predictions about agents? - CrimeSpace2024-03-30T07:19:14Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/predictions-about-agents?feed=yes&xn_auth=noIt really isn't that difficul…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-26:537324:Comment:2436032010-07-26T00:06:24.473ZJim Thomsenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JamesRobertThomsenJr
It really isn't that difficult to format your books and upload them to Kindle and Smashwords. I've sat there and watched friends who aren't particularly tech-savvy do it. And those platforms keep working to make the experience easier. I've done some poking around and I'm confident I can handle it ... and I'm nobody's idea of a computer genius, least of all my own.<br />
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And "combing through your text for errors" is an author's baseline responsibility, whether or not he or she does it or hires it out.
It really isn't that difficult to format your books and upload them to Kindle and Smashwords. I've sat there and watched friends who aren't particularly tech-savvy do it. And those platforms keep working to make the experience easier. I've done some poking around and I'm confident I can handle it ... and I'm nobody's idea of a computer genius, least of all my own.<br />
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And "combing through your text for errors" is an author's baseline responsibility, whether or not he or she does it or hires it out. Many, many authors have gotte…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-26:537324:Comment:2436012010-07-26T00:01:08.192ZJim Thomsenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JamesRobertThomsenJr
Many, many authors have gotten trad-pub deals based on their Kindle sales ... which were based on their self-promo savvy and hustle. I'm kinda hoping to go this route myself.
Many, many authors have gotten trad-pub deals based on their Kindle sales ... which were based on their self-promo savvy and hustle. I'm kinda hoping to go this route myself. I have a good friend named Cr…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-07-25:537324:Comment:2435982010-07-25T23:54:39.355ZJim Thomsenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JamesRobertThomsenJr
I have a good friend named <a href="http://http://www.wix.com/amindadrift/CraigLancaster" target="_blank">Craig Lancaster</a> who self-published his debut novel in early 2009. After he hustled up a few sales and some good reviews, the resulting positive word-of-mouth came to the attention of a regional publisher who picked up his book and re-published it. Craig's continued to work that one hard, and it's demonstrating some "long-tail" potential in the form of some prestigious regional awards…
I have a good friend named <a href="http://http://www.wix.com/amindadrift/CraigLancaster" target="_blank">Craig Lancaster</a> who self-published his debut novel in early 2009. After he hustled up a few sales and some good reviews, the resulting positive word-of-mouth came to the attention of a regional publisher who picked up his book and re-published it. Craig's continued to work that one hard, and it's demonstrating some "long-tail" potential in the form of some prestigious regional awards and and a small but enthusiastic army of handselling fans (myself included). When his publisher balked at putting out Craig's second novel less than a year after putting out his first, Craig decided to go back to self-publishing for the second book ... a plan that got happily derailed when AmazonEncore, out of nowhere, came a-knocking. Impressed by the quality of his book and the steadiness of his sales growth, they cut him a deal (which he made without an agent). Now both author and publisher are gearing up for a global marketing push that appears to rival anything the Big Six can or would do for the book's early 2011 release.<br />
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I think a lot of authors who are midlist or lower — but write well and work hard — will see something like this happen for them. I think we can count on them…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-18:537324:Comment:2385442010-06-18T05:49:15.368ZTom Cookehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TomCooke
I think we can count on them at least trying the cookie cutter approach.
I think we can count on them at least trying the cookie cutter approach. It is happening, ms pamela. L…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2385032010-06-17T21:35:36.661ZKemosabehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/lintonlewis
It is happening, ms pamela. Like everything in life you have to learn enough to fit in. I bought the ebook cover shown here for $250. I am working now to learn how to do that myself so I can have the control of getting what I want.
It is happening, ms pamela. Like everything in life you have to learn enough to fit in. I bought the ebook cover shown here for $250. I am working now to learn how to do that myself so I can have the control of getting what I want. Well, that's good to hear. I'…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2384852010-06-17T18:40:31.815Zms.pamilahttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/mspamila
Well, that's good to hear. I've just started researched and got hung up on the getting it into epub format part of things. That's the part that looked like work to me. Can't recall at the moment where I saw fees involved, maybe it was for listing with aggregators..as I said, the fees I saw weren't big. Apple doesn't charge a fee, but there is a multi-step process. Mulling over the pros and cons. I do really like the idea of retaining ownership of my work. There are many things to consider.<br />
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The…
Well, that's good to hear. I've just started researched and got hung up on the getting it into epub format part of things. That's the part that looked like work to me. Can't recall at the moment where I saw fees involved, maybe it was for listing with aggregators..as I said, the fees I saw weren't big. Apple doesn't charge a fee, but there is a multi-step process. Mulling over the pros and cons. I do really like the idea of retaining ownership of my work. There are many things to consider.<br />
<br />
The thing I'd most like to see happen is for the balance of power to shift to the creators. We dig this stuff up out of our subconscious and craft it into art. We should be the first and most compensated. I thin Smashwords will give y…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2384482010-06-17T15:09:20.710ZKemosabehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/lintonlewis
I thin Smashwords will give you a ISBN number for free. And Eric is right, the time invested is not that great. If one does not want to edit her/his work, that part can be hired out.
I thin Smashwords will give you a ISBN number for free. And Eric is right, the time invested is not that great. If one does not want to edit her/his work, that part can be hired out. There's no fee to upload to K…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2383532010-06-17T10:22:29.917ZEric Christophersonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/datahog
There's no fee to upload to Kindle and it's easy to format. Just save a Word doc as html, for example.<br />
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If there's a fee for Apple I haven''t heard about it, although they require an ISBN number, which'll cost you a bit, and they want the document in epub.
There's no fee to upload to Kindle and it's easy to format. Just save a Word doc as html, for example.<br />
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If there's a fee for Apple I haven''t heard about it, although they require an ISBN number, which'll cost you a bit, and they want the document in epub. A big round of applause. If y…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2383422010-06-17T07:10:10.183ZErich R. Sysakhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/ErichRSysak
A big round of applause. If you're confident in your work, why not?<br />
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Everything is twisted around. Frankly, the agents should be begging you...
A big round of applause. If you're confident in your work, why not?<br />
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Everything is twisted around. Frankly, the agents should be begging you... I think the dream that an age…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-06-17:537324:Comment:2383392010-06-17T07:07:12.949Zms.pamilahttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/mspamila
I think the dream that an agent is the gatekeeper to a fat advance from one of the big publishing companies has begun to look like, just get the house however you can, real estate will always be the best investment. The american landscape has changed on every level, and it's not even close to done yet.<br />
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All signs point to digital as the emerging market. That being said, about self publishing, have any of you guys looked into what it takes to get a book up on kindle or in the ibookstore for…
I think the dream that an agent is the gatekeeper to a fat advance from one of the big publishing companies has begun to look like, just get the house however you can, real estate will always be the best investment. The american landscape has changed on every level, and it's not even close to done yet.<br />
<br />
All signs point to digital as the emerging market. That being said, about self publishing, have any of you guys looked into what it takes to get a book up on kindle or in the ibookstore for apple? It's a lot of damn work. Not that it isn't doable, but if you're not the sort of person who loves combing through your text for errors, learning a new kind of software app to convert the regular text into the epub format, etc... probably you won't dig it. And it's not totally free, there are fees, not huge as far as I've seen, but not free.<br />
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Still, I'm considering it. Mostly because I feel exactly like you Minerva, so bewildered by the mixed messages out there about how to get an agent or why to get an agent, or worse - the agents attitudes toward new authors trying to sign on with them, that velvet rope guest list who do you know mentality, that the whole thing just makes me tired. I write fiction - a lot of fiction, my word counts are ridiculous, which means I have a lot of material. I have faith in my writing, I think there's an audience out there. I'm finding the idea of putting my writing out there and dealing directly with my readers more and more attractive, while the thought of trying to beg an agent to just read my query letter, please... less so.