3 ms·

how about co-launching a book both in hardcover and trade paperback, at the same (high) pricepoint? Alas, that's not how publishing works; I create and sell th

by cstross 16y ago

how about co-launching a book both in hardcover and trade paperback, at the same (high) pricepoint? Alas, that's not how publishing works; I create and sell the IP that goes between the covers, but how those covers are put together and marketed isn't my department (and I have no control over it). One point to note is that commercial fiction publishing runs on a reverse-auction basis: prices start high, then drop. Hardcovers (perceived as high value items) come out first, then are superseded by successively cheaper/smaller paperback editions after early-adopter demand is saturated by the high priced product. Unfortunately the pricing model is conflated with the physical product's format, and with the distribution channel (trade vs. mass market), which muddies the water enormously. (I'd love to do an ebook edition that launched at, say, $20, then dropped in price by 5% per month until hitting a floor of $4. It'd be interesting to graph sales against time ... but unfortunately the accounting procedures in place in the publishing business, and locked in via contract, seem to make this impossible without either (a) self-publishing or (b) protracted negotiations with a legal department that are not dissimilar to kicking a dead sperm whale up a beach. In high summer.)

unwind 16y ago
Thanks a lot, that jives well with your blogged articles about how the publishing work flow works (or doesn't work). So I guess "that's not how it's done" was basically what I expected. And yeah, the e-book concept would be very interesting, too bad it's not possible from where you're at. We need an author that is ... successful enough to not have to depend on publishing as an income to write something that people want, and then publish it using that e-book model. I'll go and sit over there, waiting for that to happen.
ido 16y ago
seem to make this impossible without either (a) self-publishing or (b) protracted negotiations with a legal department that are not dissimilar to kicking a dead sperm whale up a beach. In high summer.) That does raise the question, tho - why aren't you self-publishing[1]? You already have a dedicated fan base (I'm one of them - I think you're basically the only currently-living sci-fi author I still read), getting the word out and selling the books online is surely possible? Even tho you'd presumably get fewer sales from not being in stores, wouldn't avoiding giving 90% of your revenue to a middle-man possibly make up for it? IIRC some rock band (I think it was REM or U2) recently successfully did just that by selling their album only in digital format online. [1] I have no clue about the publishing industry, just curious as to why this isn't done more often.
- nagrom 16y ago
  I asked Charlie about that once on his blog and got grimaced at, textually - I think he gets that question a lot. Later on he published a set of magazine-length articles on his blog on the work that goes into the publication of a book. Start here: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/common-misconceptions-about-pu.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/common-m... I was convinced before reading that set of entries that self-publishing was a simple, obvious answer. I'm now convinced that like all other simple, obvious answers, it's wrong :-) I still think that authors could form together and create a mutual publishing association of some sort and succeed that way. However, I can totally understand that anyone who writes a book does it because they like writing and not publishing - to an extent that they'd rather not make the money than as good as switch careers completely.
  - ido 16y ago
    Cheers - thanks a lot of the link! Didn't know it was such a common question...
- geden 16y ago
  Radiohead did it pretty successfully. They are probably the largest credible band in the English speaking world. Mr. Stross has indicated that he's not ready to 'do a Radiohead' yet. I can understand why. I spent ten years working for a (very) independent UK record label (Warp) and am now managing an artist. Self publication on any scale is still not as easy as it looks. You need a group of skilled people around you to make it work. Oddly enough, that group of people starts looks a lot like a record label, or a publishing house. If you have found a really good (or perhaps even tolerably good) record label or publisher, one that you trust, that pay you good advances and royalties, that have good people on board that you enjoy working with - then self publishing doesn't look like that attractive an option. It's certainly not an easy one. Having said that, I think Charlie should give it a shot sooner rather than later, because his fanbase will be disproportionately well connected, which reduces the effort of marketing greatly.

by cstross 16y ago

unwind 16y ago

Thanks a lot, that jives well with your blogged articles about how the publishing work flow works (or doesn't work). So I guess "that's not how it's done" was basically what I expected. And yeah, the e-book concept would be very interesting, too bad it's not possible from where you're at. We need an author that is ... successful enough to not have to depend on publishing as an income to write something that people want, and then publish it using that e-book model. I'll go and sit over there, waiting for that to happen.

ido 16y ago

seem to make this impossible without either (a) self-publishing or (b) protracted negotiations with a legal department that are not dissimilar to kicking a dead sperm whale up a beach. In high summer.) That does raise the question, tho - why aren't you self-publishing[1]? You already have a dedicated fan base (I'm one of them - I think you're basically the only currently-living sci-fi author I still read), getting the word out and selling the books online is surely possible? Even tho you'd presumably get fewer sales from not being in stores, wouldn't avoiding giving 90% of your revenue to a middle-man possibly make up for it? IIRC some rock band (I think it was REM or U2) recently successfully did just that by selling their album only in digital format online. [1] I have no clue about the publishing industry, just curious as to why this isn't done more often.

nagrom 16y ago
I asked Charlie about that once on his blog and got grimaced at, textually - I think he gets that question a lot. Later on he published a set of magazine-length articles on his blog on the work that goes into the publication of a book. Start here: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/common-misconceptions-about-pu.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/02/common-m... I was convinced before reading that set of entries that self-publishing was a simple, obvious answer. I'm now convinced that like all other simple, obvious answers, it's wrong :-) I still think that authors could form together and create a mutual publishing association of some sort and succeed that way. However, I can totally understand that anyone who writes a book does it because they like writing and not publishing - to an extent that they'd rather not make the money than as good as switch careers completely.
- ido 16y ago
  Cheers - thanks a lot of the link! Didn't know it was such a common question...
geden 16y ago
Radiohead did it pretty successfully. They are probably the largest credible band in the English speaking world. Mr. Stross has indicated that he's not ready to 'do a Radiohead' yet. I can understand why. I spent ten years working for a (very) independent UK record label (Warp) and am now managing an artist. Self publication on any scale is still not as easy as it looks. You need a group of skilled people around you to make it work. Oddly enough, that group of people starts looks a lot like a record label, or a publishing house. If you have found a really good (or perhaps even tolerably good) record label or publisher, one that you trust, that pay you good advances and royalties, that have good people on board that you enjoy working with - then self publishing doesn't look like that attractive an option. It's certainly not an easy one. Having said that, I think Charlie should give it a shot sooner rather than later, because his fanbase will be disproportionately well connected, which reduces the effort of marketing greatly.