Tag: publishing

Taken from Publisher’s Lunch

Amazon Says Kindle Sales Exceed Paperbacks–and Coincidentally, Profits Fall Even As Sales Rise Over $3 Billion
Amazon reported sales of $12.95 billion for the fourth quarter, up 36% from a year ago. But operating income actually declined, even with almost $3.5 billion in extra revenue, down $2 million at $474 million.

The company says they sold "millions of third-generation Kindles" in the quarter, and indicates "Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com" and "this milestone has come even sooner than we expected – and it’s on top of continued growth in paperback sales." The company adds that, "since the beginning of the year, for every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the company has sold 115 Kindle books."

New Year’s Resolutions

Well, I suppose I better get into the spirit. It is also a handy way of putting on record my goals (notably in writing).

So here it goes:

  1. Be a more tolerant dad. My daughter has Asperger’s Syndrome and, well, anyone who knows what I and my wife goes through, knows what I mean.
  2. Be a great dad and husband.
  3. Lose weight. I have never been heavier, and so my goal for the year is to lose 20kgs. That’s a tough one.
  4. Read more. As a writer I need to read – one of the cornerstones of being good at the craft (target: 24 books)
  5. Outline Bitter Creek by December 2011 (or perhaps do much more).
  6. Revise The Scepter and the Orb by September 2011 (first Evyntyde novel).
  7. Write 3 additional short stories and finalize/publish my Evyntyde anthology, Tales from the Chronicles of Evyntyde – by June 2011.
  8. Complete first draft of my second Evyntyde novel, Crystal Peak.
  9. Write at least 12 short stories in 2011.
  10. Qualify for membership of the SFWA.
  11. Addendum – write and complete YA Dystopian novela, The Comfort of Beanbags.

Point 10: Here is my Heat Map of getting into SFWA – the easiest path is to publish 3 short stories in recognized magazines etc. When I get three green slices of the circle, I qualify. Legend: Yellow means I am currently submitted to an SFWA mag, not counting green; red means there is a slot I haven’t submitted to, unless green. Green is a success, as stated.


Point: 3: lose 20 kg:
 

Point 4: Current book reading count: 10 out of 24 (not quite, but close to target)

Point 9: Write 12 short stories: 9 (way ahead of schedule)
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2010 Writing Roundup

I might do this six monthly.

I suspect most people aren’t very interested in extremely anal statistics on my efforts to be published, but I do keep meticulous records, mainly to make sure I don’t mess up my submissions (like sending a submission twice to a publisher, or breaking the rules about the length of time before I can send something else). I have to admit that I keep the stats also so that I can measure my success, intrinsically, and in comparison with the past. This is helpful for me, and my ego.

Perhaps, and only perhaps, other writers can get an idea of how much effort and how much potential reward (including disappointment) comes with the effort. I can only say that if you are a serious writer, writing short stories is smart, and submitting them and getting a foot into the industry, even if some of it is the tail end, IS WORTH IT.

So here are the simple facts (notwithstanding some last minute stuff happening – which will mean I will update this – so if you are reading this after 1 Jan 2011, it is up to date and complete).

Firstly, here is a breakdown of my submissions (they include short stories and novels. Rejections do include 3 withdrawals on my part because a given publisher is an ignoramus, or simply didn’t respond after a very long period of time). I also include efforts at various awards and contests  – note that all bar one will not resolve until 2011.

 

I consider myself a fantasy writer, but interesting enough I had my fair share of scifi success. Another interesting stat is that I got a very good hit rate with anthology submissions. Note that some of my successes will not publish until 2011. "Pub" is basically novels.

If you don’t count the ‘No unfinalised’, my hit rate overall is 18%, or 1 in 6. I am happy with that. In fact, 12 successes is, in my view, a good result for the first year I am serious about this stuff. My goal next year is to have the same number, but to publish at least 3 of my stories in an SFWA acceptable medium. Watch this space.

Here are some graphic representations, for the heck.

And finally, my list of successes for 2010:
 

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Novel update

Okay, I have got Guardian of the Sky Realms out of the way, and am very happy indeed.

(Not novels, but what the heck:) My short story anthology set in my world of Evyntyde is coming along nicely. Of my target 19 stories, I have written 16 – so it is a matter of getting inspired and writing them, refining them, and submitting them for publication. I believe that I can get this pretty much finalized by about March next year.

My first novel, the mammoth 220k The Scepter and the Orb, needs to be revised  – not madly, but the simple fact is that I am a much better writer now than when I wrote it. It is a huge investment, of time and spirit, and also represents the core of my Evyntyde mythos – it just has to be published. So… I will be working hard over the next 6 months to revise it. Target: June 2011.

My second novel, also set in Evyntyde, called Crystal Peak, is about two thirds finished. As much as I want to hit it hard I need to finish The Scepter and the Orb first. Patience grasshopper. So I suspect my target for that novel is December 2011.

Then there is this scifi/adventure/set now novel (Crichton style). It has been bubbling in my head for years. I would be happy to writer a good outline by June 2011. Project code name: Bitter Creek.

I am just sure that a sequel to Guardian fo the Sky Realms will pop out some time soon 🙂

That’s the roundup for now. Will regularly report on how it goes, and possibly throw in teasers, maps etc.

A Vignette of the Nookery

Hmm. I can assure you this topic doesn’t piss me off intrinsically, but piss me off it does.

IFWG Publishing is a small press – not a self-publishing outfit. This is not a derogatory statement about self-publishing – anyone who knows me knows that I have no bigotry in that space at all – only praise among some. But we aren’t a self-publishing enterprise – hey, 11 titles this year.

We want to epublish in all viable ebook platforms – Sony Reader, Kobo, Nook, Kindle, Adobe. There will be others.

We had an ugly-ish experience with B&N’s Nook. This blog is solely about Nook.

Basically, there are two ways to publish on Nook – as a self publisher, you are directed to go through PubIt! If you are a ‘traditional’ publisher, and if you are a "Vendor of Record", you can either send Titles in EPUB format (with cover art) to them directly, via email (for small publishers), and via FTP for larger companies. Given that we published print titles with them (around six) to date, it seemed ludicrous that we had to go through the process of being a ‘vendor or record’, and if you went through the PubIt! process, it is without a doubt oriented exclusively for self-publishers (actually, US based self-publishers, as it is impossible to register without having a US Bank Account).

So, as a matter of experiment, we sent an email to B&N with a legitimate EPUB file and cover art for one of our recent titles, and asked for it to be published. The response was underwhelming – use PubIt! – and they stated that we should register as a small press or self-publisher, and it will all fall into place at the END OF SUMMER (my capitals, and I should add, northern hemisphere).

Well. It would appear that we don’t qualify as a "Vendor of Record" and we have to register as a self-publisher (we produce 11 titles a year, and this isn’t a high enough rate for use of their email system), and wait more than six months before we can publish in Nook.

Congratulations Barnes and Noble. You appear to be less professional than the small publishers you are screwing.
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