ANNOUNCEMENTS

VIRTUALLY HERS came out Oct. 2009. Get it at SAMHAIN Publishing. VIRTUALLY ONE coming soon.
VIRTUALLY HERS OUT IN PRINT AUG 2010.

I've also made available at Amazon BIG BAD WOLF a COS Commando book, an earlier manuscript about Killian Nicholas Langley. You can sample the first five chapters right here. EBOOK now available for KINDLE, NOOK, and at SMASHWORDS for $4.99.

I appreciate all your emails. If you'd like to buy Virtually His NEW, please contact me. Thank you.



CLICK:

Big Bad Wolf Author's Note/CH. 1

Big Bad Wolf CH. 2

Big Bad Wolf Ch. 3

(more chapters on left side bar below)



To read excerpts of VIRTUALLY HERS, scroll down & click on the links on the right.



EMAIL ME AT JENN AT GENNITA-LOW DOT COM


VIRTUALLY HERS UPDATE

VIRTUALLY HERS OUT IN PRINT AUG 2010! Discounted at Amazon!

To read & comment on the poll (left column), click HERE. Thank you for all the wonderful posts there!

UPDATE: I SOLD THE SERIES TO SAMHAIN!

Here's your UBER VIRTUALLY HERS YAK THREAD!


GLow Twitter

Follow The Glow

Some readers having browser problems with the Google Followers Widget still. For now, you can still follow me through your Blogger Dashboard.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The More Publishing Changes...

My first Romantic Times Convention was in 2001. Back then, RT was always in Oct. and so, this particular RT was memorably sombre because it was right after Sept. 11. There were almost no New York editors in attendance and many authors canceled too.

I went because I had a chance to room with Cherry Adair. I mean, me, a nobody aspiring-to-be pubbed writer, had the chance to pick the brains of a very wonderful writer...how could I refuse? So I went and in spite of the quieter-than-normal atmosphere (which I didn't know then, since I had no previous experience with which to compare), the RT party went on.

In 2001, there were very few e-published authors or publishers in attendance.  Ellora's Cave wasn't the power house we know today, and everyone was just getting excited about erotic romance and erotica. Also, at that time, small publishers were still viewed with caution because those of us who wanted to be published viewed them as a last option because of course, everyone wanted to have his or her first book picked up by a big publisher, one which offered an advance. 

There were a few writers who took the risk and contracted with these little known small publishers. There was barely any advance money and the books were trade-sized, which were more expensive and often not popular with readers because of size and price. Still, for some, it was a chance to get one's work in book form without going the vanity route.  At that particular RT, I remember talking to a few writers about this new "wave" and possibility of maybe one day electronic books being another way to read. We felt rather adventurous, wondering what the future would bring for us, and I was dreaming of being a successful author.

Ten years later.  Yes, this coming RT Con, now renamed RT Booklovers Convention, will be my tenth.  How things have changed, eh?

Today, I am published, with eight books under my belt. I've tasted the ups and downs of the publishing world and witnessed the rise and fall of genres, mass market books, trade-sized books, and new ways of being published.


Today, ebooks is not just a new wave of publishing, but a viable way to make a living. Recently, a very well-known author, a friend of mine, Barry Eisler, walked away from a $500,000 contract with St. Martin's Press to self-publish because he felt he could make more doing it himself. You can read about his decision at his blog.

This news caused a buzz through Twitter, FB, and all of Internetdom because it wasn't a big surprise to many that a national-selling author had decided to step out. Many of us had talked about it among ourselves and speculated on who the first Big One would be. Because, you see, doing-it-yourself and ebook publishing have lost their stigma since 2001.  Especially when the reading public is embracing it by buying these works. Just ask Amanda Hocking, self-published, and whose ebooks had made her seven figures without any major publisher involved. Today, she's the face of success to authors who want to get their works out. She's also added a wow factor because of her recent contract for seven figures with a publishing house.

You can bet the above two items will be two main topics of private conversations between writers at RT next week! It's amazing how the options have changed, yet not. Watching a best-selling traditional-published author changing places with a best-selling self-published author because of personal career-based decisions is not only interesting, but also very empowering, to us writers.

For the last few years, many authors have lost their contracts or big advances as traditional publishing houses lost money because of fewer sales due to the Big Depression (no, it's not a Recession, it's a Depression). Many have given up and gone back to their previous jobs before they wrote full-time. Many, like me, have lost much writing time as we work longer hours or took up other kinds of work to help pay our bills.

Ebooks sales have been going up since 2007 but I think the turning point was the introduction of the Kindle, and then came its competitors.  Also, Amazon has the $$$ to buy TV ads and thus get the attention of the layperson, those who aren't always keeping up with the latest e-gadget. Amazon's self-publishing business--print and ebook--became the new market place for many writers, both new and experienced, as readers started to try new books that are so easily accessible.

Now, a few days ago, Connie Brockway, another famous name among romance readers, has also announced her intention to self-published a few historical romances. Everyone is suddenly feeling very adventurous. And wondering what the future in publishing will bring.

And I'm still wondering whether I'd be successful in this crazy business.

Bear with me while I learn. The first button likes the POST. The second button likes the BLOG site. Please help me by "liking" me. Thanks!

8 comments:

Hot Sauce Reviews said...

I wish I'm 20 again so that I have plenty of time to live through and experience the changes in the publishing industry. Things are going to be interesting 10 years from now.

Gennita said...

Maybe not 20 again, but 35 :). 20 would mean talking as if there is only one absolute truth and one absolute way to do anything, including read and write, heh.

alund said...

I know that you've mentioned many times that you have considered self-publishing Alex and T's story if you don't get a publisher for it. Based on what has happened with your fellow authors lately (as posted in this latest blog), as well as your experience with self-publishing "Big Bad Wolf", are you more inclined or less inclined to continue with the self-publishing route?

Gennita said...

Alund,
Yes, I'm more inclined :). It's on my mind and I do want Alex and T's story out soon. Before readers kill me :).

Elaine said...

I wish all my fav authors, and more, would self-publish and also get into e-books.

I just bought the 7th installment of Manna Francis' dystopian/futuristic MM, The Administration, even though all 7 books (minus a few extra short stories) are available on the series' website.

I bought the paperback version Special Forces by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate even though I'd already read the free e-books.

Both these series are self-published. These days, I hardly buy print books and, in fact, I only checked in here to see if, by chance, you'd decided to self-publish in e-format.

Gennita said...

Elaine,

I'm still of the opinion that self-publishing isn't for everyone. It's a lot of work and those with a full-time job other than writing for a living would find it very time-consuming, unless they're hiring a third party, which costs $$$. Editing/editors cost $$$. Formatting costs $$$.

The two examples I cited in mypost--Barry can afford this at this point in his career and Ms. Hocking can too but even she is saying that she doesn't want to spend 40 hrs a week working on self-publishing instead of writing.

So no, I don't think everyone should self-publish for the sake of self-publishing, esp. if they want to put out a good book. Each writer's circumstance is different and each must figure out what is best for them.

Gennita said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gennita said...

Also, if you're wondering why I'm so slow with the e-pub stuff, the editing time is killing my writing time. With reroofing as my day job these days, and not new construction, I'm basically mentally capable for an hr or two at most after work. But such is life and I accept the challenge to adjust.

DAILY DOSE OF CUTE PUPPINESS

Send My Publisher A Nudge