THE BROTHER OF ADAM, the sequel to BLOOD AND SHADOWS will be available near the end of the year!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Blood and Shadows!
Hello everyone! BLOOD AND SHADOWS is now available on Amazon for purchase! Keep in mind, my novels are not the typical short novella that most self-pubbed authors put up. BLOOD AND SHADOWS is a 127,000 word book full of twists, turns and a unique view into Hitler's true agenda for WWII - immortality!
THE BROTHER OF ADAM, the sequel to BLOOD AND SHADOWS will be available near the end of the year!
THE BROTHER OF ADAM, the sequel to BLOOD AND SHADOWS will be available near the end of the year!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Traditional Publishing vs. Self-publishing
This is a question I have been wrangling with for years. For me, it is almost like the first jump into the lake. Is it going to be warm and inviting, or death-bone frigid?
Before we go any further, let me clarify. For the purpose of this post, I am going to discuss ePubs vs. traditional exclusively. I'm not going to cover paying a publisher/printer to print up a batch of books for you to promote. That's a whole new subject altogether with many pitfalls.
I have always been weary of self publishing. There were a lot of questions that I was concerned with. Chiefly among them, would self-pubbing damage any chance I have with landing a future literary agent? If, on a future project, would an interesting agent see some old work floating out there that may turn them off? What kind of success do self-published authors have?
Lately, I've seen more agents discussing the self-published authors more easily. Where a few years ago, self-pubbing seemed like a death-nail to a real career in writing. There are some mainstream authors today that got their start as a self-published writer.
There is A LOT of content out there by self-published authors. Some good, some not-so-good and some are just, let's be honest, HORRID. And that brings me to one of the good things of going the traditional route. Agents and publishers know a good story when they see one (mostly). They are the folks who know market trends and know what sells and what doesn't. They are our filters, feeding us refined literary nutrition and keeping the crud that causes cross-eyed-syndrome to a minimum. With their help, they weed out the grammatical gaffes that make dead English teachers curl their toes and rise up from their ashy grave to slap a deaf and mute preacher.
Another important aspect of traditional publishing is that a literary agent is there for the author. They protect the writer's rights and make sure any contract leans more to the writer than the publisher. Agents, if you're fortunate to land one, is a partner for your interests. Of course, they have a dog in the fight too. The sweeter the deal, the more they make on commissions. The more rights you control, the better off they (your agent) are in the future. Also, authors with agents in their corner seem to be able to gain traction quicker than self-pubbed ones. While it is not unheard of, it is rare for a self-published writer becoming extraordinarily successful. Agents will negotiate and navigate you through the contractual phase of selling your book to a publisher too. And that is a HUGE advantage. There are tons of websites out there that will promote landing an agent.
However. There is a creative cost to going to traditional route. You are beholden to the agent and publisher's "suggestions". If they don't like a title, you change it. Dean Koontz (my fav. author BTW), briefly shares his battle with publishers on a book title in one of his books, DRAGON TEARS. Also, that new project you've been salivating over, well, it may or may not be what the agent and publisher is looking for. Keep in mind, doing so is their job. And their job is to make money.
The world of self-publishing is much simpler and easier to navigate. It is the unprotected-sex of the publishing world. Typically you take all the risks and do most of the work. This includes writing, editing, jacket design (if you're a do-it-yourselfer), and promotion/marketing. You have more creative freedom too with no one telling you what will sell and what won't. So what if it doesn't sell? You've written it and now you can self-pub your novel and let the actual readers pick. Will you make a lot of money self-publishing? Well, that's up to how well you write and how well your are in promotion. It isn't unheard of for self-published authors to do rather well. Plus, if your work is polished and good, it may lead you to a literary agent. There are certainly some do's and don'ts with self-publishing. You need to be versed on these before you get yourself into some kind of lawsuit.
All that said... I have decided to self-publish BLOOD AND SHADOWS. Once it is available. I will let you all know. The sequel THE BROTHER OF ADAM is finished and is undergoing the editing process (stab me in my throat now, please) and will, hopefully, be available for purchase by the end of the year.
Before we go any further, let me clarify. For the purpose of this post, I am going to discuss ePubs vs. traditional exclusively. I'm not going to cover paying a publisher/printer to print up a batch of books for you to promote. That's a whole new subject altogether with many pitfalls.
I have always been weary of self publishing. There were a lot of questions that I was concerned with. Chiefly among them, would self-pubbing damage any chance I have with landing a future literary agent? If, on a future project, would an interesting agent see some old work floating out there that may turn them off? What kind of success do self-published authors have?
Lately, I've seen more agents discussing the self-published authors more easily. Where a few years ago, self-pubbing seemed like a death-nail to a real career in writing. There are some mainstream authors today that got their start as a self-published writer.
There is A LOT of content out there by self-published authors. Some good, some not-so-good and some are just, let's be honest, HORRID. And that brings me to one of the good things of going the traditional route. Agents and publishers know a good story when they see one (mostly). They are the folks who know market trends and know what sells and what doesn't. They are our filters, feeding us refined literary nutrition and keeping the crud that causes cross-eyed-syndrome to a minimum. With their help, they weed out the grammatical gaffes that make dead English teachers curl their toes and rise up from their ashy grave to slap a deaf and mute preacher.
Another important aspect of traditional publishing is that a literary agent is there for the author. They protect the writer's rights and make sure any contract leans more to the writer than the publisher. Agents, if you're fortunate to land one, is a partner for your interests. Of course, they have a dog in the fight too. The sweeter the deal, the more they make on commissions. The more rights you control, the better off they (your agent) are in the future. Also, authors with agents in their corner seem to be able to gain traction quicker than self-pubbed ones. While it is not unheard of, it is rare for a self-published writer becoming extraordinarily successful. Agents will negotiate and navigate you through the contractual phase of selling your book to a publisher too. And that is a HUGE advantage. There are tons of websites out there that will promote landing an agent.
However. There is a creative cost to going to traditional route. You are beholden to the agent and publisher's "suggestions". If they don't like a title, you change it. Dean Koontz (my fav. author BTW), briefly shares his battle with publishers on a book title in one of his books, DRAGON TEARS. Also, that new project you've been salivating over, well, it may or may not be what the agent and publisher is looking for. Keep in mind, doing so is their job. And their job is to make money.
The world of self-publishing is much simpler and easier to navigate. It is the unprotected-sex of the publishing world. Typically you take all the risks and do most of the work. This includes writing, editing, jacket design (if you're a do-it-yourselfer), and promotion/marketing. You have more creative freedom too with no one telling you what will sell and what won't. So what if it doesn't sell? You've written it and now you can self-pub your novel and let the actual readers pick. Will you make a lot of money self-publishing? Well, that's up to how well you write and how well your are in promotion. It isn't unheard of for self-published authors to do rather well. Plus, if your work is polished and good, it may lead you to a literary agent. There are certainly some do's and don'ts with self-publishing. You need to be versed on these before you get yourself into some kind of lawsuit.
All that said... I have decided to self-publish BLOOD AND SHADOWS. Once it is available. I will let you all know. The sequel THE BROTHER OF ADAM is finished and is undergoing the editing process (stab me in my throat now, please) and will, hopefully, be available for purchase by the end of the year.
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