Modern Author Problems: Solving For ne-X-t

Hey gang! First, I'll applaud all of you writer-types who overcame your math phobias to click on this link. Confession: I kind of threw up in my mouth a little just typing it. I'm better now...

If you're one of those sick people who gets a kick out of math jokes--we're watching you. Closely.

Anyway, this post isn't about math at all. So feel free to relax and put the calculators away.

Solving For ne-X-t

"STORY PROBLEMS RULE!" Mathletes in the wild.
Photo curtesy of Lisa L. Wiedmeier, WANA Commons

Be you an Indie, traditional, big press, small press, or no press author, there's a modern dilemma you should be wrestling with: 

What am I going to try to publish next?

Not that the authors of yesteryear weren't concerned with their next projects. I think most of us struggle to keep the idea bunnies out of our mental gardens long enough to harvest the current crop/story before the little varmints can devour it. But I'm not talking about the artistic desire to start something new. This a practical matter created by changes in the publishing industry, but we'll get to that in a second.

First, some semantics before we begin. You'll notice I said 'should'. That's because I believe forward thinking is an essential part of the author formula nowadays. (Okay, I said this wasn't about math, but you have to allow me a few math terms--it's what makes the title of the post clever!) 

You might also notice I said 'publish', not write. I make that distinction, because if you're in the business of writing as a business (see what I did there), I believe publication is the ultimate goal.

If you're writing just to write, and maybe get published--maybe not--this post might not be strictly relevant to you. However, I think most published authors will tell you that once that ball starts-a-rollin, she doesn't slow down easily. 

Plus, when even a few readers (who aren't your mother or aunt) suggest they want to read more of your work, trust me when I say it's like freaking writer-nip. You'll go to high places--maybe even spaz out and claw up the furniture--and do pretty much anything to get that feeling back. It's that cool and special.

Times are changing...



So let's assume you're going to be published, and that once you are, you're going to be a junky who'd  shank your Gran-Gran for another fix. (Sorry, I've been watching a lot of Breaking Bad lately ... apologies to Gran-Gran.)

Now, this isn't one of those, "YOU NEED TO WRITE A BOOK A WEEK AND BECOME THE PUBLISHING EQUIVALENT OF A PUPPY MILL!" kinds of posts. No, you won't find me suggesting anything but putting your best, most thoughtful work out as consistently as you can.

But here's the somewhat scary reality of what I'm seeing out there in the trenches (i.e., Goodreads and book blogs): Readers are becoming very impatient. They don't necessarily care about the things authors have to care about--like the staggering amount of time it takes to write a good story, the expense of editing and promotion, the publishing house's release schedule, yada-yada-yada. 

They want content, and they aren't really compelled to wait for it. 

Digital distribution has fundamentally changed the game for all of the consumable arts--music, movies, visual art, and books. Bands are going back to the EP and singles model, because it allows them to provide a steady stream of content without big breaks in between albums. Visual artist aren't waiting to collect a number of pieces to display in an exhibition, but are instead showing their offerings as quickly as they are created on sites like Deviant Art, Pinterest, and the like.

There's also the financial accessibility provided by digital distribution to the creators of the content. You don't need expensive, downtown storefronts to display your art. You don't need the support of a large publisher to find readers. You don't need a million dollars worth of equipment to produce a record or shoot a webisode. 

The proverbial doors have been opened, and thousands of talented people are running through them every day.

Couple the steady stream of content being provided with the sheer volume of what's being created now, and you get a perfect storm of production and consumption. And make no mistake, if you're a creator, it's a storm that will churn you under and leave you drowning in its wake if you aren't a strong swimmer.

In this instance, treading water--staying visible--is going to keep your career alive. 

That's true for every kind of author. Traditionally published folks aren't immune to it--unless you're the Stephen King, James Patterson, and J.K.R. type of traditionally published folk. In fact, it might be more important to traditional authors, because the time between finished story and publication is typically longer for them. The gaps are larger, and not typically within their control.

I don't think this is a revelation to most authors. We all feel the pressure of needing to move onto the next thing. In fact, most of us are already well into the next thing when the current thing is just crowning its head into the world. 

Unfortunately, just like when you're solving for X in Algebra, figuring out what to publish next depends on a number of variables. 

What have you done so far/what's your brand? Is it going to tick off your publisher/agent if you want to self-publish short stories? Is it going to tick off your fans if you delay the next book in your series to write something new? Do you have the momentum of an expensive (in time, money, or both) blog tour that needs to be sustained? Can you financially afford to self-publish (it can get expensive, fast)? If not, can you, or are you willing to, write for a market enough to make traditional publication an option?

All things that can factor into the decision. 

I'm actually at one of those 'NEXT' crossroads myself. I write an ongoing series, that I plan on continuing, but I've come to a natural transition period. I made a goal last year to see the first three Moonsongs books published. I'm on the cusp of doing that. Now I need to make new goals. 

More Moonsongs books are definitely part of those goals. But I've got other projects I want to see get off the ground, too. I'd like to finish this dark-YA-lovestory-thing I've been working on forever. I've got an idea for another New Adult novella series (techno thriller FTW!) I'm so excited about it keeps me up at night. And more...

Anyway, I decided to throw this dilemma of solving for ne-X-t out there, because I think many of you will relate. Maybe you can help me figure it out, or talk me through your process. And as I said above, I do think it's worth some deliberation. 

~EJW~

Trusting the Process

Hey gang! What a wild/fun week I had last week. We went to the Mouse House in Orlando, got up close and personal with Harry Potter, and drank our share of the butterbeer (think sugary cream soda with a SUPER sugary cream topping ... yeah, it's that bad for you, and that awesome).

Enjoying a cold drink in the Hog's Head Tavern- No, that's not butterbeer. ;-)

Anyway, I'm back (physically at least) and ready to make the final push towards the publication of the second Moonsongs book. With a little luck, it'll be out in December. And I'm totally not bragging here, but I'm very excited for people to read it. I think the story is bigger, and in some ways better, than the first. 

Jenny (the mc) is really beginning to stretch her legs as a character. She gets pulled deeper into the supernatural world her tribal ancestors have fought against for so many generations, and learns that not all of the scary things out there want to eat you--some just want you dead. Plus, there are witches, both cool and evil. 

Basically, there's just a lot going on, and I think it'll be a fun ride for folks who enjoy True Blood-esque adventures. I've had a blast crafting it, that's for sure.

TRUSTING THE PROCESS

Photo credit to Lynn Kelley, WANA Commons 

But now it's time for the final polish. That means applying editorial feedback. Some of which is quite straightforward, and pretty painless. Change this word, rearrange that sentence, etc. But some of the changes aren't so easy to execute...

I always try to make sure my stories go into the 'editor' phase as polished as I can make them. That's for two reasons: 1) I don't want to purposefully make my editor take up drinking if they don't already. 2) It translates to less work for me on the other side.

What does sending it in as polished as possible mean for me? Typically 3 drafts pre-beta/critter work overs, and 1 to 2 more post beta/critter. And sometimes, if the beta/critter feedback results in major changes, it might go into another round of beta/critter--and more drafts follow. THEN it goes to the editor. 

Sounds like a lot right? IT IS! But I'm someone who likes to feel confident about something before moving onto the next stage. For me to feel confident in a piece of writing, I need to hear from several different perspectives that I've essentially captured what I set out to do with a particular story. 

These Moonsongs stories are a bit of a different beast, because they're novelettes--which translates to 'longer than a short story, shorter than a novella'. So a big part of my objective is that the plots stay tight, and the pacing zips. I want them to be a movie-like experience. Something you can enjoy in 2-4 hours, and feel that you've been entertained when you finish. 

That's where the editor really pays off. 

Story # 2 has been through multiple critters. While none of them said it was perfect, the feedback was 99% great, and I addressed nearly every quibble the critters had in rewrites prior to sending it off to the editor. 

That's the point where you begin to think--no matter how many times you've been through this process and know better--"I've done it! This is a great story as is." You can't help it. You love your critters. You've read their work, and trust them implicitly. Furthermore, you're really beginning to love the story again. (Trust me, you hate the dang thing at several points during this cycle.) 

Trusting the process is oh so important at this juncture. When those edits come back, and you see the number of things you've missed--or just screwed up--in your 'great story' it feels like starting over in some ways. (But you're totally not!)

You might even be tempted to cross your arms and say, "Bah, readers already like it. Why should I chop out two pages of the opening scene for the sake of pacing?"

The answer is simple: Because you want the story to be everything you dreamt it COULD be. The only chance you have of doing that is making it as tight as possible. That means heeding your editor's advice, listening to your critter complaints, and doing 2 more drafts beyond the last draft you vowed you'd ever do. 

It can be disheartening. It can be fantastic. But it's all part of the process, and that you have to trust.

~EJW~

Book Pricing - How Do You Feel?

Hey gang! Thank you to everyone who offered up comments on Wednesday's author interview with Alyson Burdette. 


(MASSIVE APOLOGY TO ALYSON - Just realized I'd misspelled her name in the title of the post. Copy/paste cut off the last two letters of her name, and I seriously can't apologize enough!) 


I know it means a ton to her, and frankly I think it's (supporting authors) one of the most important things we can do. 


In the digital age, it's far too easy for authors to get swept away in the tsunami of content that hits the Web every second. Word of mouth has always been, and will continue to be, the best way to sell books. 


So the next time a friend on Facebook asks for a book recommendation (I see at least three a week on my personal Facebook feed), I hope you'll consider offering up a new author/name instead of (or along with) James Patterson, Steve King, Steph Meyer, etc.





Speaking of the digital age, I kept thinking the kerfuffle over e-book price fixing would die down. I was wrong. 


It's only building steam as publishers, agents, authors--well, everyone really--are beginning to take sides.


Seriously, this is shaping up to be a veritable Holy War within the world of publishing. We've had skirmishes before. Border disputes, if you will. But this could be the BIG ONE.

Why? Reading between the lines, I'm guessing this is one last big stab at keeping the book industry at least partially anchored in the traditional system. A system in which a few large publishers are responsible for the majority of the content and profit generated by the book industry.

Look, I'm not saying it's bad--I leave that kind of opinion to folks who've had direct dealings with all of it. I'm saying it's the way it is. 6 major publishers are responsible for most of the books you see at Barnes & Noble, and virtually all of the books that pop up on traditional bestseller lists. 

Former literary agent, current author and eternal blogger, Nathan Bransford, had this to say on his blog this week: "In the old era, only major publishers had the infrastructure to get books to readers. You had to go through them to reach readers in large numbers." 

He spoke in the past tense for a reason. 

Like an invasive species, Amazon and e-books are taking over the ecosystem. Like with any invasive species, the existing species  must eventually make the decision to fight or assimilate. 

Big publishers and the folks who work for them (authors, agents, etc.) are lacing up their boxing gloves as I type.

Earlier this week, the Association of Authors Representatives (AAR) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice voicing their support of the agency pricing model which lead to the collusion charges levied against the big publishers (among others) linked to above.

Essentially, that means the AAR, its supporting members and the "tens of thousands of authors they represent" are in favor of allowing the major publishing entities the right to force retailers into a uniform pricing model. (To be clear, that doesn't mean the price a retailer has to pay for the rights to distribute--or wholesale price. It means the sticker price the customer pays.) 

Not all of the authors represented by the group are terribly excited about the letter. Seems some of these authors are perfectly happy with Amazon, the company the agency model was aimed at attacking, and the company with the most to gain by a successful DOJ anti-trust suit. CLICK THE PRECEDING LINK TO READ SOME OF THE REASONS. 

Furthermore, it seems not even everyone within the traditional publishing system can agree that anit-Amazon is best for books and readers. Today, traditional-gone-independent author J.A. Konrath shared an anonymous response to the mess courtesy of someone within one of the big publishing houses. YOU CAN READ IT HERE, but to suffice to say their Christmas bonus might be on hold if their name ever gets out.

There are compelling arguments on both sides. 

Sadly, we might have to make a decision between two potential evils: an Amazon monopoly or the exclusivity and high e-book prices of big publishing. 

Which brings me to the question: Do you care? 

As a reader, does it matter to you that the newest Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) book by Charlaine Harris will cost you $15.15 for a hardcover/paper copy or $14.99 for the e-book?

As an author/writer, would you be okay with getting the same revenue share (or cut) from either purchase, knowing the cost to produce the two on the publishing side aren't remotely similar? (Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise; Amazon doesn't charge XYZ publisher any more than they do you or me to upload a digital book.) As unusual as it sounds, I am afraid they're connected. 

As an author/writer, are you more comfortable with the fate of our industry in the hands of a giant retailer (what Amazon is), or a publishing business that has done nothing but books forever and ever? A publishing industry FULL of people who love books, readers and the folks who write them. 

These questions are not posed lightly, and I've got no answers. Just opinions, which I'll gladly share if you supply the beverages and a comfy chair.

~EJW~

Will Amazon Change Our Taste for Words?

It’s no great revelation that the ways in which we consume media and entertainment have changed over the last two decades.  In the music industry, the concept of an entire album listening experience died several years ago at the hands of individual song downloads. This has led to a prevalence of artist creating albums full of HIT singles in place of albums comprised of songs that form a cohesive whole. The days of high concept story albums—think Pink Floyd’s The Wall album, where the individual songs don’t necessarily stand on their own, but when listened to as whole become something essential and even beautiful—are mostly over. Sure, intrepid musicians will on occasion create ‘story’ albums, but the experience is lost on the average listener who shops from the iTunes top 10 singles list.

Similarly, Hollywood is a machine driven by consumer demand, and that demand is for bite-sized entertainment. Modern blockbuster movies are long commercials aimed at no one and everyone. They are designed to engage a broad audience from moment to moment, as opposed to engaging an individual from beginning, middle, to end. The handful of films that dare to start a story in the beginning and take a full 2 hours to finish are labeled as high concept and, if they’re fortunate enough to snag a big name in the lead role, might win a few awards.

Please don’t misinterpret this as a shot at consumerism or some heraldry for ‘the good old days’. While I enjoyed the good old days as much as anyone, I also like the freedom of being able to watch and listen to what I want, when I want. The ability to do that is directly tied to the trends in media consumption I mentioned above. Furthermore, I like a good popcorn flick and lord knows I’ve got my share of top 10 singles on the old iGadget.

    

My point is that just like how we learn to enjoy different foods from childhood to adulthood as our flavor palette broadens, I think we (as consumers) have learned to ingest our media in different ways as technology has changed. We all have to accept that when change comes for a visit—no matter how welcome it might be—it’s always going to bring along a few ugly cousins. In the end, there really isn’t much else to do but give them a comfy sofa to sleep on and hope they don’t steal the good silverware on the way out.

I’m thinking about all of this lately, because I see changes happening in how we consume written media, and I’m left to wonder if it’s going to similarly alter our taste for it. Amazon’s recent announcement of a sub-$100Kindle and a sub-$200 tablet reader have sent trimmers through the reading world.  With the tablet, Amazon has clearly put readers in their sites, similarly to how Apple put listeners in their sites with the advent of iTunes/iPods. You see this tablet is going to be all things Amazon in terms of their video content offerings, music and eBooks. A veritable buffet of entertainment options.

At first blush, it might not seem like such a big thing. After all, we have computers, iPads and other doodads that marry all forms of entertainment onto one device. However, Amazon is certainly one of (if not THE) the top book retailers in the world (both paper and electronic) and up to this point no one has really attempted to give books equal space at the table with video and music downloads.  Couple this with the rumor that Amazon is contemplating a book rental service akin to Netflix where Kindle owners pay a flat monthly fee and are able to download as many books as they care to read, and you’ve got the makings of full out assault on the book business.

In the effort of full disclosure, I’m mostly concerned with all of this from the standpoint of an author looking to build a seaworthy business model (ship) prepared to navigate the unpredictable waters of modern-day publishing. Many have theorized that the future of publishing is going to gothe way of short stories or serialized content as more and more folks turn to the instant gratification/entertainment offered by all of these ‘connected’ gadgets. That certainly makes sense, especially in light of a giant retailer pushing written content right alongside its other electronic cousins (music and movies). Plus let’s face it; the attention span of the average person just isn’t what it used to be. Consequently, the idea of giving readers shorter reading experiences that can be digested quickly makes some sense.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to do a couple of more blogs on the topic, specifically thinking about what a ‘Netflix’ model might mean for authors, and what impact it might have on storytelling.  I’m going to try to answer questions I’m having, like: Is there a place for long-form fiction in the future?  I hope you’ll come back and add your thoughts. This is exploratory in nature, and I certainly don’t claim to have the answers. As always, I’m just one guy thinking aloud.

More near in this blog’s future, in an attempt to get into the mind of modern day authors, I’m going to begin running interviews with various independently published authors. Folks who are daring to carve their own path to publication, paths that many of us may be following in the years to come. I think you’ll really enjoy hearing from these authors, both as readers and writers. They’re all super-smart, engaging and (most importantly) dedicated to the craft.  The first interview will be this Wednesday with author, Kimberly Mullican, so please stop by and say hi. Also, if you’ve published a story and would like to do an interview or a guest-post here on the Open Vein, please drop me a line in the comments, via e-mail or on Twitter and we’ll try to make it happen. I’d love to hear from all of you.

~EJW~