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Authors: “Success” is Being Able to Pay the Bills

AUTHORS: SUCCESS IS BEING ABLE TO PAY THE BILLS

How do you define success as an author? If it’s jet-setting to exotic locations or sipping martinis at your summer home in Belize, you should probably revise your definition. Writing has never been a ticket to riches, whether you take the traditional or indie route, and authors should change their expectations to reflect this reality, Good e-Reader wrote this week. Before indie became an option, getting a publishing deal was at least a sign of literary acceptance. But that didn’t really mean big bucks. The real test of success is whether you can write full-time, pay your bills, and live comfortably.

Writer Alex McKechnie has fulfilled this less sexy definition of success. He got there, and other writers can follow in his footsteps, by addressing the criticisms that give indie books a bad rap. Indies need to write high-quality work and engage pros to fine tune the details in the publishing process. Relationships with readers and book reviewers are also important. As we delve deeper in 2015, perhaps Mark Coker’s prediction that more indies will drop out of the race will remove a “glut” in the marketplace, and raise quality, Good e-Reader theorized.

FRANCE SAYS ‘NON!’ TO KINDLE UNLIMITED

It’s only been two months since Kindle Unlimited has been available in France, and they aren’t taking it lying down. The country’s Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, demanded an investigation into the service in December. The verdict came from the  Syndicat National de l’Edition (SNE) Thursday, which has declared KU is illegal, the Digital Reader reported. That’s because eBook prices are essentially set by Amazon and not the publishers. In France, this is okay for books needed for research or higher education, but not for “mainstream” titles. The country is just one of many in Europe that have laws governing fixed book prices, and require booksellers to abide by the publisher’s price.

SMALL PRESSES THE DAVID TO AMAZON’S GOLIATH

While indie authors worry about how Kindle Unlimited has all but eliminated their income, small presses are singing a similar song. In the Guardian this week, Lynn Mitchell from the UK’s Linen Press revealed how the company carves into its profits. The indie publisher spends about $6 per copy to produce a book; the “alpha” selling option, Amazon Advantage  – which puts a publisher’s book in the limelight – takes a 55% cut off the retail price. For a $12 book, Linen Press gets to keep $5.50. Mailing the book to its buyer costs another $4.60, and then the author has to get paid. “So we’re in minus figures,” Mitchell wrote. The cost of Amazon Advantage “can be met only by the big publishers.”

The cheaper option is Amazon Fulfilment, which takes a 30%-40% cut of profits, but there’s trade off – lack of exposure. Linen Press is not listed as the main seller for its own books, but are among the “new and used” list of sellers, and may not even be the cheapest option. Though the publisher can send a box of books – rather than post them individually – Amazon charges clean-up fees for unsold copies. The problem, Mitchell wrote, is that Amazon has shouldered other book sellers out of their way and are now almost the only game in town. “It is the most visible, known and comprehensive book market in the world. Our authors expect us to sell their books here, and we do, but neither they nor the buying public necessarily knows the full and hidden story.”

HOW A BUSY WOMAN CAN ALSO BE A WRITER

A woman’s work is never done. And if it’s never done, when does she find time to write? That’s the question author Holly Robinson asked herself at the start of her career. Work, plus the responsibility of domestic duties – taking care of elderly parents, cleaning house, cooking meals, scheduling and disciplining children, being a wife – means many women give up their writing dreams, she wrote in Huffington Post this week. “When it comes to a choice between something perceived as ‘frivolous,’ like writing we tend to shove that activity down lower and lower on our ‘to do’ lists until it falls off completely.”

Things changed for Robinson when she met writer and activist Grace Paley, who revealed her secret to writing success: Day care. In other words – you have to make it happen. “I set aside some small amount of money (to) hire the woman across the street to look after my children for a few hours each week while I wrote… (It was the) single most important decision I ever made as a writer.” Robinson offered some advice to the busy wife and mom struggling to find time to write: Believe that it’s work (and not “frivolous”), value the process even when it’s awful, make deadlines, find a community of support, let the house get dirty, and regularly leave your family behind for some quality writing time.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS OF AMERICA (FINALLY!) OPEN TO INDIES

Indie sci-fi and fantasy writers have finally been invited to a party once graced only by traditionally published writers. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) will now welcome self-published authors, but the requirements to get in are the same as for the traditionally published folks, Good e-Reader reports. Indie authors must make $3,000 per novel, or 6 cents a word for 10,000 words of short fiction for an Active membership. A story of at least 1,000 words at 6 cents a word is required for Associate Membership.

So why the sudden shift? To put it harshly, the traditional market isn’t buying sci-fi and fantasy. In two years, sci-fi unit sales declined by 1.48 million – 21% in 2013 and 7% in 2014. Sales of fantasy decreased 13% in 2014. “Many authors these days are finding it hard to get a trade deal because the big New York publishing houses only sign new authors if they think their books can,” Good e-Reader wrote. Because sci-fi isn’t a hot genre right now, many of its authors are turning to self-publishing.

FREE KICKSTARTER TALKS IN BROOKLYN

Kickstarter is putting the spotlight on publishing and journalism this month. If you live in New York City, you can attend a series of free talks about how to use Kickstarter for publishing and journalism campaigns. The talks will discuss how to pay writers, podcasting and just before Valentine’s Day – literary love stories.

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