The HEA Cafe

I was tempted to subtitle this “How dare you say my baby is ugly!” but held back. Reviews are the joy and bane of a published writer’s existence. Each morning I check my Google Alerts to see if someone’s said something new about The Bride and the Buccaneer, but I always click on the link with a certain amount of trepidation and a lump in my throat. Did the reviewer like my story? Did she find the characters entertaining? Am I going to want to bang my head on the keyboard?

I can say, with no false modesty, that my fears are generally unwarranted. I don’t always get an A+, but so far the reviewers seem to agree that they find my stories entertaining, my characters engaging, my dialogue snappy. Some even say they enjoy getting a little does of Florida history fed to them, which thrills my history wonk soul. You can read for yourself what the reviewers are saying at my website.

Are all reviewers created equal? No. I find a comment from a reader saying “I couldn’t go to sleep last night because I had to stay up to finish your wonderful book!” every bit as grand as the most detailed analysis of my craft. I will say though that for me as a writer some reviewers are worth paying particular attention to because they understand writing. Their comments will be on point, and can be helpful.

On the other hand, there are some popular reviewing sites where you wonder if the author of the review was having a bad day, or ever read historicals, or was actually reading the book you wrote. When I get one of those reviews, I let it bother me for about five minutes. Then I remember the reader who said, “I read your books when I was undergoing chemo, and it took me away from everything for a few hours. Thank you.”

And then it’s all right again, and I’m reassured my baby is every bit as pretty as I think it is.

I was born in the middle of the 20th C. and sometimes I stop and marvel that I’m now living in the second decade of the 21st C.

Of course, it’s not perfect. I don’t have a robot to clean my dishes, and I’m still waiting on my jetpack and flying car, but there are plenty of aspects of life in 2KX that I find exciting. Too many to list, but one’s certainly connected to this blog and my writing world.

Ebooks. The latter part of 2009 saw a record surge in ebook sales and the sale of ereaders. The options out there are many and the buzz continues–Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook and soon, the much anticipated iTablet. Without ebooks and ereaders I would have far fewer readers than I do. While my books are available in print, much of my sales are electronic, and they’re worldwide. My readers can download all of my books in a few minutes, adjust the font size for comfortable reading, and store them on a device the size and weight of a paperback.

If you have not yet made the commitment to an ereader, now may be the time to consider it. There are plenty of price ranges and options for the various machines, and the blogging world can offer advice to make it easier to choose. The well-read blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has recently done analysis of the more popular models and continues to test drive ereaders and review them for the romance reading community.

Talk to people who are using ereaders. Get their advice and their feedback before making a decision. And as always in this age of quick turnaround on electronics, remember that yes, there will be a snazzier model out at some point after you make your purchase. Don’t let that hold you back. As a reader who’s gone over to the electronic side for much of her reading, I can assure you that it’s a great feeling to have a device in your purse that’s got 100+ books on it, so you never have that panic attack again over not having something to read while you wait in line.

I’ve been published in ebook form since 2001. I can’t read my original works because they were sold on a format that’s no longer supported by my computer, floppy disks. I did, of course, keep paper backups of my work but that’s a different article–the need for back-up.

Today I want to talk about moving into the 21st century of ereading. I finally broke down and bought a dedicated ereader, the Sony PRS 300, their new “Pocket Reader”. Three things led me to this point: 1. the price came down to a place that was more affordable for an ereader, $199. 2. Some of my favorite authors were releasing novellas and back list works only as ebooks. 3. I’ve been doing more ebook reading at my notebook and not finding it especially comfortable.

The feedback I’ve been getting from my own readers shows a rising curve of ebook sales, and I’m now an ebook consumer as well. My little Pocket is the same size as a mass market paperback, though thinner. It can hold 350 books. I automatically slip it into my purse each day, and don’t worry that I’m leaving the house without something to read. Most importantly, the next time I go on a trip I’ll have more room in my carry-on because it won’t be full of books.

I’m still buying books in paper, but now I’m restricting it to hardcovers and paper copies of books I know I’m likely to want to keep. Much of what I’ve been buying gets recycled to the library book sale as soon as I’m done with it, and while the library will lose a bit with this purchase, it’s certainly better for the trees and the environment.

If you’ve been thinking of getting an ebook reader, this may be the right time. More models are scheduled for release later in 2010, and there’s still talk of an Apple Tablet that may make Mac users happy. My wish now is that publishers would figure out a good pricing scheme for ebooks. Some of them are releasing ebooks for twice the cost of mass market paperbacks, which makes no sense to me at all and I refuse to buy them that way. Eventually, however, I believe the market will drive them to a standard, reasonable pricing scheme.

In the meantime, I’m still getting used to my little device, but I think I’m going to like it. Maybe I’ll report back in six months on how this new love affair is progressing.

Today is my day to blog, and I didn’t have a topic until I learned that Angela James of Samhain Publishing had her workshop on digital publishing rejected by RWA for the 2010 National conference set in Washington, DC this coming July. According to Romancing the Blog ( Read here) and the Galaxy Express ( Read here) there aren’t any digital publishing workshops on the ticket. This topic’s not yet hit the pages of Dear Author or Smart Bitches, but I imagine it will in the next couple of days.

RWA’s decision really confuses me. The mission statement of RWA is (and I quote straight from the website) “…to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy. RWA works to support the efforts of its members to earn a living, to make a full-time career out of writing romance—or a part-time one that generously supplements his/her main income.”

If the mission is to support members in their effort to earn a living via a full-time or part-time career, why would you refuse to put out as much information as possible for your members? Information that might prove valuable for all members, including those who state that the eBook royalties on their statements are a miniscule piece not to consider. If you hear rumbles that there might be layoff at your workplace, do you ignore them or do you work a little harder to ensure you keep your job. Simply because eBooks are a sliver on your statements doesn’t mean it’s good business sense to ignore them. You need to learn all you can about this small piece of the pie so you’re prepared for what comes when the pie slice grows.

When a workshop is submitted by a highly respected editor in the ePublishing world, you DO NOT just throw it out the door simply because the submitting editor works for an ePublisher. It’s also important to note that Angela James is not an editor at some fly-by-night ePublisher. Since Samhain opened its doors in November 2005, it’s become a force to be reckoned with in the ePublishing industry. So why reject a workshop that offers insight into the digital world? It’s most illogical as Spock would say (either reality you want to cite from).

Digital publishing has been around for quite some time, and in the past six years, it’s boomed. Is it about to take over the print medium? No, but its growth continues by leaps and bounds, whereas the print industry’s growth has been seen as lackluster. RWA says that the numbers from digital press only makes up a small slice of the pie. But whose pie are we talking about? The pie of RWA members or the pie of writers who do not feel the need to belong to RWA, or both sectors of writers. Either way, they’re only looking at data, and they’re clearly NOT looking too far down the road. So I’d like to offer up a real-world business example of how ignoring something new can bite you in the a$$.

Once upon a time, there was this WONDERFUL software called WordPerfect. It was customizable and there were templates for legal, writers, administrative workers, etc. People loved WordPerfect (including me). Then suddenly there was an underdog on the scene. Microsoft Windows for the PC and a word processing program called Word. At first Word wasn’t much to speak of, and in fact, it couldn’t even compare to WordPerfect in the customization or flexibility department. But it did have one thing that WordPerfect didn’t. It was mouse driven and on a pretty screen, which was easier to read than the blue WordPerfect screen.

But WordPerfect saw Microsoft and their word processing software as a fad. Something new that would die out and never really grow. So what did WordPerfect do? They ignored Microsoft Word. But Microsoft’s Word’s share of the market grew and grew until WordPerfect finally said, whoa! We need to put out a version of WordPerfect for Windows interface. Problem was, WordPerfect waited too long. The balance shifted and now Microsoft Word owns the world, and WordPerfect while still around is pretty much a piece of hair in world-wide soup called Microsoft.

While I agree that RWA cannot be everything to every writer, to ignore digital publishing in any way is not only short-sighted, it lacks vision. It also shows RWA isn’t putting the needs of its membership at the forefront. It seems to be kow-towing to a small portion of its 10K+ membership.

I am not advocating RWA should charge ahead and throw in every workshop out there simply because it’s about digital publishing. What I do advocate is that RWA provide as much information to the membership as possible. Even if it means providing information on a publishing segment that doesn’t pay an advance. RWA Board President, Diane Pershing herself said in the June 2009 RWR that “RWA is set to do its part, to be more and more proactive in offering better and more complete education to the membership.” And in fairness to Ms. Pershing, the workshop committee is responsible for selecting workshops. Not Ms. Pershing. However, one has to wonder why the message isn’t getting down the food chain. And while RWA insists they are concerned with members and their advances, fine. But at the same time, if you believe ePublishing isn’t good enough for your members because there’s no advance, why not educate them on that issue and let the member decide if its for them.

I easily see the day will come when a growing number of RWA’s members write for NY print and ePub simultaneously. Oh but wait! That’s already happening. Angela Knight, Jaci Burton, Lora Leigh, Lucy Monroe, Deidre Knight and many more are writing for NY and for ePub. Why put one’s eggs all in one basket. Good business models in so many instances are about diversification. To not offer up information to the membership sends the message that RWA doesn’t think the member has to worry about this segment of the market. All I can say to that is…I’m glad RWA isn’t writing my personal business plan. I want long-range planning and vision in my plan, not dismissal of a medium simply because it’s only a small piece of the pie at the moment. I don’t like playing catch-up. I’d rather be leading the charge.

Monica

Monica Burns – http://www.monicaburns.com
Mirage, Now In Print 4.5 Stars, RT Top Pick RT BOOKreviews
2008 Reviewers Choice Award Nominee| 2009 EPPIE Best Historical Erotic Romance
Kismet, Berkley, 01/10 | Untitled, Berkley, 05/10

It’s late, my brain is focused on pain meds and a looming deadline. So I’m doing a rehash, because I’m betting there are more people who visit this blog than who visit mine. Why? Because I’m not popular and RWAOnline is! LOL

This post is about my ongoing experiences and process of  me as a new-to-NY author, and the process that happens from the time a book is contracted and put on the shelf. So all my posts are STRICTLY my personal experiences. Others may have different experiences.
RECAP

Two weeks ago I talked about the transition to NY from ePub. Here’s a brief recap

ePub – contract offers come in email. Contract runs about five pages. Simple straightforward contract with XX percentage on sale of eBooks off publisher website, X percentage on distributor sales and a different percentage if your book goes to print. Overall process with the contract takes just a few days.

NY – the editor calls with an offer to either the agent or the author (if the submission is from a contest, etc.) Once the offer is made, negotiations begin for final monies

However, NY contract negotiations are much different from receiving an offer via email with a contract attached. The contract is generally twice as long, with terms related to foreign rights, trade paperback, mass-market paperback, hardback, eBook rights, etc. The agent reviews and makes changes in the best interest of their client then the contract is sent to the writer. Once the writer, and then the publisher sign the contract, a check is cut and sent to the agent. The agent then cuts a check to the writer, minus the 15% commission.

This is simplified, but it’s pretty much the whole process with regard to the contract and the advance. An important difference in a NY contract is the breakup of the advance. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that depending on the author’s selling power plays into how much of the advance you get up front. I’m not for certain though, and all I can attest too is what I’ve experienced.

I thought about working out a scenario of a fictional advance, but that didn’t seem to work well when I was trying to figure it out, so I thought maybe percentages of my deals will provide a decent picture without talking actual monies (per my agreement with Deidre). Because each contract is different, (both of my Berkley contracts are structured differently payout wise) and you don’t always get the same amount of money or distribution percentages. Keep in mind that this is my personal experience as it’s happening and not compiled scenarios of what goes on with other people. The data shown here is strictly to give you an idea about how the advance might play out.

Next Step – Show Me The Money

Explaining how an advance is paid out is difficult because every publisher and contract is different. For example, the breakout percentage wise for my two-book deal is different from my three-book deal.

Unlike I always thought, the advance is not paid out all at once. You get a certain percentage of the advance at different stages of the game. Below is an example of how my contract is paying out in terms of time frame and percentages

Contract signing paid – roughly 40% of the advance, paid about 4-6 months after initial offer
D&A Book 1 – roughly 17.5% of the deal, paid after the editor is satisfied with the final product
Publication Book 1 – 10%
D&A Proposal Book 2 – 5%
D&A Book 2 – roughly 17.5%
Publication Book 2 – 10%

Remember these are percentages of the overall agreed to advance paid to me for two books. So say the advance is for $100K.

That means the author would get $40K at contract signing, $17,500K on D&A, $10K on publication of first book, $5K for D&A Book 2 proposal, then $17,500K for D&A of Book 2 and $10K for publication of Book 2.

On my three-book deal, the allocation of the percentages are different in a screwy way, and I’ve NO CLUE as to why they’re different. An interesting point to note is that in my contract, if I miss a deadline, the publisher has the right to demand the advance back, and make me pay court fees if I don’t pony up the money. EXCELLENT incentive NOT to miss a deadline.

One More Step Forward

My first deadline was March 1st. I beat the deadline by a week. It’s my goal to do that consistently. I think it will be a great professional behavior to exhibit and it will also make it easier to keep ahead of the writing game. If I can finish a book at least a month before deadline, then I’m able to edit it and refine it in two to three weeks.

I was going to post from this point back, and then I realized a couple of things had happened. So I’ll add a bit more.

With Kismet turned in, I was chewing nails worrying about edits. Cindy emailed late last week and said she’ll only have line edits and that she loves the book. Whew!

UPDATE

Update to original post regarding deadlines – I’ve another deadline coming up and I’m running frantic. In fact, it’s so close, I don’t dare name the day in the event it scares the hell out of my muse and she disappears! Hence, the delay in the post as my new boss keeps me hopping where before I had time to do a little blog prep. *sigh* Suffice it to say, I think I’ll make it, but that incentive is definitely scaring the hell out of me.

My editor emailed me late last week and said she was getting ready to discuss covers with house artists. I’m thinking GOOD LORD it’s just March! But, the sooner I have a cover the better. Cindy asked what I thought about Susan Johnson’s new cover and if I was open to something like it for my book. O. M. G. Hell ya, baby!! I love Susan’s cover, so now I can’t wait to see mine. If it’s half as good that baby will fly off the shelves!

This week, Cindy emailed me with blurb copy. O.M.G. I LOVE the tag lines. The blurbs however need some work. The first thing that had to go was the line, “Until a Sheik rides in from the desert…” First thought? Blazing Saddles and the Sheriff riding into town. Umm…nope, I don’t think so! LOL I reworked the copy some and sent it back to Cindy, agreeing with the suggestion she had and offering up my own. She emailed back saying that she was sending it back to the copywriters. I now understand why Claire Delacroix said to be sure and write a detailed, exceptional synopsis.

If you’re interested in reading more about the process, visit my blog or myspace blog every week or so as I record my experiences.
Monica

Monica Burns – http://www.monicaburns.com
Dangerous, Available Now 4.5 Stars, RT BOOKreviews
Mirage,06/09 | RT Top Pick | 2009 EPPIE Best Historical/Western Erotic Romance
Kismet, Berkley, 01/10