TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘Katherine Smith’ Category

By Katherine Smith

Does New York notice e-book authors? I’ve asked that question before, and now I can answer.

Well, it does, at least in my case.

Last week my agent, Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Agency, called me with a two-book deal with NAL. After I picked myself off the floor, I believe I mumbled some inarticulate words of gratitude that probably made her wonder how on earth I could string two sentences that made sense together in a manuscript, and we ended the call.

Well, wow, I said to myself.

The “how”

So how did this happen? Did my name in the world of e-books—I also write as Emma Wildes—help? When I found the presence of mind to ask, the answer was yes.

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By Katherine Smith

What’s the draw? If the big New York houses aren’t publishing you, who are you?

Now that is a great question, and here’s a shot at answering it.

I recently had a book come out from a fairly big e-publisher, which lets readers comment online. And a fan wrote in that one of the things she liked about my books was this:

When my titles appear in E, or those from countless other writers, she could buy them on the spot.

All right, we’re a society of people who expect quick gratification for our dollars, and, yes, I can relate. Hey, I shop online. I love it. Let’s explore this a little more.

Lives in Turkey but could buy all my books

I am not Nora Roberts, but E takes the parameters of our world and narrows them for all writers, not just the very biggest stars. E lets the woman in South Africa buy my books, then e-mail me to say she loves them. Also the man in Austria. Meanwhile a reader in Turkey can tell me she’s bought all my books. Geography doesn’t matter, and along the way my backlist stays current. It’s a stark contrast to brick-and-mortar stores, where books come in, have a short shelf life, and are stripped and dumped. (more…)

By Katherine Smith

Here we are. Techo savvy, but still testing our boundaries, learning and growing and expanding—and yes, finding the usual problems along the way. One of those, naturally, is the same one the music industry has had to address: the sharing of information across the net.

All right. How many of us feel sorry for big music stars when their songs are downloaded? (Looks for raised hands). Well, since technically it is stealing, we probably should, but heck, we all know they make a bundle…

No, it still really isn’t right. Moreover, it is against the law unless specifically released by the artist into the public domain. I am not talking about anything but current works.

Not the same as used book stores

Now then, let’s move on to e-book problems. Yes, for years there have been used book stores. Authors get no royalty for those sales. In fact, the book can be read and brought back many times. One person at a time. However, the scope of the possibilities of releasing an e-book for resale on an Internet site is endless.

To a certain extent, since e-books sales are still in the fledgling stage in many cases, I have mixed feelings about this. What if someone reads a pirated book and loves me and goes and buys all my books? Well, that would be great, if they buy it from a reputable distributor or my publisher. What if they then in turn offer it for sale and make money from it and I have no idea how many copies are out there circulating? Am I really getting up at five in the morning (and in Indiana, it is cold, dark, and I sit huddled at my computer) to write the best book possible to make someone else money or give it away for free?

No e-book millionaires

It doesn’t sound so good anymore. There really are no e-book millionaires. Not yet anyway. It is an emerging, changing, growing business, but still in infancy in many ways. The piracy doesn’t help the industry. Copyrights are protected by federal law, but the sites pop everywhere anyway, many of them overseas. I hate to even look anymore, but one recently had thee pages full of listings of my books. Three pages? Really? I felt popular for about one flat minute.

The upside is there are many reputable organizations like Epic that go after these unlawful sites. So do publishers I know Ellora’s Cave, for example, very large in e-books, has lawyers who keep on top of all this, but it is a constant problem.

Authors really do work hard. Publishers also pour a lot into a book. It will be interesting to see how this emerging part of our cyber culture deals with the issue.

By Katherine Smith

Moderator’s note: TeleBlog contributor Katherine Smith, in her Emma Wildes incarnation, is among the best-selling authors at Fictionwise. But as someone out for more than the buck, she also writes more serious books, and I’m delighted to share her thoughts. - D.R.

One of the things an author—and reader—cannot escape is the sweep of popularity. We all know it, because how could we not? Right now, it tends to be fantasy action/young adult, but let’s not forget blockbuster suspense novels. The books sell incredibly well. The movies follow. Let’s all write them! With this type of impact on the media in general, written or film, maybe this is what the public wants.

Well, maybe.

E-books, like all mediums up for sale, are impacted by the latest trends, perhaps more than most. E-books are also affected by the latest technology at this point, so they are buffeted by the winds of change on all sides. Will my book be up in a certain format for sale? When will it load to the latest hot distributor?

But wait.

Pros and cons

As with all things, the good comes with the bad.

The bad? Oh yes, all the common problems any publisher/author faces. Sales, numbers, ratings, reviews. It all applies across the board. The smaller companies have the same troubles the big ones do.

The good. This is my take, and my take only. E-books have a unique advantage. Here, because the investment isn’t so immense, publishers take chances. Or I think a better way of putting it is that they have that discretion. A fabulous book. Wow, yes. Will it sell? We hope so. It deserves to sell. But we won’t sink our company giving it a try.

The joys of E—as an outlet for edgy books

Let us never underestimate the tastes of the public. Yes, we all obviously love the big guns who write the bestsellers and climb the charts’. But how wonderful is it when a very good—but perhaps not commercial—book is given a chance to be read? Big print publishers do this too, I am not selling them short, but with understandable caution. Printing books costs quite a lot of money and it is, after all, a large investment. If you are looking for something a little bit on the edge and out of the box, well, an e-book might not be a bad idea. And you don’t have to get out of your jammies to buy it.

By Katherine Smith

Moderator’s note: Katherine Smith, aka Emma Wildes, our newest contributor, is a star of e-bookdom—the #1 bestselling writer at Fictionwise for the past six months, as well as author of over thirty books and short stories. A member of  Romance Writers of America, she is a 2006 Lories novella winner and a 2007 Eppie winner for the best erotic historical. Welcome, Katherine! - D.R.

Hundreds of e-writers must have been cheering or groaning as the news filtered into the inboxes of their PCs throughout the world. E-mails Thursday were telling them whether they were finalists in the e-bookdom’s high-stakes contest, the Eppie awards. Just who among the six-hundred contestants–anyone can enter–had survived the first cut?

As I scanned down the finalist lists, I saw a lot of heavy hitters in the e-biz (Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing, Loose Id), but also smaller new houses, like Calderwood Books–which, strengthened by gifted new authors, had made strong showings. I also saw big  New York houses in the ranks, such as Harlequin and Silhouette. Sylvia Day at Kensington Books made the finals last year.

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