Upcoming Presentation at the St. Paris Library

 

Hey Folks,

I have an event coming up in September at the St. Paris Pubic Library!

The State of Publishing: Important for Authors and Readers

Folks,

An author friend pointed me to this article: Barnes & Noble SOLD: Goliath has Fallen & What This Means for Writers 

Gives a good history of publishing and its impact on authors (and thus, in the end, on readers--but mostly writers at this point), especially in light of Barnes & Noble being purchases (along with all of its debt).

Worth the read...while there might be a glimpse of potential good news, rotten news is nowhere near out of the question...

Give it a read...see what you think.

Amazon's Indifference and Gryphonwood/Adrenaline Press

As you may know, my publisher is Gryphonwood Press. Two days ago my publisher was accused by Amazon of violating its terms of service, and had all of its ebooks removed.

The allegation apparently centered around the belief (likely determined by one of Amazon's bots) that my publisher was engaged in activities related to inflating page reads with respect to Kindle Unlimited. Amazon is what Amazon is, a mega-large corporation that is largely indifferent to anyone or anything that is not of sufficient size affect its profits.

My publisher discussed what happened (based upon what my publisher absolutely did not do), the possible cause for the false accusation of violating Amazon's Terms of Service, the ramifications, and the results in the podcast Wood on Words, Episode 55.

Here are the links:
55- My Kindle Nightmare (Blog post where read the details, the back and forth and consequences)
Podcast: My Kindle Nightmare (discusses in more detail beginning at 14:43 into the episode).

The issue is not an isolated incident. It is affecting dozens of authors and publishers that I know of, and my connections in the publishing words are fairly limited. As for me, it has already had deleterious effects on my novels and reaching readers.

How bad and long-lasting is yet to be seen...which makes me feel extremely bad for those whose livelihood (like my publisher) is being negatively impacted.

** As of last night, the ebooks published by Gryphonwood/Adrenaline Press were returned by Amazon, and my publisher taking steps to ensure there will not be a recurrence.

900,000+ Words of Fiction Published

This month, with the publication of Cavern, the total number of words (fiction) I've had published is 901,000.

I anticipate that I will surpass 1 million before 2018 ends.

Closing in on 1 Million Words

With six novels and one short story collection published, I am closing in on one million words in print. The current rounded off word total is 866,000.

That's one longish novel away. It might not even be that, if my current project (a novelette of about 18,000 words) reaches publication.

My Interview at WritingForums.com

Click on over and check out my interview at WritingForums.Com.

I discuss details in my path to being published, why I don't write romance, and more.

Link: Author Interview with Terry W. Ervin II (TWErvin2)
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Wood on Words (Episode 3)

In this episode, David Wood discussed the three paths to publication: Corporate Publishing, Small Press Publishing and Self-Publishing/Indie Publishing, including upsides and downsides of each.

Link: Wood on Words Episode 3- Paths to Publication

Wood on Words (Episode 2)

Hey Regular Readers and Visitors,

Here's a link to Episode 2 of Wood on Words, where he (Author and Publisher David Wood) discusses two important aspects of writing and being successful at it.

Link: Wood on Words Episode 2 

Wood on Words (Episode 1)

Hey Regular Readers and Visitors,

Came across this podcast series (actually it's recorded by my publisher at Gryphonwood Press).

In it he discusses different aspects of writing, publishing and self-publishing. I think it's very informative and up to date, from a knowledgeable and successful writer and publisher.

Give it a listen and see what you think.

Here's the first episode. He's finished a second, and I'll post about it in a few days...but there's nothing stopping you from going right on to it.

Listen, enjoy and learn a bit.

Link: Wood on Words Episode 1

Authorcast Episode 127: Will Anyone Publish Me?

Hey, a new episode of Authorcast is out!

In this episode David Wood and Alan Baxter discuss a bit about conventions, and aspiring writers working to get published (some dos and some definite do nots), about short stories and their value in career building, and more...

Interesting stuff, for writers and for readers.

Link: 127- Will Anyone Publish Me?
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Westerville (Ohio) Presentation: January 14th

 
Hey Readers,

If you're in the Central Ohio region, consider attending my presentation at the Westerville Public Library on the 14th of January, at 7:00. I'll be discussing writing, publishing, working with editors and cover artists (and more).

Here's the link for more information:

Link: Writing Fantasy and SciFi with Terry W. Ervin II

Author John Scalzi's Opinion on the Amazon KU Modifications

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Here's an opinion by a well known author on the 'tweaks' as to how KDP Select Authors will be paid for their books picked/read by readers in Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program.

Link: John Scalzi-- Amazon Tweaks Its Kindle Unlimited System. It Still Sucks For KDP Select Authors

Two Popular Novels by John Scalzi

I'm not involved in any way, as my publisher (Gryphonwood Press) doesn't restrict any works published by Gryphonwood to have availability only through Amazon. Also, as a reader, I am not part of Kindle Unlimited.


While the article/opinion mainly focuses on the effect on authors, how authors respond (or don't respond) will ultimately affect readers. For what it's worth, I think John Scalzi's views are pretty much on target, and I agree with the choice of my publisher to distribute through as many venues as possible.
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Jeffrey Kafer on: How to Make Sure You Never Find a Narrator for Your Audiobook

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A short while back I interviewed Jeffrey Kafer (Link Here).

On his blog he's posted an interesting article (quite funny while being informative). For those interested in audiobooks, especially authors (and even small publishers) hoping to have works produced into audio, this is a worthwhile read.

Article Link: How to Make Sure You Never Find a Narrator for Your Audiobook
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Reasons I Do and Don't Write

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Originally I posted this as part of an answer in a thread on a writer's forum:

I write because I think I have some interesting stories to share.
I write because it makes me a better English teacher.
I write because it allows me to earn CEUs to maintain my teaching license.
I write because I enjoy it.
I write because it helps pay the bills.
I write because it's neat to have my name on a cover.
I write because I want the opportunity to meet readers and other authors at signings, events and conventions.
I write because it enables me to share and help others to achieve their writing aspirations.
I write because it keeps my mind active, and I am working--being productive.
I write because it's a good example for my daughters.
I write because it's a challenge and a form of competition.
I wrote my first novel because back in college it was something promised myself I'd do one day.
I write because I think reading is important, and having a few more good stories out there counts for something along that line.

I don't write in hopes of earning massive royalty checks.
I don't write because I crave fame.
I don't write to prove a point to anybody.
I don't write because I have a vast (or even a small) amount of spare time to fill.
I don't write because I enjoy rejection and less than positive reviews from readers.
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Author Michael J Sullivan's Perspective on Kindle Unlimited

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For those readers who don't own a Kindle, or purchase ebooks from Amazon, this may not make any difference--at least not in the short term. For Kindle owners, Kindle Unlimited might be beneficial. It's been described as the Netflix of ebooks.

Amazon's unveiling of its new sales strategy, Kindle Unlimited, came as a surprise to just about everyone, and it may have a long reaching impact on many author careers, especially those who self-publish, or are published through a small or medium size press.

Briefly: Kindle Unlimited is where a reader can borrow any number of books that are available for a fee of $9.99 per month--for now the first month is free.

In any case, bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan has weighed in on the issue, offering his view. In my experience his opinions are well thought out and supported with relevant facts/statistics and experience.

Here's his article. I think it might be worth a read: Kindle Unlimited’s Two-Tier System Makes Some Authors Second-Class Citizens
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Author Earnings: Traditional vs. Self vs. Hybrid Published

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Over at Galleycat, they posted an article where 10,000 authors were interviewed (by Digital Book World) to compare the earnings of the various types of authors based on how they were published.

It appears that Hybrid (authors being both self and traditionally published) on average do the best, with traditionally published doing better on average than self-published.

They even discussed aspiring authors and their earnings, but didn't really define what an aspiring author is, but they show in the chart some earnings, which means something must've been published.

The hybrid authors having the best chances for greater earnings makes sense. They can pick and choose which titles would do best in each venue, and can springboard off of the benefits derived from being traditionally published to assist with recognition and traction for self-published titles they release. Also, authors releasing their backlist via self-publishing is a trend that is growing.

There are some interesting charts to examine in the article (see link below). Of course, stats can be manipulated, but it seems straight forward enough. Although not specifically stated, I am guessing all earnings (Digital, Audio, Print, etc.) are considered.

Here is the link to the article for those interested: Galleycat: Most Authors Make Less than $1000 a Year (Digital Book World).
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Traditional vs. Self-Published via Voices of Fiction at Footsteps of a Writer

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Kind of a long title, but click on over and see what I had to say, along with several other writers, about Traditional vs. Self-Publishing.

Link: Footsteps of a Writer 's Voices of Fiction - Traditional or Self-Publication
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The End of Publishing? Or the Future of Publishing?

I came across this video by DK of UK, and thought it was, while simple, both interesting and creative:

The Future of Publishing

Sure, in the end it's a bit of a promotional video, but still it has an interesting message contained within.