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Originally posted by [livejournal.com profile] gailcarriger at So You Really Want to Help the Author?
I'm going to give this to you straight, Gentle Reader. Such directness could be thought quiet rude, this I well know. There are some of you who may wish to stop now, so as to better preserve your image of me. It is an image, no doubt, of a refined elderly female, well coiffed, with a predilection for tea and flowered hats, who's vast independent means permits her the pleasure of writing flowery prose for your amusement in her considerable leisure time.

What follows, my dears, may not be the way you want the oft romanticized publishing world to be. I may not write of it in a manner you see fit. One that somehow dignifies and glorifies the writing arts. Unlike my Victorian forbears I am an author, and this is my trade, not just my vocation. What follows is a gruesome peek into the way IT really works. You shudder, you tremble on your little keyboards, you are afraid, but also . . . admit it . . . your are titillated.

Here it is. What to do if you really truly want to help an author.

I write this, not only for myself, although Gail's continued subsistence is, naturally, of primary interest to me. I write this for all us authors ~ for the brand spanking new writer with her first book soon to appear, for your old favorite who has been writing for years or decades in a solidly mid-list manner. If that author is alive and kicking, the best thing you can do to keep them writing is the following . . .

1. Buy her new book, dead tree style, from a brick & mortar bookstore, within the first week of that book's release. Go Indy if you can.

2. If chains are all you have and you can't find it at Big Chain Bookstore B1, then go to Big Chain Bookstore B2, not B1 in a different area.

3. Remind your friends and fellow readers that the book is out.

4. If you would rather read online or digitally, but have the funds to be kind, buy the paperback and give it to a friend. Then buy the ebook version. (Often the ebook comes out after the paper copy anyway.)

But, Miss Gail, why? This sounds like you want us to play the publisher's game, shouldn't we punish them for not moving with the Proverbial Times?

Why # 1. Because that is what counts towards NYT, and if an author makes The List, she gets put into airports, and if she gets put into airports she gets new eyes, and if she gets new eyes, she gets new readers, and if she gets new readers she gets real sales and she can actually make a living as an author allowing her to write more books for you - ta da!

Why # 2. If the Big Chain isn't shelving or distributing the book you want to buy, you do need to punish that chain by going to their competitor, rather than online. Of course, you never read it here, but independent bookstores are particularly responsive to your needs. Particularly responsive.

Why #3. Because word of mouth is the number one biggest seller in the world. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something . . . or in marketing.

Why # 4. Because, under most current active contracts, an author's ebook doesn't count toward primary sales so far as royalties and NYT are concerned, and they aren't being reported accurately on royalty statements anyway. I know this makes no sense, but there it is. Digital editions are a whole kettle of fish I refuse to get into, because others like Mr. Stackpole discuss it better (and more frequently), and because we have chatted about it on this blog before. (But if you ask me, Gentle Reader, they ought to come out a week after the book and have tapering pricing, so that they cost cover price initially, and then drop down throughout the year to $5 or perhaps even less. But no one asks me.)

I understand that this blog entry seems mercenary, but there is a complex system in place and you, the reader, can hack it in favor of your favorite author if you wish. You just have to play the game the way they have set it up, as illogical as it may seem to an online audience.

There, I have said my piece and I do hope I have not offended greatly. Heartless is out the week of June 27, officially July 1. Nach.

Now, for wading through that you get . . .

A Heartless Teaser
Professor Lyall was the type of man who could stand in the center of a group and no one would remember he was there, except that the group would stay together because of him." ~ Heartless, pg. 213

Your moment of parasol . . .



Gail's Daily Dose
Your Infusion of Cute:

Your Tisane of Smart:
Tent that is a VW van
Your Writerly Tinctures:
A great RadioLab: Help!, that includes a whole section with writers on overcoming writer's block. Dealing withy the muse.

Timeless: Finished with last draft, awaiting copyedits.
Etiquette & Espionage: The Finishing School Book One: Rough draft done. Working on first read through.
Secret Project PPA: Only a twinkle in my little eye.


BIG FAT SPOILER ALERT! Really, DON'T READ THE BLURB ON AMAZON if you haven't read the other books first!
Book News:
Beyond Books reviews the Parasol Protectorate.

Quote of the Day:
"Inside every fat book is a thin book trying to get out."
~ Unknown
Daisypath Graduation tickers

Date: 2011-06-13 10:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rosehelene.livejournal.com
...euwgh. Could not get past the first two sentences of her article, sorry. The condescension was just repulsive.

Date: 2011-06-13 10:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] deborahjross.livejournal.com
Have you read her books? The style is humorous in an arch, tongue-in-cheek manner. But I can see how it comes off as overly, offensively mannered when read in isolation.

Date: 2011-06-14 07:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rosehelene.livejournal.com
We read her first one. We enjoyed it at first but quickly soured and do not intend to buy or read any of her others. Her mix of manners and modern sensibilities is just -wrong- (also, waaaay too much sex).

You know me - I hate it when people talk down at me. This was a case of that... and in a particularly fake manner too, since she has no real claims to those mannerisms.

Date: 2011-06-14 07:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] deborahjross.livejournal.com
Carrigan's version of silliness isn't for everyone. In person, she's pretty solid. I met her in passing at Orycon and she was a guest on a recent SFSignal podcast (LOOK! MOM IS LISTENING TO PODCASTS!) on historical genre.

Fortunately, there are so many wonderful books and authors out there, we don't need to force ourselves to put up with stories that aren't our cup of tea.

Date: 2011-06-13 10:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/
That is a very sensible post. Thank you for passing it along.

Date: 2011-06-14 01:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] daddytodd.livejournal.com
For writers whose work I collect (there are about a dozen) I tend to buy multiple copies of each book -- hardcover, trade paper & finally MMPB. If it's something I want to read right away, I'll also buy an e-book (Kindle or iBooks) edition, and read THAT, and keep the "collectible" copies pristine. If it's something I don't need to read right away (like Book 1 of a trilogy, which I won't read till Book 3 is on the shelf) I'll watch for remainders and buy a second HB copy as a "reading" copy. Or sometimes a used copy from Amazon Marketplace.

I do buy all my new books from Amazon.com. Between them and the local Barnes & Noble "superstore" I'll choose Amazon for 1) selection, 2) price/no sales tax 3) free shipping to my door with Amazon Prime. Brick & mortar just can't compete.

B&N and Borders killed all the interesting independent bookstores in my state, so I'm perfectly happy to see Amazon eat Borders/B&N as a light midafternoon snack.

I typically buy around 6-10 books a month, and in a good month might read 8. Yes, I recognize I'll never get through my backlog at that rate.

Weird, I know, but there it is.

Date: 2011-06-14 08:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] deborahjross.livejournal.com
You are a true delight for authors!

Powell's online offers much the same deal as amazon, although they don't discount new books as deeply. However, they include used books in the free shipping, so for me that more than makes up for the difference. They're an indie store in Portland (OR).

www.powells.com

Date: 2011-06-14 09:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] daddytodd.livejournal.com
Every trip to Portland includes at least a half-day at Powell's flagship store. I'm lucky to walk out of Powell's without dropping at least $300. Once I even had to ship 2 crates of books home, because I had too many to even try and check for the flight home.

Yeah, I love Powell's.

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Deborah J. Ross

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