My happy news

[Mythsaje]

Yesterday I sent out a query letter for submission of my fourth novel. I expect it to be accepted post-haste, if for no other reason than my editor is already a big fan and my first novel (which came out in July) has already garnered several five-star reviews.

I'm now working on the fifth book in the series, which will be far more political than anything that came before it--mostly set on an alternate Earth in around 2020 where the Neo-Cons have consolidated their power. A world-hopping group teams up with a disenchanted local lefty cop to start a revolution.

It's gonna be fun. And, with any luck, it'll piss off enough RWers that they want to toss it in the burn pile.

Can't beat free publicity. <eg>

[Old Hickory Fan]

1. Congratulations !!!! nt

[AllegroRondo]

2. Sounds good - whats the title?

This is the kind of stuff I love to read. I may have to run to the bookstore and buy the series.

[Mythsaje]

9. Only the first book "Loki's Sin" is available now

It was published in electronic edition only (better for the environment because no paper is required and there's no fuel consumption requirements for distribution. It can be distributed world-wide without any fuel consumption).

To pick up a copy proceed to my website http://www.sajewilliams.com and click on the book link halfway down the page. That will take you to my publisher's site and my page thereon.

[Orrex]

3. Hey, that's awesome!

Congratulations! You should post something about it in the Writing group.


:toast:

[Mythsaje]

27. I have a bit of an issue with the writing group

because of a response I got early on from there. I received the impression that many of the writers there strongly support the Big Houses and their attempt to marginalize the new (and growing) small press and e-publishing houses. I'm a huge supporter of diversity and am very happy to support those trying to break these long-standing monopolies. I think it's best for the readers, the authors, and the publishing business, personally.

[Orrex]

29. Sorry to hear that!

I haven't had much exposure to that part of the Writing group--my involvement has related to exchanges-of-news and reader-to-writer-to-reader reviews.

Still, congratulations all the same. I hope that you sell a bazillion copies!

[Mythsaje]

30. There's a meme

that is passed along in certain circles that only publication through the Big Houses is valid...that if the Big Houses don't want your stuff you're not really published. The problem is that the Big Houses have stopped accepting unsolicited submissions and ONLY work through agents, which marginalizes those who are not yet published...if you aren't published already, it's difficult to get an agent in the first place.

They're shooting themselves in the foot with this...and the small houses and electronic publishers are starting to take up the slack...offering the reading public books by a whole host of new authors that would otherwise never have been accessible. The sub-genres of romance have exploded...paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, and suspense in particular. And Hollywood and the Big Houses have now started trolling the small press publishers looking for new talent.

[CrispyQ]

31. I didn't know that.

When I see how much crap is in the bookstores, I'd think for a small amount of money they could pay lots of people like me to read their slush piles & maybe find a few gold nuggets. So short sighted, like most big companies are!

[Mythsaje]

33. It's a vicious circle in many ways...

they publish known authors who, because of the level of support they get from their publishers, often lose touch with their readers and stop trying to produce top-notch work. But their work is highly promoted, so it sells anyway, whether it's good or not.

[Orrex]

34. I see what you're saying.

The way I’ve always heard it, small-press publishing is fine. Vanity publishing, in which you pay your own money to have your work bound, marketed, and distributed, can be problematic for future sales because it suggests (baselessly, perhaps) that the work wasn’t sufficiently “good” to get published otherwise. That's shooting oneself in the foot, too! Future prospective publishers might incline toward a more verifiably bankable author.

But there’s nothing wrong with small-press. You’re right that it’s hard to crack the NYT “best sellers” list, but if your goal is to get your works into print, then high-volume sales aren’t really your motivator, are they?

I’ll peruse your site over the weekend to check out your writings. In any case, congratulations once again on your success!

[Mythsaje]

36. Because of the market forces

it is often necessary for some small press publishers to go with the POD (Print On Demand) option for authors to get their books into paper print and the authors help defray the original set-up costs for the process.

It isn't Vanity Press, since the editing and promotion of the electronic versions is complete even without the POD fees. The books are vetted before the submissions are accepted (which is not something that occurs in normal "Vanity Press" books--where the only thing that's important is the cash outlay by the author in order to attain publication in the first place)and the books go through a rigorous editing process to be readied for market.

When you're up against multi-million dollar operations that can promote widely and print thousands of copies without even considered how wasteful the process is if these copies don't sell, one must take baby steps.

[Orrex]

42. I may have been unclear

I hope you didn't think that I was dismissing your work!!

I was trying, inarticulately perhaps, to distinguish small-press publishing (which, I believe, is the route that you have gone) from vanity publishing.

It sounds like you've got a good idea of what you want to publish and how you want to go about it. Bravo!

[Mythsaje]

45. No worries....

I just wanted to make clear the difference between the two...some people are confused because of the few similarities. I've talked to a few people who just don't get it.

[Finder]

46. Well money should always flow to the author...

If an author does not receive an advance or has to put up a penny of their own money...then they are dealing with a vanity press or an author mill. Author mills are the rage these days and are putting legitimate small presses out of biz. The big presses are forming their own author mills..ePresses and lightning source, bookmasters, etc...and laughing their way to the bank...

[Mythsaje]

49. Advances

are actually rare in the ebook world... The big houses manage what they do because they're willing to throw a lot of money into promotion to recoup their investment. Some mainstream authors never see anything more than their advance unless the book becomes a best seller.

My books will never go out of print, which is an upside, and in two years, when my contract runs out, I can work another deal with someone else, or re-publish myself, and keep a greater share of the profits myself.

I get roughly 33% of the take on each sale, which I figure isn't bad. The rest of it goes to the cover artist and the publisher.

[Finder]

53. Still, an advance is more than the net most author mills pay...

which is the only point I was trying to make. Marketing and promotion is the most important thing for book sales. You are using and believing the author mill meme used to suck new authors in.

Legitimate small presses pay authors 50 percent of ebook sales.(just to let you know)and that is on top of any advance paid for the rights. Remember..you are selling the rights to the publisher.

[Finder]

48. Small press and e publishers are not the same.

Small and mid-size publishers pay advances to their authors and market and promote them. Most ePublishers don't...that is the distinction between being published and not in the eyes of other published writers.

Bookstores and libraries usually only stock offset books not digital.

[Mythsaje]

50. It's a small distinction

growing smaller by the day. An advance isn't worth a hell of a lot if you never see a cent beyond it because the book doesn't sell well enough for the publisher to recoup their investment. And if the printing is only a limited run because of slow sales, the book goes out of print very quickly and the author never sees another dime for his or her efforts.

We maintain a high level of control of our work, and have a lot of promotional avenues not available, or not taken advantage of, by most of the mainstream authors. And our books will never go out of print. Using POD a person will be able to order any number of my novels for the foreseeable future...or take the option of getting a digital copy within minutes of ordering it. The way I see it, that's a win/win.

It may give some authors an ego-boost to draw a distinction between one form of publishing and another, to consider themselves somehow superior because they are "real" authors, but in the end that doesn't matter too much. It doesn't mean they're better writers, or have a better story to tell. It means they chose one route over another.

[thinkingwoman]

35. I got the same impression

and I took a pass as well.

The big houses have had their day. Now publishing is going back to the authors, where it belongs.

Great works of literature were written and distributed for thousands of years without the NY publishing houses, and they will be again.

Congrats, btw!

[Mythsaje]

37. Thank you!

I've ran across some excellent works that have, later on, been pulled into the mainstream, as well as authors who are obviously good enough to be published by the Big Houses but quite deliberately chose not to go that route.

The Big Houses and their production and distribution methods are terribly wasteful and environmentally unfriendly...the printing of thousands of copies and subsequent self-purchasing of them to drive up the "copies sold" statistic is just one example of this.

Small Press and e-publishing is a much more environmentally friendly operation, if only because the money isn't there to use this methodology.

If you consider distribution, e-publishing is obviously superior, since there's no fuel cost involved in transporting paper copies around the globe. Electronic versions can be transmitted across the planet in a manner of minutes with a comparably small expenditure of energy.

[thinkingwoman]

39. I recently left my publisher job

with a periodical print publication. I've been considering switching to publishing books and doing so electronically. I'm very excited about this new distribution method because I think it is the keep to giving authors power over their work again.

The environmental benefits, as you've pointed out, are nice too!

[Mythsaje]

41. It's a growing industry

that's for sure. My wife discovered ebooks a few years ago when she won one in a contest and now she's a reviewer and an editor for a number of different agencies.

[bryant69]

4. Congrats

Good luck with it.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[CrispyQ]

5. You rock!

Please, what is the title of the series? Sounds right up my alley!

[Mythsaje]

14. The Infinity: Earth Saga

The first book is "Loki's Sin" and is available through the book cover link on my website http://www.sajewilliams.com, about halfway down the page.

[CrispyQ]

32. I will check it out!

Good luck on the future novels!

[The Witch]

6. Woo go you

so how did you get into novel writing? And do you need a good copy editor? :grin:

[Mythsaje]

16. Been writing

since I was in grade school. My wife (who's both a reviewer and an editor) is the one who convinced me to submit my stuff to a publisher. She's my first-line copy editor, though I write extremely clean copy and my publisher has its own editors as well.

[The Witch]

21. Wow. I will certainly pick it up

next time i'm in a store, as it sounds like it's available widely! And if you ever need an editor or know if your publisher is looking for freelancers :wink: juuuust kidding. Today, celebrate your own success :D

[Mythsaje]

24. At the moment it's widely available

because of the ease of electronic distribution. Most of the big booksellers make it very difficult for small press novels to use their distributors so as not to alienate the Big Houses in NY and London.

After I arrange for the trade paperback version early next year, it will be available through mail order, however, and, with any luck, will get enough attention that the booksellers will have reason to seek it out.

It wouldn't hurt for readers to request copies from the booksellers, though...it can prompt them to get involved and seek out copies themselves.

:D

[Mythsaje]

25. You might consider

applying to one of the on-line review sites (I recommend Loveromances.com, actually) as a reviewer to start with. Success in that field can lead to other opportunities--that's how my wife picked up an editor's job with another small press publisher and a position with an woman's ezine that's launching a print edition after the new year.

[The Witch]

26. I always thought such sites were scams

nice to hear otherwise!

[Mythsaje]

28. Oh, absolutely not...

Loveromances, for example, is well known for being a source of really honest reviews, where some of the others are NOT. You'll find that some sites won't publish a review under 3 stars...but, like my wife says, the review sites exist for the readers, NOT the authors.

There are also some very good small house and electronic press publishers out there... New Concepts Publishing is perhaps the fastest growing of them, but there are others, including my own publisher, Wings ePress, that are beginning to gain serious ground. You might consider checking out some of their yahoo reader's groups and watching some of the discussions that are going on to get a better idea of what's out there before making any decisions.

[Finder]

47. Most are scams...

They make money from sales to the authors relatives and friends with no investment. A get rich quick scheme that feeds off the egos and frustrations of new authors. They even charge the authors for books.

There are some really good authors who have been swept up in the scam and real publishers do try to rescue them. The bad thing is..these scam publishers put their own ISBNs and copyright on the work so if a book makes a splash..the author gets crap..for example if a movie house wants to pick it up.

[Mythsaje]

51. I own my own copyright

thank you very much...

This kind of vicious propaganda feeds the Big Houses, who hardly need the assistance.

[Finder]

52. Not propaganda and glad you copyrighted....

some didn't though and were not too happy(the edited version). Please don't think I was demeaning what you have done..sounds like you are happy with your publisher. That is all that matters.

Epubs don't dent the big houses they hurt the small independent publishers. The big houses own most of the large POD printers at this point so they lose nothing.(lightning source for one)

You should look into predators and editors online.

[Just Me]

7. Wow,...so COOL!!!

:hug:
:applause:

[ArkDem]

8. Isn't Loki's Sin in the New York Tmes top ten fiction?

[Mythsaje]

17. I wish...

That would shock me silly. Unfortunately it's very difficult for small press novels to make it onto the Times list.

[soothsayer]

10. Cool! Congrats to you!

[SuffragetteSal]

11. Congrats

I can't wait to read your books! I read a little about Loki's Sin and I am hooked already. Thanks for being around DU...nice to meet you.

[Mythsaje]

18. Wow...so where

have you read about Loki's Sin? I'm so happy to hear that, but I'm also curious.

Nice to meet you too.

[SheilaT]

12. So when will it actually be out on paper?

I prefer to read my books the old-fashioned way, while taking a bath, or in bed before I go to sleep, and my desk-top computer doesn't exactly work in either case.

[Mythsaje]

15. I'm working on that right now...

Hopefully I'll have it out in paper sometime early next year.

[ninkasi]

13. Congratulations...

I love the fact that you're having fun, hopefully making money, and pissing off conservatives. Keep on rockin'!

[Mythsaje]

19. I'm sure working on it...

Thanks for the good word.

[graywarrior]

20. Nice. One of my best friends just published a book.

Hope yours gets published as easy as hers did.

[Mythsaje]

22. I've got reviewers clamoring for Book II already

so I don't expect I'll have much trouble.

[graywarrior]

23. Excellent!!!!

That is so awesome. I look forward to reading it.

[H2O Man]

38. That's great!

Good for you!

[Fridays Child]

40. A very big congratulations to you!

:hug: :yourock: :toast:

[WritingIsMyReligion]

43. Congrats... I write, as well,

but being all of fourteen, I'm still very young and inexperienced. Just tackling me own fantasy novel, on coming-of-age, philosophy-stuff, etc., etc., etc. Figure if I can piss off some RWers as well (VERY obvious liberal slant :D :D), I'll be satisfied.

[Mythsaje]

44. Wow...

Good luck with that. Seriously.

Something you might find interesting is that a quite successful fantasy novel called "Eregon" that was written by a 17 year old has been optioned by Hollywood recently.

[bigwillq]

54. Congrats!

That's great news! :)