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RWA 2011 – Bright Lights Big Stories

July 7, 2011 in Guest Post, Tamela, Writing with 3 Comments

by Lynette Eason

Today we are pleased to have a guest post from Lynette Eason, author of the bestselling “Women of Justice” series published by Revell. She also won the 2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award for romantic suspense. Last week Lynette attended the RWA (Romance Writers of America) convention and we asked her to share her experience.

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“Bright Lights Big Stories” was the theme of the RWA conference this year. My very FIRST RWA conference. What an experience!

The conference was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. My hotel room was on the twenty-first floor. My husband came with me and we had a corner king room. It was HUGE. And so comfy. I could have just stood at the window looking down at all of the excitement on Broadway the entire week, but I knew there were other fun things to experience. The first day we got there, we walked all over, exploring. We ended up in Central Park, 5th Avenue (hubby would not let me go in any of the shops.) and then finally St. Patrick’s Cathedral. What a gorgeous place. So serene and peaceful. And air-conditioned, thank goodness. But what a wonderful place! Sights, sounds and smells to die for.  And then there was the Statue of Liberty and Battery Park.

And Ground Zero. Where people did die. Very sobering to stand there and remember what happened that September day. But so encouraging, too, to see it being rebuilt, to see Americans exhibiting that indomitable, undefeatable spirit, that “never give up or give in” attitude that bought the freedom we have today.

And then there was Chinatown. One word. Wow. Okay, four words. Wow! Lots of People! Busier and more crowded than Times Square.

That afternoon we experienced a bomb scare in Times Square (someone left an unattended bag on the street and law enforcement cordoned off that section). Then we had a lovely dinner in the famous Rockefeller Center at the Rock Center Café. Expensive, but yummy!

One of the highlights of the conference for me was the Readers for Life Literacy signing. On Tuesday night from 5:30 until around 8:30, 500 authors gathered to sign books to raise money for charity. That was a sensory overload experience, but so much fun and for a great cause.

Overall, if I had to rate the whole NY experience on a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a solid 15. Next year, the conference will be held in Anaheim, CA. And yes, I’m making plans to attend. Hope to see you there!

True Words

July 6, 2011 in Craft, Karen, Writing with 2 Comments

by Karen Ball

Several months ago someone challenged me to read an article by Marilyn McEntyre entitled “Letting Words Do Their Work.” Because I respected the editor who made the recommendation, I hopped right on over the the link.

Oh. My. Golly.

It’s not easy reading. Nor is it a “quick read.” But I’ll tell you what it is:

Powerful truth. If you’re a writer, speaker, agent, reader, or simply one who loves–truly loves–words, you’ve got to read this article. A few salient points that resonated:

“It is hard to tell the truth these days, because the varieties of untruth are so many, so pervasive, and so well disguised.”

“Imprecision had become acceptable in the interests of generalized good feeling—and perhaps in the interests of forestalling some critical scrutiny.”

“The practice of precision requires not only attentiveness and effort: it may also require the courage to afflict the comfortable and, consequently, tolerate their resentment.”

“The discourse of the church, the subtleties of biblical language and the nuances of translation, the ear for poetry and care for theological distinctions may be eroded when the language of popular media is allowed to overtake the dialect of worship and conversation among believers.”

“We can practice noticing how words are used and considering how they may be heard; we can pick them up from the dusty corners where most of the good ones have been consigned to disuse and reintroduce them, hoping to ambush the careless listener contented with cliché.”

We are a world of immediate information. Tell it to me quick. Break it down into bite-sized chunks and let me gorge. Who has time to linger? To savor? To taste each and every nuance of flavor?

Well…we all do. It’s not that we don’t have the time, it’s that we don’t take it. Too many of us don’t reserve time for reading that takes time and effort, for savoring beautiful word choices and absorbing deeper meanings. And my friends, we are the poorer for that.

So this is my gift to you today. This article. Take the time to read, ponder, and be touched by the beauty of the writing that resonates with thoughtfulness and truth.

If you want more from Marilyn McEntyre consider her book Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies.

 

 

 

 

 

Build it Before They Come

June 30, 2011 in Business, Marketing, Tamela with 15 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

If you want to be a published writer, realize that someone will look for you on the web. Agents will Google your name. I guarantee that editors and marketing folks will visit your web site to find out more about you.

Thus your web site needs to be both professional and effective. It is a bit like putting on your “Sunday Best” before going to an interview. That first impression is critical.

Allow me to share unscientific, subjective thoughts regarding a few elements I especially enjoy as an agent learning about writers through their web sites:

1)    A home page sharing a good photograph of the author, a brief bio, and a sense of what type of books the author writes. Bold colors and dramatic images are great for edgy, suspenseful, mysterious, and speculative stories. Gentle color schemes and images of beauty take a visitor into soft stories. Writers of Amish fiction using those images on their home pages provide immediate brand and identity.

2)    A page about the writer’s books. Show visitors your book covers. Give a blurb about each plot. Mention awards. Include a link to an Internet retailer so the visitor can buy your books on the spot. This is also a great place to include a link to your publisher’s site. Show that you are in great company with other wonderful authors and what great taste your publisher has demonstrated in choosing your books.

3)    Your third page is tricky because it’s personal. To stay professional, be judicious in sharing. Anyone can stop by your web site. Someone once told me he could look at one picture on a site and locate a person’s house. Thankfully this wasn’t an ominous person! But in only a few clicks through social networking and mapping sites, anyone can piece together a profile of you and your family. An experienced webmaster can help decide how much family information to share.

4)    Another page might include hobbies if they reflect your work. For instance, if you write Westerns and have traveled to the West for research, share pictures. If your stories include sewing, perhaps offer sewing tips. Keep unrelated information off the site. For example, your author web site is not the place to advertise a second business. Save that for a different site. Here, focus on your books.

5)    Bloggers need to make it easy for visitors to find their blogs. Adding a link to an email address set up for your site only is a good idea. Agented authors, please also include a prominent place for your agent’s name and a link to the agent’s and/or agency’s site. Your agent will thank you!

My personal author web site was recently redesigned (email me if you would like their information). Our agency’s web site was put together by AuthorMedia.com. Karen Ball’s personal site was designed by Pulse Point Design. Check them out!

 

 

 

 

 

The Care and Feeding of … WORDS!

June 29, 2011 in Karen, Writing with 17 Comments

by Karen Ball

“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.”
Pearl Strachan

“By words the mind is winged.”
Aristophanes

“The turn of a sentence has decided the fate of many a friendship, and, for aught that we know, the fate of many a kingdom.”
Jeremy Bentham

Amazing, isn’t it? Something so small as words can have such huge impact.

The right word in any circumstance can bring peace, comfort, laughter, tears. It can elicit emotion, stir action, deliver forgiveness, change lives. For generations, words have moved and motivated. Writers, steeped in the wonder of words, have poured their hearts out on stark paper, only to have those pages come to life in ways they never imagined, and to have their words live on in the hearts and minds of readers long after they’ve been read.

At least, that’s what we hope for. Pray for. LONG for.

A writer’s group I’m part of was just talking about this. The yearning, deep within our hearts and souls, to write something that matters. That will change lives. That will stand the test of time. For us, the writing is novels. Stories that transcend genre or time. That transport.

That matter.

Odd thing is, when you’re writing to a deadline, it’s hard to do that. Because too often you get focused on just that: the deadline. So what becomes foremost in our minds? Daily word count. Getting the story down. Getting Done. Finish it off. Hand it in. Don’t be late! AAAHHHHHH!

Talk about creativity killers.

But how do you take time to craft a story when you have to pay bills? How do you let the story germinate when you have to keep books on the shelves to hold your readers? Hey, I’m an editor and agent as well as a writer. That’s the publishing Trifecta!  I know how important it is to keep your books in readers’ hands, to not make them wait too long between novels. To not let them forget why they love your books over others’.

But I also want the best my writers and clients have to offer. Just as I want to give my best to my own readers. And my best doesn’t happen when I’m stressed or guilt-ridden or rushed.

All of this has been rolling around in my head and heart of late. As it often does. It’s something that comes back and nudges at me on a far-too-regular basis. Until it finally coalesced (isn’t that a great word?) into one simple bit of guidance: Rest.

Rest in Him–in the One who breathed the story deep into your soul. Who equipped you to fulfill the task He’s given of creating a story that will move, inspire, and challenge. Don’t push, don’t fret, don’t–and I can see Steve and Tamela and editors all cringing here, but I’m gonna say it anyway—DO NOT let the tyranny of the deadline destroy creativity and passion. Do what’s reasonable, to the best of your passion and ability, and leave the rest to Him.

Rest in what you know–the story, the characters, the truths you need to portray. The fact that your readers have told you, over and over, that they love what you write. So that deep-seeded insecurity that you can’t do it again, can’t come up with a story that will engage, can just take a hike. You’re doing this because you love it, and because your readers love what you do. Forget the critics and reviewers. Focus on what you know really matters: the story and those for whom you tell it.

Rest in the story–Yes, get it down as best you can. But then? Set it aside. Give yourself the gift of time away from it. At least a few weeks. Even better, a month or more. Get completely away from it, maybe even from writing. Take a break. Go for a walk. Focus on something entirely different. You can be sure, if you do this, that when you come back to it, you’ll read with new eyes. Eyes that see the weak spots, to be sure. Eyes that can better discern how to fix what isn’t working. And eyes that will widen as you discover those periodic gems, where you sit back, wonder washing over you, as you realize Almighty fingers rested over your own as you wrote. Because none of us on our own can write a line, a scene, a TRUTH as powerful as you’ve just found on the page.

Rest. Be at peace.

—And let creativity flourish.

 

 

 

 

 

Many Happy(?) Returns!

June 27, 2011 in Business, Contracts, Publishing, Steve with 11 Comments

by Steve Laube

Every first-time author is confronted by the reality of “Reserves Against Returns” as part of publishing economics. It is usually a shock and elicits a phone call to their agent crying “What happened to my money?”

Did you realize that book publishing is the only “hard goods” industry where the product sold by the supplier to a vendor can be returned? This does not happen with electronics, clothing, shoes, handbags, cars, tires…you name it. If it is a durable good the vendor who buys it, owns it (which is why there are Outlet Malls – to sell the remaining inventory). Except for books. Somewhere along the line the publishers agreed to allow stores to return unsold inventory for credit. In one sense, publishers are selling their books on consignment. Bargain books are actually resold by the publisher (after getting returns or to reduce overprinted inventory) to a new specialty bargain bookseller or division of a chain (which buys the bargain books non-returnable).

Consequently book contracts have a clause allowing the publisher to establish “a reasonable reserve against returns.” By “reserve” they mean a pool of money withheld from the author…holding that money in “reserve.” The intention of the clause is to protect the publisher against paying the author for books that have been shipped and billed to a store but may eventually be returned to the publisher.

Imagine if Walmart purchased 10,000 copies of your book. Everyone celebrates. If you are earning $1.00 in royalty (on average) for every book sold, that means you will receive $10,000 from your publisher at some point. Hooray! Steak dinners for every one!

But wait.

What if Walmart doesn’t sell all the copies they purchased and returned 5,000 of them?

And what if your publisher had already paid you for all 10,000 sold copies? That means your publisher overpaid you by $5,000. Do you have to give that money back? You really don’t want their collections agent (his name is Guido) to come to your door to get their money back.

Thus the publisher will make an estimate on every royalty statement and withhold a “reasonable reserve against returns.” It seems that some publishers abuse the word “reasonable.” One author I know had 70% of their revenue withheld for a complete royalty cycle because their publisher had made a big sale to a big box chain. But is that really abuse?

The Big Box retailers are notorious for returning over half of what they purchase.

I don’t begrudge a publisher for holding a reserve. I’d rather they not demand the money back later!

There was situation, many years ago, where an author’s book sold 8,000 copies to a single big-box retailer as part of the initial launch. Six months later, the author developed a new proposal and the editor was going to present it to the committee because the author had already sold 12,000 units (including the 8k to the big-box retailer). The day before the committee meeting the big-box retailer returned the books. All of them. All 8,000. The warehouse said it looked like the cases were untouched, in other words they never made it into the stores. Thus the author’s total sales went from 12k to 4k in one day. The editor walked into that committee meeting and was ambushed by the sales manager with this news. The publisher declined to contract a new deal. Author had to switch publishers.

The author was crushed, the publisher stunned, and everyone lost. So before we get all huffy with publishers and their accounting practices we have to realize that history tends to dictate accounting policy.

However, there is a practice regarding reserve against returns that is quite frustrating. There are some publishers that roll the reserve over every cycle….forever. No matter how old the book, if it is still in print, they hold back a reserve. And the new reserve they choose is suspiciously consistent to the amount the book had sold in the previous royalty accounting period. In other words the author never seems to get a respite because the reserve keeps rolling forward. This is just plain nasty.

If a publisher is savvy (and most are) they put that “reserve” in an interest bearing account. And they can sit on that float for six months earning interest on what is technically the author’s money. And if the returns do not use up the reserve the difference is credited back to the author. Let’s use the above example:

Books sells $10,000 worth of earnings in July-December.
Publisher creates a reserve of $5,000 in January in case there are returns after Christmas, so they only send the author $5,000.
In Jan-June there are $3,000 worth of returns sent back which is charged against that reserve.
So the publisher gives the author the $2,000 balance in their next check.
But the publisher, in essence, made some additional interest income on that $2,000 because that reserve sat in a bank for six months. Smart business!

Now all you accountants out there, please don’t criticize this example. I know there are new sales and new reserves and all sort of other nuances and the interest rates are currently pathetic (and therefore little incentive), but I’m trying to make a different point.

Therefore let me use real numbers for you. I won’t tell you who the publisher is, or what the book is, or how many copies were sold to generate the numbers. You won’t be able to guess, so please don’t try. These numbers are taken from an author’s last two actual royalty statements to show you what I’m illustrating. I can tell you that the author’s book was published more than three years ago… And publisher is still withholding returns each cycle.

Statement A (first six months)
Royalty earnings from Sales – $941
Reserves withheld in previous cycle credited back to Author – $940
Reserves withheld this cycle – $626

Total Earnings this cycle – $1,255  ($941+$940-$626)

Statement B (second six months)
Royalty earnings from Sales – $825
Reserves withheld in previous cycle credited back to Author  - $626
Reserves withheld this cycle – $688

Total Earnings this cycle – $763

The publisher has kept about $600 of the author’s money in their “reserve” pocket in case there is a return, for a full year. But if this were multiplied across every title in this publisher’s warehouse think of the amount of that reserve. If they have 5,000 titles in their warehouse and they are only floating a reserve average of $400 per title, they are earning interest on two million dollars. (At 2% that is $40,000 in earned interest.)

Again, I do not begrudge the publisher of the necessity of withholding a reserve. But when it starts to appear to be a form of clever accounting I get a little testy.

My preference would be to have a clause in the contract under the Reserve Against Returns section to read:

Publisher has the right to reserve for anticipated future returns. Reserves are never established to avoid paying royalties, but to eliminate the situation where royalties might be paid out on sales that are ultimately reversed. Such reserves will be used only when the publisher is aware that inventories exist in the marketplace that are not selling through and will likely be returned. Reserves are not limited to a certain percentage of sales, but in all cases must be defensible by the publisher.

Agents can dream too, can’t they?

By they way? Lest you think I’m ignoring the E-elephant in the room? Ebooks technically do not have returns since there is no physical inventory on a shelf to handle. Consequently there should never be a reserve against returns on e-books. But I’m still trying to track down the oddity of a recent royalty statement where the author had negative 3,000 e-books sold. How can you unsell 3,000 e-books? Yes, you can return an e-book bought by mistake on Amazon. I’ve done it to see if it is possible. It is. But all that does is counter the sale made the day before. So to have thousands of returns boggles the mind. Even the accountants are flummoxed. Maybe I’ll tell you the rest of that story when the mystery is solved.

For a brilliant discussion about other implications of returns take a look at this post by Mike Shatzkin and Michael Cader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letting Go of Your Babies

June 23, 2011 in Tamela, Writing with 19 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

One of the worst mistakes writers can make is being too possessive of their words. They fight for each adjective, adverb, and conversation tag.

My early writing suffered from too many words. I once wrote an artist didn’t “really” understand the difficulties of making a living in his profession. The editor kindly cut all instances of “really,” “just,” “so,” “very,” and other weak words experienced editors call “weasel” words.

The cuts hurt, but I exercised restraint in venting only to my mother. I didn’t have a literary agent! She agreed with me. “If you cut out ‘really’ then you’re saying he had no idea at all!” Sharing offense is the job of mothers.

Weasel words are great in everyday conversation because they soften the impact of strong verbs and can make painful statements gentler to the listener’s ear, but they waste a reader’s time.  Embrace the power of a vibrant verb. You want your reader to feel every emotion, whether your goal is to offer a sense of relief and peace through nonfiction, or bristle with anger and fall in love along with fictional characters.

In my role of agent, I sometimes edit manuscripts and point out areas needing improvement. My writers know I am partnering with them to give editors their best work. Sometimes an author puts forth a convincing reason why an element should remain as is. If so, I relent.

But a literary agent is only part of the equation. In the hands of an editor at a publishing house, the stakes increase. The editor represents the publisher, who is paying for your work and will bring the book to paying customers. Expressing outrage is not the order of the day when talking with your editor. Choose your battles wisely, if at all, and be prepared to present airtight reasons for resisting changes. This is especially true for new writers but even veterans need to be respectful of the publishing professionals the Lord puts in their path.

When you do, you will be happier, your editor will be happier, and you will have a happy agent!

 

 

 

 

 

The Fear of Rejection

June 20, 2011 in Business, Steve, Writing with 4 Comments

Randy Ingermanson recently interviewed author Mary DeMuth in his “Advanced Fiction Writing E-Zine” and the topic of rejection surfaced. I thought it was very insightful and, with permission, am posting their conversation.

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My friend Mary DeMuth recently published an e-book with the title The 11 Secrets of Getting Published.

Given that the price is only $2.99, I assumed the book would be about 50 pages with a few simple tips on breaking into publishing.

When Mary sent me a copy, I was astounded to find that it ran to 229 pages of solid information on breaking in. Developing your craft. Learning discipline.

Learning to accept critiques. Writing a query and a proposal. And tons more. Mary packed this book.

The chapter that hit home for me was titled, “Overcome Fear and Rejection.” You’d think I’d be good at that after 23 years of this writing game, but I still hate rejection and I still battle fear.

Last week, I did an interview on Skype with Mary for over an hour. We talked about several topics from her book. In this column, I’ll run only the conversation we had on fear and rejection. (I’ll publish the full conversation on my blog soon.)

Here’s our dialogue:

RI: One of the main sections of your e-book is about overcoming fear and rejection. That sounds a little like, “Don’t think about pink elephants.” You can’t do that by thinking about it. So how do you do it?

MD: As I said earlier, rejection is a sign of growth.
If you’re not submitting, you won’t be rejected. But if you are submitting, you will be.

RI: Well, aren’t you Miss Sunshine today?

MD: You have to settle your own issues of personal worth as you head into publishing or those rejections will mess with your mind.

RI: Expand on that personal worth thing. That’s something I wrestle with.

MD: Well, if I believe that publishing is the validation of my life, if I’m rejected, suddenly I have no validation. But if I realize my worth isn’t what I do but who I am, I can learn to weather rejection. It doesn’t have to devastate me.

RI: Personal worth for me is tied to achievement. So if I haven’t achieved anything yet, what’s my personal worth?

MD: Ah, Randy. All of us here would heartily agree that you’re worth your weight in gold (to use a cliche). I think this journey has been placed in front of me so that I’ll learn the important lesson that I am much more than what I produce and achieve.

RI: It seems like there are two mistakes to make though. The other error is the whole “self esteem” thing. So everybody gets a trophy, whether they did anything or not. It seems like we have to strike a balance.

MD: Yeah, and that’s what self publishing has done to publishing. I will run into people who have basically sent a Word file to a company and had it “published” with 100 typos and they feel like they’re published. Without any sweat or effort. Makes me a little crabby.

RI: I see a lot of writers with a misguided belief that just because they typed a story, it’s going to be a bestseller, just cuz. “Because I’m the center of the universe.” Well, they’ve certainly published, but not necessarily anything worth reading.

MD: Yeah, and I’m here to say that is truly not the reality. Everyone needs to grow. Not everyone can write a bestseller. You can even write award winning books and not sell.

RI: But let’s get back to that self-worth thing. We need it in order to handle rejection. But if we have an exaggerated self-worth, then we ignore the very real critiques of our work that would force us to grow.

MD: Yes. You have to settle your calling. That’s what helps me weather the ups and downs of publishing. I know-know-know that I am gifted to write. That I’m supposed to write. Because of that settled knowledge, when I’m rejected, I can dust myself off and keep at it.

RI: How do you develop a realistic self-worth that will get you through the hard times without being crushed?
What I mean is, how do you “know” that?

MD: That’s a good question. For me it’s been looking back over my life and seeing all the input I’ve received over the years. Folks told me I could write when I wrote Christmas letters. My teachers saw the gift. And, yes, mentors have helped me hone the gift and encouraged me to continue.

RI: Maybe it comes down to a trusted editor or coach or friend? I critique a lot of writers at conferences.
What I notice is that most of them either think too highly of their own work or else too poorly. Very few have an accurate idea of how well they write.

MD: And I find when I meet someone who has a balanced perspective, he/she is most likely the person who will be published. We must be teachable, yet confident in our calling to write.

RI: Right, I was just thinking of Jim Rubart, whom I met a few years ago at a conference.  I think he knew he had the goods, but he also knew that he needed some guidance. What I saw right away was that he was very well balanced.

MD: He’s a good example. And then he published a bestselling book with B & H publishing! But it took several years. That balance is a rare thing. He paid his dues. Learned the craft. And eventually published. He also is a marketer, so I think that helped too.

RI: I think most writers I run into suffer from the “I am dirt” mentality. But the ones in the most trouble are the “I am gold; kneel before me” writers. You can’t tell them anything.

MD: Note to writers who think they are dirt: You’re not. Rest there. Learn now, be teachable, and keep at it. True.

RI: I’ve only seen a very few writers who really were horribly bad writers. And oddly enough, I think all of them thought they were spectacular.

MD: I’ve seen a few. Yes, they thought they were awesome.

RI: I’d much rather coach an “I am dirt” writer. They can be taught, usually. Do you ever suffer from those feelings that your writing totally sucks and that you’re a fraud?

MD: Totally. Every time I hand in a manuscript, I panic. That happened recently. I wrote a book that I thought was schlock and that I’d surely be found out.

RI: Yeah, you get that horrible feeling that “This book is the train wreck which will expose me for the fraud I’ve always been.”

MD: I was very surprised when the editor emailed me praising the book, calling it a classic. Absolutely floored me. Yes, I think we all think that way. I wrote an article once about that for Writers Digest called “Inspiration vs. Perspiration.”

About how inspiration doesn’t always mean the prose is good. Nor does perspiration mean it’s bad. Often the best prose comes when we push our way through, painful word by painful word.

RI: Gack, that sounds . . . painful. So what’s the bottom line here for writers? On the fear and rejection thing?

MD: Perspire until the inspiration comes. Not vice- versa. On fear and rejection: it will come, but don’t wallow there. You have to be a bootstrap writer.

RI: I just had an insight. Maybe the best way to deal with fear and rejection is to know that other writers also have fears and hate rejection. Real writers. Published writers. Award-winning authors. Best-selling authors.

MD: Yes, we’re in community. And honestly, when I suffer from a big rejection, I go to my writer friends and ask them for advice. Usually I get encouragement back. And that makes me want to keep at it.

RI: So maybe the real answer isn’t “Suck it up.” Maybe the real answer is “Misery loves company.”

MD: True. The best thing you can do as a writer is form a community of like minded writers around you.

RI: A topic for another day. I just wrote a column on that in the June issue of my e-zine on the subject of what I call “Allies.”

Well, Mary, that about does it for today. We’ve talked just a little about one of the 11 topics you cover in your new e-book, The 11 Secrets of Getting Published. This book is now available for $2.99 at all the usual online retail outlets.

Here’s a link to Mary’s book on Amazon:

www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com/blinks/demuth/11secrets.php

Visit Mary on the web here:

www.marydemuth.com

www.facebook.com/authormarydemuth

www.twitter.com/marydemuth

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Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, “the Snowflake Guy,” publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 26,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

And don’t forget to check out Randy’s “Snowflake Pro” software. Just click here for a full explanation of this valuable resource.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Romance or Not to Romance

June 16, 2011 in Tamela, Trends, Writing with 24 Comments

by Tamela Hancock Murray

According to St. Teresa of Avila’s biography, the battle over romance novels has been going on at least since the 1500s:

Teresa’s father was rigidly honest and pious, but he may have carried his strictness to extremes. Teresa’s mother loved romance novels but because her husband objected to these fanciful books, she hid the books from him. This put Teresa in the middle — especially since she liked the romances too. Her father told her never to lie but her mother told her not to tell her father. Later she said she was always afraid that no matter what she did she was going to do everything wrong.

Those of us who write, represent, and publish Christian romance novels can be made to feel the same way when our brothers and sisters in Christ object to our efforts to provide readers with God-honoring entertainment.  I have spoken with authors whose pastors have derided their writing, read negative blogs, and heard conference speakers criticize Christian romance novels.

Why?

Some feel that romance novels are too frivolous. I ask those who make this charge if they are willing to give up everything in their lives that could be considered frivolous. And if so, I maintain that would be a mistake. God created the Sabbath for rest and recreation. For further reading, The Baptist Press addresses what the Bible says about leisure time.

Another reason detractors cite is that these stories set the bar too high for marriage because no hero can live up to the Christian romance hero. Really? The Christian romances I read show the heroes as flawed but doing their best to follow the Lord. Isn’t this the type of man you would want for your daughter? Isn’t this how you are teaching your son? Consider many of the alternatives in secular literature. Even some of the most noble heroes in literature don’t have a relationship with Christ nor do they desire one. And Christian romance heroines are the type of women readers can admire. By struggling along with the heroines, women can learn how to deal with their own personal conflicts.

These stories show role models in the context of romance. Those who disagree with the idea of role models should stop going to church if they look up to their pastors. And this viewpoint makes teaching Sunday School dangerous. Wouldn’t want to be a role model for anyone.

On a related note, I have heard that reading romance novels depresses some women, making them unhappy with their own marriages. This observation pains my heart because no one I know involved in any aspect of publishing Christian romance hopes these stories will bring sorrow and unhappiness to readers.  Regrettably, unhappy marriages will exist whether or not Christian romance is published.

If reading these novels makes you depressed, you have a choice of two actions. One, you can stop reading them.

I prefer the second option. That is, you can ask yourself why the story is bothering you, and ask God what He is telling you through the book. You may be embarrassed that God is using a lighthearted story to reach you, but no one else has to know how God talks to you. That is between you and God. The point is to listen to His personal message to you and pray about what He would have you do.

The Christian publishing industry has so much to offer. We publish books across all genres, and for all tastes. Rather than cut each other down because we don’t like a certain type of book, why not build each other up?

Paul wrote in Romans 14:19:  Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Peace be with you, and whatever your taste, enjoy your leisure reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Myth of the Unearned Advance

June 13, 2011 in Business, Publishing, Steve, Writing with 43 Comments

by Steve Laube

A common myth permeating the industry is that a book is not profitable if the author’s advance does not earn out. I would like to attempt to dispel this myth.

First let’s define the term “Advance.” When a book contract is created between a publisher and an author, the author is usually paid an advance. This is like getting an advance against your allowance when you were a kid. It isn’t an amount that is in addition to any future earnings from the sale of the book. Instead, like that allowance, it is money paid in advance against all future royalties, and it must therefore be covered by royalty revenue (i.e. earned out) before any new royalty earnings are paid.

The advance is usually determined by a series of assumptions that the publisher makes with regard to the projected performance of each title. The publisher hopes/plans that the book will earn enough royalty revenue to cover the advance within the first year of sales.

A NY Times essay a couple years ago casually claimed “the fact that 7 out of 10 titles do not earn back their advance.” Of course they did not cite a source for that “fact.” But I have seen it quoted so often is must be true! (and it isn’t.) The implication then is that a book isn’t profitable if it doesn’t earn out its advance. The publisher overpaid and has lost money. The author is the happy camper who is counting their cash gleefully celebrating the failure of their publisher to project sales correctly.

Let me try to explain why that isn’t always true. And to do so means we have to do math together. This may be a little complicated, but realize that these calculations are critical and each publisher runs these kind of scenarios on your books. To dismiss this conversation and claim you “don’t do math” is to ignore the lifeblood of your profession.

Realize that this is a generic model. Each and every number below fluctuates from title to title. That is the weakness of the exercise, but bear with me.

Assumptions:

Advance paid to author: $10,000
Retail price: $13.00 (paperback)
Net price: $6.50 (this is what the publisher receives when they sell the book – to dealers, big box retailers, distributors, etc. )
Copies sold: 10,000

Scenario one: Author earns 14% of net for each book sold. ($6.50 net x 14% royalty x 10,000 sold)
Thus, after selling 10,000 copies the author has earned $9,100.
Leaving $900 of the advance unearned.

Scenario two: Author earns 16% of net for each book sold ($6.50 net x 16% royalty x 10,000 sold)
Thus, after selling 10,000 copies the author has earned $10,400.
The publisher writes a royalty check to the author for $400. The amount above the original advance.

The myth says that scenario one equates a failed and unprofitable book , while scenario two is a profitable book.
But wait! Let’s do some more math.

New Assumptions. (remember these are all estimates based solely on this scenario.)

BOTH scenarios have the publisher making the same amount of revenue. ($6.50 net x 10,000 sold.) Both scenarios generated $65,000 in net revenue for the publisher.

To determine profitability we have to subtract costs.

Fixed costs

Editorial expense: $8,000 (includes all stages of the editorial process)
Design (typesetting/cover): $4,000
Printing and warehousing:  $15,000 (the approximate cost of printing 12,000 copies)
Marketing and PR: $10,000 (an average of $1 per book)
Administrative costs: $13,000 (20% of the net revenue)
Advance paid to author: $10,000
TOTAL COSTS: $60,000

Profit for the Publisher: $5,000 (or 7.7% of revenue before tax)
or the $65,000 in revenue minus the $60,000 of total costs.

Are you with me so far?

Now watch this.

Scenario one – (with the unearned advance still on the books) has a profit of $5,000 for the publisher.

Scenario two – (pays the author $400 for earnings beyond the advance) has a profit of $4,600 for the publisher.

In this comparison it is the book that didn’t earn out the advance that actually makes more money for the publisher!

Why? Because scenario one pays a lower royalty per book sold. The advance itself has NOTHING to do with it. The advance is a fixed cost that is covered by the revenue generated by the publisher.

_____

Pause and reflect on that for a moment.

_____

The advance is a cost of acquisition. If that cost of acquisition in the above scenario were $50,000 of course neither scenario would have been profitable because sales would not have been enough to cover all the costs. And it is likely, if there was a $50,000 advance, the publisher would have spent more on marketing and PR.

So this is not an argument for bigger advances. Instead it is an attempt to show, albeit using controlled statistics, that an unearned advance does not necessarily equate the failure of a book!

So when is a book profitable if there is a bigger advance?

Let me do one more set of numbers to illustrate:

Assumptions:

Advance paid to author: $75,000
Retail price: $13.00 (paperback)
Net price: $6.50
Copies sold: 45,000
TOTAL REVENUE ($6.50 net x 45,000 sold.) = $292,500.

Fixed costs

Editorial expense: $8,000
Design (typesetting/cover): $4,000
Printing and warehousing:  $55,000 (the approximate cost of printing 50,000 copies)
Marketing and PR: $75,000
Administrative costs: $58,500 (20% of the net revenue)
Advance paid to author: $75,000
TOTAL COSTS: $275,500

Profit for the Publisher: $17,000 (or 5.8% of revenue before tax)

If you are an experienced person from the publishing side of the table it is obvious that this is a very generic scenario that has only an echo of reality. For example, the net revenue for a publisher is usually less than the 50% of retail that I used above. That is because distributors and specialty vendors (like the book racks you see in the airport) command a much higher discount off the retail. Thus the true picture is highly complex. And we don’t even touch on ebooks or ebook sales or royalties here. This exercise is merely to show a business model where the advance is a fixed cost. Not a cost that has to be earned out for the book to be profitable.

In the above case, a book with a $75,000 advance makes money after only 45,000 copies are sold.

So what do you think? Is the math realistic? Does it make sense? What are the implications (either to the publisher or the author)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A New Agent Joins Us!

May 17, 2011 in Agency, Business with 36 Comments

We are thrilled to announce that Tamela Hancock Murray is joining The Steve Laube Agency as a new literary agent for the firm. For the last ten years she has been with the Hartline Literary Agency representing a number of successful authors.

She interned on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Department of State before graduating with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Tamela brings significant writing expertise to the agency as an author of over twenty novels, novellas, and nonfiction works. When she’s not working as an agent Tamela spends time with her husband and their two daughters.

She will be working out of her office in Virginia, giving the agency a specific East Coast connection.

Proposals meant for Tamela can be sent to ewilson@stevelaube.com.

 

 

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