Breakfast with Pandora

Some pie about publishing

Here at BwP, what some call a link fest I call Pie with Pandora. So herewith some pie, mostly concerning publishing and e-books.

Over at Grumpy Old Bookman, a nice set of links including this one and this one from the very helpful Dean Wesley Smith, who dispenses a wealth of information about indie and traditional publishing. The links listed concern the top 10 ways indie authors shoot themselves in the foot, including worst and best practices on book cover art.

My novel, Skater in a Strange Land, is more or less ready to publish, but I have been spending a fair amount of time and sweat on the cover. I don't want to shell out $300 for a pro to do it, because I'm cheap and because I like a challenge and learning new things. But so far my efforts have fallen short of my ideal. You can see a provisional example at the bottom of this post.

In addition, my friend Bob Mustin has uncovered a Tumblr blog of interest, Every Story Has a Chapter One, where authors are invited to submit the first chapter of their novel; a bio; and a link to their website. It's free publicity, and the blogger, Mary8078, apparently has nearly 5,000 followers on her main website.

Background photo by this photographer; I love it but still trying to figure out whether to buy rights to use it commercially.

 

As the school year begins, a resource here

I began Breakfast with Pandora over seven years ago primarily as a blog about Greek mythology. Over the years it's evolved to a number of different topics not having to do with school.

But BwP is still a place where you can ask academic questions and have them answered.

I don't mean "What is the Roman name for the Greek god Zeus?" Google that and see where it leads you. I mean questions such as, "Is Zeus perfect?" Or "Would Greek divinities starve if they didn't get nectar and ambrosia?"

I am an accessible and trained voice on the Internet and I like to help people interested in my subject. So feel free.

Just remember, if you are a student working a school assignment, to tell your teacher where you got your answer.

And if you're a teacher, be ready. I will probably be asking you a question after I finish answering yours.

Graffiti carved into the stone of Poseidon's temple at Sounion, Attica, Greece. Note the date on one of the graffiti.

 

What is the treasure in traditional publishing?

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Very appreciative of Bob Mustin's attentive finger on the pulse of the publishing game. Today he linked to a blog called The Millions with a heartfelt and revealing post on the neverending search for an agent who will sell an author's beloved manuscript to a traditional publishing company.

This post was in stark contrast to a link given over at Grumpy Old Bookman about indie or self-publishing: a presentation made by Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, an indie publishing platform.

First, Coker's take, which is summarized on PowerPoint type slides:

Let's bust a dangerous myth

You were taught to bow subservient before the altar of Big Publishing

... taught you weren't an author until Big Publishing blessed you

...and until you were blessed, you were a failure

Publishers were the bouncers at the pearly gates

You were told to keep toiling and waiting

and waiting

... you'd get a deal when you'd sacrificed enough of your soul...

STOP

Don't sell your soul

Q:What would happen if writers lost faith in the religion of Big Publishing?

I am fully aware that Mark Coker has a vested interest in selling authors on self-publishing: after all, that's how he makes his money. But I also appreciate Coker's approach in this slide show. He is using religious language and imagery to get across the point that a blind acceptance of Big (or Traditional) Publishing as the only way to go does not make sense.

Coker's contention is that indie publishing is a logical, reasonable method for authors to get their books to the public and to be happy doing it. And he goes on to outline why.

That makes perfect sense to me, even if in the end I do not go down that road for my books.

Now, back to The Millions post about getting an agent. The point of that post is that yes, it's devilishly difficult to land an agent nowadays-- you have about a 1 in 11,111 chance if you are querying randomly.

But, the post goes on to say, you can dramatically heighten your chances if you (as Mark Coker points out) work hard enough.

The Millions guy, despite having done a huge amount of work, still doesn't have an agent for his book. But he's optimistic, even though discussions with agents have led him to believe he needs to completely rewrite his book.

Still, he considers worthwhile the exercise of getting an agent and publishing traditionally. And he tells authors to stop whining and start working harder to attract representation.

My question: why would I do all that work?

The Millions guy, unlike Mark Coker, has left his motivations unexpressed for doing what he does. 

He assigns intrinsic worth to the "small number of smart, hard-working people who live for the thrill of finding a talented author [i.e. agents]." It is worth it, though you can't exactly tell why, to get into the "incestuous little club [i.e. traditional publishing]" with these folks.

Mark Coker purports to know what the treasure of indie publishing is. He's expressed it in a very direct mail marketing type of way. 

What is the treasure of traditional publishing? What are the compelling reasons to buy into the religion and become an initiate into the cult?

I'm still waiting to find out.