Strange topic here today, folks, but stay with me a minute. I’ve been editing the last 50 pages of my 11th novel in manuscript format this afternoon, and I’ve come to realize that an essential skill expert writers must have is an ability to recognize tiny shifts of poor judgment in prose style.

The truth is there are so many skills a writer must have to write “expert” level professional-grade prose that it’s almost beyond the scope of discussion, but one thing we’ve all heard published authors say is that you have to read a lot.

They’re right. You do have to read a lot if you want to be a great writer.

But the point I’d like to make today is that not only do you have to read a lot. Not only do you have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of yours and other genres. But you need to read a lot of so-called “bad” writing, too.

And not just a narrow tunnel vision of bad writing… which is what happens to a lot of writing professors I’m afraid. But a wide age range, gender range, ethnicity, social class, and geopolitical range of bad writing.

I suspect a lot of literary agents who truly want to become writers (or editors who end up becoming writers) learn this as well as anybody.

Just as Simon on American Idol knows within ten seconds whether a singer has the right stuff, you as a reader have to have a similar depth of knowledge and ready-quick skill to be able to recognize objectively what works and doesn’t work.

If all you read is published writing, published novels, or books within your genre, you’re missing out on an education that could be realized if you read a lot of self-published work. The range of self-published writing is as diverse as society itself and it’s probably the best pool of work you could invest yourself in, aside from the genre and style of pro writers in your niche itself.

Some self-published writing is extraordinarily good. Some of it is just a few shades off of what it takes to earn a major book contract. Much of it is sub-par but coherent and readable. You will learn more about good writing from reading bad writing than you ever will by reading good writing alone.

It reminds me of something Martin Scorsese says in his “Personal Journey through American Movies.” I’m paraphrasing here, but his thesis is that he (Scorsese) learned far more from watching “B”-grade pictures than from the films that won awards. The depth of knowledge, the range of color, and diversity of voices in the world is so much more vivid among the struggling artists, the intermediate and novice among us.

The key is to master it all, and take what would ordinarily be ugly, ridiculed and laughed at and turn it into something completely realized and original.

This may take you a lifetime to do well.

Stacey

Dear folks,

Today I am pleased to announce the successful launch of Stacey Cochran Books, an eBook publisher, with the publication of our first book Nancy Stolfo-Corti’s The Other Side of Tuscany. In its first two weeks of publication, Nancy’s memoir has sold over 100 copies via the Amazon Kindle store. Our goal is to reach at least 500 units sold in 2010.

You can help support Stacey Cochran Books by purchasing your electronic copy of The Other Side of Tuscany for only 99 cents here:

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Tuscany-ebook/dp/B003AQBC1W

If you have not yet ventured into the world of reading eBooks, now may be a great time to explore the idea and give it a try. Nancy’s book is available on PCs (i.e., your home computer), iPhone, Blackberry mobile devices, and of course on the Amazon Kindle eReader device. To read an eBook on your home computer, you first need to download and install the free “Kindle for PC” application.

Of Particular Note to Writers

I am actively seeking other books for publication with Stacey Cochran Books. At this time, we are only publishing in eBook format, and I will only consider authors who have previously published or self-published a POD version of their books.

I want authors who already have a book in print format and have generated some reviews and want a publishing partner for the eBook version of their titles.

If you have a POD version of your book that has generated some positive reviews, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love to take a look at what you’ve managed to accomplish so far.

Finally, I am working to set up a Blog Tour to promote Nancy’s memoir and to announce the launch of Stacey Cochran Books. If you would like to host me on your blog during the month of May, I would greatly appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks so much, everyone!

Stacey

Hey, folks, thanks so much for visiting HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK. I am thrilled to bring you an interview for the New Year with literary agent Stacia Decker. A former editor at Harcourt and Otto Penzler Books, Stacia began her career at Farrar, Straus & Giroux after earning an MFA in nonfiction writing at Columbia University. She represents mystery, suspense, noir, and crime fiction and is looking for a strong voice, dark humor, fast-paced plotting, and unpredictable violence. Stacia joined the Donald Maass Literary Agency in 2009.

Welcome, Stacia. Thanks so much for speaking with us at the HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK. And thank you, everyone else, for joining us today! Enjoy the interview.

Stacey

STACIA DECKER

Photo by Kirk Decker

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How did you first get started in publishing? When did you know you wanted to be a literary agent?

STACIA DECKER: I started as an unpaid intern at Farrar, Straus & Giroux while I was working on my MFA thesis. When, as an editor, I was laid off in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt merger, I started considering agenting as an opportunity to work with the authors I really believed in.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: When you look back at your time at Harcourt and Otto Penzler Books, what did you learn about the business?

STACIA DECKER: I learned a lot about the bookmaking and selling process from direct interaction with the sales, marketing, publicity, and production teams, and I learned a lot about book packaging from working with paperback and reprint titles. Of course I also learned about the acquisition process, which is helpful knowledge to have as an agent.

Seeing a relatively small editorial team in action, I came to some of my own conclusions about the importance of a clear editorial mandate and the thoughtful presentation of a cohesive list. As an agent, I think of my client list in some of the same ways I would an imprint—while there’s breadth, my list is governed by my tastes and, as such, has a distinct character.

Working with Otto Penzler on his imprint, I also learned how welcoming and supportive the mystery community is. That’s one of the reasons I now concentrate on mystery and crime fiction and have tried to build a client list in which my authors feel as supported by their fellow clients as by me and the Maass agency.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: You represent some outstanding crime fiction writers like Allan Guthrie, Seth Harwood, Declan Burke, Jeff Shelby, and Scott Wolven. What is it about the harder aspects of life that appeals to you?

STACIA DECKER: Some of this is basic escapism. Crime fiction takes readers behind the scenes into illicit trades or worlds that most of us don’t experience in daily life and allows us to play out our fantasies and fears. The world, as it’s represented to us in the news and elsewhere, is a threatening, chaotic place, and our lives can be filled with mundane anxiety. Crime fiction provides a more visceral, exciting—and yet remote—scenario to worry about and convinces us we could, at the least, survive. It lets us live vicariously through a worldview that is often tougher, savvier, or more comfortable with handguns.

Mystery fiction has traditionally been a moral genre, one that reassures us by reinforcing social norms and restoring order in the end. That said, I’m more interested in stories that blur distinctions between right and wrong, good and bad, and make the reader complicit in some bad actions and questionable decision making. These characters force us into a more nuanced contemplation of morality. They exercise our empathy and call into question our own moral judgment. And they are—to me, I suppose—a more realistic form of wish-fulfillment, one in which we get to break the rules while still struggling against fundamental constraints.

I’m not particularly interested in characters that are extraordinarily smart, attractive, accomplished, fit, and talented in the kitchen, or in scenarios in which our hero has access to all the latest secret agent hardware or the ability to fly off into a new life at a moment’s notice. I’m more interested in a flawed, recognizably human protagonist dealing with the limits of his place within society, within his family, and so on. The working-class tragedy gives us a window onto how an awful lot of us live, and allows us to ask how we would—given the constraints of our real lives—react ourselves.  I’m also interested in the vulnerability and complications of the male identity, and that’s a subject that plays out in so many ways in crime fiction.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Describe how the job at Donald Maass Literary Agency came about.

STACIA DECKER: My first position as an agent was with Firebrand Literary. When Firebrand closed shop a few months after I joined the agency, I had to go out on my own or find a new home. I had quite a few clients I wanted to protect, and I was only interested in joining an agency with a great reputation, established foreign subagents, and a real love of genre. I’d worked with the Maass agency through Otto Penzler Books, and I called Don to ask his advice and we started talking. Needless to say, my authors were thrilled when I announced we had a new home with Don.  I cannot say enough about Don’s editorial insight, ethical judgment, and professionalism and how much I enjoy working at DMLA.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: You’ve done some damn fine writing yourself. How do you compare advocating for someone else’s work in contrast to your own?

STACIA DECKER: Just as it’s easier to edit someone else’s work, advocating for someone else’s work is much easier. I can unabashedly believe that my client is a genius and tell anyone who’ll listen. A good writer doesn’t believe he’s a genius and, if he does, he shouldn’t say so.

Authors also aren’t necessarily in the position to understand how best to present or pitch or package their book. Maybe they’re not objective about how their prose will be cast (literary vs. faux literary, for example), or which comparison titles will sell the book to bookstore category buyers, or why it’s better to appeal to a distinct genre audience than to cross categories. They’re most likely not aware of what specific information or presentation or argument a certain editor or imprint or bookstore needs to put a book on their list and sell to their markets. For this type of advocacy, authors need agents.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How would you characterize the purchasing atmosphere for crime fiction at the start of 2010?

STACIA DECKER: There are good crime editors and good mystery imprints out there, but acquisitions are hard. We’re in a blockbuster era in which editors have a harder time finding money and slots to grow authors, which is how many of today’s bestsellers got their starts.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What kinds of things lead to a breakout bestselling author? What separates the midlist author from the NYT bestselling author? And is there any pattern or behavioral traits that you’ve noticed that drive an author from being okay selling to being great selling?

STACIA DECKER: If only we knew. There are many more books bought with the hopes—or expectations—that they become bestsellers than actual bestsellers.

One theory is that books sell when they reach a certain cultural saturation point—through name recognition or media coverage, for instance—at which consumers feel they have to buy them. That’s hard to arrange. And while some current bestsellers slowly built series success and name recognition to the point that they’re now a must-buy, that’s become less of an option for authors as houses become more reluctant to keep publishing a series through those building years.

Another theory—at least for why books don’t break through—is that they don’t provide a certain comfort zone for readers. For instance, an author who gives her discouraged, overworked protagonist a (perhaps realistically) disrupted, dysfunctional home life might see her work deemed too dark. Readers have not been reassured by her worldview that there is ultimately order and satisfaction in life for good people.

In retrospect, we can look at a breakout series and see a great—culturally relevant—premise and a reader-friendly approach or prose that seems to cinch it. But that a premise will be culturally relevant at a certain point? That’s much easier to see in retrospect than in advance.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How important is perseverance in our business?

STACIA DECKER: Some part of you has to just not know how to do anything else—at least that’s the reason everyone I know gives for sticking with this business even as they bemoan their fate. The publishing industry doesn’t make it easy for anyone, and there’s not necessarily a conventional payoff to sticking with it. You have to just not be able to help yourself.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: If you had to make an educated guess about what will be hot in 2010, what do you suspect might be big that we haven’t already seen?

STACIA DECKER: Ferrets? Really, who knows. I’m not much of a trend-chaser; I just work with what I love. In the crime fiction world, I’m seeing a resurgence of country noir, with meth labs and dog fighting being popular themes—I’d be happy if that hit big.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What do you love most about being a literary agent?

STACIA DECKER: The ability to work, both on an editorial level and in a career-building capacity, with the authors I believe in.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What drives you up the wall?

STACIA DECKER: Run of the mill unprofessionalism pushes my buttons. But in general I think people are trying their best.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How do you sign on new authors? Does the entire agency have to support it?

STACIA DECKER: I conduct the due diligence I feel necessary—a phone conversation, maybe some revision—and Don takes the advise and consent role.

It’s a collaborative environment, and in discussing projects with colleagues I often get valuable feedback and great suggestions about pitching and positioning clients’ work, but we operate with a baseline respect for one another’s tastes.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: When selling a debut author’s book, how do you weigh building a career for him/her with the desire to get a very large advance?

STACIA DECKER: I’m in it for the author’s career and, while I wouldn’t advise an author to reject a large advance without other options, I might advise an author to take a lower advance from a house I thought would better publish the author. Some books are better suited to a particular format or would be a better fit on a certain list; likewise, houses are known for different strengths and varying levels of stability. And, as we’ve seen, an author is often better off earning out a smaller advance and being thought of as a good investment than failing to earn out a large advance and being termed a disappointment. I’m going to consider seriously any house that offers a small advance but offsets it with genuine, on-going enthusiasm and a savvy publishing model.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How important is the follow-up book, and how do you work with your authors in building their careers? What kinds of things can an agent do to ensure that it grows?

STACIA DECKER: An agent is first helping a client think about what his career goals are. Then the agent considers what the right first book is given these goals. For instance, an unpublished client can only be a debut author—with a clean sales track and his headshot in the publishing house’s debut author pamphlet—once. So an author who doesn’t want to sneak onto the publishing scene may agree to put aside a completed short story collection, which will find less enthusiasm in the marketplace, in favor of offering a novel as his debut property.

In order to set up the follow-up book’s success, the agent is first trying to find the right house for the author in placing the first book. Ideally, that means a publisher that believes in the author’s career, publishes the first book well, and maybe even commits to the second book from the start.

But publishers are increasingly less likely to make those kinds of commitments. Often this means, when it comes time for the follow-up book, the agent is both pushing for that commitment from the house and advising the author on his options given the realities of his situation and his goals. Those options are not always ideal.

The follow-up book needs to sell better than the first one. And that’s hard if the first one didn’t meet expectations. Increasingly, publishers and booksellers have already made up their minds at that point, and smaller marketing budgets or orders for the follow-up don’t typically help its sales.

Thus, an agent can’t always ensure that sales grow or that a client’s career grows in the manner he’d first envisioned. But the agent can help the author make his strongest case for the publisher’s, booksellers’, and readers’ continued support. An author wants each book to be better than the last, and this means not only taking lessons in craft from the writing of the first book but also looking at plotting and themes to find ways to expand the scope—to make the book bigger. A good agent pushes the author to think about these issues and look for these opportunities in his writing. It’s an unpredictable business, but the agent is the author’s partner in making each book as good as it could be and better than the last.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are you looking for in a piece of writing?

STACIA DECKER: I like a strong, distinct voice, tight prose, fast pacing, and dark humor. I’m looking for a big hook at the start and a plot that develops quickly with a minimum of exposition. I want to hear that narrative voice talking to me from line one, putting me in someone else’s head. Deft characterization that captures the nuances of social interaction and dialogue usually charms me. I’m partial to realistic but subtle specificity about occupations and other areas of expertise.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: How long does it take to know?

STACIA DECKER: Not long. As with anything, the best and the worst are easiest to tell. Sloppy, clichéd, or mundane prose is pretty clear from the start, just as is a sharp, funny voice or a surprising opening premise.

A work that leaves me on the fence at the start will make up my mind for me by twenty to thirty pages in. That might not sound fair, but I’m going to end up living and breathing any novel I take on, so I have to really love it. It doesn’t take long to know whether I feel passionately about a character or would want to reread a story over and over before it even goes on submission.

A work that starts strong but develops flaws will keep me reading with revision in mind. And a work that absolutely hooks me will have me praying it holds up but thinking “that can be fixed!” when I come across a stumble.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Are there any specific elements of craft that beginning writers tend to neglect?

STACIA DECKER: I see way too much exposition. A writer has to figure out how to tell a story without telling me the story. Even a first-person narrator should not be conducting a lecture. Descriptions, backstory, and other details should be revealed organically, if they’re even necessary. Good writing is all about what isn’t said, what the reader infers and fills in.

I also see too much unwitting pastiche. Of course genres have conventions, and now even twists on the conventions have become conventions. But overly familiar characters, clichéd language, and same old story plotting reveal a writer who’s not really thinking about his characters or who’s playing it safe in an attempt to appeal to everyone that appeals to no one. Too often I feel a writer is rewriting a story he’s already read.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Do you have any pet peeves that you see beginning writers doing over and over?

STACIA DECKER: Well, see above. And even though these have become pet peeve clichés, I still see a lot of characters waking up, characters sweating, characters waking up sweating, and characters with model good looks.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

STACIA DECKER: I’m way too pessimistic to believe that any change I made wouldn’t have catastrophic unforeseen consequences.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: If an aspiring writer wanted to win you over with free Yankees tickets or paid-for vacations to Maui (airfare and hotel accommodations included), would that help his/her chances of gaining representation?

STACIA DECKER: This sort of bribe offer would be an insult to my professionalism and would result in instant rejection. Even if the offer were somehow well-intentioned, it would signal to me a lack of awareness of industry norms and unrealistic (or maybe venally realistic?) expectations of buying success—neither of which I would want in a client. The writing really has to stand on its own.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: At the end of the day, what is the most satisfying aspect of working in publishing?

STACIA DECKER: The authors, both working with them and having the chance to contribute to their work in some way.

Hey folks,

Thanks so much for visiting the site. I’ve got a lot to talk about this week, but I’d like to start with a question.

Do you feel like your book is good enough to publish and that no one in the publishing business recognizes your talent, skill, or ability to connect with readers?

I imagine a good many of you have been treated unfairly, neglected, or just simply overlooked. Yet you have a book that matters, that could change people’s lives, and could get them to appreciate the world in new way… only no one with the power to get your book into those readers’ hands will give you the chance.

And that’s all you’re asking for really. A chance. A chance to see if your book would sell… to see if it would find a receptive audience. Because you know in your heart that it would sell, that people would love it. They’d see your humor, your wit, your ability to tell a story. Your compassion perhaps.

This past week I had the opportunity to interview publisher Kevin Watson, founder of Press 53. One of the major points to come out of the discussion was the realization that the landscape of publishing has changed in a significant and irreversible way.

For the first time since figures have been kept, print-on-demand titles outpaced traditionally-published titles in 2008 according to Bowker. Self-published print-on-demand titles make up a large portion of this expanding sector… self-publishing is a large and vibrant part of the publishing industry today. (Kessler, November 20, 2009)

I believe that self-publishing is part of a larger cultural landscape that has fundamentally shifted in our values regarding entertainment. Namely that shift is from an elitist to populist dissemination of entertainment.

The traditional publishing business model works fundamentally on the principle that a small group of (largely Ivy League-educated) editors select for the rest of us what we should be reading. What I have realized after more than three decades in publishing is that these editors are significantly out of touch with the lives of most Americans.

They didn’t grow up in trailer parks like you and me. They don’t know what it is to make less than 15,000 dollars and wonder how they’re going to feed their families.

Don’t get me wrong. People in major New York publishing are obsessively hard-working. They’re passionate about what they do.

They just simply run with a different crowd than the rest of us.

And their perceptions of what we want to read are grossly out of touch with working class Americans.

This is why traditional publishing must change or risk financial collapse.

This past week Harlequin Books announced a new self-publishing venture called Harlequin Horizons. It was the first time I’ve ever seen a traditional publisher try to merge a self-publishing business model into its practice.

I have said for years that this is a desperately needed change in how traditional publishing works because it allows the rest of us to get our books into print and then we have to sell them. And for the handful of writers who would sell well, you’d have an opportunity to rise to the next level.

Let me state very clearly: the most significant challenge facing publishers today is how to find new writers whose books will sell well.

The traditional model relies on literary agents and a small cadre of editors to guess what the rest of us want to read.

The self-publishing model relies on actual #s of books sold. Books that the rest of us have bought.

Self-publishing is the ultimate American Idol Contest… it is democracy in action. Nothing speaks louder than an individual author who puts her book out there and then sells 5,000 or 10,000 copies completely on her own.

Traditional publishers need to adopt a “farm system” based on the Lulu.com no-fee option of self-publishing. With e-books on the rise in a phenomenal way, any major publisher could create a self-publishing imprint that affords aspiring writers the opportunity to compete to see who sells the best. All in a low-risk option to the publisher.

This is a fundamental and desperately needed change in how new writers are discovered.

So what happened when Harlequin Books adopted this change in its business model this past week?

Professional writers organizations RWA, MWA, and SFWA threatened to remove Harlequin from its list of eligible publishers for their awards. This was the single worst response imaginable, and a sign of how desperately out of touch these writers organizations are with the cultural shift that has already happened in America.

Consumers of entertainment want to select their own entertainment. Whether it’s YouTube, American Idol, Amazon Kindle, or free music downloads from independent bands on independent labels. There is a populist shift that has occurred as a direct response to traditional models for selecting our entertainment, and RWA, MWA, and SFWA are essentially trying to force Harlequin to back down from changing its business model to capitalize on this shift.

The tragedy is Harlequin is losing money on these writers’ books and cannot afford to back down. Nonetheless, Harlequin acquiesced to some degree by agreeing to remove the “Harlequin” name from their new self-publishing imprint.

It is important to understand that if publishers do not change their business models, they will fail.

Harper Studio represents the best compromise I’ve seen, but it still is a traditional model in that a handful of folks decide what to publish.

What is needed is a major publisher like Harper, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Putnam, or Macmillan to adopt a very real and vocal self-publishing imprint that offers a no-fee option to writers… the Lulu-business model based on Long Tail Economics.

This past Friday night on my podcast Book Chatter, I invited one of the most vocal critics of the Harlequin Horizons label. We brought on the show four traditionally published authors and three self-published authors to debate these issues.

It’s kind of a moot point to even debate because it’s going to happen. Publishers are struggling because they rely on the traditional model: a model lets a handful of editors select what millions and millions of us will read. Traditional publishing does not give consumers adequate freedom to select what they want to read. In a Web 2.0 consumer culture, traditional publishing as it currently exists will collapse.

The future (and quite honestly the present because it’s already here in Amazon Kindle) will see this model change to allow anyone to publish his or her book. The traditional publisher that adopts the best imprint to facilitate this (as Harlequin was trying to do) will have access and loyalty of the greatest number of aspiring writers… and out of this mass, a few will rise and sell exceptionally well. Those are the authors the publisher could then take to the next level with broader distribution.

To conclude, I would ask anyone reading this who feels compelled to send RWA, MWA, or SFWA an email to let them know that you disagree with their stance on Harlequin Horizons. Because theirs is a stance that ultimately holds you down as an aspiring writer and reader and prevents you access to self-publishing your book at Harlequin and to new voices from which you have the freedom to choose what you want to read.

Sincerely,

Stacey Cochran

How to Publish a Book Readers,

I've been somewhat quiet lately. The reasons for this are multi-faceted, but aside from being extremely busy, I've also been watching my Kindle e-book sales and have been waiting to reserve judgment. Today, I am publishing my sales #s from the last 4 months.

Since June 2009, I have sold exactly 2,500 copies of my novel The Colorado Sequence.

Since June 2009, I have sold exactly 1,465 copies of my novel CLAWS.

That's a total of 3,965 books sold in a little over 4 months, which qualifies as the biggest breakthrough of my career.

Yesterday, Amazon Kindle released their e-reader to 100 countries around the world. Until now, Kindles have only been available in the U.S. No doubt, the new availability of Kindle in 100 nations worldwide will increase and sustain the sales trend I've seen with my own books these past few months.

This is not a flash-in-the-pan trend that is going to go away anytime soon. I think e-books are here to stay, and we will only see them continue to increase in sales #s over the next 3-5 years.

Yesterday, I launched a new novel on Amazon Kindle, AMBER PAGE (available for $1.99). In less than 24 hours, it has shot up inside the top 0.5% of all books sold on Kindle. 

Here are my thoughts on how/why I've managed to breakthrough with my books on Kindle.

1. Price Point is Key. Independent authors who price their books at more than 2 dollars do poorly on Kindle. The lower the price the better, and Amazon's DTP has a low ceiling of 99 cents (i.e., you can't price your book lower than 99 cents on DTP).
2. Book Cover Design. I have watched sales #s closely these past 4-5 months, and books with professional looking covers consistently do better than those with unflattering covers.
3. Reviews Lead to Sales. I've found that it doesn't entirely matter whether your reviews are all positive. I've had a lot of negative reviews, some mixed reviews, and a good number of positive reviews. When compared to other indie authors with mostly positive reviews, my sales #s are competitive, which leads me to believe that as long as the majority of your reviews aren't 1-star and negative, you'll do fine. A mix of reviews is actually good for piquing interest.
4. Kindle Bestseller Lists. Amazon has many different bestseller lists for a variety of genres. I've found that getting onto their bestseller lists (and staying there) increases visibility for potential readers to find your books, and it leads to 3rd-party discussion on websites outside of Amazon.
5. Kindle Discussion Boards. Amazon has forum discussion boards, and I've seen a direct correlation with a presence on these forums and positive sales #s. Amazon encourages authors to link to products (i.e., books) in the forums. This can lead to negative reviews, however, if you're overbearing and irritating. The key is to create a topic that benefits Kindle Readers. I also post regularly at kindleboards.com
6. Friday Talk Show. About two months ago, I started a weekly Call-In Show that features guest authors every week. I've had a lot of Kindle authors on the show, and this has led to good will and buzz about me and my books. Helping others is a good way to make friends, and I've also learned a hell of a lot by talking to authors and hearing their perspectives.
7. Discussion on Blogs. I've frequented a handful of Kindle authors' blogs and usually find something constructive to add to the conversation. Often, I'll use a signature in my posts that links to my books on Kindle. By making friends with other Kindle authors and contributing to their blogs (again without being annoying), I've sold a bunch of books.

Where all this is going is anybody's guess, but the realization that I've come to after 4-5 months is that these sales #s are sustainable and very likely repeatable. Without a doubt, the new digital explosion of e-books and e-readers is the single biggest change in how to publish a book that I have seen in more than thirty years.

At the SIBA trade show a few weeks ago, e-books were the elephant in the room that booksellers were talking about with mixed feelings of fear, skepticism, and outright anger. Book publisher Harper-Collins has developed a way that indie bookstores can sell books as e-books in their stores. Essentially, a patron buys a "postcard" from an in-store rack with the book cover and description and can use a code to download the novel onto their computer or e-reading device. The advantage is that the cost in-store can be less to consumers than buying solely from Amazon, and the business model that book publisher Harper-Collins is establishing revolutionizes how books have been bought, distributed, and sold.

These "postcards" are purchased by the stores at a flat fee (e.g., a dollar) and are non-returnable. The store can then set their price at whatever they like. If they want to undersell Barnes and Noble or Amazon, they can do so. The weight of a postcard is significantly less than a hardcover and so the mass shipping costs of books is cut dramatically. Also, by selling these cards as non-returnable Harper-Collins reduces additional shipping and pulping expenses associated with traditional books.

It's a brave new world, and I'm afraid it's here to stay. I've seen a lot of folks on blogs who have voiced skepticism and caution, but from my perspective the tidal change is here.

I'm going to embrace it and (hopefully) continue to thrive.

As always, thanks so much for visiting us here at How to Publish a Book. Feel free to send me any questions or comments that you have.

Stacey

How to Publish a Book Readers,

This week I'm happy to bring to you an interview I did a couple weeks ago with Kathy Pories, Senior Editor at Algonquin Books. Kathy discusses her mentor Shannon Ravenel and the history of Algonquin Books, as well as her insights into what makes a great editor. Kathy also discusses her series editorship of New Stories From the South, an annual anthology of the best Southern short stories published in the U.S. each year.

As always, thanks for visiting us here at How to Publish a Book, and enjoy our interview!

Stacey

How to Publish a Book Readers,

Today we have an interview for How to Publish a Book with author Dave Dykema. Dave has written and published two psychological thrillers Stalker and Wrong Number that probe the consequences of acting on unhealthy desires. After shopping Stalker around a number of years ago to literary agents in the hopes of traditionally publishing the book, he recently decided to self publish the novel as an e-book on the Amazon Kindle. Sales took off, and he found a readership that had previously been denied to him by major publishers saying, "No thanks."

At How to Publish a Book, I know a lot of us have questions about what to do with our books once their completed... how to publish them essentially. Dave's story is inspirational in that he illustrates that just because the big publishers may say "no" doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of readers who would love to buy and read your book.

Please join me in welcoming Dave Dykema to How to Publish a Book.

- Stacey Cochran

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Please don’t take this wrong way. But your novels Stalker and Wrong Number definitely give off a seriously creepy vibe… so to start with, are you crazy?

DAVE DYKEMA: No more than the Joker.

Seriously, I'm glad you get that kind of vibe from them. That is the point: creepy things happening to innocent people.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Okay (whatever your answer), we don’t believe you. So please tell us a little bit more about your novels. They look like kick-ass psychological thrillers. What are the stories about?

DAVE DYKEMA: Stalker came about in an interesting way. I was leaving a theatre showing a horror movie and saw a parent coming out with two small children. This happens in the novel too. Now I wasn't as outraged as my character Dan Freeman, but I did notice that my pace picked up and I closed the gap between us. Whether I meant to say anything I do not know. Knowing me, I'm sure not. But they never heard me—or at least acted like they didn't.

That got me wondering about how close I could get to someone. I was in college at the time and spent an afternoon following coeds around. It was surprisingly easy. Of course, back then everyone wore Walkmans, so that could have something to do with it. Therefore I took the next step and headed into downtown Lansing and one of the seedier areas. I wasn't as successful, suffering from an extreme case of the creeps myself. But it got my mind working and my fingers excited. I started typing that night.

(After re-reading that, I may have to reconsider my "Are you crazy?" comment!)

Dan Freeman is a horror movie junkie. After seeing the movie "Stalker," he gets very enthusiastic about it, emulating the title character and following innocent people around for fun and thrills. He wants to see how close he can get without getting caught. Close enough to eavesdrop on their cell phone conversations? Close enough to smell perfume? Close enough to touch?

Dan suspects his girlfriend of cheating on him. He decides to use his newfound skills to follow her around and see if he's right. One night, Dan finds out the awful truth.

Now the stalker becomes the stalked.

Wrong Number tells the story of Brad Mullen, who finds a phone number scrawled on a cocktail napkin outside a “meat market” bar. On a whim he dials the number, connecting him in ways he could never have imagined with a woman named Julie.

Things move fast, culminating in sex at a local park. Trying to slow down the breakneck pace, Brad eases off a bit, but Julie doesn’t like that at all. She burrows into all factions of Brad's life—invading his work and telling him to stay away from other women and even his best friend.

Julie's suffocating Brad. But that's nothing compared to when the handcuffs, knife, and tire iron come out. She wants to possess him in every way.

Wrong Number's tagline is this: It was the right person, but the wrong number to call.

Kick-ass psychological thrillers is a good description, but I like to consider them non-supernatural horror novels. Meaning these events could happen to anyone, if they made the same choices.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Would you say you are more influenced by film, television, books, or something else entirely? Who do you count as some of your influences?

DAVE DYKEMA: I used to work in television as a director, so visual mediums like TV and movies definitely play a big role in my influences. Before you get all excited, this was local TV news, not anything major. I still work at the station, shifting my work between directing a few newscasts and producing for our web page.

I'm also influenced by comics and graphic novels. I love the way words and pictures operate together. When I read, I always "direct" the scenes in my mind, usually enjoying my "movies" more than the filmed adaptations. I try to write the same way too, creating as vivid a world as I can.

Some authors who influence me are Stephen King, Michael Slade, early Clive Barker ("The Books of Blood") and lately Janet Evanovich for her quirky situations and characters.

College courses such as Criminal Justice and Abnormal Psych play their part too.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Wrong Number is about a guy who dials a phone number he finds in a singles bar, only to soon find himself entangled with a psycho. I’m curious, did something vaguely like this ever happen to you? Ever dial a stranger’s number on a whim and talk to them?

DAVE DYKEMA: It took me forever to finally get the nerve to call a phone sex line—for research, mind you—to write the scene that opens the book. And I never did get connected to anyone. I just listened to the "press 1, press 2" options and felt my face turn red from the motherly credit card worker I imagined blushing with disapproval after seeing the charge on my bill before she sent it out. Since the first few minutes were touted as free, I quickly hung up before the time ran out and I got to a real person.

I did find a number once. It wasn't addressed to someone else who shared my name like in the novel, but I was tempted to call it, just to see what the story was behind the crumpled piece of paper. Was it lost? Misplaced? Forgotten? Did the guy want to get the number and is now frustrated he doesn’t have it? Did he just smirk and toss it aside? Or was it as bland as he already called it and didn't need it written down anymore? These kinds of questions are what usually spark my novels.

As far as actually calling strangers on a whim, the most I can cop to is prank calls as a tween, i.e.: Hello, this is the power company. Is your refrigerator running? Yes? Then you'd better chase after it before it gets away! Or good ol' Prince Edward in a can. That sort of thing.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Both books have at their core some pretty fucked up relationships, and ultimately are about the dangers of unhealthy desires. Do you consider yourself a particularly moralistic writer? That is, is there a message you want readers thinking about when they come away from your books … or are they just horror-escapist entertainments?

DAVE DYKEMA: Deep messages in my books? Not really. Stalker deals with some religious themes, and I tried to balance and represent all points of view. I can see how a heavy hand of moral purity could be interpreted: don't give into your desires...you'll die!

Ever since we crawled out of the primordial soup people have been grappling with temptations, wants, dreams and wishes. I find it fascinating the extremes some people will go to to experience the briefest glimmer of wish-fulfillment. What went through Ed Gaines's head as he skinned his victims and the corpses he exhumed? Why do some risk everything to look at forbidden pornography? Are the momentary thrills worth it to them?

Aside from that, they're quick, fast-paced reads meant to entertain far more than they're meant to preach.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: Now a lot of our readers for these interviews are writers themselves. Tell us a little bit about your decision to publish Wrong Number and Stalker on Amazon Kindle? Did you try the traditional route first? Will you for future books?

DAVE DYKEMA: I submitted Stalker to agents about a decade ago. It never got picked up, but came close twice. After that, it basically sat on my hard drive, taking up disc space.

Earlier this year, a writer friend of mine, Patricia Sierra (who publishes as herself and with John Philpin as Sierra Philpin), suggested going the Kindle route. I knew of the Kindle, but hadn't seen one, nor did I know I could publish to it. She explained that she and her writing partner put a book up they hadn't yet sold and had some modest success. Her reasoning was: what's there to lose? I would still own all rights, and if a publisher or agent came sniffing around, I could take it back down.

Following through, I figured I'd sell 6 copies, tops. One to my friend, one to a friend of hers, and four more by chance. In the first day I sold 71 copies and hit #240 on the Kindle bestseller list! Things have cooled off to more realistic proportions since then, but that certainly got me excited about the Kindle. It's such a pleasure to know people are reading my work. That's what writing is all about, after all, sharing our stories.

I put Wrong Number up about two months later. I figured for sales it would look better if I had two titles to offer than one. Granted, I was still on my Stalker high. With hindsight, perhaps I should have waited a bit. Now, I feel slight pressure to get something else done—and I'm not the fastest writer.

I didn't shop Wrong Number around as much as Stalker, mainly because I was so eager to get it up on Kindle. I do plan on offering more Kindle books, and am undecided whether to try traditional publishing again.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are two of the most important lessons you’ve learned by publishing your novels on Kindle?

DAVE DYKEMA: Respect your readers and play nice.

This hasn't happened to me, but I've seen a couple authors flame out as they take on readers on discussion boards. Everyone's entitled to not like parts or your entire book, okay? Life would be pretty dull if we all agreed all the time.

When something does come along that you don't agree with, smile and bear with it. Gain readers' respect—don't go on a tirade. Some people have pointed out a misspelling or two to me. I thank them, make the change, and move on. I certainly don't try to have anything wrong with my books, but with self-publishing a little of that is hard to avoid, no matter how many people read it for you.

HOW TO PUBLISH A BOOK: What are your thoughts on the current status of major publishing? Do you have any ideas regarding how traditional publishers might improve their ability to find, nurture, and develop new writers and/or to become more profitable?

DAVE DYKEMA: I work in the TV medium. Our ratings are going down as people go elsewhere for entertainment and information. Newspapers and magazines are folding left and right. This is not a problem exclusive to major book houses.

Unfortunately, the canvas is spreading so quickly. New options for communication spring up everyday. Your phone used to just make calls. Now you can play games, surf the web, and even read Kindle books on them. Books haven't changed—too much.

I think eBooks (something I used to scoff at) will continue to grow. Will they be the saviors of publishing? Too soon to tell, but doubtful. Trouble is, other solutions being bandied about, like putting ads in the middle, are things that book lovers hate and will drive more away.

Everyone's always looking for the next bestseller. Books need to stay on the shelves longer to gain an audience. But the big box bookstores don't want to do that, needing to clear space for the next celebrity tell-all. So much of that stuff is flash-in-the-pan. And how many of those end up in the remainder pile?

Honestly, I don't have any solutions. I like to think that quality work will always find an audience, but a lot of it is who you know. It'll be interesting to watch what happens.

How to Publish a Book Readers,

We are especially proud to bring to you today an interview with crime fiction author and literary agent Allan Guthrie. Al has very recently published three books online as Kindle books: Two-Way Split, Kiss Her Goodbye, and Killing Mum. As a literary agent at Jenny Brown Associates, Al has negotiated major book deals for some of the best young crime fiction writers in the world. In the following interview, Al discusses his writing, agenting, and thoughts on recent book publishing trends. He also offers up his thoughts on the state of book publishing and where it's likely to go in the next 5-10 years.

Thanks so much, Al, for taking the time to chat with us at How to Publish a Book. And thanks to all of you for stopping by How to Publish a Book to read his interview. Enjoy!

--Stacey Cochran

Allan Guthrie

How to Publish a Book Readers,

For the past few weeks, I have been joining my buddy Dawson Vosburg on his weekly call-in show JJ Talk Radio on Blog Talk Radio, and I've finally figured out how to add the widget to this site, so that you can listen and call in with your questions. 

You can listen listen live July 3 via the widget above between 8:30-9:30PM Eastern Standard Time and can call in Live with your questions about publishing and writing during that hour via (347) 843-4375.

If you miss us Live tonight (July 3), you can listen to the recorded show above and you can catch us next week on Thursday (July 9) at 8:30 PM Eastern Standard Time when we'll be talking with author Cayla Kluver. I hope to hear from you and I hope you call in!

Thanks so much for visiting us at How to Publish a Book!

Stacey 

How to Publish a Book Readers,

I'm excited to bring you a Skype video call interview with an author today... this one was with Mike Hicks, the author of In Her Name. We ended up chatting quite a great deal about his writing process and about some of his thoughts regarding how to publish a book online via Amazon Kindle. In addition to his epic sci-fi fantasy novel, Mike has also written a How To Publish a Book for folks who need help uploading their online books to Amazon Kindle. Mike has been with Kindle as an author pretty much since the beginning, so his insights into how to publish a book online are grounded in knowledge, experience, and credibility. Enjoy this interview, and as always, thanks so much for visiting us here at How to Publish a Book.

--Stacey Cochran

Hey, folks, my blog tour has a four-day layover along the sunny shores of MitMoi.blogspot.com. Come bask in the sunshine, lather up in cocoa butter suntan lotion, and enjoy the crashing waves along the beach... while I chatter on about the launch of my new website onlinebookreview.org

For all the aspiring writers in the house, my new website onlinebookreview.org is my attempt to revolutionize book television and entertainment for the 21st century. We're looking for writers and videographers to develop video stories for a global audience. Come check us out!

Our first original interview at onlinebookreview.org is with bestselling suspense author Jon F. Merz. Jon waxes on the state of publishing, digital technologies, and what it was like appearing alongside Stephen King in the anthology From the Borderlands. A great first interview of what will hopefully be many more to come!

Thanks so much for stopping by How to Publish a Book. And have a great week, everybody!

Stacey