Porn is King

By Mark W. Danielson

At a time when the general publishing industry is in dire straits, one genre is not only surviving, it’s thriving.  Sadly, that genre is porn.  The rise in this industry didn’t begin with a colored trilogy, but it certainly turned grey into green.

Most of us who write mysteries spend countless hours making sure every word matters, but the fact is most of our work will be ignored.  Call it the dumbing down of America, but sex sells regardless of content.  Case in point, a recent Sunday morning newscast featured a seventy-something year old grandmother turned porn author who uses Ken and Barbie dolls to explore new sexual positions.  She admitted breaking two of the figures, and said they need to come up with more limber dolls.  She has published 140 graphic porn books since 2007, and will earn more money in a year than most of our combined sales in a lifetime.  It’s easy to get discouraged when you see such success from formula writing, but it is worse when you consider what little thought goes into cranking out 140 novels in five years with the aid of Ken and Barbie.

So, what does the future hold for credible writing?  Quite frankly, it’s no different than before.  Accept the fact that a segment of the population will always be drawn to porn, but quality writing will always sell.  Stay true to your writing, and don’t get fooled into thinking no one is reading real stories anymore.  E-book sales have taken off and there is no turning back.  Television shows like Castle and Blue Bloods prove there are still mystery lovers out there, and they retain their audiences through intelligent plots and great writing.  Porn may be king when it comes to money, but good mysteries will never die.  

E-book Daisy

by Carola Dunn

I am exceedingly happy to announce that at long last all my Daisy Dalrymple mysteries are available for Kindle and Nook (using the original hardcover art--not necessarily a good idea!).

 The first four recently joined the fifth through twentieth.

 

They were delayed partly because I changed agents halfway through the series and my former agent no longer agents; partly because back when I wrote them St Martin's wasn't interested in what were called "computer" rights.

Their legal department first had to figure out what to do about it. Then the two agents had to come to an agreement--not difficult--as to who was "agent of record." Countless papers (in sextuplet) had to be sent back and forth and signed by all concerned. That really slowed everything down. Then the publisher had to decide what they were willing to pay for the e-rights. 

 

 

It's all sorted at last. You can find these four and all the other titles at:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/daisy-dalrymple-series?keyword=daisy+dalrymple+series&store=ebook

And:

http://www.amazon.com/daisy+dalrymple+mysteries

(Click on my name at the top to go to my website and see a list in the proper order.)

E-Reading Ups and Downs

By Jaden Terrell

I came late to the electronic revolution. Long after my husband had said he might never read another print book (because of the ability to change the font size on the e-reader), I was still insisting that I didn't want to read on a screen. I liked print just fine.

He bought me a Kindle two Christmases ago. (Which means, to be fair, I'm going to have to also invest in a Nook.) Surprisingly, I like it. It's great for traveling, because I don't have to lug a dozen books with me, and it's cheaper and easier to download books than to go to the bookstore--too easy, if you ask my wallet, but that's another issue. Overall, it's a convenient little gadget, and I'm glad I have it.

On the other hand, I've noticed some downsides, and I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had the same experiences.

1. When I read a novel, I often like to flip back and refresh my memory about characters and events. Did I miss a clue? Wait a minute . . . wasn't there a guy with cigar on the park bench when the heroine jogged past? And now he's two tables away at Starbucks? With a print copy, I have a pretty good idea where in the book that information was, and it's quick and easy to flip back to it. Finding the reference on my e-reader is cumbersome and annoying--so much so that I usually don't bother. Sooner or later, Cigar Guy's role in the plot will (or won't, if I was mistaken about the park bench) be revealed. I know you can bookmark things, but how would I have known to bookmark Cigar Guy when I had no idea he was going to be sitting there in Starbucks ten chapters down the road?

2. When I read nonfiction, especially books on writing craft, I often like to refer back to previous chapters. Same problem as above, except I can't just blow it off as a plot device I'll find out sooner or later. The information I need isn't going to show up again. Instead, I have to take notes as I go, and if there's something I think I might need later, I have to write it down--even if I only think I might need it. That means I have to read with a notebook and pen in hand, taking notes I shouldn't need to take, since I own the book. Yes, you can highlight. But again, it's cumbersome, and I've never figured out how to get back to what I've highlighted. And I don't always know what I want until later.

3. I can't tell how long the book is. A "real" book, I can see how many pages it is and how big the print is. I know about how long it will take to read and how close I am to the end. An e-book, not so much. So I'm 5% done. Five percent of how much? The only way I can tell is to estimate how long it's taken me to read a percent of the book ("Good lord! I'm still at 4%?!" or "Good lord! I'm already at 20%?!), and then I know if I have War and Peace or Ten Apples Up on Top.

4. For some reason, it's much easier for me to put down a book I'm reading on my e-reader. When that happens, I may or may not come back to it. Or, maybe it's more accurate to say I may take a very long time to get back to it. I bought a book for my Kindle, a book by an author I love. Read a little. Meh.I'm not saying it wasn't good. It just didn't particularly engage me. A few weeks later, I picked up the hard copy at my local B&N. Just browsing through it, I was immediately engaged, bought it, and finished it in two days. I went back to read it on my e-reader, just to see if I loved it as much. Same words. Same story. Meh. I had no trouble putting it down. (It wasn't because I'd already read it; I'm a voracious rereader of books I love.) There's been some research that says we read and process e-books differently from print books, and all I can figure is that's what's happening to me. You can find an interesting post about one person's anecdotal experience with this here. The comments are especially enlightening.

The upshot of it is that, while I find the e-reader convenient, I don't find it especially engaging. The joy I take in reading a good book is diminished when I read it on an e-reader as opposed to an actual book with pages. I would have expected it to be exactly the same, but for some reason, it feels like a completely different reading experience. (Audio books also feel different, but those I get more immersed in those if the reader is good.)

What about you? Do you experience the digital and print versions of a story differently, or is it exactly the same for you? Do you enjoy your favorite books as much, regardless of the delivery system, or does the delivery system make a difference?

The E-Revolution

By Jaden Terrell

For the past few years, writers, agents, and others in the publishing industry have been engaged in a dialogue about whether e-books were the future of publishing, whether the new e-book technology would make self-publishing the smart way for writers to go, and whether digital publishing and internet marketing heralded the end of traditional publishing. While it seems likely that traditional publishing is here to stay--at least for the foreseeable future and at least as a niche market, there are some signs that the ease of digital publishing has shaken the industry to its core. Joe Konrath, who, as J.A. Konrath, writes the Jack Daniels thrillers, became the first author to sign a publishing contract with Amazon and is making much more with his electronic books than he ever did with a traditional print publisher. Of course, Joe is a marketing genius and a fiend at promotion. There was no proof that his success could be duplicated.

Then along came Amanda Hocking and the Kindle Millionaires. People were making big money at this self-publishing stuff. Big, big money. Now, thriller writer Barry Eisler has turned down a $500,000 print deal in favor of self-publishing his new stand-alone. I got the link to this dialogue between Barry and Joe from two people on the same day: fellow Murderous Musings blogger Pat Browning and former literary agent Nathan Bransford. Barry says that, while traditional publishing has been kind to him, he can make much more money over time with digital self-publishing. From someone who was just offered half a million dollars, that's staggering. He has compelling numbers to back up his argument. Whether his numbers (or Joe's or Amanda's, for that matter) are any indication of what the rest of us might make is uncertain, but there's no doubt the opportunity is there.

Of course, there are still advantages to the traditional model as well. Currently, it's still the easiest way to get reviews and contracts for subsidiary rights, such as film and foreign. It will be interesting, though, to see how the landscape will change over the next five years. Some publishers are already reporting e-book sales that are higher than their print sales. If that doesn't bring about some major changes in the industry, I don't know what will.

I like Chuck Wendig's take on the subject (warning: Wendig's post contains some adult language) on his blog, Terrible Minds. Why choose one, he says? Why not choose both? Wendig says if you can write two books a year, why not write one commercial blockbuster for the traditional publishers and one niche-market book for the digital self-publishing market? I kind of like the way this guy thinks. While you're there, take a look at his post on the 99-cent pricing of e-books and jumpstarting a stalled novel. You won't be sorry you did. Only . . . did I mention the adult language?

So where do you think the e-revolution is taking it? Has it affected how you read and/or publish and/or market your books?

If a traditional publisher offered you a $500,000 deal, would you take it, or would you turn them down flat?

Let's Keep Paper Books Alive

by June Shaw

Will Borders close all of its stores?

Let's hope not. And let's hope that more bookstores don't follow suit.

Borders seems to have various troubles, but certainly the rise of electronic books is a major cause of some of their stores closing. Almost weekly we hear of independent bookstores that once thrived closing their doors.

Thousands upon thousands of readers are not deciding they won't read books anymore. They are deciding to read those same books in various ways.

We are getting to experience an evolution in reading. When paperbacks first came out, skeptics said no one would read them. Paperbacks wouldn't catch on. They were flimsy and nowhere as nice as traditional books with hard covers.

The first book I sold was to an e-pub when e-publishing was fairly new. E-books were expected to become the next big thing. But few e-books sold then because devices were rare and expensive. Not many readers bought them.

It's taken awhile, but now e-books are changing readership, and any way we can reach readers is a good thing. Now our challenge is to make certain to keep books in paper alive. We want it all -- to read our books electronically and traditionally.

As publishers struggle to keep up with the evolution in reading, let's make certain we frequent brick and mortar stores. We need to keep them alive.