Small Press, Epress, Vanity--what are they?

There's been a great deal of controversy lately at RWA concerning "recognition" for publishers as well as what kind of books can be entered in the RITA contest.

While I'm not going into the controversy (I have my opinion, but it's being discussed very well elsewhere), it occurred to me that newer authors might not know what the heck they're talking about. What is meant by "non-vanity, non-subsidy" press? What's an e-publisher? What's the difference between small press and e-press, and what does it mean when people talk about "New York"?

Vanity press: Vanity publishing is different from self-publishing. In vanity publishing, you send your ms. and a sum of money to the publisher, who then does all the editing (if any), creates the cover, prints the book, and sends you back a carton or twenty of published, bound books. There is no "acquisition" process--anyone can publish at these presses as long as you pay (some are fairly inexpensive; some can run into thousands and thousands of dollars.) Vanity press can be useful if you want to publish your great-grandmother's diary or your child's picture book as a gift for family members (some presses specialize in "gift books"). If you dream of becoming a big-name, NYT novelist, this is not the way to go.

Subsidy press: Subsidy is much like vanity publishing although the press might pick up some of the costs (e.g., it pays an editor but you pay for the cover and the printing.)

Self-publishing: Self-publishing differs from vanity press because you are essentially becoming a publishing company. You pay for everything, yes, but it's in your hands to hire an editor, hire a proofreader, hire a printer, design the cover or hire a cover artist, and decide how to market it. Self-publishing works well with books that will sell to niche audiences--regional cookbooks, regional histories, how-tos, etc. (mostly nonfiction). Self-published authors have been quite successful, although I think it's a rare author who is successful in self-published fiction. It can be done, but it's rare. Most readers looking for fiction hit Walmart or B&N.

In these three types of publishing, self-publishing is the most respected. Tip: If you have vanity-published a book, never mention that in a query letter to an agent or editor, unless it's become an NYT bestseller (which is not very likely).

Note also that with these types of publishing options, you must distribute, market, and sell the book yourself. If you are fantastic at hand-selling, love to get out with the public and press your book into as many hands as you can, you go for it. It's not for me, but some people are good at it.

E-press: E-publishing has been around for ten or so years now, and now every major publisher has started putting out their list in e-. When someone talks about an e-publisher or e-pub, they mean publishing houses who release e-book originals, bringing a print copy out months later in a secondary process. They sell the e-books from their own website or partner with distribution points like Fictionwise, Sony, Kindle, and the like.

Examples of highly successful e-book publishers are Ellora's Cave, Samhain, and Loose ID (pronounced "Lucid"). I submitted a ms. to an e-publisher about five years ago to see what it was all about, and was pleasantly surprised at both the income and the quality of the press. (The submitted book is still selling, btw). Please note that all e-presses are not created equal. Before you submit to e-presses, purchase their books, look over their website, talk to authors who write for them, ask questions about their contracts. Object strenuously to contracts that pay royalties on "Net Receipts". Or get an agent and let her object strenuously for you. Stick to your guns on this or don't be surprised if you get ripped off.

Small Press: When most people say "small press," they mean presses that print a limited run of nicely bound hardback books. Small presses can be quite prestigious. Poisoned Pen press, a mystery publisher, has produced novels that win top mystery awards and have been optioned for TV mini-series. Avalon press and Walker are well-known in the library industry, and produce quality titles. Small presses don't pay very high advances ($1000 is typical), nor are their print runs large (2000-10,000 is typical). However, small presses can then sell mass market rights to a larger house, getting you more distribution and more $$. Small presses usually cater to a niche market (e.g., the mystery genre; library market; nonfiction only; etc.). I've not published with small press, but authors tell me they have a homey, intimate atmosphere.

NY House: When people refer to a "NY House" or simply "New York," they mean the big dogs of the publishing industry with big offices in New York City: Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, HQ/Sil, Simon & Schuster, as well as a few independent houses like Dorchester and Kensington. NY pubs can pay million dollar advances and get your book shelved in every supermarket, bookstore, library, and mass merchandiser in the country and around the world. Note that they can also pay you $1000 and send 20,000 books to a few bookstores only. The NY House is where the big distribution happens, where the big money rolls around, and where authors get famous. My biggest advice about NY: Get an agent. You can sell a book without one, but please have someone by your side after that!

Another thing to remember: While small press and e-press (and even self-publishing) can be a stepping stone to a NY House, please realize that vanity/subsidy press is not. It's a rare, rare, rare, rare occurrence for a vanity author to make it. I'm sure everyone can point to one instance where it's happened (that's what "rare" means). Point to twenty or thirty, and I might start believing.

And one more thing:

It's perfectly fine to want a career in small press or e-press! I know authors who are happy as clams writing for two or three e-presses or sticking with their small press. Writing isn't always about money and glamour. And you can make money at an e-press (Hint: The key is backlist.)

I think I've covered the bases here--if not, or you have questions, let me know!

Writing for Multiple Publishers

Hey all. Sorry for the weeks with no posting--I was writing and revising a novel due July 1, and since turning it in have been trying to find my head.

Alexis asked: "2)How do you juggle multiple publishing houses? Not in regards to getting the books written, but on the relationship side? Do you keep it to one genre or sub-genre per each house? Does one of them ever try to get you exclusively? How does that all work?"

I am amazed at the number of authors who write for two, even three, houses nowadays. I know authors who write for Dorchester and HQ/Sil; Dorchester and Kensington; Berkley and HQ/Sil; Berkley and St. Martin's; Berkley and Dorchester. And that's just off the top of my head early in the morning.

It has become increasingly common not to be "exclusive" to one publisher. This is especially true in the midlist, where advances and print runs can be low, and authors want to gain the most exposure they possibly can.

Things to keep in mind:

1. Be very careful about the language in your contract. Publishers have an "option" clause, which means that you must submit your next work to them before offering it to others. Now, this option clause can be worded to your liking. The standard wording is "Next book-length work" (meaning anything you write, even a cookbook). Your agent can get that changed to: "Next book-length historical romance by Alexis ..."

For example, I submitted my historical mystery series to Berkley even though I'd been picked up for romances at Dorchester, because Dorchester didn't publish cozy historical mysteries (at that time), and Berkley had the Prime Crime line which specialized in it. Likewise, I submitted my erotic romance to Berkley, because again, they had the line, and Dorchester didn't. Both times I took a different name (Ashley Gardner and Allyson James), both because I was asked to, and because to me, it signals to readers better what kind of book they're going to get. Also, I published with an e-publisher, doing category length erotic romance, when no one in NY was doing it. (Note: e-publishers too have started putting option clauses in their contracts, which weren't there when I started.)

I know of an author who has her option clauses written very carefully so she can publish different subgenres at different houses of her choice, under one name. In fact, most of the authors I know who write for more than one house don't take psuedonyms. When I started, I was rather naive, and I didn't know I could have my option clause so tightly worded that I could take my name elsewhere.

So, if you do wish to publish at more than one house, make sure you read your option clause carefully, and tell your agent exactly how you want it worded. Change option clauses to your advantage, as much as you can. (But be flexible--give and take is better than rigid demands).

2. At some point, a publisher will want you exclusively. A couple of authors I know of who published at two different houses are now exclusive to one. If the publisher wants that, in my opinion, they need to pay for it. It is not to your advantage to write for one house exclusively if you're still getting $5K to $10K advances. You will be tied to their scheduling, and if your books come out too far apart, your income will not be good, and in this reading climate, readers will forget about you!

Now, when a publisher "wants" you, they might be signalling a willingness to publish you well (i.e., good advances, scheduling your books fairly rapidly, good marketing push for your books). They might be investing in growing you. (Or not! You have to be careful. :-) )

It can be an advantage to be exclusive at one house (the "investment" in you). But until you're a guaranteed lead with guaranteed big print runs, in my opinion, it's a good idea to try different arenas.

3. That all said--if you don't think you can juggle two publishers, DON'T! You will find yourself on a crazy schedule, tying to finish two books at once, trying not to make what you write for each house too similar so you don't violate your option clauses, being bombarded with revisions on two books at once. It can be a nightmare.

I hope that answers your questions. In my humble opinion, writing for multiple houses is a great advantage for the midlist and beginning author. You have more exposure to more audiences, and can build a strong base, so that when you are asked to be exclusive (and paid well to be), then your audience is established, and you can move up well. That's the theory, anyway! :-)

Character creation

I received some good questions on my request for blog topis, and I'll answer each one. I'll start with Laura's on characterization:

Laura wrote: "That leads me to wonder how you go about creating a character. Do you sit down before writing a book and write profiles of each character and how he or she would react to certain situations?"

I'm sure every author has a different technique of character development--what works for some authors doesn't work for others. For instance, some writers use character charts or index cards to keep track of who their characters are and what they look like.

That doesn't work for me, because I lose charts or forget to look at them. That's just my special style. :-)

My answer to the question is two-part:

1. Do I write profiles of each character: Yes, but...

2. Do I write out how he or she would react to certain situations? No.

Character Profiles

I do write down notes about my characters, but I don't have anything so organized as a notebook or charts or whatnot.

I find it helps enormously for me to write autobiographies for certain characters either before I start or shortly thereafter (I start the book when when I emotionally *need* to start it--the idea grips me so hard I have to write it before I explode. And, um, deadlines creeping up on me force the issue as well.)

I write biographies or autobiographies of my main characters: in romance, the hero and heroine. In mystery, the main protagonist.

I like to start with when they were born and who their parents were. What kind of people were their parents? Rich? Poor? Prominent? Nobodies? Were they happy people or miserable? Does he have good memories of his childhood or only terrible ones?

What were some events in the hero's childhood that marked him? In the case of Madness of Lord Ian, of course, it was his father's abuse that bordered on violence, and being shut away for being "different," plus what he suffered as experimental "treatments" in the asylum. But also he had memories of his oldest brother, Hart, who always looked after him, and no matter what their later differences, the oldest and youngest brothers of the Mackenzie family share a special bond.

As another example, I had a pirate character in an earlier book with several life-shaping moments--when he watched his father be killed, and when he decided to take charge of bringing up his illegitimate half-sister.

Those events will make the character become who he is, as will his social and economic background.

I'm brainstorming a novella right now in which I'm not sure who the heroine "is." The hero was mentioned in another book (his brother was the hero), so I know a lot about him already, but the heroine is an enigma. I haven't even decided whether she will be a "normal" or supernatural character.

I'm mostly visualizing these characters in my head, which is how I always start the characterization process, not writing anything down until I've replayed things in my brain several times. But soon I will start writing out the heroine's biography, and the decisions I make about her will shape the plot. Her decisions (and the hero's) will drive the story.

2. Do I write out how he or she would react to certain situations? No.

I say no to this question because I'm not a big pre-plotter/planner. I wait for the situations to come up in the book, then I channel my character and basically record what he/she says and does, plus of course the reactions of the other characters to them.

This is where the character bio comes in handy, because it's already made me get deep inside the character so I can channel him or her.

That doesn't always mean I get it right the first time! I always read through my drafts two or three times, and I'll think: "That character would never say that," or "She would never use that expression." I make changes accordingly.

The draft gets out the bare bones of my story and characterization, then the second draft fleshes it out and establishes the characters more firmly.

That's not to say that I don't think writing out how a character will react to situations is a bad idea. It might be a great way to get to know them. A similar method is a "character interview" I've seen some writers use, to ask their characters all kinds of pointed and difficult to answer questions. Not only are their answers telling, but also whether or not the character is comfortable answering.

Whatever method you choose, I believe it's very important to get deep into your characters' heads, know where he/she came from and what happened to them earlier in life. Think about them, daydream them, live with them, dream about them, let them blog, grill them... Whatever it takes. :-)

All right....any requests?

I need to post here again, and I am drawing a blank on topics. I'm contemplating writing about what "being published" means (more than having a book in print), professional jealousy (how to keep it from destroying you, and even how to make it help you), and... I either have too many things to say or nothing at all.

Any requests? Any questions? Feel free to post in the comments and I'll see if I can come up with a post about it!!

It's All About Control

Oh my goodness gracious. I haven't posted a while here, because my life suddenly went berserk.

Not only did I have a book release this May, but it generated all kinds of amazing buzz, plus I've been trying to market it a bit (writing blogs right and left).

Plus there have been icky distribution problems (Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie is well stocked at B&N and Wal-mart! Please support them!)

And on top of that.... Page proofs, then copy edits, then more page proofs, plus a ms. or two to finish and submit.

I never knew being an author was this crazed.

I feel like Yoda saying: If you're not afraid now... you will be.

Anyway, it's been an exercise in learning what an author can control, and what she/he can't.

What you can control:

1. Writing your book.

2. Being professional (doing your job; whether that means turning around your copyedits on time, doing market research to find a publisher/agent; showing up to promote your book, etc.)

3. Taking care of yourself.


What you can't control:

1. Distribution (see "icky" above)

2. Print run of your book (despite the happy articles of the romance market going up; still there are problems with orders and returns, and booksellers are ordering fewer books).

3. Where your book is placed and in what stores.

4. Your cover. (Authors have some say in covers; but more and more publishers are refusing to give authors cover approval.)

5. Reviews. Ya sends out the review copies, and ya takes your chances.

6. Word of mouth. Either readers will like it and tell their friends... or they will not (and tell their friends).

7. Distributors going out of business. Anderson News closing their doors in February was a huge blow to the publishing industry.

8. Bookstore returns. Almost all bookstores decided, at the same time, to get rid of excess inventory, which meant massive returns to publishers. What will this do to authors' sell through (percentage of sales to books printed)? I shudder to think.

As you can see, there is a lot in the publishing industry authors can't control at all. I am not going to pretend it doesn't suck. It truly does suck!

What can we do?

1. It comes back one more time, to writing the best book you can. Cream does rise even with all the many, many problems that have suddenly cropped up in the industry.

2. Get a team of people on your side to get you through. Writing really doesn't happen alone. We like to think we're individual geniuses, but the truth is, it takes a village to become happily published.

A good team can consist of: a great agent; a supportive critique partner or group; an assistant (I don't have a full-time one; though I do have a part-time long-distance assistant who helps with my website and reminds me to enter contests and so forth). Friends--both authors who get what you're going through, and non-writers, who can pull you out of your mad obsession for a few minutes.

Gather your team and give them chocolate.

Take care of yourself and feed your creativity.

Pay attention to what's going on in the marketplace, and don't walk blindly into publication ("I got published; my career is now perfect.")

Stay sane.

I can't say "you'll be fine," but you might just survive. :-)

What a Writer Really Does to Celebrate a Release

I'm slacking here (I know), but I tell a bit about why, and how I get to celebrate my fabulous release week here:

http://www.thechatelaines.blogspot.com

How many books does a NYT bestseller sell?

I plan to do another post on Monday, but for now, I'll turn you over to Lynn Veihl who reveals the numbers of her NYT bestseller from last July.

http://www.genreality.net/the-reality-of-a-times-bestseller

In the interest of full disclosure, her print and sales numbers look much like mine have for several of my recent books. Which tells me that making the NYT list is not so much about the number of copies sold but at the velocity at which they're sold and reordered.

Amazon: Egg on Face

Read about the whole Amazon kerfluffle here:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6651080.html?desc=topstory

The RITAs

Every year Romance Writers of America announces its slate of finalists for the RITA award, given to the best romances of the year.

And every year there is a deluge of controversy (some years more than others). There are also questions--what is a RITA? Who is Rita? Why were those books picked to final? Why these categories and not those? Why are ebooks excluded? (the hottest of hot buttons right now).

So here is everything you ever wanted to know about the RITA contest but were afraid to ask. (If any of the below needs correcting, please, feel free to tell me [politely...]).

1. The RITA award was established I think about twenty years ago to honor excellence in romance fiction. The award is named for Rita Clay Estrada, founding member and RWA's first president.

2. The RITA was invented to give romance some recognition. At the time, romance got zero recognition, especially category romance. Romances were often not "counted" on bestseller lists (and category still isn't). To let romance authors be recognized as having some talent, thank you, the RITA was developed.

3. Unlike the Edgars, Nebulas, and Hugos, the RITA is a contest, with an entry fee. Books may be entered by either a. the author; b. the author's publisher. (I believe anyone can enter someone else's book but I'd have to ask about that.) Most publishers enter at least some of their authors' books.

4. Non-RWA members are allowed to enter the contest, but they pay a higher entry fee.

5. The entire contest is limited to 1200 entries.

6. Judges are authors who have a. joined RWA, and b. are in the Published Author Network (PAN). Judges may NOT judge a category in which they are entered.

7. Entries are broken down into categories, which are the subjects of many flame wars. In the past, categories reflected that most entries were category romances--as time passed and more and more single-title romances were published in more and more subgenres, the categories changed. Do I think the categories need more work? Definitely. The romance genre is ever-evolving. Imho, the RITA categories are always behind the power curve. I won't get into it, because, hoo boy.

8. Judges indicates the top three categories they are interested in judging and the judge gets a box of books that are a mix of those three categories. Each book is read by five judges and given a score. Judges score anywhere from six to nine books. Scores are anonymous, and are a number from 1 to 9.

9. The top scoring books in each category are finalists. I don't know how the scores are calculated or how they figure out how many finalists there are--it's math.

10. Finalists are called, names announced.

11. Another set of books are sent to final-round judges who again score the books, and the top scorer of each category is the winner.

12. Winners are announced at the big ceremony at RWA National, and the winner takes home a shiny statue.

What does it all mean--why are RITAs such a big deal?

The RITA contest is a peer-judged contest, writers judging writers. It's also a level field (in theory)--books that had low print runs compete against books that are mega bestsellers. Few readers might not have even seen a book with a 15K print run that sat on the shelves for three weeks, but that doesn't mean it was a bad book. The RITA gives that author the chance for some recognition. RITA winning does not necessarily mean bestselling. Bestsellers are a different ball of wax (read some of my previous entries on how a book becomes a bestseller).

Why do authors care so much?

Because of that peer review. We not only want to please readers, we want other writers, people who share our profession, to think we're good too!

Why should readers care?

It's up to readers whether they care or not. The RITA represents the best romances--that were qualified to enter in a certain year of people who bothered to enter. Many authors vehemently don't enter the contest, others vehemently do, others can go either way.

Do you enter, Jennifer?

I do. What the heck? I might win and get a pretty statue. Which is how I ended up with the one in 2007 (shown above). My publishers put a line on my book cover, and we sing la la la.

Do I think some books are unfairly excluded?

Yes, I do. See my above statment about the genre ever-evolving and how the contest needs to keep up. Also method of delivery is evolving (of course I'm talking about ebooks).

I won't go into all that controversy, because it's covered well elsewhere, plus I just don't wanna. Too much stress. The RITA is problematic and problems need to be fixed. Granted.

But there you have it. More about the contest rules can be found on the RWA National website (www.rwanational.org) under Contests & Awards.

Leah Hultenschmidt blogs

My editor at Dorchester, Leah Hultenschmidt, is blogging at Ninc today. Good questions about submitting, getting published, the industry today.

http://www.ninc.com/blog/index.php/archives/meet-editor-leah-hultenschmidt