Beth’s Blog

If you’ve been keeping up with freelance news, you’ve undoubtedly heard that Amazon is planning to remove the “buy” buttons from all books printed by LightningSource and demand that all those titles be printed by their own company, Booksurge.

This news is real. Wall Street Journal as well as Publisher’s Weekly have reported it. Angela Hoy at Booklocker broke the story when a Booksurge rep threatened to remove all of Booklocker’s “buy” buttons.

Already PublishAmerica and Whiskey Creek Press have had their buttons removed.

This move impacts all of us… as authors and publishers. Subsidy publishers, university presses, traditional publishers, we all use print on demand technology. In fact, Filbert Publishing has six titles affected by this move.

With literally thousands upon thousands of titles on Amazon, many of the subsedy POD presses will incur great expense moving all those books over to Booksurge. The squeeze on these companies companies will most certainly affect their freelancers.

Those who won’t move their titles to Booksurge will lose an outlet for book sales. Sure, we can head to other online bookstores, but let’s face it, Amazon is a book selling juggernaut.

So, if you’re an author who is (or who may be) impacted by having the “buy” buttons removed from your Amazon book page, you need to start weighing your options. First and foremost, don’t panic, act professional in all your dealings with this issue, and remain open to directing your potential readers to other outlets.

Whether or not Amazon will remove more “buy” buttons is unknown. I’m the kind of person who watches the world through rose-colored glasses and remain optimistic that everything will turn out just fine… in fact I’m sure it will. I would love to continue to sell through Amazon, but if it isn’t in the cards, so be it, it’s really Amazon’s choice.

And on a personal note, I sell very few copies of my own books through Amazon. I suggest that if you’re an author, get your hands on a few copies of your book and sell them direct on your website. You’ll make more money, you’ll grow your own customer list, and (most of all) you’re not as affected by the whims of retail outlets who can change their terms at a moment’s notice.

But that’s just me.

Yup. That’s the headline. But do you believe it?

I’m not sure I do.

Time will tell, though.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/2ewtmf

Headline: Harry Potter Magic Spells Losses for Booksellers.

Article says: because of deep consumer discounts, independent booksellers are barely breaking even on every Harry Potter book sold.

Wow.

As a publisher, I know the discounts we have to offer wholesalers and distributors really cut into profits, often eclipsing any whatsoever when we factor in rising postage prices.

I know printers aren’t exactly raking in the dough when you consider their huge overhead.

Author royalties aren’t that great either.

Now bookstores are struggling to break even on a huge title.

It’s a sorry state for the US publishing system.

That being said, both authors and publishers can make some pretty nice incomes if they work smart.

Here’s the URL:

http://tinyurl.com/2s6842

Talk later,

Beth

A Wisconsin town wants to ban Maya Angelou’s autobiography from their schools.

How very sad.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/yfcqa8

Talk later,

Beth

http://tinyurl.com/f2yjp

Talk later,

Beth

Great news for all writers.

Here’s the link:

http://tinyurl.com/ovdrd

Talk later,

Beth

This company claims anyone can (potentially) become the “next JK Rowling” just by using their technology to print books.

Yeah right.

I don’t want to sound cynical, but sheesh.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2073717,00.html

Never forget the writer’s mantra: money flows towards the writer, not away from them.

Unless you truly want to self publish and totally understand the process, never ever pay to get your book in print. Ever. Period.

Talk later,

Beth – still trudging towards my biggie deadlines.

Yahoo News tells us that romance readers want “more” and romance.

In fact, they go so far as to say:
“More women want more fiction about what’s going on between the sheets, book publishers say.
“’If you had said five years ago, ‘erotic, hot, sexy romances,’ people would have said ‘What, are you crazy?’ ” says Kensington editor in chief John Scognamiglio. “Publishing goes in cycles. Erotica now seems to be the new hot thing.’”
Wow. Erotica?

Could be interesting, eh? Bet this bit ‘o news will have an impact on the next “romantic” scene you write.

Here’s the whole story:

http://tinyurl.com/pmkr2

Talk later!

Beth (whose first novel “The Almach” was said to have had “sex scenes hotter than desert sand.” Guess I was ahead of this trend…)

I the aftermath of the James Frey fiasco, the New York Times has posted a group of potential book disclaimers.

Hilarious.

Enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/8kk4j

Oh, and be sure to click the “Judge a Book By its cover” link at the bottom of the page. It’ll open a new window to reveal a bunch of the disclaimers in all their glory.

Talk later,

Beth

Unless you live under a rock, you’re aware of the latest publishing scandal.

But in case you don’t know what’s going on, here’s a recap to get you up to speed:

James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces” was an Oprah Book Club selection. Because of that endorsement, it went on to sell millions.

One little problem, though. The Smoking Gun website uploaded evidence that Frey’s tales were at the best exaggerated, at worst complete lies.

Oprah originally stood by Frey, but yesterday withdrew that support in a very public way. Right on her show, she confronted Frey with (from what I hear) a vengeance.

And she had every right to do so.

But the problem goes much deeper than this.

I’m not sure what the deal is, but I know of more than one writer who blatantly inflates their bio in order to land more writing assignments.

For example, I ran across a bio yesterday that listed “author” amongst its credits. Now the term “author” implies that the person has written a book. A full-fledged, perfect bound masterpiece that will undoubtedly change the world.

You can “author” articles, but then you’re a writer. You can “author” sales letters, but then you’re a copywriter. But writing either of these little chunks of prose does not an “author” make. Author = book.

This person hasn’t written a book. Ever. But someone reading their bio would be led to believe so.

Sigh.

If a writer lies in their bio, how can they possibly be trusted with a real assignment?

And if a writer blatantly lies in their own memoirs, well, I guess their career may very well be tainted forever.

And that’s too bad. For those with the greatest imaginations contain the most potential in this biz.

Just keep that imagination reserved for fiction, not nonfiction.

Here’s a link if you want to read more about Frey.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060127/D8FD2U887.html

Talk later!

Beth
FilbertPublishing.com
BethAnnErickson.com