This week the publishing blogosphere has been full of
Hachette vs Amazon...and the fall out on authors which doesn't look like ending very soon.
Everyone has an opinion.
In
the last two days Amazon released a statement, encouraging readers who wanted a Hachette book to buy from other suppliers and (in a cunning move) offering to
partner with Hachette in an author’s fund to compensate the authors on lost
earnings. This morning Hachette released a statement in reply...It’s not our fault that Amazon sees the book as
just another commodity and when we solve this we’ll think about that author
fund.
In the mean time... Opinions are flying thick and fast
around the blogosphere helped along with a new Author Earnings report and this week
the analysis on Traditional Authors income vs Debut Authors Income from Hugh
Howey.
Passive Guy puts his lawyers hat on and gives a succinct
overview of the impact of Hugh’s report on Authors, especially Hachette Authors, who may well
be contemplating making some changes in their future...
Dave Gaughran observes that the whole thing may just be a PR exercise for hearts and minds.
Mark Coker urges all authors to pay attention because after
the Hachette negotiations with Amazon are over, the rest of the big 5 will be going
through the same negotiations. Indie authors had better be spreading the risk.
Bob Mayer reminds Authors that this whole mess is about Rights and who has them and how they use them and what they should be doing about it.
Careers are on the line here. This dispute could be the
tipping point for a lot of authors to start the move towards a more hybrid
career with a mix of Traditional and Indie publishing.
If you aren’t a publishing accountants dream 6 figure
deal... then you may as well band together with some like minded author friends
and set up your own publishing house. You will have just the same opportunities
as any of the big 5... according to Hugh.
In the Craft Section,
The 12 Stages of Physical Intimacy to build tension. (pretty
comprehensive post!)
How to write Dialect – Ava Jae
How to save on Editing (Killzone blog.)
When the author and the editor disagree...Rachel Gardner
What readers really want to see in a series - Elisabeth S Craig.
In the Marketing Section,
All about Author Platform
Self Publishing vs Traditional (podcast)
Kickstarter lessons...with Sean Platt (honest assessment)
Joanna Penn on Evaluating the Market
CreateSpace vs Ingram comparison. (Handy info for outside US
authors.)
To Finish,
Jane Friedman, all round publishing blogosphere goddess, has
an in depth look at 3 Insights that lead to a Successful Writing Career. (Stephen Pressfield book, The War of
Art is a must read!)
maureen
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