A Month of Exhausting Changes - Here's Your Daily Requirement of Publishing News

Looking to surf the publishing industry tidal wave these days? The business is moving at the speed of a molecule in a particle accelerator, and getting faster and more complicated by the nanosecond. These changes cover everything from who you sell your book to (if you sell it at all or rather pub it yourself!) to how to market it, to how it is distributed, what the laws are and how you can be read.

As an example of the sound and fury, I pulled together a “highlight reel” of digital industry news from a single month’s worth of Publishers Weekly issues. Grab a life preserver and hold on tight. This is going to be quite a ride!

October 17, 2011

PW reported on sales results from the 2nd quarter of the year. Shifts in “Channel Market Share (in dollars)” showed trade bookstore chains dropped to 27.3% share from 30.6%; non-traditional and independent bookstores’ sales rose by 1.7%, and .5%, respectively. No surprise, “e-commerce” market share rose to 37.0% from 27.6%, overtaking by 10 percentage points sales at large chains (though as with everything else, nothing is what it seems – the closing of Borders’ stores may well have upped the digital numbers). And shifts in market share in various formats (by unit) showed paperback down 7.3%, hardcover down 4.7% and digital up 10.5% for the quarter.

Further fueling the digital bonfires, Amazon announced the launch of its latest imprint, 47North, for sci-fi/fantasy/horror titles. 47 joins Montlake Romance and other genre imprints that put Amazon into direct competition with their most powerful adversaries, traditional publishers and the remaining big trade chain/publisher, B&N. This is the latest of the major changes in publishing that began with digital publishers challenging the traditional houses as e-book sales began to take off. After the trad pubs got their digital ducks in a row as another format for print titles, we saw them next begin to set up their own digital imprints to capitalize on the trends – what started with Harlequin and Carina Press was just the tip of the iceberg. We saw Avon Impulse launched this summer and . . .

October 24, 2011

. . . PW reported the launch of InterMix, the digital arm of Penguin imprint, Berkley/NAL. Like Avon Impulse, and Amazon’s Montlake, InterMix will produce genre fiction, including romance. For romance authors, this continues to expand the arena of possibilities for publication – while at the same time it creates a quagmire. Digital publishers with one set of royalty rules, different publication schedules and distribution networks, traditional publishers with their own structure for print and evolving business model for ebook formats of print titles, and now traditional publishers with all-digital arms – in many cases of they are not competitive (royalty rate wise) with the digital publishers, but still bear the cachet of being a “real” publisher, in some minds. How do you educate yourself about the pros, cons, dangers, and differences? Beyond the choice in publishers, what are the differences for you, as a career author? Is it about the money, the prestige, the exposure?

Then, there’s an entirely different arena that every author needs to know about, the . . .

October 31, 2011

. . .public library system. This issue of PW focused on the libraries, their influence with publishers, and their importance to authors. In tough times, library offerings can be very meaningful to authors when people can’t buy books, but they can borrow them and discover new authors. Did you know libraries spend billions on books? Authors can still be very successful by creating a new reader fan base – provided their books are on the “shelves”. Digital publishing hasn’t caught the library system off guard. They jumped immediately onto the bandwagon and quickly began offering digital books (yes, Virginia, there is an app for that!). But this is yet another rocky road to travel. How libraries will acquire e-books outside the traditional catalogue, the logistics of licensing digital copies, and the jockeying by publishers to get as big a piece of this new pie as they can. Macmillan, for example, playing greedy and cutting the number of “loans” allowed per digital title, ended up having their titles boycotted by libraries in both formats (and the trickle down impact of these negotiations hits the author head on). We are witnessing the rule book being re-written and until the ink is dry, we authors are all in the tumult together. From Patron Profiles, a new Library Journal quarterly survey & report, a telling figure: Library patrons read 47 books per year, compared to an average of 27 of all responders. Of this ongoing survey, says Library Journal Executive Editor, Rebecca Miller: “If they’ve (publishers) ever doubted the role of libraries in launching an author, this will set them straight. In turn, librarians get new insight into what their patrons want and need. And they are getting many of their hunches confirmed: that library users are avid readers, listeners and talkers, and that the library is an important part of a rich ecosystem of cultural exchange that is seamlessly connected to the marketplace.”

November 7, 2011

And speaking of being in the thick of things - Amazon was in the thick of a heated debate after the debut of their virtual “lending library”. Seems the titles being offered for free, to members who’ve paid a subscription fee to Amazon – with murky arrangements still unclear as to how, and how much, royalty is paid to the requisite publishers of said titles – were all offered up unknown to most of the publishers whose books are represented. (Another situation destined to impact the original creator of the product: You, the author.) As with so much of the digital arena, here’s another area, too, where evolving legal and ethical concerns impact authors. On top of the ever-shifting royalty rates (and differences between publisher-offered digital titles and those sold through third-party vendors), the conundrum of “out-of-print” and free downloads and piracy, though the thorny issue of Google “orphan” scanning is apparently now dead, there’s the issue of how and where your books are being made available by “legitimate” operations. Is your publisher aware? Are you aware? Are you being served? Or screwed?

And keep in mind that digital just keeps getting bigger. Witness this issues’ report of August Sales – Adult hard down 18.2%, Adult paper down 18.4%, Mass market down 29.6%. Electronic: UP 144.4%.

Over the past few months just about every aspect of the publishing industry has begun to morph. Successful, traditionally publisher authors breaking with their publishers, taking back their backlist rights and self-pubbing them, along with new titles, to great success. We’ve seen: ebook millionaire author Amanda Hocking go traditional (for huge advances) and option her self-pubbed series to one of Hollywood’s premier fantasy filmmakers; the first million digital copies sold authors, and perhaps most telling and disruptive, the first “big book” titles to sell more in digital than they did in print (after the industry got over the concern of simultaneous release cannibalization of the latter format by the former). Need more to convince you digital’s the word? Writers’ Digest already had self-pubbed (or “indie pubbed, the hip new term for independent authors) awards, but now PW has added the PW “Select” quarterly edition that (for a price) lists self-pubbed titles and provides extensive review of same. And while PW had hard, mass, trade and audio book sale bestseller lists, not yet jumping on the bandwagon as the NY Times did with its convoluted new bestseller lists (paper, digital, combined and more), will it be long in coming?

With the major players in the technological end providing better, faster, and cheaper gadgetry to read upon, digital is destined to keep growing. Industry insiders can only guess at how long digital will soar, when it will begin to level off – or if it will. With Amazon’s Kindle e-readers and tablets giving Apple’s iPad a run for the money, with Barnes & Noble and their latest releases – cheap dedicated e-readers along with a B&N tablet to compete with the big 2 (and don’t forget all the other technology entities working on their own gadgets and apps and software for readers and digital books) it certainly seems that there is one guarantee: If you, as an author, are not keeping abreast of this revolution, you will be left behind, left out of the running behind authors who have educated themselves to ensure their best sales, best venue, and their equitable treatment as a vital member of the business community that is publishing.

Kowabunga, dudes!

So We'vePicked Ourselves Up, Dusted Off & Are Starting Again

January 26, 2009.

All the 2008 tallying has been done, the news was bad, badder and worst, but now, like a phoenix from the ashes, the old Publishing Game rises again.

Publishers cut more than 1,200 jobs in 2008 (and this is a conservative estimate based on what they'll all actually admit). Barnes & Noble just announced they're cutting 100 at its headquarters (4% of NY workforce). Random House has reorganized and restructured its three publishing groups. Borders has a new chairman, Richard McGuire (former hedge fund executive - now call me crazy, but isn't that sector having an awful lot of problems of its own?) and the NEA survey that proudly announced reading rose to 119 million in 2008 (versus 115.5 million in 2002, breaking down the numbers shows a slightly different - and less rosy - story. PW shows the breakdown (1/19/09 issue) and in every category, the Percentage of Adults Who Read a Book Not Required for Work or School fell several points. The catch? The "reading" included everything read anywhere or anytime - and a single poem constituted "more". Anything that constituted "literary" was acceptable and I, for one, wonder how lenient the respondents were with this rating! Moreover, the prior study did not include electronic materials, so that, in itself, may well account for the jump. But rest assured that everyone in the Pub Game will be poring over these numbers for quite some time to come in an effort to wring a rosy scenario from it, as well as put it to the best use in their own game. Still, any news that says we're reading is good news.

The economy is hitting conventions and conferences hard in all industries. The New York ComicCon, reported by PW to be the fourth largest event in NYC is showing a bit of fall off, though Lance Fensterman event director of Reed Exhibitions says they expect presales to pick up right before the show. Hope so, Lance!

Sales were down, too, sharply at the end of the year but when all was said and done, the last quarter debacle was helped by prior periods' health and the news was painful, but not agonizing.

Still, it was thrilling to see the Publisher's Lunch Deluxe 1/12 edition that reported 10 new romance sales for the date, as did the 1/19 edition, covering every genre and indicating that the powerhouse genre is still going strong.

Among others, the lovely and entertaining Wendy Corsi Staub's new deal was announced, taking the 30 title Kensington author to Avon, where her first three titles have been signed by Lucia Macro. Congrats Wendy! Keep those NYT bestselling hits a' coming.

The film biz is also sticking with the books. Edgar Sawtelle's been optioned by Tom Hanks, and The Reincarnationists, MJ Rose's title to Warner Bros. as a pilot for Fox.

There's plenty more where this came from folks, but night has fallen and I'm hitting the road.

More later.

Making Up For Lost Time

Cutting right to the chase with lots of news.

From 12/23/08 Publishers Lunch:

Borders has gotten an extension of another month on repayment of their loan to Pershing Square ($42.5 mill). PL says "The nearly worthless stock has still managed to decline another 20 percent in early trading today, though Barnes & Noble has suffered weak trading the past two days as well."

ScrollMotion's interface for iPhone books has made arrangements with a variety of publishers. Random House is in on this deal and is releasing a dozen books on iPhone. PL notes a Wired report that Twilight will be among the books making the leap.

The technology, called "Iceberg" allows Apple to get in on the business and get a percentage of sales. And "ScrollMotion says it envisions a more organized app store and iPhone/iPod interface in the future where titles could eventually be sorted and grouped creating a virtual library of all your books."

The price sounds steep, though, when compared with e-books. Between $12 and $28, found PL - 30-40% more than the respective Kindle edition of the same title. Twilight will be $10.99 for the iPhone book, versus $6.04 for the Kindle copy.

Publisher's Weekly December 15, 2008 edition was chock full of news, reports, reviews and info, too.

For those of you who remember Francis "Baby" from Dirty Dancing (and who doesn't? - send good thoughts out to Patrick Swayze who's fighting the good fight against his cancer), the PW Pick of the Week is a biography of Frances Perkins, FDR's secretary of labor and the first woman in the cabinet. Kirstin Downey's Doubleday/Talese book debuts on March 3, 2009, for the history buffs out there.

The Forward column in the issue debates the pros and cons and marketing value of author websites. While no one has yet been able to get proof-positive that a good website = good sales, most folk agree that if you haven't got one, you're not helping yourself. PW reports that Carol Fitzgerald, founder and president of Book Report Network feels "having a Web presence gives writers a chance to extend the conversation with their readers." She's "less concerned about authors having a message board or book trailer than with providing a go-to place for fans." PW passes on her warning not to overdo the Flash, though. She also thinks that a blog is a easy way to keep your site fresh. This sentiment is seconded by author Chris Bohjalian, who enjoys blogging and finds it "the easy part of maintaining an online presence." He recycles content from his weekly newspaper column, a concept also espoused by Penny Sansevieri, marketing guru (see past posts). He says, "It all goes back to that notion that an author is no longer a disembodied face on the back of a book jacket."

But the most succinct statement (IMHO) is that of Steve Bennett, author of 50 titles and president of Author Bytes, which builds author Web sites. "A Web site is your locus in space. It's not that people can't get basic author information on Amazon. But they're looking for extras. The Web has changed the way we learn about products and services; it's hard to imagine succeeding without it."

Dean Koontz, horror master and perennial visitor to the NY Times bestseller list, has his latest title at #8 on the PW Hardcover Bestseller Fiction list. He's spotlighted and has the following to say about that question all writers get: "Story ideas have come to me from lines in songs, from a scrap of overhead conversation, from just about everywhere. And sometimes a story pops into my head and I have no idea what the source of it was." The title, Your Heart Belongs to Me had an 800,000 copy first printing. Guess Dean's doing something right!

When fans of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series heard about True Blood they were all a twitter. But it appears the series is making new fans for the authors' quirky heroine. Backlist sales were so great that Ace created a 7-volume boxed set. 130,000 copies have shipped so far. Ace Associate Director of publicity, Jodi Rossoff crowed, "We knew it would do well, but it has surpassed our expectations."

And speaking of vampires, did you think that maybe the vampire romance genre was cooling off, what with dragons, gargoyles, demons and gods on the scene? Apparently not. The 12/15/08 Mass Market Bestseller list has 3 vampire titles on the list.

Gotta love it, too, when our President-Elect has two titles on the Trade Paperback Bestseller list! (Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope are at 2 and 3, respectively).

Another story on the technological has me stumped, except for the openers. The title of the article, What the Hell is XML, sums it up for me, but the intro makes a strong case for e-books, e-marketing and the changes being wrought to the traditional publishing models. Article's author Mike Shatzkin (founder of the Idea Logical Company and one of the creators of the StartWithXML project) says bluntly: "Print book review media and subscription books clubs are fewer in number and, most critically, bricks-and-mortar retail shelf space for books is being reduced." He highlights the proliferation of on-line review sites. As we've all seen, too, print review in even the biggest newspapers is dwindling, with some abandoning their entire book review sections. Further, says Shatzkin, "While sales of books through bricks-and-mortar locations are stagnant, sales through online channels....are growing. A goodly portion of those sales are driven by 'referrals' from specialized Web sites." At the heart of the changes already being experienced, "The shift from traditional to digital marketing is already changing publishers' mindset when books are acquired ("Does this author have a Web site?")."

So it isn't just the book format that we're seeing veer into digital, but the marketing of the titles as well. I'm not the first to say it, but I keep hammering at the bottom line: Digital is going to be where it's at. Be there or be square! Start compiling those lists of on-line review sites. Can't get a Times review? How about SmartBitches Love Trashy Books, Coffee Time Romance and dozens more.

Lots of great reviews in the issue, too (where, or where am I going to put all these books?!).

Bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips' latest, What I Did for Love (Morrow/Feb. 09) garnered a starred review for a "over-the-top, hot-under-the-sheets romcom". "In this massively entertaining romp, redemption is always possible, and even a fake Hollywood couple trapped in a pretend marraige might find true love."

Edgar-award winning mystery author Alex Berenson's forthcoming "The Silent Man" (Putnam/Feb. 09) features CIA agent John Wells and his fellow agent and fiancee, Jenny Exley. PW says about the bad guys in the "well-plotted and thoughtful" thriller: "These extremely clever villains...aren't mad dog idiots but credible characters..." In summation, "Fast and furious when it needs to be, this is a welcome addition to an excellent series."

Of interest to those self-published authors, or if you are thinking about taking that route, take note that in addition to The Celestine Prophecies and Eragon, both originally self-published, a new St. Martin's/Dunne Feb. 09 release, "Hater", by David Moody, was originaly self-published, as well. Termed a "nail-biter", it has gone that extra mile and has been optioned by Guillermo Del Toro for film. Success stories are out there, and since a self-pubbed title that sells 5,000 or more copies (by dint of the author's hard work), generally gets attention from established publishers looking to get a product that's already been test-driven, it is a viable option for an author who may not fit "the box" of many publishers. Lulu and iUniverse/Authors House and X-Libris are the big three when it comes to self-pubbing. Check the sites for answers to your questions on the hows and how-muches of self-pubbing.

Debut author Meredith Cole's St. Martin's/Minotaur mystery "Posed for Murder" won the Minotaur and Malice Domestic's Best First Traditional Mystery competition has an amateur sleuth and a NY setting. PW found it "entertaining".

Romance author Sharon Ashwood has switched genres with her latest, an urban fantasy romance (first in a series). "Ravenous: The Dark Forgotten" (Signet Eclipse/ Feb. 09) is a "well-paced tale of supernaturally infested Fairview, U.S.A." features witch Holly Carver, handsome police detective Conall Macmillan and her "undead business partner" (and, apparently more!) vampire Alessandro Caravelli. "Strong world-building and romantic elements benefit from deft tuoches of humor; readers will look forward to the sequel." Nice start, Sharon!

On the non-fiction side of things, there are a couple of titles that may help those writing both contemporary military characters: Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Comat and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" by Marine sergeant Clint Van Winkle (St. Martin's/March 09, and FBI agents: Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk: Twenty-five Years of FBI War Stories" (James Botting, Potomac, Feb. 09). Memoirs are a great way to gather emotional and immediate details that speak to a reader where dry facts don't, and to give authors insight into characters who are living lives you never have!

The internet and all the fun folks are having in the virtual universe has a downside too. While the legal universal is still playing catch-up, the case of a forged MySpace page is being litigated (claims of emotional distress and defamation). Another media case in the courts concerns the use of "fleeting expletives" and other languaged deemed sexual or obscene in televised media. So far the Supreme Court holds the First Amendment supreme, and given the likelihood that President Obama will appoint liberal judges to any vacancies, it seems destined to remain so for the time being. But keep tabs on rules, regulations and, soon, laws, promulgated regarding obscenity (always a flashpoint for critics) on the web and other new media. Knowing what you can and cannot say, what might get you in hot water, and understanding basic defamation/libel strictures is a wise choice for anyone posting commentary on the web, like blogs, journals, podcasts, and statements on other social sites. When it doubt, zip that virtual lip!

December 22, 2008

Well, looking back I see that I have been remiss for 2, count 'em, 2 weeks. Due to all manner of home appliance and system SNAFUs (car breakdown, plumbing nightmare, oil burner disaster which is on-going forcing us to keep the heat at the lowest possible setting of 59 degrees which, in NYC, means things are getting pretty nippy in the house).

But there's good news to be spread! So here I am, frostbite and all.

I spotted on Galleycat that, apparently, Nielscan's book numbers for fantasy and romance are UP the week of December 15, contrary to just about every other aspect of publishing (although I understand that children's books are still selling...). Galleycat quotes Juno Books editor, Paula Guran who says "fantasy mass market paperbacks sold 102,660 units last week..." compared with "62,781 units" in 2007. Romance, she says "always the industry leader in mass market paperback, sold 202,667 for the week in 2007..." and this year "310,689".

Although they report further that overall for the year, fantasy sales are down, but they report that "overall romance sales are up 83 percent, with mass market paperbacks alone experiencing a 50 percent boost".

Wha-hoo! Some good news. And if you aren't keeping up with all the news that GalleyCat has to offer, check out their site (see link at right).

There are still lots of deals being announced, especially in the romance genre, which bolsters the belief that they are strong sellers. Kelly Mortimer at Mortimer Literary is responsible for numerous romance sales in recent weeks. Check out this agency. Could they be for you?

Charlaine Harris is also hot with sales of both mystery titles and anthologies via JABerwocky Literary.

The likewise popular genre of paranormal continues in YA with a recent mother/daughter Cast sale of three additional titles in their House of Night series.

Simon & Shuster reported (Publishers Lunch; Publisher's Weekly) on their end of year with similar news to their NY brethren in "a challenging year". As with Random House, however, S&S has indicated they will "nearly quadruple eBook salse this year". And they'll be digitizing another 5,000 titles. Additionally they are relaunching their website in January, so check it out for upgrades.

Despite an on-going debate among Romance Writers of America members over the legitimacy of e-published titles, S&S' latest news seems to support my contention that, as far as the e-book is concerned, authors better get on this train or be left in the station! When the traditional NY houses embrace the format, you know it's on its way.

Exciting news for literary and film fans. PL reports that Baz Luhrmann has optioned The Great Gatsby. That's a big WOW as far as I'm concerned. The Aussie-born director of the fantastical and lush Moulin Rouge, as well as the romantic epic, Australia starring (sigh) Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, cannot help but do justice to the story of ill-fated love, money, beauty and the picturesque Gold Coast of Long Island. Now, who will he cast? Who can possibly outdo the perfection of Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby? And what about Daisy?

Another book to film story is that of Robert Harris' The Ghost. The contemporary international thriller by the author of Fatherland and Enigma, the latter of which was also turned into film, will be the next project of Roman Polanski. Say what you will about old Roman, but the guy sure has a way with film.

In the gossip news (sort of), Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari, facing a deadline to repay $800 million in debt, are feuding.

Publisher Cumberland House is folding and Sourcebooks is "taking over the rights to almost a hundred titles". Cumberland founder Ron Pitkin is "seeking publishers to take on rights to 400 previously published titles not included in the Sourcebooks deal". Cumberland specialized in non-fiction titles, especially history and quirky subjects.

Several posts ago I mentioned the Tools of Change conference and provided a link to the registration site. Booksquare blogger Kassia Krozser has also made the argument that this conference is a must. She says "I've long encouraged publishing folk to setp outside of traditional book conferenes to get a sense of where technology - particularly social media - is heading." Check out Booksquare (see the link) for complete details on the panels for this conference, which include Speaking the Same Language: Universal Technology Standards in Publishing and Bookselling; Where Do You Go with 40,000 Readers? A Study in Online Community Building; New Reading Habits, New Distribution Models; and Smart Women Read eBooks.

And on a wonderful note for all fans of words, President Barak Obama has selected Elizabeth Alexander to write and read a poem at his inauguration. Find out more about this fellow word lover at her site (see at right).

For tonight, that's all folks, as I head home to watch over my laboring oil burner until our 2nd visit from the folks I hope will fix it (this time) so we can dispense with the thermal underwear while inside!

I leave you with a poem of my very own.

Write happy,
Write true.
It's the best thing there is,
And it's all you can do.

Hump Day, Redux (and the hump keeps getting bigger)

Whew. Tough day on the market today. Down over 800 points in 2 days. Wasn't it the Paul Simon song that went, "slip sliding awaaaay"?

Anyway. I'm shaking it off.

Back to the biz of publishing.

From Publishers Weekly (Nov. 17 issue): In addition to the article on cover art in the romance genre, there was a very informative article on the rise and rise and rise of paranormal in YA. In "The Next Dead Thing" the mounting popularity of the genre is examined, in the wake of the Twilight saga. Vampires are still on the scene, claims author Donna Freitas, but all things un-dead are making their presence known. Say, like, zombies. In fact, the many takes on zombies are what seem to be hot hot hot.

Says Senior VP and Associate Publisher for fiction at Harper Collins, Elise Howard says "We are still looking for that perfect zombie property.", while explaining that the "hunger for these novels is still unsatisfied", the fact is that the market is getting more sophisticated in what they want. Because of the glut - the books have to be top notch quality in order to stand out from the rest of the un-dead crowd. The old zombie - rotting flesh and body parts falling off - appealed mostly to the young male reader. But new approaches and titles are changing that. Zombie Blondes, Generation Dead and ghostgirl are some examples. Alessandra Balzer, co-publisher of Balzer & Bray at HarperCollins says "Now that people realize paranormal books are popular, everyone is publishing them. Soon it will be harder to get those books the attention they need, so we have to be really picky about what we publish."

Indeed, other creatures of the night are grabbing their own turf, including ghosts, pixies, weres and demonic creatures, such as The Vours in the recently released The Devouring.

Despite not being able to chart what the future will bring, Bloomsbury's Melanie Cecka said, "If fans are demanding these books, then we want to fulfil the need. But we are all getting more calculated about the books we publish. We are being watchful about what each house is doing, and how to position our authors..."

OT, the best line of the article, however, was that of Children's book buyer Donna Gerardo, who said, "It's pretty sad when the undead are getting better sex than I am."

But everyone agrees that this trend is going to stay strong for a while. The lesson I gleaned from the article? Find the next unique dead thing ... and they will come!

Among the PW reviews were some new names as well as some familiar:

Under Fiction - Karen Rose's Kill For Me (Grand Central; Feb.) - "Rose juggles a large cast, a huge body count and a complex plot with terrifying ease." The Nightingale, debut title from Morgana Gallaway (Kensington) "is a politically inspired romance set in contemporary Iraq." (Feb); St. Martin's Press is releasing Eric Spindler's Breakneck (Jan) but PW finds that "Spindler strays from her comfort zone." Lutishia Lovely's A Preacher's Passion (Kensington/Dafina; Jan) gets this kudo, "Amen to Lovely's hilarious follow-up to Love Like Hallelujah"

Mass Market reviewed The Witch's Grave by Shirley Damsgaard in her supernatural series (Jan), finding a "rather disjointed plot"; The Accidental Sorcerer: Rogue Agent, Book One, K. E. (Karen) Mills (Orbit; Jan) - "Miller's whimsical prose keeps the plot jumping and the readers laughing." And Lone Star Woman by Sadie Callahan - who is really Texas author Jeffrey McClanahan (Signet Eclipse; Jan) gets a great review. PW calls the title "as sizzling romance" and of the author's talent says, "...multifaceted character development, swift pacing and sensuous love scenes set this western romance well above its contemporaries." An impressive review for a male-penned romance offering.

And speaking of the YA paranormal trend, under Children's Fiction - Bones of Faerie by Jannie Lee Simner (Random) earns the debut author "the plotting is strong". Melissa Marr, already established in the YA field, enters into a compilation with other authors in the collection of five original stories - Love Is Hell (HarperTeen; Dec). PW says "consistently supple storytelling will lure readers through all five entries".

PW has 5 romance titles on the harcover list and 9 on the mass market. Romance is still strong, in all its permutations!

The Soapbox endpiece that wraps up the issue is a pithy essay by Stephen Barbara, literary agent and contracts director at Donald Maass Agency, who laments the well-honed query letters that now proliferate, following years of workshops and courses for authors on how to pen them. His problem? "Time was, bad writers wrote bad query letters." He now finds himself sucked into reading a submission with a great query letter, only to discover a dreary to dreadful submission. He concludes, "Nowadays...I figure that my goal is to discover great talent, not run a writer through some Draconian test of his or her ability to follow arcane query-writing guidelines." In other words, to paraphrase the Bard - the book's the thing!

Writer's Digest's Writer's Yearbook 2009 is out and is packed with lots of great intel, including an article (sorry, Mr. Barbara) on how to write (you guessed it) great query letters. This magazine is well worth the cover price of $5.99 for other articles on what agent's hate to find in a first chapter; strategies and advice for quick pitches at conferences; publishing your first book after 50 (which includes an inspiring story of Bangladeshi author, Nirad Chauduri, whose first book was published in 1951 at age 54. His second in 1988 at 90. His third? 1997 - aged 100); the year's wrap-up of the state of the e-book; anatomy of a writer's website; and the piece de resistance of the Yearbook, the wrap-up of 101 Best Websites for Writers.

This year these include selections under General Resources, Creativity, Publishing Resources (check out authormba.com/resources/blog_insiders.html) and publicityhound.com),Writing Groups and Communities (groups.msn.com/romancewritingtips), Agent blogs (including the Lori Parker blog I mentioned in an earlier post, as well as rejecter.blogspot.com), Legal and Business Advice (agentresearch.com/agent_ver.html; copyright.gov, literarylawguide.com/resources.html and publaw.com), Fun Stuff (noveljourney.blogspot.com) and Several Genres (erotica - erotica-readers.com; horror - horror.org; and romance - coffeetimeromance.com; romancedivas.com).

And for anyone looking to broaden their horizons:

For folk in the NYC area, PACE University offers a graduate degree, Master of Science publishing program.

The London Book Fair iwill be held on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, if you happen to be in jolly Old England.

There's the Tools of Change for Publishing TOC Conference, Feb. 9-11, 2009 in New York City.

AND, the big BEA, BookExpo America is also back in the Big Apple, May 28-31st, 2009, at the Jacob Javits Center.

More deals, dealmakers, agent profiles and good stuff to come tomorrow.

Til then, say a prayer, and buy a book.

TGIF - and a little something for the weekend

Lots to get into today (I missed 2 days because of layoffs that were announced out of the blue at my office, and it threw me off my game for a bit):

November 10 Publisher's Weekly:

Scholastic bought out 110 employees who took early retirement, but a small number of employees got laid off.

A very informative article, "Digital Pulse 2008" additionally polled various publishing houses about their thoughts, operations and expectation as far as digital is concerned:

Random House - "Digital and online afford publishers the opportunity to connect more effectively with consumers and, ultimately, to make more and more interesting products." And as far as the future is concerned: "People will read a lot more on devices."

Penguin: "We are still seeing e-books as a rapidly growing area, and the downloadable audio market will continue to open up further in 2009 as new customers recognize its value and potential. Penguin Groups USA's net e-book sales are up 500% over 2007 and we expect e-books to continue to sell strongly." [MY COMMENT - 500% - HOLY COW!]

Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt: "There is no doubt that this is a business that's very quickly arriving." and what might be expected in the next few years: "To put a line in the sand, and just speaking for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I think that over the next two to five years, e-books can come up to 4% or 5% of our total business."

Kensington: "We are looking forward to a time when all of the accounts will accept just the ePub format. We've focused on rmoance and women's fiction titles, as well as gay and lesbian and mystery titles; we're looking forward to braodening our offerings. I think it's safe to say that as we make more new release titles available...the business will probablyd ouble each year for several years."

Macmillan: "We're going to see e-books not just be a sideline. W e'll see more simultaneous publications, more formats..."

Hachette Book Group: "...looking forward to e-ink devices with color screens. W e're excited about the new Sony device", and "Mobile phone distribution: We have worked with Mobipocket for several years, and now with Fictionwise and eReader on iPhone." And they expect in the next five years: "..more interactive types of content."

Under the Reviews, THE TEMPTATION OF THE NIGHT JASMINE by Lauren Willig (Dutton) in her Pink Carnation series gets a lovely review "...another sultry spy tale" and "The author's conflaction of historical fact, quirky observations and nicely rendered rmoances result in an elegant and grandly entertaining book."

Jacqueline Frank's new series debut of the Shadowdwellers , Ecstacy (Zebra)gets a nice nod "This romantic and strongly sexual story between complicated characters is made even richer by an intriguing secondary cast and efficient world building that's familiar without being lazy."

Julia Harper's "hilarious follow-up to 2008's Hot", For the Love of Pete (Grand Central) is reviewed too.

And there are a wealth of non-fiction titles spotlighted in Reviews that may be of interest to authors:

One Big Happy Family: 18 Writers Talk About Polyamory, Open Adoption, Mixed Marriage, Hosuehusbands, Single Motherhood, and Other Realities of Truly Modern Love" (edited by Rebecca Walker, Riverhead Publising, Feb. 09), including essays by authors like Dan Savage, and ZZ Packer.

For history buffs, Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by the inimitable Alison Weir (Ballantine, Jan. 27, 09)

More history: Banquet at Delmonico's: Great Minds, the Gilded Age, and the Triumph of Evolution in America by Barry Werth (Random; Jan. 6, 09)

And for the gruesomely inclined and mystery/crime writers: Mop Men: Inside the World of Crime Scene Cleaners by ALan Emmins (St. Martin's Dunne, Jan. '09)

Back to my insistence on how important keeping up with the business is, there is a free daily PW newsletter, PW Daily (I'm having trouble finding a working link, but I'm on it for you guys!)

Another source of the business of books: Library Journal, recommended by Jacqueline Deval, author of Publicize Your Book! AN Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves (a marvelous guide, filled with massive amounts of terrific information for handling publicity, whether you've got $1,000 or less to spend, or $10,000 or more). See the link at right to access LJ.

And at Author Buzz you'll find a marketing service if you have the means to utilize their services. Here's from their Publishers Lunch ad: "For less than $1,000 AuthorBuzz.com reaches 370,000 readers, 5000 booksellers, and 12,000 librarians. Fr incrementally more add leaders and readers of more than 15,000 bookclubs." They get a rave from Carla Neggers, "Dollar for dollar this is the best marketing tool I've ever used."

OK, folks, I'm going to make this short after all. I'm going to a book launch party for a fellow author - just another way to get out the word about your book! (Pardon the typos and hope you enjoy the intel!)

Monday, November 10 - Technology Advances Lead News

NY Times Business Section: Google's officially in the E-publishing game now. The deal reached (Authors Guild v. Google settlement) concerns Google's publishing of electronic versions of out-of-print books, but books that are still under copyright protection. The settlement is subject to the court approval process, which is pending, but it is a harbinger of the varied future of publishing. A particularly salient point is that "Google would share online sales revenue with publishers and authors."

The article examines numerous other new ideas that are being explored by publishers (including e-books on iPhones, for example). In support of the concept that the industry is expanding, technologically, from the tried-and-true print & ship to stores version, the article quotes Eileen Gittins, chief executive of Blurb, a company that aids self-publishers using the internet: "The book business model is under siege, just as the music industry earlier came under siege."

Kindle/Sony Readers/ cell-phone and iPhone "publishing" are just the tip of the technological iceberg and Genevieve Shore, digital director for Penguin in London said in the Times' article "We will have some interesting new business models on the market in 2009."

In fact, the Times reports that while books sales in the US fell 1.5 percent in the first 9 months of this year, e-book wholesale sales are up 55 percent from a year earlier. Look for this to add impetus to the industry's pursuit of electronic delivery methods.

Electronic books have been available for a while, including Project Gutenberg, which makes more than 25,000 books available for download. Their focus, however, is on books whose copyrights have expired, unlike Google, who will be providing titles that still enjoy copyright protection.

This is just one salvo in the war on the traditional paper book. Given the plethora of electronic delivery options, increasingly "green-minded" consumers, and continuing glum fiscal news, look for everyone in the business to invent, explore, expand and promote alternative publishing and distribution of books. Particularly as the legal ramifications are more completely identified, the various parties weigh in, and precedent for these issues are straightened out.

The October 27 edition of PW (which arrived in my mailbox on 11/7), the Deals column highlights new deals for fiction authors Beth Hoffman ("Saving Ceecee Honeycutt - woman's fiction) and William Ryan (The Holy Thief and 2 addtl. titles, historical crime), both by agents at InkWell. Sounds like a "happening" place for authors to be! Check out their website for more details on this agency (see link to the right).

Lots of romance titles got reviewed in the issue, including a great one for Janye Ann Krentz' new HC title, "Running Hot" (Putnam) "The plot is fast, steamy and wildy entertaining..." Also - Meg Cabot's "Ransom My Heart" is an historical romance "...thoroughly enjoyable and funny."

Other general reviews included "Midnight Sins by Cynthia Eden (Kensington/Brava), "Night Shadow" by Cherry Adair (Ballantine). Mass Market reviews of "Untamed", (starred review) Pamela Clare (Leisure) - about this historical they say: "Clare's detailed attention to the history of alliances forged and battles fought near Fort Ticonderoga adds authenticity, and the characters evolve and change with a realism that readers will love"; "Dying for You" Beverly Barton (HQN) "fast pace and hot-tempered romance"; "Wicked is the Night", Catherine Mulvaney (Pocket Star) - "a diverting if pedictable tale"; and "What a Pirate Desires", Michaelle Beattie's debut title (Berkley Sensation) - "This very traditional but fun romance features a feisty heroine, a tortured hero and a sassy parttot, along with strong doses of betrayal, action and plenty of cunning". The number of reviews give romance a nice plug - not always the case in PW which sometimes reviews a mere one or two romance titles.

And the 11/9 Publishers Lunch Deluxe provides details on 12 new deals for romance novels/authors, more than any other genre covered; 11/10 (hooray!).

Lastly, you might wish to consider looking into membership in the Authors Guild. Their membership fee is $90, but they include contract review among their member benefits. Given the diversity of contracts - e-contracts particularly deviate from the old standard publishing contracts - and the recent propensity of publishers to include new provisions, and to change what had been some traditional provisions - for those of us without agents, it is a good source of legal advice that can help you avoid pain, heartache and wasted efforts later. Their link is on the right!

News From Publisher's Weekly 11/3 Issue

PW is an invaluable resource (an ironic sentiment, I know, given the pricey subscription rate for the publication). However, as this week's issue illustrates, it provides a wealth of up-to-date information that every author needs.

PW reports that the Authors Guild, AAP and Google $125 million preliminary settlement ends 3 years of litigation. And further "providing the broad framework for how books - and their content - will be sold in the digital age."

The agreement "ensures that, ...in the online world books will be discovered and rights holders compensated. The agreement gives authors and publishers two things they want the most: control over what is browsable and control of pricing for in-print copyrighted books."

Additionally, "The settlement also gives Google something it wanted, too, the opportunity to continue to (legally) scan copyrighted works and make them viewable, with the permission of the rights holders. The out-of-court settlement also avoids setting a precedent of what constitutes fair use in the digigal age. Google had contended that its scanning of copyrighted books from which it would show only snippets was fair use, a theory publishers and authors rejected."

This is a very complex issue, and I will do my best to cover it as the settlement details unfold.

Read more about it on the Author's Guild site. Links are included to both the official press release as well as the actual settlement agreement for those so inclined.

Suffice it to say that this is one large first step on the road to recognizing the rights of authors in the world of internet and "e-media". As a new frontier, legally-speaking, it will require much legal action to define and hone the parameters that protect rightsholders by translating copyright issues and fair use issues for the new medium, but also allow business to be conducted without undue restriction.

PW also announces their picks in this issue for Best Books of the Year.

The Mass Market category includes the debut Avon novel of author Jordan Dane, No One Heard Her Scream, savying about the book "tight plotting and smooth prose...a story that appeals to mainstream thriller readers as well as romantic suspense fans". Another high-profile deal was the sale and publishing arrangement of Sherry Thomas' Private Arrangements (Bantam). It comes in for kudos - "Deft plotting and sparkling characterization mark this superior debut historical romance..." The other 3 mentions are Mira's The Face by Angela Hunt, HQN's Deadly Deceptions by Linda Lael Miller and Terry Spear's Sourcebooks' title, "Heart of the Wolf". It was particularly interesting to me that Harlequin had 2 titles receive mention, coming on the heels of last year's Quill Nominee under their Mira imprint, The Kommandant's Girl. For anyone who might think that HQN is all about category, their Mira, Luna and HQN imprints are obviously holding their own in the single title arena.

In the main fiction reviews section, PW gives a nice review to Lora Leigh's upcoming St. Martin's Griffin trade paperback release, Only Pleasure (January 09), saying of her heroine Kia, "a superior heroine; strong, sexy and vulnerable."

In the mass market section, romance received reviews for: Die Before I Wake by Laurie Breton (Mira) (Starred review); Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl (HQN) "winning tale"; Stolen Fury Elisabeth Naughton (Dorchester/Love Spell) "rock-solid debut"; and Warrior of the Highlands by Veronica Wolff (Berkley Sensation) "passionate and magical".

Note, too that Publisher's Weekly Romance issue is November 17 and their Mystery special issue November 24.

Check out the bible of the publishing industry. Romance Writers of America and Mystery Writers of America memberships will both get you a discounted subscription off the $225 cost for a year's supply. ($8.00 per single title copy, but they are not usually available on newsstands).

AND IN OTHER NEWS:

On the books-to-TV front: Big news for fans of the True Blood series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse. A 2nd season's episodes has been ordered by HBO.

Hip Hip Hooray! And pass the red stuff...

I've gotten myself a subscription to Publisher's Marketplace ($20.00 per month). I'll check it out and see what's what. They offer info on deals, agents, editors, lots and lots of blogs and sites to check out as well as a job board. I'll let you know if I think it is worth it.

And anyone can get a free subscription to Publisher's Lunch.

That's all for today.