julesjones (
julesjones) wrote2010-03-21 12:01 pm
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linky goodness: Common Misperceptions About Publishing
On a more cheerful note...
Charlie has posted several more installments of Common Misperceptions About Publishing since I last linked. These are primarily aimed at demystifying the publishing industry for readers, but are also extremely useful for new(ish) writers and for small press writers interested in how mid-list works.
CMAP 4: Territories, Translations and Foreign Rights. Amongst other things, this goes into excruciating detail about why you can't buy that ebook edition you want just because you're in the wrong country. It also looks at how the various markets differ in formats and distribution of books, and how foreign rights can add up to a serious chunk of change that can make the difference between needing a day job and earning a reasonable living as a writer.
CMAP #5: Why books are the length they are. There is a reason why print books are the various lengths they are, and why that can change from market to market. As I chip in with somewhere down the comment thread, one major reason why I am epublished is the length I tend to write at -- never mind the hot boy-on-boy action, it's my word count that doesn't suit the current print market.
CMAP #6: Why did you pick such an awful cover for your new book? There is backstory here. As he eventually says, Charlie had an Unfortunate Experience with the US cover of Saturn's Children. Quite a lot of people assumed that he had something to do with said cover, but in fact authors have little to no say over what goes onto the book jacket. As a small press author at a fairly flexible epublisher, I have a lot more say over the cover matter on my books than Charlie does on his mid-list books, and I still don't have an actual veto over what my publisher chooses in its wisdom to put on my books. As Charlie discusses, there is a good reason for this, even if it ever so occasionally results in Author Weeping Into Beer.
Lots of good stuff there, in both the main posts and the comment threads.
Charlie has posted several more installments of Common Misperceptions About Publishing since I last linked. These are primarily aimed at demystifying the publishing industry for readers, but are also extremely useful for new(ish) writers and for small press writers interested in how mid-list works.
CMAP 4: Territories, Translations and Foreign Rights. Amongst other things, this goes into excruciating detail about why you can't buy that ebook edition you want just because you're in the wrong country. It also looks at how the various markets differ in formats and distribution of books, and how foreign rights can add up to a serious chunk of change that can make the difference between needing a day job and earning a reasonable living as a writer.
CMAP #5: Why books are the length they are. There is a reason why print books are the various lengths they are, and why that can change from market to market. As I chip in with somewhere down the comment thread, one major reason why I am epublished is the length I tend to write at -- never mind the hot boy-on-boy action, it's my word count that doesn't suit the current print market.
CMAP #6: Why did you pick such an awful cover for your new book? There is backstory here. As he eventually says, Charlie had an Unfortunate Experience with the US cover of Saturn's Children. Quite a lot of people assumed that he had something to do with said cover, but in fact authors have little to no say over what goes onto the book jacket. As a small press author at a fairly flexible epublisher, I have a lot more say over the cover matter on my books than Charlie does on his mid-list books, and I still don't have an actual veto over what my publisher chooses in its wisdom to put on my books. As Charlie discusses, there is a good reason for this, even if it ever so occasionally results in Author Weeping Into Beer.
Lots of good stuff there, in both the main posts and the comment threads.
no subject
My favorite comment on this was from Jennifer Crusie at an RWA seminar a while back. Her comment was to the effect that if a cover that isn't representative of the book's actual contents prompts a sale, that cover's likely done me no favors. The person who buys the book expecting one thing but getting another is unlikely to ever buy one of my books again.
no subject
And the reverse is also true. The Saturn's Children cover that looks like really bad CGI porn is in fact a very clever and funny description of what the book is about -- but only if you *already* know that the lead character is a sexbot who is bottom of the social pecking order in a post-human society, and that the novel is a pastiche of Robert Heinlein's Friday (and what that means). If you don't know that, it looks like a typical Changeling Press cover, only aimed at the stereotypical male sf fan who can't get laid.
Which is why the general reaction when Charlie first showed a jpeg to his focus group was, "My condolences, dude." It's accurate, but it will nevertheless put off some of the people who would enjoy the book, and attract some buyers who will not be getting what they expected.