Betty's Tip 6/12

Dear Fellow Writers,

My goodness, writers, what is happening to our traditional-publishing world? It's almost too much to comprehend!

For example, have you heard about the Department of Justice suit against Apple and five of the so-called Big Six publishers? That one had me really confused until I found a site that explains it all. But it all keeps changing. The latest update appears here. It seems that the DOJ is not the only one who finds fault with the "agency model." Joe Konrath thinks it--well, I'll let you read his column.

And then there are e-books. E-books make a lot of money, but where is all that money going? If Amazon changes its pricing, will that make other publishers nervous? The Passive Voice tells us about a Bizarre Misunderstanding of the E-Book business, and says ciao to publishers.

And why do e-books cost so much anyway? It's not like they need paper and ink. Well, the article, why e-books cost so much, should help clear up some of the confusion. In fact, some people think they cost too little. One writer says e-books should cost $15 and another suggests a short-term cut in e-book prices might just mean higher prices later.

Then I heard that Barnes and Noble is the big loser here. They're breaking Nook apart from their bricks-and-mortar stores--and as we all know, breaking up is hard to do. The infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars from Microsoft to the new Nook subsidiary ought to ease the pain some. But what will this mean for physical stores that sell books made of paper? I wish I knew!

It's enough to make a writer very nervous. But then I read this amazing interview with Barry Eisler, and it really got me thinking. Small presses and self-publishing and e-books might be the way for some of us to go. There are, after all, many problems with publishers. And some are saying agents are unnecessary. I had to pause when I read Nathan Bransford's thoughts on Traditional vs. Self-Publishing. Even Jackie Collins has decided to self-publish! And Lawrence Block has his own ideas on the subject. And here's an interview with two mystery writers who self-published and what they learned.

Writers Digest tells us how to sell your manuscript without an agent. But before I could really explore it all, I needed to understand some publishing terms. Luckily, I found Jane Feidman's post with a lexicon to help me understand everything I was reading. And Rachel Gardner helped me understand the various stages of the Editing Process.

David Gaughran answers the question of whether self-publishing was the right decision. But it's still evolving, so there are always new questions. Wise Ink tells us about things indie publishers should know about Smashwords. Perhaps this interview with the founder of Smashwords can shed some light on it for the rest of us. And Jane Friedman tells us about the best e-publishing resources.

Pricing of e-books is tricky these days. The cheaper they are the more readers you get, right? But suspense writer Russell Blake warns us about the dark side of free books. And, we learn, only half the self-published authors make more than $500.

Maybe author collectives are an answer to the self-published writer's quandaries. Or maybe it just makes more sense to live in one of the most literate cities, and get all your friends and neighbors to buy your book. It appears more Americans are reading books these days and that can't be bad.

The more I learn, the more questions I have. No wonder Lee Lofland says there are 9 signs self publishing is out of control Perhaps I'm am better off just getting back to my manuscript, and not trying to figure all this out until it's done. In the meantime, best of luck to all who are publishing--whether traditionally or not!

Betty Wryte-Goode

Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page, with the subject line, "Attn: Betty."