submission
information, including tips on writing, photography and art work.
LENGTH: "We don't have minimum or maximum limits on text length.
Long enough to cover the subject, short enough to sustain
interest." RTS: All back issues of Freshwater Seas are maintained
online indefinitely. Acquires the non-exclusive right to display
material on the website indefinitely. Also acquires the right to
include material if publication is re-published in any other
medium. Right to publish material elsewhere is not limited,
except that if it is published in Freshwater Seas for the first
time, subsequent publications shall include credit to Freshwater
Seas as the original place of publication. PAY: "In order to sort
out writers, photographers and artists who do what they do as a
business from people who submit material in the course of their
activities with yacht clubs, class organizations, boating
associations and so forth, we stipulate that we will only pay for
material when the person submitting material clearly stipulates
that payment is required. In other words, if you expect to be
paid for your work, make it clear to us the first time you
contact us." $50 for articles without illustrations, $75 for
articles with one or two illustrations, and $150 for articles
with three or more illustrations. RT: Several days on queries,
longer for mss. SUBMISSION: Send materials to
editor@freshwaterseas.com. All submissions must be sent via
email. Sending material that is not in digital form is an
obstacle to acceptance. Any document file format that can be read
by Microsoft Word 97, and images that can be handled by Photoshop
5.0 can be handled. (JE)
URL: http://www.freshwaterseas.com
GL: http://www.freshwaterseas.com/recur/Guidelines.htm
E-mail: editor@freshwaterseas.com
OREGON QUARTERLY
----------------
Oregon Quarterly. 5228 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
97403-5228. Phone: 541.346.5048. FAX: 541.346.5571. Editor: Guy
Maynard; Assistant Editor: Kathleen Holt. Magazine of the
University of Oregon - "The Northwest Perspective from the
University of Oregon." FREQ: Quarterly. CIRC: 100,000+. AUDIENCE:
Consists primarily of UO alumni; current editorial approach is
toward "a regional magazine of ideas." NEEDS: Topics of state and
regional interest (ideas, issues and personalities) using the
resources of UO faculty and alumni. "Our goal is to reach a broad
well-educated regional audience, whether or not they have ties to
the UO." LENGTH: Features: 2,500-3,000 wds; short subjects
500-1,000 wds. RTS: FNASR. PAY: $0.20/wd. On acceptance (after
requested revisions), plus reasonable expenses (with receipts),
provided they are cleared in advance. There is a kill fee of 20
percent of the contracted amount for contracted stories not
accepted. RT: Approx. 2 mos. SUBMISSIONS: Send brief queries
(with SASE) with clips to: Oregon Quarterly, 5228 University of
Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-5228; Or e-mail queries to:
quarterly@oregon.uoregon.edu SAMPLE ISSUES: $4.00, or samples
may be viewed on the Web site. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Desires
to be recognized for the quality of writing. Stories should have
shape and depth and be "closer in conception and execution to a
thoughtful essay than to a newspaper feature." (JE)
URL: http://www.uoregon.edu/~oq
GL: http://www.uoregon.edu/~oq/guidelines.html
E-mail: quarterly@oregon.uoregon.edu
SFORZANDO MAGAZINE
------------------
Sforzando Magazine. Editor: Valerie J. Bruce, P.O. Box 3018,
Wilsonville, OR 97070. 503.570.0807, FAX: 503.570.1014. A
monthly magazine for performing arts enthusiasts in the Pacific
Northwest, serving Oregon, Washington, western Idaho and the
Vancouver, BC area. Sforzando focuses on classical music, dance,
musical theater and the stage, with special emphasis on regional
creative talent, and innovative programming and productions.
Published 11x per yr. with combined July/Aug issue. CIRC: 15,000,
48pp. NEEDS: "We need program previews and artist profiles. We do
not print concert reviews. We are looking for writers who enjoy
the performing arts and who can communicate that enthusiasm to
our readers. Stories generally run 800-1000 words with some
features running 1200-1500 words. We also need photographers in
Oregon and Washington who can take interesting, informal, and not
your typical head-shot pictures of regional artists to accompany
feature stories. Pay for photos is modest but negotiable.
Articles are by assignment and interested writers are asked to
submit a cover letter with a couple of writing samples." Writer's
guidelines may be obtained by sending a SASE or via email.
RIGHTS: FNAS as well as electronic reprint rights for magazine's
web page planned for the near future. PAYS: 10 cents per word on
the edited length on publication. RT: 2-3 wks. on queries, no
unsolicited mss. Email queries/submissions accepted; reprints and
simsubs are not. Sample issues may be obtained by request. Please
include your name and mailing address. TIPS: "Really care about
the performing arts and the people involved. Be enthusiastic but
don't gush. Be intelligent but not obscure. Write clearly and
don't pad. Have a sense of perspective but not a hidden agenda.
Write because you enjoy it, not because it's a job." (KM)
E-mail: sfzmag@aol.com
THE EDGE
--------
The Edge. 65 Guinness Buildings, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6
8BD, United Kingdom. Telephone: 44 (0) 171-460-9444. Editor:
Graham Evans. The Edge publishes quality fiction, interviews, and
comment columns as well as reviews of books, films, videos,
soundtracks and graphic novels. SEEKING: Short stories- unusual,
interesting stories of any length (within reason); possible
themes include urban, modern and borderline horror/fantasy/sf,
slipstream fiction, and crime fiction. Articles- 1000 wds and up,
normally commissioned. GL: Please query with sample of work
(published or unpublished). Submit via postal mail only (THE
EDGE will reply by e-mail to save you return postage). No simsubs
or previously published material. Include SASE, and two
international reply coupons (IRCs) if submitting from outside the
UK (or an e-mail address). RIGHTS: First Publication Rights ("all
media, worldwide. You can't publish it anywhere, in any media,
before we do, after which it's all yours again"). PAYS: 40-200L
(pounds sterling) per piece accepted. Pays on publication and
sends proofs before publication. RT: 3 weeks ("usually within 1
week"). TIP: "Please look at the magazine before sending
anything. We'd like to discourage totally unsuitable submissions,
which make up the majority received. We do not publish poetry and
do not accept submissions on diskette; we are unable to comment
on work submitted or enter into correspondence about it; we don't
have time to visit your Web site to look at your work. Please do
not send your work via any service requiring a signature on
receipt." SAMPLE COPY: UK- 2.95L, Europe- 3.50 (Eurocheques
accepted), USA- $7.00 (US cash or checks accepted from $7.00 up).
(SS)
URL: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~houghtong/edge.htm
E-Mail: grahamevans@lineone.net
THE THREEPENNY REVIEW
----------------------
The Threepenny Review. P.O. Box 9131, Berkeley, CA 94709.
510.849.4545. Editor/Publisher: Wendy Lesser; Associate Editor:
Francie Lin. National Literary Review of the arts and society:
Issues include short fiction, politics, performing arts, books,
essays, poetry, photographs, memoirs. FREQ: Quarterly. CIRC:
10,000+. AUDIENCE: Readers interested in literary arts. NEEDS:
Reviews, stories and memoirs, poetry, essays, non-fiction, table
talk pieces. LENGTH: Critical articles 1,500 to 3,000 wds,
stories and memoirs 4,000 wds or less, poetry 100 lines or less.
Exceptions to length limits are possible. RTS: FNASR. PAY: On
acceptance. $200/story or article, $100/poem or Table Talk piece,
and a year's free subscription. RT: Ranges from three weeks to
two months. SUBMISSION: See submissions page on Web site. E-mail
mss are not accepted. Send mss with a SASE to: The Editors, The
Threepenny Review, P.O. Box 9131, Berkeley, CA 94709. Mss are not
read in June, July, and August. Articles should be double-spaced
with margins of at least one inch. Does not consider simultaneous
submissions. Photocopies and computer-printed copies are
acceptable. Writers will be consulted on significant editing done
and will have the opportunity to proofread galleys for
typographical errors. Critical articles dealing with books,
theater, films, etc. should include the following cites at the
front of the article:
Theater Piece
by Playwright
_________Theater, City,
Season 19_____.
OR
Book Title
by Author's Name
Publisher, Year Published,
Price (cloth)(paper).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: It is recommended that writers read a
sample copy before submitting. Individual copies are available
from the publisher for $10.00. Selected works from published
issues are on the Web site. (JE)
URL: http://www.threepennyreview.com
GL: http://www.threepennyreview.com/submissions.html
E-mail: wlesser@threepennyreview.com
MARKET UPDATES:
E-mailed Algis Budrys for the straight scoop. He replies:
"Tomorrowsf is now a static site. Lots of good stuff on it, but
there won't ever be anything new. Algis Budrys is working in
California, and has closed the magazine, with considerable
regret." For more information:
http://www.tomorrowsf.com/jindex.html (ST)
Mortimer Zuckerman sold the Atlantic Monthly to David G. Bradley,
who also owns the National Journal. The former editor of the
National Journal, Michael Kelly, is now Editor in Chief of NJ and
editor of Atlantic Monthly, replacing Bill Whitworth. The new
editor of the National Journal is Charles Green, the former
deputy editor. (ST)
Please send market news to Sal Towse, towse@inkspot.com.
*****************************************************************
Ask The Experts
---------------
*** Please put "inklings question" in the subject header. ***
Judith Bowen (ROMANCE WRITER) JudithBowen@poboxes.com
David Breeden (POET) drpoetry@ktc.com
Charles Deemer (SCREENWRITER) charlesd@inkspot.com
Ken Jenks (ELECTRONIC PUBLISHER) MindsEye@tale.com
Ginger Knowlton (AGENT) agent@inkspot.com
Michelle Sagara (SF/FANTASY WRITER) Michelle.Sagara@sff.net
Lee Wardlaw (CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITER) lee@inkspot.com
Marcia Yudkin (FREELANCE WRITER) yudkin@inkspot.com
Columnists may be unable to reply privately to every message,
but will answer selected questions in future issues of Inklings.
Please keep your question BRIEF and send it to *one* columnist.
*****************************************************************
ASK THE AGENT
-----------------------------------------------------------------
by Ginger Knowlton <agent@inkspot.com>
DISCLAIMER: Please note that the answers in my column reflect my
own opinions and are not intended to represent that of all
literary agents. Every agent works differently.
Must I return my advance if my book doesn't sell?
-------------------------------------------------
Q: My understanding is that payment made to an author for the
rights to a book is an advance against future royalties earned
when the book sells. If the book does not sell enough copies to
cover the advance, will the publisher ask the author to return
some of the money?
A: No. That is one of the risks the publisher takes when offering
a contract and an advance. The advance is yours to keep no
matter how well the book does.
When should I seek another agent?
---------------------------------
Q: Presently, I am experiencing some on-going difficulties with
my present agent. What are the signs for you that a writer should
seek representation elsewhere? Also, would you recommend dropping
an agent that's not working for you at all before you've landed
another one?
A: To make an agent/author relationship work, you need trust and
openness--as well as patience, determination and tolerance of one
another's habits. There should be good communication, sharing
of responsibilities and mutual respect and trust. There's no
room for intimidation in a good partnership so if you feel
intimidated by your agent, it's probably time to look for
another.
Sometimes communication between an agent and a client breaks
down. If you find that your agent is unwilling to return your
phone calls or s/he doesn't seem to be doing his/her best for
you, try to talk to him/her about it and explain why you feel
neglected or whatever it is you're feeling. I think you owe it
to your agent to try to work through any problems you are
experiencing...it may not be resolved to your satisfaction but
you might help your agent become a better agent and you may learn
something in the process, too.
If that doesn't work and you're still unhappy with the
arrangement, it may be time to terminate the partnership. The
procedure for this should be outlined in your agency agreement,
and in most cases all you have to do is write a letter saying
his/her services are no longer necessary. It's best to maintain
your professionalism because if the agent sold any of your books,
you'll probably need to communicate with him/her about them in
the future. You should ask the agent what will happen to your
books. In some cases, the agent will continue to handle any
subsidiary rights sales on books s/he originally sold. Be sure
to clarify this.
By all means, make this change a positive one in your career.
Take this opportunity to review your goals and modify them if
appropriate. Publishing is in a state of constant flux and it's
good to adjust your goals and needs accordingly.
In answer to your second question, if an agent is not working for
you at all, I see no reason to retain that agent while you look
for another. What possible good can s/he be doing you?
**----------------------------------------------**
Ginger is a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. (please note that
she is currently not looking for new clients). Because of the
volume of mail she receives, Ginger is unable to reply to
messages privately, but will answer selected questions in future
issues of Inklings. If you wish to make a business-related query,
please use regular channels (surface mail). See the AAR FAQ for
tips on how to query an agent:
http://www.bookwire.com/AAR/FAQs.html
Copyright (c) 1999 Ginger Knowlton.
*****************************************************************
SUBSCRIBER FEEDBACK
-------------------
re: "The Virtual Office" in Issue 5.19:
--------------------------------------
A clarification re: domains: Users can register a domain directly
with Internic (http://www.networksolutions.com/) instead of
through a third party. Also, using a forwarding service does not
mean that you own a domain name.
An Alert Subscriber has also pointed out that one of the free web
hosting services mentioned in the article above might have a
questionable clause in its terms of service regarding rights to
customer content (we are investigating this). When considering a
free hosting service, ALWAYS check the terms of service carefully
to see what rights the service claims to customer content. Amy
Gahran has an excellent article about "grabby" web hosts:
http://www.contentious.com/articles/V2/2-4/editorial2-4a.html
FROM TOM WILLIAMS, author of _Poet Power! The Practical Poet's
Complete Guide to Getting Published_ (re: Issue 5.18, Sept.15):
---------------------------------------------------------------
"David Breeden does poets a disservice with his sweeping warning
never to pay to get published. While there are many con artists
out there waiting to transfer your money into their bank accounts
(see the poetry scams page on at www.lit-arts.com) not all
publishers who request a financial contribution from the poet
fall into this category. How do you know the difference? Simple:
Judge the tree by its fruit. If the other books brought out by a
particular press are of high quality then it seems reasonable
that your poems may be well-placed there, regardless of some
necessary contribution to costs. After all, even university
presses frequently require subsidies, though these most often
come from sponsoring institutions."
*****************************************************************
INTERVIEW WITH M.J. ROSE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
by Debbie Ridpath Ohi <editor@inkspot.com>
M.J. Rose's erotic suspense novel, _Lip Service_, recently gained
a flurry of media attention when it became the first
self-published novel to be chosen by the Doubleday Book Club and
the Literary Guild as a Featured Alternate Selection. M.J. has
appeared on The Today Show, in _Working Woman_ magazine, _New
York Times_, _Publisher's Weekly_, _LA Times_, _The Washington
Post_, and will be featured in _Business 2.0_ and _Poets and
Writers_ magazines. More info about the book at:
http://www.readlipservice.com
M.J. will be doing a regular column for Inkspot called THROUGH
ROSE-COLORED GLASSES...keep an eye on the main Inkspot page for
news!
***
M.J. Rose had always wanted to be a writer. She started out by
writing short stories when she was six, was editor of her high
school literary magazine, became a copywriter after college at an
advertising agency. After several successful screenplay sales
("I've had four optioned and one stolen"), she began writing
novels. One of her manuscripts got M.J. a reputable agent, and
they began to market _Lip Service_.
Deciding to self-publish
------------------------
When M.J.'s agent sent _Lip Service_ out to several major
publishing houses three years ago, all the editors seemed to love
the book. The marketing departments were nervous, however,
because the manuscript crossed too many genres and didn't fit
into a particular category.
"So I sat with the book for a while. During that time, I got
increasingly involved on the Internet. I started wondering if I
could test market the novel as a download, and see what kind of
response it generated. I hoped if I got some good feedback it
would help my agent sell my next novel." From her advertising
background, M.J. knew how to market and test products; she used
this experience to help her work out a marketing plan for her
book.
M.J. investigated free marketing and advertising opportunities on
the web as well as "female-friendly sites that were desperate for
good material". She also sent out about one hundred copies of her
book to sites interested in doing an online review. "That's how
the incredible word-of-mouth on _Lip Service_ began. Then I started
selling the book on Amazon.com, through their Advantage program.
By January 1999 it became the highest-ranking small-press novel
on its list. That's where Doubleday Direct discovered it. And,
the rest, as they say, is now publishing history."
Costs involved
--------------
M.J. spent approximately $4000 hiring someone to design her
website and also a book cover designer. "Then I had costs of
about $3000 for things like ISBN, copyright, domain name
registrations, stationery, credit card set up, and web site
hosting. In addition I spent $6000 printing the trade paperback
books. If I were to do it today, I'd do it differently. I
wouldn't print the books, I'd do them Print On Demand. I wouldn't
get my own credit card set up, I'd just sell the book throughout
Amazon.com's advantage program. I would seriously think about
working with a small press or epublisher who also believes in POD
(Booklocker.com is a great example of who I might go with if I
were to do it today.)"
Promotion
---------
When she was promoting the self-published version of _Lip
Service_, M.J. worked as much as six hours a day, six days a
week, for four months straight. She wrote twenty letters every
day to websites asking them to review her novel. "That was my
quota. I also wrote about a dozen columns and circulated them
among sites that were interested in taking them. I got no money
for 98% of these articles, but I did get live links to my site."
"Now, I spend about three hours online every morning reading
lists, and visiting sites. And I don't think I'll be writing
many more articles for free. Mostly because I've got one novel to
finish and another to start...and that's where my heart is."
Views on e-publishing
---------------------
M.J. advises writers to find a good e-publisher "but don't just
do an e-book." She says the print review sites still don't review
many self-published or e-books. "Print still matters," says M.J.
"Do a Print On Demand version of the book, too. Make a hundred
copies and send them out to traditional reviewers. Most people
who read fiction still want ink and paper books. For every
electronic version of Lip Service that I sold, I sold ten print
copies. In five years this may not be true. But e-readers are
still too expensive and most readers still want to hold a book."
Asked for her opinion about electronic publishing versus
traditional print publishing, M.J. says she doesn't see one as
being opposed to the other, at least not yet. "Just like there
are CD's and there are tapes. Just like there are radios, boom
boxes and there are stereos. Electronic and ink and paper are the
mediums, not the messages. E-publishing is immediate and cheaper;
e-books are easy to carry. I love the innovation of the e-world and
am excited by it, but I think it is a mistake to only do an
e-book - especially in fiction. If you want to sell the book at
the big online stores and get a shot at some major reviews, and
reach a really big audience you need a print book too. And that's
what POD offers."
"In nonfiction, I think electronic books are an easier sell. And
I can see how text books and handbooks and manuals will do
incredibly well as e-books. So much has changed in the last ten
years, in the last five years, and just in the last year, I don't
think anyone really knows where the whole e-book vs. print and
paper book issue will wind up. But I, for one, will be watching
really closely."
Electronic publishing and the future of the publishing industry
---------------------------------------------------------------
M.J. believes that the Internet can help mid-list authors
get published, that publishers will eventually "test market"
these novels online before doing big press runs.
"We are at the beginnings of an e-Volution in the book industry,"
says M.J. "Because of e-books, desktop publishing, Printing on
Demand and sites like Amazon.com, authors are becoming publishers
and readers are becoming reviewers. That's challenging every
tradition in publishing as we now know it."
One of the problems, M.J. says, will be how readers sift through
all the e-books. What kind of filtering process will develop?
"It's so exciting to be in on the beginning of this brave new
world. I think when we look back at the end of the 20th Century,
the Internet will prove to have been as important to the world of
words and books as Gutenburg."
Copyright (c)1999 Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
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