Deborah's Journal

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