The Future of Publishing

OK, I better kick this off by saying that I am in no way shape or form an expert on publishing so all the thoughts expressed here are simply the disinterested observations of an onlooker. But in case you hadn't noticed the times, they are a changin'.

A year ago most of my online writer buddies were in the same boat as me: seeking representation, hoping to be published through a traditional publisher or perhaps a smaller indie. We had been subbing for a good while, posting work on peer review sites and struggling with rewrites to get the book into an attractive enough shape to sell. We'd agonise over synopses and query letters. We'd moan about the rejections and get excited when a new agency/publisher appeared on the horizon.

Then along came the Kindle and now the landscape has changed beyond recognition. Most of my buddies have been taken up by e-publishers or self-published on Kindle. Instead of posting about ways to improve their books they are getting on with the next one. Instead of posting chapters for peer review they are endlessly promoting their published books. Some say that is the arduous part of the process; plugging to within an inch of their lives. Because with so many e-books out there, you have to shout very loud and jump very high to be noticed among the crowd.

So what is to become of the old order, now e-books are the new craze? There are already signs that agents are losing out and with so much up and coming talent rushing to self-publish a la Amanda Hocking their pool of available talent must be shrinking. I see new authors join up on writers' boards, not for advice on submitting to agents but how to best put their book out there. And without any filter there must be a lot of poorly written fodder hitting the internet. The new Slush Pile is online and who has the time to sort through the chaff? This was traditionally the agent's job and now they're being bypassed.

Some agents are turning overnight into publishers, putting their clients' backlists up for sale. Not surprisingly this has caused some controversy as it's clearly a conflict of interest. But it begs the question: in this new Kindle age what exactly is the role of the agent?

Well it seems to me their skills are still needed, perhaps more than ever. Writers need good editorial advice, marketing know-how and contacts in media to help them produce great books and get them to as large an audience as possible. I don't know how this will all play out but it will be interesting to watch.

And here's an up-beat and informative post from Alan Rinzler at The Book Deal on this very subject.

Kindle

Surely everyone has heard of Kindle. First there was Amazon - cheap books by mail order, then cheap just-about-everything by mail order. Then cheap second hand books by mail order. With bookshops closing on the High Streets, Amazon seemed set to take over the world.

And then they launched the Kindle, their own e-reader. This moved them from bookseller to publisher in one easy step. Download your Kindle version of Favourite Author's book. No more tiresome trips to the shops to buy a book - you can have the electronic version in seconds. So easy. It was only logical that Kindle would move into Direct Publishing, giving everyone and his auntie the chance to put their magnum opus online for the world to read.

And why not? It's democratic, after all. In the Bad Old Days authors had to get past the Gatekeepers, as agents and editors fondly viewed themselves. Unless a deluded or misguided author was conned by a Vanity Publisher into parting with their pension for the joy of owning a garage full of copies of their unsellable memoir, this was the only route to publication. But not any more. Now you can upload your manuscript quicker than you can say "Unsolicited Manuscript". No fuss, no rejections, just instant fame and - possibly - fortune.

And some Kindle authors have done rather well. Joe Konrath and Amanda Hocking have become rallying cries for the Kindle Crowd. Quite how many Kindle millionaires there will eventually be is too soon to know. Will early interest dry up once the novelty wears off and quality issues turn the tide? Or will it herald a new age of real reading choice where you can buy a book on anything by anyone for as little as you are willing to spend?

Needless to say this is a hot topic on writers' boards. I don't belong in either camp - the argument does tend to get polarised and unnecessarily heated. It seems to me nobody knows what the future holds and all we can do is wait and see.

But, with the ease of publishing on Kindle I'd hazard a guess more people are putting their books up there than subbing to agents/editors these days. This is bound to reduce the slushpiles considerably. I've seen it said agents are paying more attention to self published books and it has been suggested they will eventually replace the slushpile altogether. Amanda Hocking is a case in point. If you can self publish and sell well you make yourself a hot commodity.

Launching a new author is a hefty investment for a publisher which is why so few get accepted. But self-publishing on Kindle is free - no cash outlay other than whatever the author spends on it. I can see why people would choose the instant gratification of having a book published there, even if no one ever buys it, over the relentless cycle of revision/rejection. That doesn't make them all undiscovered gems, nor does it make them all rubbish. But as the numbers grow the challenge is going to be finding the former in amongst the latter.

Interview with Lexi Revellian

One red hot topic on writers’ boards at the moment is e-publishing, and there’s no doubt with the growth in sales of the Amazon Kindle that e-books are here to stay.

One person who decided to ride the wave and publish her book on Amazon Kindle is debut author Lexi Revellian. Since the launch of Remix in August 2010 it has gone on to have huge success, with over 12 thousand sales to date and is currently at number 15 in the Kindle Bestseller Chart.

Lexi, welcome to my blog and congratulations on the success of Remix. When did you start writing? I mean, has it been a life-long hobby, or relatively recent?

I was always an avid reader – throughout my childhood adults were telling me to stop reading – but I started writing late, doubting I’d be as good as my favourite authors. I kept a journal on and off for years. In 2006 my daughter suggested we write a book together; once I started I couldn’t stop.

How many novels have you written to date? (I'm wondering how many books it has taken for you to reach this stage.)

Remix is my third. I wrote two untypical fantasy novels, the kind that appealed to readers who don’t like fantasy. My characters talk and joke like real people, and the fantasy element was limited to the presence of dragons. These books are entertaining, but too non-genre specific to be mainstream publishable, I think. At the moment, I send the PDFs free to anyone who emails me for them. Quite a lot do.

Can you tell me what inspired you to write Remix? Was it based on your own experiences or a real life story you heard?

I started with a ‘what if?’ What if a young woman found a stranger asleep on her rooftop terrace? Who was he, what would happen next? And I used London as a background, because I like novels with identifiable settings. You can trace most of the places in the book on Google Street View.

I wanted to write something publishable; a feel-good novel as much of a page turner as an early Dick Francis, with a first person narrator so the reader made discoveries only as she did. Ironically, turned out I’d written another non-genre specific book. Amazon has it under Romance, Waterstones under Crime. It’s not really either.

Which authors would you say have had the most influence on you?

Mary Renault – every time I reread one of her novels, she rises in my estimation. I’ve picked up her semi colons. And Jane Austen is a genius; you’d recognize one of her characters instantly if he or she walked in the room. Dick Francis for un-put-downableness.

Can you outline the process of publishing on Kindle? And how have you found it dealing with Amazon?

Publishing to Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is straightforward if you can follow instructions and are painstaking. There’s a lot of help on the internet. I blogged about how I did it here: How to publish for Kindle on Amazon. Amazon’s Author Central is very helpful. I’m hugely grateful to Amazon for giving me this unique opportunity to sell my writing – not a level playing field, but the best we’re going to get.

What marketing have you done to promote Remix? How can you account for the phenomenal sales it has achieved?

I launched Remix in August 2010, and didn’t sell many books for two or three months. As I write the total is more than 12,200 for ebook sales, including over 5,500 in January. The paperback sales are modest, probably under a hundred, but I haven’t totted them up.

In all forms of publishing you need luck, and I’ve been lucky self-publishing. (Maybe I was owed it – I was unlucky no agent picked Remix up. Possibly so were they…) I was the first author to join KUF, the Kindle Users Forum, and Remix was selected as October’s book of the month. I pop into the Kindle forums sometimes, with a link to my book under my signature. I’ve appeared on several review blogs. No doubt I should do more. I had excellent advice from Eric Christopherson, author of Crack-Up. He told me about the importance of getting the price right.

Amazon rewards success; your book pops up all over the site once it’s selling well. And I know from Google Alerts that strangers are talking about Remix and recommending it. In a small way, it’s gone viral.

And Remix is also available as a paperback. Can you tell me who you publish with and summarise how you went about that?

I published with Lightning Source, because I wanted full control and my own micro press, Hoxton Press. It’s not for everyone, because there’s a lot you have to learn, and LS don’t want to spoon feed you. Luckily, I love formatting, and I’m obsessive about detail. Comes of being a jeweller.

What has been the best aspect of being published? Have there been any unexpected benefits or pitfalls?

The best aspect is the readers. I love the fact that people are reading my book and enjoying it, and even bothering to write reviews or email me about it. A book isn’t complete until it is read. I can’t express how great it is when a reader really gets the book the way it was written.

I am also making a surprising amount of money. I haven’t come across a downside yet.

Do you have any tips for other debut authors thinking of publishing this way?

Make sure your book is the best it can possibly be. Use beta readers, and pay attention to what they say. If your spelling, punctuation and grammar is unreliable, pay a proof reader. I don’t use an editor or proof reader, but I use Autocrit to deal with my word echo problem. Make sure your formatting is perfect; check every single page when you load to KDP.

How important do you think the internet is for authors these days? Do you think having a blog and website and networking on Twitter/Facebook etc are necessary?

I have a website and a blog and I’ve noticed recently I’ve had many more visits from people looking up Lexi Revellian or Remix. I also tweet, but don’t think that has helped my sales. It’s more for keeping in touch with what’s going on in publishing. Facebook I just can’t face – I’ve had two tries, and turned shuddering away each time.

Do you plan to publish again on Kindle? If so, can you tell me something about your next project?

I’m three-quarters through the next book, currently called Unofficial Girl. Beth Chandler works in a government research institute, and is duplicated in a flawed experiment. The replica goes on the run with just what she stands up in, while the original Beth, unaware, continues with her life. Alternating chapters tell their stories. There’s a morally ambivalent spec op, Nick Cavanagh, who becomes involved with Beth One, while pursuing Beth Two.

When it’s finished, I hope this spring, I’ll put it on Amazon. I’ll also try a few agents, to see if they make me an offer I can’t refuse…

You can find out more about Lexi's journey to self-publish on Amazon Kindle at her blog here.