2000 - 05/2000 Meeting

Page Created: 09/25/10. Last Update: 10/25/10. Last Google Group Page Update: 01/09/08.

JOHN BETANCOURT

John Gregory Betancourt has been an author, editor, and publisher.

Novels:

Amber: The Dawn of Amber

Amber: Chaos and Amber

Amber: To Rule in Amber

Amber: Shadows of Amber

Birthright: The Hag's Contract

The Blind Archer

Cutthroat Island

Dr Bones: The Dragons of Komako

The Dragon Sorcerer

The Gates of Hades

Johnny Zed

Rememory

Rouge Pirate

Starskimmer

Star Trek Deep Space 9: The Heart of the Warrior

Star Trek Next Generation: Infection

Star Trek Voyager: Incident at Arbuk

The Vengeance of Hera

The Wrath of Poseidon

Collaborations:

Born of Elven Blood (with Kevin J Anderson)

Pacifica (with Linda Bushyager)

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Devil in the Sky (with Greg Cox)

Not Listed:

Anthologies Edited

Non Fiction Titles

Pseudonymous Works

Short Story Collections

MEETING SUMMARY:

Meeting Date: May 13, 2000.

Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Official Attendance: 36.

Meeting Program: Talk by Writer / Publisher.

Notes:

Meeting Memories:

Mr Betancourt helped make it a very successful book sale as he purchased scores of titles for future Wildside releases.

Newsletter Account:

... Our guest speaker was John Gregory Betancourt. Mr Betancourt is the author of over twenty science fiction, fantasy, and media tie-in novels, as well as over fifty short stories, with most of his short fiction being concentrated in the horror genre. He is also the editor and publisher of Wildside Press, and the great majority of his talk was about the changes in book publishing that have occurred over the last several years.

The consolidation of the publishing industry has forced the traditional publishing houses to concentrate more and more on the discovery and promotion of blockbuster books. Mid list authors like himself, ones who have achieved a certain degree of notoriety in the field without becoming best sellers, have been abandoned to die a slow death of diminishing sales.

Wildside Press is one of a number of similar ventures which are moving to exploit the mid list niche. The company has over a hundred titles in its catalog, and expects the number to grow to 500 in a year's time.

The books are available as hardcovers or trade paperbacks. They are printed on demand by Lightning Press, a division of Ingram, the largest book distributor. Mr Betancourt had a selection of about 35 titles with him. They are indistinguishable from traditionally published books.

The ultra small print run means that each title in his catalog generates only a small amount of revenue. The trick is to produce a large number of slow, steady sellers whose collective sales will make it possible for him to run Wildside Press as a full time business. At the present time, he is the sole employee of the venture.

Mr Betancourt also talked about two other non traditional publishing formats being explored. One is the e-book, in which the reader pays to download a work on his home computer.

The other is the on line installment book/story. In this format, an author or publisher put the first installment of a work on line for free. The next installment is not posted until enough people have sent in enough money to make it profitable. At the end of the process, the book is printed. Those who have helped sponsor the publication receive an appropriate discount from the cost of the finished product.

This was one of the most interesting and important presentations about the future of publishing we have ever hosted and everyone in attendance heard a lot of fascinating, cutting edge ideas. Our thanks to Mr Betancourt, and to everyone who worked to make the meeting a success.