"Fair" in the Publishing Industry

World Book Night is coming up (on March 5th) and one million new books will be given away to readers. Organizers and participants seem satisfied that free books will introduce potential readers to new authors and stories, and encourage them to read rather than watch television. The official website calls it “the most ambitious and far-reaching celebration of adult books and reading ever attempted in the UK and Ireland” (I'm not sure how that’s World Book Night, but anyway.)

However, I’ve realized that not everyone is happy with the event. Those against it believe that giving away free books devalues them and erodes the already troubled publishing industry. Some have even compared it to mass piracy.

(And every reason is "Because it's free?")

The latter perspective surprised me. As a librarian I am very aware of the potential benefits of getting to read a book for free. It does inspire people to read more, to get enthusiastic about an author and maybe buy all their books, then move on to similar authors, and so forth. But then I came across this comment on a blog on the subject:

“Speaking as a reader not a writer, not everyone can afford to buy books because not everyone has a job. Yet it is not fair to say that those people shouldn't have access to a good book or a book that is reasonably new.”

Fair? Hmm. The assumption that the publishing industry should be based on “fair” is... odd.

Whereas the publishing industry might seem like a corporation sometimes, a faceless machine, be assured that the writers are not. Not a corporation, not faceless, and definitely not machines. So writers’ work is being given away for free, and all these negotiations about the agency versus traditional model of pricing books never mention the writer’s cut, and Amazon reported a “disappointing” 200 million dollar income last quarter while it seems necessary for midlist writers to have both a second job and a well employed spouse—Well, none of that is exactly fair, is it?

To clarify: I believe it is absolutely essential to have services available for every person to access books and information. They’re usually called public libraries, and it boggles my mind that they’re also in trouble, but there you go.

But to suggest that books need to be given away for free, because otherwise it isn’t fair for people who can’t afford to support the industry? I don't buy it. It is an industry, after all, not a public service like libraries. It goes reader, layer, layer, layer, layer**, writer, and all those layers want cash or they'll quit or starve. Where do you suppose it’s going to come from in the "fair" model?


** Unless you’re talking about self-publishing, which Margaret Atwood recently stated is “delusional.” A debate for another day.

Nothing But Flowers

Whether you're spending tomorrow cuddling up with your honey, or cuddling up with a pot of Haagen Dazs, I invite you to indulge in a literary treat: Nothing But Flowers: Tales of Apocalyptic Love. Like the previous Literary Mix Tape, this one is based on music, the same-titled song by The Talking Heads. Each story in the collection explores love in a post apocalyptic landscape. Some are hopeful, and some less so.

My story "I Dream of Cherry Pies" will go live on the website at 1pm Aussie Eastern Standard time, which is 3am GMT (and... ah... 7pm PST on February 13th.) One story will be posted every hour of the day, and available for free until the 16th when pre-orders for the ebook and paperback will begin. All proceeds from the sale will go to Grantham Flood Support. The artwork on the book is gorgeous, and we have Jimmy Misanthrope to thank for that.

You can get involved by coming to the virtual launch party (and RSVP Yes to be entered in a draw to win the ebook) or get in the mood by watching The Talking Heads video:

Nearly... nearly...

I'd love to post something brilliant but my brain is leaking out of my ears. Why? Kind of you to ask. I'm working on the final edit and formatting for my research dissertation. I'm getting ready to hand it in. Soon. Very soon.

In the meantime, here is a poem I found online using very few research skills. It is called:


Foreword to Josh's 1987 Astrophysics Thesis
by Joshua Mitteldorf
O Thou who in researches hollow stumblest on this mildewed tome,
Hear herewith with no apologies the author's rambling poem.

Know 'twas not for love of truth that I this project undertook,
Nor for worldly gain, Forsooth! thrice set to task and twice forsook,

But I, like some besotted wino, to my silicon enslaved,
Daily trod, for all that I know, paths with good intentions paved.

Daily lowered head and buried in aforesaid silicon,
While the world about its merry axis spun, and friends looked on.

Ten and seven this obsession pilferred of my guileless years -
Years of wonder and depression, joy, discovery, and tears.

But my youth I won't begrudge this thesis if I can but claim
I've learned this lesson from the drudge: I'll waste no love on academe.

Bad markets

Hi, you don’t know me, but I know how to create a website, so that’s something. I’m sending out a call for submissions for short fiction. I won’t pay you, but you’ll have the honour of having your work published on my blog. You’re not allowed to publish it on your own blog, of course. No, your work will henceforth completely belong to me. Forever. And I might anthologize your work later on, but I won’t pay you for that either. I might possibly send you a complimentary copy of the anthology (so you’ll save the $9.99 I charge for each copy) but if your piece is short enough I won’t give you anything at all, because everyone knows shorter stories are less work to write.

Thanks.

Interested? Neither am I.

There are some great reasons to donate your work. 100 Stories for Queensland and other charity anthologies. Projects that inspire you, collections you want to be a part of because they involve authors you want to be associated with. Because you like the cover art (it’s okay to be shallow) or the other stories included. And then of course for the publishing credit: to buff up that list of publications and get your name out there. So you can write something in your manuscript submission letter aside from, “Please buy my book because my mom thinks I’m brilliant.”

But there are good markets for all of this. Markets that will respect you as the author and respect your work as something valuable. Even if they don’t pay outright, they’ll offer something: a bit of marketing, a chance at networking, and at the very least a sense of pride in what you’ve done.

Then there are the markets that blow my mind to mouldy pieces. Places that are barely professional, with Geocities websites (If they can’t publish online, how can they publish with paper? Let alone an ebook!) and submission guidelines that border on insulting. Places that will charge you to submit, and might not even acknowledge that submission (I guess you're supposed to know because the money is gone?)

Is that why you spend so much time and creative energy with your stories? To give them to people who don’t even promise to like them, so they can make a buck or two (but not much more, because their marketing skills are crap) and then your story vanishes forever?*

No, no, no. Don’t do it. Instead:

• Investigate Duotrope’s Digest and other market databases for good homes for your work.
• Look at publications you'd love to be a part of and find out what they're looking for and when they allow submissions. Then submit what they want, when they want it.
• Look at publications that pay well and see if you can surprise yourself by submitting something that pays.
• Talk to other writers you admire and find out what they’re doing and where they're selling.
• Don't sell yourself short: Ask if whatever comes from the publication is worth whatever it took to produce the story. If it isn't, move on.

I don't mean you should demand 7 cents/word from Strange Horizons for every bit of fiction you blurt out. But building up your list of publications doesn't have to be a degrading journey. There will always be someone who can help you along a better path. Someone who says “Hello and thank you” for your work rather than “You’re welcome, goodbye.”

* Believe it or not, I’m not actually talking from the bitter end of a bad experience. I’ve just been investigating markets lately and some of what’s out there** makes me cringe and exclaim. So here I am, exclaiming, so you don’t have to.

** No, I won’t name names.

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Rusted metal and soggy paper on flickr by qnr