The Future of Publishing

If you follow publishing news as closely as I do, you probably are wondering what in the world is going on with the business. Nearly everywhere I turn on the blogs, the rhetoric has turned dark and stormy for the Big Six publishing companies.

eBooks and eReaders have exploded onto the scene in an unprecedented way driven largely by Seattle-based Amazon.com and its Kindle eReading devices. The tremendous growth that Kindle has seen has turned a lot of heads and created countless discussions over the web. It has also led to the explosion of new author careers. Writers like myself, Karen McQuestion, Elisa Lorello, Rob Kroese, Sam Landstrom, RJ Keller, and literally hundreds and hundreds of others who were flat-out rejected by Big Six New York publishing have sold tens of thousands of eBooks and have launched their careers.

My own books have sold close to 20,000 copies combined. I’ve also had 35,000 copies of a free eBook downloaded. My book trailer for CLAWS has been seen by over one million viewers.

If anybody would be justified in holding a grudge and being bitter about New York publishing, it should be me. Despite the obvious reader interest measurable in units sold and dollars earned, I’ve received over 3,000 rejections over my career.

But here’s the truth. I’m not bitter at all. More than anything, I’m fascinated by the entire eBook phenomenon, and for the past six months have decided to take a quieter role to see exactly how the rhetoric shapes up.

My books continue to sell well, and I made more money this summer (2010) on the CLAWS 2 launch than I did the previous summer.

 

So If You’re an Aspiring Writer, What Should You Do?

Through the howtopublishabook.org website, I get (on average) three questions per day every day from total strangers who have written a book and want to know what to do with it. Should you go the traditional route; should you get an agent. Should you self-publish and try to make it on your own.

I’ve definitely seen friends and other writers do complete 180s on this topic. JA Konrath, who I count as a mentor and friend, went from dissing self-published authors just five years ago, outright mocking them in fact, to now embracing self-publishing technology, and in the process turning his ire toward traditional publishers. In essence mocking the major publishers.

I think all of this is a bit strange.

My advice, by contrast, really has not changed in five years. I’ve done more than 300 bookstore, library, and online interviews with authors. And I still feel exactly the same way.

If you are an aspiring writer, and you have a book, your first objective is to secure a literary agent. A great literary agent should be a friend and someone you have total respect for, and should be someone who knows your career, your style, your goals, and your perception of yourself as a writer. A great literary agent should share your interests and your love of books, and should ultimately know who to pitch your book to.

Beyond that, your goal should be to sell your book to a major publisher with a strong secondary goal to sell the film rights to a production company that will actually turn your book into a movie.

If you can do these three things -- 1) secure a great literary agent, 2) sell your book to a major publisher, and 3) get your book optioned and produced as a movie -- your career is set. This is the blueprint you should be shooting for if you want the best chances for success, and everything you do should be in support of it.

If your book fails to find an agent after you’ve tried at least 100, then pitch it to editors on your own. Try at least 50 editors. If that pans out nothing, then you should strongly consider self-publishing.

I’ve learned so much about how to market books by taking the initiative myself, when I finally do sell a novel to a major publisher, I should be in a competitive position compared to the folks who have not spent five or ten years in the lonely DIY trenches repelling cannon fire from all angles.

 

The Bottom Line

There is no reason you shouldn’t be working to make both markets -- eBooks and traditional publishing -- work to your advantage. I believe the power of great stories are universal, and your story can reach audiences in all types of media.

There’s no reason to burn bridges, and piss off people needlessly. In the recent year, it seems like the folks with the blogs who spout off the most controversial rhetoric against one side or the other are the folks who get the most traffic (and end up selling the best).

That’s a dangerous rope to balance from if you haven’t already established yourself.

Be proactive, be strong, and do everything in your power to secure the book deal and the film production above all else. That is the best path for success with a book.

Peace.

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Stacey Cochran Productions

For the past 24 hours, I've been finalizing a new DVD and VOD (Video-on-Demand) release titled "How to Write a Novel, How to Publish a Novel, How to Get a Literary Agent" under the Stacey Cochran Productions banner. This will be my third film release to a paying market.

The first film, an instructional titled "How to Publish a Novel, How to Get a Literary Agent" has consistently sold a few copies every single month since its release in August 2007. Furthermore, I've received a couple of positive customer reviews for the project, which have further added to the sales.

Has it made me a millionaire?

Of course not.

That said, I had absolutely no expectations whatsoever when I released the film three years ago, and it felt like I stumbled through the whole distribution process... yet managed to land on my feet in the end. (Actually, it felt more like finding my way in a very dark room.)

So I don't know what to make of this new film. It is, without a doubt, my most all-inclusive instructional video for how to write and publish a novel, and the knowledge-base that it comes from is three years wiser than the first film. So, it would seem to me to be a much better video.

I guess we'll see what viewers think.

 

Stacey Cochran Books

I am very excited about a new author I'll be publicizing, promoting, and publishing through the Stacey Cochran Books brand in the coming months. I can't officially go public with the news just yet, but I'm finalizing contract negotiations and everything should be official within the next couple of weeks. I would encourage you the check back here often over the next 14 days to get the latest breaking news. What I can say is that this author is an award-winning novelist whose novels have garnered serious critical acclaim.

Intriguing.

So help me spread the word, folks. We are looking for established authors at Stacey Cochran Books. If you know of an author whose books are available on Amazon.com, yet they have not made their way to Kindle, let me know. Post a comment. Drop me a line. Make a recommendation.

I'm looking to bring authors to an eReading audience with this new imprint. So let me know if you have a suggestion of an author I should reach out to with Stacey Cochran Books.

 

How to Be Happy in Love

Finally, the How to Be Happy in Love documentary film project rolls onward. I've edited together day one of filming, and we're currently putting together our next series of interviews for the film. Hopefully, I'll have some cool updates to spread the word about in the coming weeks and months. If you want to get involved with the film or know someone who would make for a great interview, let me know.

 

On my nightstand: John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley.

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