Posts Tagged ‘self-publishing’
On being a hybrid author, and: Apocalypse Seven is coming!
Earlier this year, I decided to sell a book to a publisher. I’m not talking about a book I’d already published. Dutiful readers of this space will recall that I’ve already done this once, in 2018, when John Joseph Adams Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) bought the rights to The Spaceship Next Door,…
Read MoreWhat if Amazon Killed Kindle Unlimited?
A thought experiment What if Amazon killed Kindle Unlimited? I’m asking the question without any actual information that this is going to happen, so consider this a thought experiment, with a half-decent understanding of the indie marketplace sprinkled in. It’s not an alarm. Although…maybe it could be, because there are signs out there, if you…
Read MorePerspective From the Other Side
As I write this, I’m two months away from seeing The Spaceship Next Door re-released by HMH/Adams* and available for the first time for a whole lot of people who don’t read ebooks and/or don’t read indie/self-published books, and/or just never heard of me before. The last couple of months has been an education, and things haven’t really…
Read MoreThe Next Logical Step
Here’s the big news: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired the print and ebook rights to The Spaceship Next Door! Their edition, which you can already find available for preorder online, will be released on September 4th, 2018. The current editions will remain available until that time, and since I’m retaining audio rights, there will be…
Read MoreRecent Misconceptions
I follow an extremely famous genre fiction author on Tumblr, and a few weeks back this author answered a question from his inbox. It went something like this. Q: I have finished my first novel, had it professionally edited and even commissioned cover art. I haven’t been able to get an agent to represent me…
Read MoreThe Way Forward
I’ve mentioned a couple of times now that I’m going to be reacquiring the rights to four of my novels, but after a few conversations I’ve had with a few people—offhand chats with persons not involved in publishing who are aware that I also exist as a writer—I came to realize I never discussed why I’m getting…
Read MoreIt didn't have to be this way
I was watching Hail, Caesar! the other day when it occurred to me I don’t really understand why Big Publishing is having such a hard time. To your first, question, yes this is how my mind works. To your second question—”what does Hail, Caesar! have to do with book publishing?”, I’m assuming—let me explain. I really enjoyed Hail, Caesar!, which…
Read MoreThe question I never asked
I had this idea last summer, for a new thing. It was a cool idea, and I liked it, so I did something about it: I wrote the thing. Then, when I was done with it, I edited the thing, edited it again, edited it one more time, and then I commissioned a cover and told…
Read MoreTell me I'm pretty
Sometimes we just want someone to tell us we’re pretty. That’s the conclusion I’ve drawn after many conversations with different authors over the years regarding whether or not to self-publish. I’m talking about authors writing genre fiction, either with existing fan-bases (from fanfic or their indie books) or just starting from scratch. These are the…
Read MoreThe NOOK's weird death-march
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Barnes & Noble has become that relative we all talk about as if they’re already dead, even when they’re right in the room with us, and they don’t even mind because at least we’re talking about them. I say this knowing all too well that people have been…
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