Last Tuesday Josh Lanyon wrote a post in the Ins and Outs of M/M Romance series called Taking the Long Way Home, which was about taking a strategic view of writing. There were many revealing comments from authors expressing their concerns about the business of writing M/M and some of them asked what it would take to be heard above the “noise” of everyone else. In other words, how to get their books enough traction to attract readers, and by that I mean readers who buy these books. This is a tough question and I don’t have any answers, but I would suggest that the law of supply and demand is a critical component of the state of the M/M book buying market.
I started reading M/M romances about 7 years ago when there wasn’t much of a selection. Prior to 2003 not many publishers offered male/male romances and the available books in this sub genre were mostly classics. Then Torquere rode up on its horse in September of 2003 and built a whole new m/m epublishing ranch – and gave readers an alternative to hetero romances. To give you a picture of how the M/M market has evolved since 2003 I asked a few epublishers to provide statistics on their releases over the past 3 – 4 years, starting with the top 3.
Torquere has the highest numbers and is currently considered the biggest M/M player. This publisher averages 7 releases a week of which almost half are novels. The majority of TQ’s books are M/M, and this publisher indicated that over 4 years it has released approximately1,400 books. When specials such as the Sip blitzes are factored in, TQ has probably released somewhere in the vicinity of 1,700 to 2,000 books since 2003.
Next up is Amber Allure. Amber Quill Press was launched in 2002 but did not start publishing gay romances until 2007, in response to demands for these books from readers, when the publisher set up a separate imprint and website, Amber Allure. Initially this publisher released one M/M title per week but this has now increased to 3 books most weeks, supplemented with an occasional Amberpax of 4 – 5 books a few times a year. AA’s M/M sales blew everything else they published out of the water, as they went from 100% hetero to 50% M/M in 6 months; within a year M/M was 80% of their releases and they have never looked back. Amber Allure has released about 500 M/M romances plus another 100 menage titles which include gay sex.
Dreamspinner’s numbers are quite impressive and show incredible growth in a very short time. In 2008,164 titles were released; in 2009 – 202 books were released; and in 2010 DSP projects it will release 312 titles – almost 680 M/M titles in 3 years.
These 3 epublishers alone have released over 3,000 M/M titles, and every week they are adding more and more, which creates a bonanza if you’re a reader. To add to the supply side, new publishers are setting up shop like fly by night operators whenever we look around.
I also contacted those epublishers that release mostly het and/or menage and asked them to provide the percentage of M/M books they now release compared to other sub genres. Loose Id indicated that 35% of their new releases are M/M titles. For comparison I’m including data from Total-e-Bound which is a large UK based epublisher that publishes a full range of erotic books and here are the numbers for this publisher: In 2007 – 12 out of 52 releases were M/M; in 2008 – 35 out of 164 releases were M/M; 2009 – 61 out of 208 releases were M/M; and in 2010 (to date) – 73 out of 214 releases are M/M. I’m sure you noticed the % growth in M/M romances compared to other sub genres.
I didn’t include numbers from other epublishers such as MLR Press (primarily print books but recently set up an ebook store), Samhain, Liquid Silver Books, Ellora’s Cave, Pink Petal, Noble Romance, Phaze, eXtasy etc. because I ran out of time.
What does all of this data mean for your books as a new M/M author? In simple terms, the popularity of M/M books has led to a situation where the supply has accelerated out of the gate. Have sales kept pace? Although publishers are reluctant to give sales data, indications are that sales are going through the roof too, but how much of these increased sales can be attributed to established vs new authors is much harder to determine, as new authors compete for readers’ dollars in a market where the supply seems to be driving the bus. Can the demand keep up with the supply? It seems that we readers can’t get enough of these books, but we have become more selective in our purchases unless an author is an “auto buy”, preferring to read several reviews and get word of mouth recommendations before we buy. Many of us also wait until the books show up weeks later at Allromanceebooks where we can get ‘loyalty’ discounts; some publishers are offering loyalty discounts as well.
Have readers reached a saturation point? For many of us the TBR piles are overflowing and threatening to come crashing down. We have books on our computer hard drives or ereaders that haven’t been read a year or 2 or more after they were bought. So how to decide which new books to buy? Mostly we depend on the book blurbs and covers as well as known authors, which is not good news for new writers. To give you an example of how this business has changed in such a short time, I used to update the list of writers whose books we review on the site every couple of months, now it’s closer to every two weeks because there are so many new writers. Christian Otto, our Webmaster, did a quick check yesterday and we currently have 456 authors listed on this site alone whose books have been reviewed. By the end of the year I’m sure that number will reach 500. I have no idea of the overall number of M/M authors but if you’re a new writer it’s hard to be heard with several hundred (maybe even a thousand or more) others competing for the same market. You should also be aware that reviewers will never be able to keep up with all the new books released every week so it’s the luck of the draw if your book (s) ever get reviewed (which might be a good thing). 🙂
So what does the new M/M author do to get his or her books noticed so as to generate sales? I can tell you this as a reader – if your blurb is poorly written or the cover looks like something your 5 year old produced, no matter how great is the product between the covers you may have difficulty getting your book reviewed or sold, unless you are already well known and have a huge fan base. I can’t stress enough how important your blurb and cover art are if you want someone to first of all notice your book, and then consider putting out the cash to buy it. The competition for entertainment dollars is fierce and books are just another commodity competing with movies, a nice bottle of wine, going to a ballgame, or out to dinner. If you don’t put in the effort to create an intriguing blurb after you write that masterpiece, that’s the first strike against your book. Your other job is to try and influence the cover art if you can because you don’t want your book cover to look like something that should win the 6th Ugly Covers Competition on this site. 🙂 If you can’t invest the time to give your book its best chance against the competition you might want to look at doing something other than writing M/M, because the supply might soon reach saturation levels and only the books with the right ‘packaging’ and appropriate marketing will survive. Although there’s no physical “remainder” pile for ebooks there is an electronic one where books go to die, and that’s where your book could end up.
You may have a great product but it takes a lot of effort on your part to give your book its best chance against the competition in this crowded market which will only get a lot worse (or better if you’re a reader) 🙂 over the next 2 years, with the number of writers who will decide that writing an M/M romance is their dream. This is a buyers’ market and readers can afford to wait for sales by the publishers or they buy their books from sites like Allromanceebooks for the reasons stated above. Without name recognition it’s difficult to make it as an M/M author in the first couple of years unless you have a huge hit either through a fluke, or the book is incredible on all levels, or there’s someone influential behind you who helps to pave the way. I’m not trying to be depressing, just realistic. Look at the situation positively – with a few tweaks you just might get over that hump and have your first best seller. 🙂
This is just my opinion of the M/M market as a reader and others may have a completely different perspective. As always I look forward to your comments, both as readers and authors.
Hi Wave – interesting reading. I’d been pondering what it takes to be noticed after reading Josh’s post, but I’m not going to get depressed about it.
I don’t think m/m authors are in as bad a position as those in many other genres with huge amounts of competition. It’s certainly easy enough to get published – which some may say is a bad thing, as there are some books out there which quite frankly need more work before they’re fit to be read.
Publishing with traditional, print publishers is just as difficult. Mainstream authors have to deal with “ordering to the net”, meaning bookstores will only order in the amount of their titles that they sold the last time, so the amounts stocked diminish over time.
I think we’re lucky to be involved in an expanding and popular genre. We just need to work on our craft, edit our work ruthlessly, and submit our stories to the publishers we think can give us the best covers and publicity.
And yes, work on those blurbs…
Jo
As I said in the post most M/M authors must realize that getting a book published is only the beginning. The competition for readers’ entertainment dollars in this economy will accelerate and as a reader I look for the best value when I buy a book. Blurbs and covers are the first things we see and if they don’t attract us we move on to the “bright shiny thing,” which may not be as good, but the packaging is attractive.
Some blurbs are really dull. 🙁
Yes, I know just what you mean about covers. I try not to judge m/m books by their covers because that would rule out some great reads, but I have made a couple of buying decisions based on artwork followed up by intriguing blurb.
It’s the same way I choose books to take out of the library – title first, then I take the book and peruse the cover. If it looks like the sort of thing I like (mainly lit fic if we’re talking about the selection in my local library), then I’ll read the blurb, and if that interests then I’ll dip into the first page. I’ll also read through the review excerpts if there are any, and pay more attention to the ones that come from reputable sources.
I love the fact that so many publishers sites allow me to replicate this book choosing process by posting excerpts of the first chapter 🙂 Okay, I have to do the legwork on the reviews, but your site and Goodreads are a huge help with that.
Publishing with traditional, print publishers is just as difficult. Mainstream authors have to deal with “ordering to the net”, meaning bookstores will only order in the amount of their titles that they sold the last time, so the amounts stocked diminish over time.
This is the truth right here. It’s tough — regardless of genre or niche — to make a living writing fiction. And it does sadly come down to a lot more than being a terrific writer, although being a terrific writer will always give you a good boost. But it’s not enough.
This is a tough, competitve genre, and it’s getting more and more crowded — that was bound to happen. But all that means is it’s becoming like all other genres of fiction. It takes a lot more work than it used to to make a living here.
If you’re intent on earning your living from your writing, and this is your chosen field, then there’s no reason to turn back — any more than a fantasy writer or a mystery writer should flee because it’s a tough, crowded field.
Great post, Wave.
If you’re intent on earning your living from your writing, and this is your chosen field, then there’s no reason to turn back — any more than a fantasy writer or a mystery writer should flee because it’s a tough, crowded field.
Exactly – writers in other genres don’t expect to get an easy ride. Why should we?
I suspect that grit and determination are excellent qualities for writers to have if they want to be able to make a living out of it. It’s challenging, but isn’t that part of the fun? 😀
I have a few standard publishers I check for new releases and then I rely heavily on the blurb and cover of the book when I decide to buy. The best publishers in this regard is Loose Id and Samhain, though Samhain releases far to few m/m books. They also have very nice websites.
I find Torquere a mess when it comes to blurbs, covers and just finding what new books are released and I rarely buy from them. Dreamspinner and Amber Allure have covers that make me cringe but otherwise it’s easy to find what will come out and when (amber allures webiste is ugly though 😛 )
I am also heavily influenced by reviews and have discovered a lot of books this way, especially books that at first glance wouldn’t appeal to me because the blurb turns me off or the cover is horrendous.
I also have a few authors I would basically read anything from, wherever they publish or whatever genre. For me to notice an author this way they generally have to produce books in a good pace and also keep a high standard for all their books. I usually google a writer when I have been impressed with their work and see if they have done something else I might wanna read. Unfortunately, a lot of great writers are not always very productive and then I tend to forget them and not keep track of where and when their next release is. Josh and ZAM are 2 examples of authors that keeps me thouroughly hooked. My tendenccy to track authors I like is very loyal though, especially if an author has a history of 3-4 books I have liked.
My editing time ran out, just wanted to say that for the smaller publishing companies like Liquid Silver Books, Ellora’s Cave, Pink Petal, Noble Romance, Phaze and eXtasy that you mentioned wave, I only buy books if there is a review pointing one out. Too much hit and miss books published from them imo. MLP (this publisher has some great authors) and Total-e-bound I check out on my own. Oh and I also check Bline Eye Books… they publish some of my favourite authors.
Hi Sunshine
I, too, love Blind Eye Books but they have published very few books and except for those with f/f content, all of them are reviewed here.
I did ask MLR Press for their information but I didn’t hear from them by the time this post was uploaded.
You are correct that TQ’s system of posting their new releases leaves much to be desired, compared to other epublishers, and I think they need a “Coming Soon” page.
As for the smaller pubs, the majority of them concentrate on het romances except those fly by night publishers that set up business as m/m publishers and six months later they’re gone. 🙁 We do review TEB books occasionally especially T.C. Blue’s books.
I echo your comments. Also some authors do not bother to update their websites, many of them don’t have new content for 6 months. A no ,no, inMarketing 101!
I know, blind-eye-book releases very seldomly but I still check them out regularily, how is that for loyalty? Wicked Gentlemen was awesome!
It’s suprising how loyal I am as a reader when I’ve discovered a writer and “approved” of them. Small things, like keeping an updated website or blog, future plans, do a lot to keep your readers invested and interested. I found out about Vigil on ZAM’s blog and you just have to pop over to Josh to get confirmation that he is keeping up with his writing and good things will soon come! I got totally hooked on Wicked Gentlemen and knew from that authors blog that she had new things planned even if it took a while.
Sunshine
You proved my point about how important it is for an author to update his or her website regularly. If we’re loyal fans we like to know ahead of time what they have in their WIP.
There’s going to be a sequel to Wicked Gentlemen but Ginn Hale is a very deliberate writer so your guess is as good as mine re a release date. However, BEB is an excellent publisher and I love their books.
Josh and Zam should be the poster children for other authors on how to market their books. 🙂
Josh and Zam should be the poster children for other authors on how to market their books.
I read that as “pester children.” Maybe that’s our secret.
One more thought on the mathematics of m/m. I think because we all see certain m/m titles hit bestseller lists there’s a tendency to believe these titles are performing brilliantly, even outselling m/f fiction. And that’s incorrect. The m/m audience is devoted and designated and so an individual m/m title may perform well — may even outsell individual het titles it’s competing with — but het sales overall absolutely dominate romance. So for those publishers like LI, Carina, Samhain, etc. it’s not to their advantage to suddenly have all their authors switching to m/m because of this perceived idea that m/m is outselling m/f based on a few titles doing well on bestseller lists. The market for m/f titles is hugely fragmented, that’s all. The competition for any individual m/f title is steeper, and an m/f book from a new, unknown writer has to do enormously well to hit the radar — something we’re just starting to experience here in m/m fiction.
I know, blind-eye-book releases very seldomly but I still check them out regularily, how is that for loyalty?
Sunshine, you’re the best. You’re that dream reader that we authors all hope will remember us. 🙂
“You are correct that TQ’s system of posting their new releases leaves much to be desired, compared to other epublishers, and I think they need a “Coming Soon” page.”
Well, generally I think Carina Press are run very professionally, too, but unfortunately and surprisingly they don’t have a “Coming Soon” page, either.
I liked Carina press too but after shopping a few m/m books with them they now send me a weekly e-letter (which I usually appreciate). With ads for f/m romance. For several weeks now. No, I am not interested.
*blushes at being mentioned* Thanks for the plug for my TEB stuff, Wave! I may very well have squeed a bit on seeing it. *hee*
As an avid reader myself, I agree that there are many factors involved that spur me to buy a new author, or even a new book by an author I’m familiar with.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is something we’ve all heard, but I tend to do exactly that, and as someone who’s had some less-than-inspiring covers, that may be a mistake, but I can’t help it. I think we’re naturally drawn toward having more interest in things that appeal to us on a visual level.
If a cover truly doesn’t appeal, what reason is there to click on it and read the blurb? Unless of course it’s SO bad, I have to find out more. Heh.
Blurbs are a little difficult, in all honesty. As a reader — yes, I want a well-written blurb that informs me about the story in an engaging way but doesn’t give away too much.
As an author, though, blurbs are incredibly difficult to write. Half the reason so many of my books are novel-length is because I always find that there’s more story than I expected and it needs to be explained/included/explored in the book. Writing a two-paragraph summary that (hopefully) creates interest in the story without giving either too much (or too little) away is an entirely different skill-set from writing a book or even a short story.
Available formats definitely make a difference in what I choose to buy, as well. Torquere, for instance, has recently started including numerous file formats within the same purchase. So when I buy a new author’s book from TQ’s site, I get PDF, EPUB, LIT and a few other formats all at once. But it does take a while to apply that to a total backlist, and in the case of Torquere, that’s a LOT of backlist! lol
*puts reader hat back on* I’m also going to say that I’m far more likely to buy a novel-length book from a new author than I am to buy a short story. Ideally, it’ll be a well-written novel, but even when something isn’t that great, a longer story gives me a chance to see whether it’s just poor editing or flawed logic or whether I just don’t care for the author’s ‘voice,’ which is important to me. So book length matters a fair bit to me, too.
So I’d say your initial post was spot on, Wave. A good, appealing cover and an informative, engaging blurb go a long way toward getting a book noticed, then reviewed, and (with any luck) bought.
Could I BE any more wordy? *rolls eyes at self*
~Tis
How about write a good quality story. There’s so much crap out there. Seriously, crap. If you write a good book, buzz will generate around it.
The m/m that I read and buy are authors I know will deliver a good story with quality writing. I stick with them and don’t venture out too much unless I keep reading about a book or author that everyone is raving about.
My second source is reviews from a very limited group of favorite bloggers or their word on it. Even then, it has to strike a chord in me.
Unlike most readers here, I don’t only read m/m. I read m/f and f/f as well, so to get my m/m money you need to put out some quality.
Leah
I’ve written countless posts about the quality of M/M writing so I didn’t want to go over old ground in this one. I wanted to stick to new releases and what gets them noticed by readers in terms of the packaging and how the numbers of releases impact on demand.
Some new authors do get great buzz on their books from different sources and I have “found” a few gems just because I wanted to try a new author. The quality of M/M books is just as good or bad as any other sub genre or genre – it all depends on the writers. But after they write that “quality” book they still need to market it.
How about write a good quality story. There’s so much crap out there. Seriously, crap. If you write a good book, buzz will generate around it.
No, it’s not that simple anymore. Three years back, that would have been the case. Now it’s not enough just to know how to write and to come up with a fairly solid idea.
I’ve read and reviewed so many good to outstanding m/m novels in the past 2 to 3 years that I’ve done everything I could to help out with reviews and repeated mentions and recommendations (not that I have all that much influence), and I’ve still seen them sink without much reader notice beneath the rising tide of new releases. It’s both fascinating and discouraging.
I completely agree with the comments regarding blurbs and covers. But, quite honestly, the first thing I check is to see what formats the book is available in. There are a number of authors whose books I would love to read, but their titles aren’t offered in a format I can use, or aren’t available in e-book format at all. With the proliferation of all types of e-devices, I think some publishers/authors lose sales by not offering multiple e-book formats.
I was burned just a few days ago, because of this. An M/M title I wanted to read was only available from the publisher site in PDF format. I refuse to buy PDF’s because PDFs are difficult to read on a Kindle. So, I went to Amazon (which was the only other site I found the title at) and bought it there for $9 – which is the most expensive e-book I’ve bought yet.
I felt completely robbed. I ended up not liking the story (what I read of it), but that was hugely exacerbated by the fact that the formatting was completely off. Big, black bar graphs would show up in the middle of the page, sometimes in the middle of a sentence, sometimes in the middle of a word. There would be the first letter of a new paragraph, then the paragraph would continue 3 lines later. I slogged through 3 chapters and by the time I gave up, I swore I’d never buy a title from this author or publisher again. (This is a well known author too, and I was very disappointed because the reviews had been so amazing.)
And, this might be off-topic, but how do publishers decide which format they’re going to publish a title in? Format availability varies even in the same publisher; one author you can get both EPUB and PRC, but another author you only get PRC. Does the author get a say in that, or is it completely up to the publisher?
-Christye
Christye, I think it’s completely up to the publisher. At least in my limited experience.
And, this might be off-topic, but how do publishers decide which format they’re going to publish a title in? Format availability varies even in the same publisher; one author you can get both EPUB and PRC, but another author you only get PRC. Does the author get a say in that, or is it completely up to the publisher?
The author has zero say.
Also, even if a publisher begins offering titles in epub format, it’s going to take a long time for them to go back and move their entire backlist into that format. I realized that yesterday when I was sending off the set of DG books to the drawing winner. Only the latest title was in epub format.
Hi Christye
Aren’t all ebooks offered in the most popular formats? I remember Jenre did a post on ebook formats and I’ll ask her to send the link because I think she was having similar problems with formats. TQ, Dreamspinner and Amber Allure offer all formats when you buy an ebook (unless I’m missing something). Is there a particular format that you need which is not availaable?
I will pose that question to a couple of publishers. I know that MLR Press’s ebook store does not offer a wide variety of formats but I believe they offer PDF, PRC and EPUB which are quite popular. I do know that I tried to get a book to review from Carina Press and they only offer EPUB. Luckily the reviewer was able to use that format.
As a reader, I rely completely on reviews and word of mouth to choose new M/M reads. Even if I wasn’t writing hours and hours a week, I couldn’t keep up with the reading that piques my interest on blurbs alone.
As a writer, I cringe at boring or unedited blurbs. At the same time, such a reaction forces me to put the extra effort into making sure I have a catchy blurb for my own work. I hope that other new authors (and heck, estalished ones too) can learn from such mistakes too.
Marketing feels like such a steep and intimidating learning curve at times but (and maybe this is just the New Release High speaking) I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
Hi Pia
Marketing should be the fun part of writing. All the grunt work (edits, dealing with editors LOL) is over and you just have to decide on the strategies to get the book noticed by readers, and implement them. Try to do something different than anyone else. So many authors do exactly the same as everyone else and readers get tired of the same author loops and identical promos. Think out of the box. Not everything will work out, but so what?
I love your friday articles Wave :). Okay, how I choose my m/m books. I do not read only m/m books either. but lately I read (and look for) more and more books with gay protagonists, be it gay fiction, fantasy, or what say you and especially in m/m arena I used to stick to my favorite authors and do not bother with new authors, except when I read an exceptionally good review your on your site or friends whose tastes I trust recommended it. And I still buy my favorite authors, HOWEVER recently two or three of my favorites consistently dissapointed me and credit of trust they had with me wears very thin or dissappeared. I cannot help but think that when you publish several books a year, sometimes you put less care in those books and still remember fondly their first books. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that recently I got into trying new authors MUCH more often than I used to. Is it a succesful venture? Not always no, and if I get a few more duds in a row, I will rethink my strategy, but I did discover quite a few jems that way. So what am I looking at? OMG format, definitely, and here is the suggestion for publishers, why not to make your books available for Kindle (I have itouch but use kindle app, and I also have Sony reader, but lately mostly use itouch) faster than several months after you publish the book?
I mean, I get that you want people to buy from your website rather than from Amazon, but then make kindle format available too from your site. I am more than happy to support publishers, but accomodate me to be able to do so. I spend *at least* $500 on books monthly, (yes, I am aware that not every reader can afford to do that, this is my indulgement books I mean), one would think that publishers should go out of their ways to accomodate readers like me, but a lot is left to be desired if you ask me.
Oh speaking about accomodations, as I said, these days I mostly buy e-books but I still get some of my favorites in paperback. So recently I decided to try my luck and order a paperback of one of my favorite authors from Dreamspinner directly. Do you know how long I waited for my order to arrive? Two weeks, or even a little longer than that and I am sorry Dreamspinner, I love your books probably the most among all the independent publishers and will continue to buy them, but the only time when Amazon makes me wait that long is when the book is not in stock and they *let me know in advance*. Then I decide whether I want to wait that long or not and no, I am not paying for extra shipping either. 4-5 days it takes them, tops. Yes, I understand, you probably have one warehouse or few of them, and Amazon is a huge corporation that has warehouses throughout the country, but again how is it my problem? You want my money, try harder to accomodate me please.
Hm, what else? Oh yes, blurb and cover. You are so right Wave, especially when I am looking at the authors I never heard about and have not read an excellent review on your site, I want the book to grab me and not let me go. Oh how about putting the blurbs on Amazon for starters for new releases right away not a week or two after the book was released? Yep, seen it more than once, book is there, blurb is not. Several times authors could thank that fact for a lost sale from me.
And if you put a blurb out, how about making sure blurb actually adequately describes the plot? Yeah, been there seen that, wondering where blurb writer got that story, or characterization.
I have to say, I love Dreamspinner covers, love, but all of what I said above of course would not matter if story is badly edited and written. However again for trying newbies without reviews especially, we need to know something about the book, anything.
“why not to make your books available for Kindle […] faster than several months after you publish the book?”
Yes! 😀 I hope the publishers are reading this post, and I want to second what Sirius says.
I read everything I can as a Kindle document on my iPod because I really hate the dull, non-backlit screen of my Sony reader. Also, I really love the way Amazon has streamlined the purchase process down to one-click and you have your book. That’s book acquisition practically at the speed of thought.
Kindle books are now outselling hardbacks on Amazon. It’s in the e-publishers’ best interests, in my opinion, to make their books available as fast as possible on Kindle. They will receive less of a profit percentage, but they will totally make it up and then some on volume sales!
With e-books that take awhile to get to Kindle, I seldom break down and buy through the publisher website because I know I’ve already got a backlog of things I should be reading. So I try to remember these titles for a few months down the road when I can get them on Kindle — and that never works. I can never remember new titles that long. There’s just too much out there to keep track of.
Sirius
I can relate to what you’re saying. I sometimes think that authors take the readers for granted once they have built up a huge fan base and so don’t put their best efforts into their latest books because they have a captive audience. I wish more authors would remember what it was that attracted the fans in the first place and try to do better with every succeeding book. They shouldn’t replicate what made them an “auto buy” but try to exceed it. It’s as if some of them don’t think we’re worth their best any more.
I used to spend a lot of money on books every month – not quite as much as $500 a month but close, except I bought mainly print books, until I ran out of space. I thought every publisher offered mobi/prc which is compatible with the Kindle. If you’re talking about a format specially designed by Amazon for the Kindle it’s probably copyrighted. I notice that whenever I send files for Amazon to convert for me the format they use is something called .azw, whatever that is.
Have you tried contacting Elizabeth North at DSP? Many readers have said that DSP is the most responsive publisher in reacting to customer complaints and they even provide financial compensation. I would be surprised if there isn’t a satisfactory resolution to your issue. It could be that your book is POD (Print On Demand) which is what most publishers use for their print books and DSP had to wait for another run before they could fill your order.
I have no idea why that is but I’ll try to find out for you and post the answer here.
Oh I am not a type of reader to write complaints afterwards lol. I mean obviously I am still annoyed if I mentioned it, but I do not see a point in writing a letter saying oh I wish your shipping would have been faster, you know? I just hope it will be faster in the future lol.
Yes, I mostly run out of space for paperbacks too, so now I spend around $500 mostly on e-books and yes, do not ask me about the length of my TBR. Hint it is MUCH larger than Tam’s lol and no, I do not think it is a good thing necessarily, but what can I say books is my main indulgence. 🙂
Yes, I would be very curious to know why sometimes it takes DAYS to put blurb on Amazon. Especially since several writers seem to say that they are the ones writing the blurbs for their books themselves. I thought publishers had blurb writers. So I would think when your book is ready to be published your blurb is done at the same time?
As to formats, I can definitely see that my technical knowledge is lacking, so maube it is imaginary problem. I use my ipod, I do not have kindle, I use kindle app for that and I do not know have to transfer kindle format which I would buy from other sites (not amazon) to my ipod. From Amazon I can download directly to it. And you said you send files to Amazon to convert them? For your kindle? How do you do that, please forgive my ignorance? Thanks Wave.
Yes, I would be very curious to know why sometimes it takes DAYS to put blurb on Amazon. Especially since several writers seem to say that they are the ones writing the blurbs for their books themselves. I thought publishers had blurb writers. So I would think when your book is ready to be published your blurb is done at the same time?
In mainstream publishing you have blurb writers and basically you get your cover copy, and unless it’s really off base, that’s it. You go with it. Same with cover art, frankly.
I haven’t published with every ebook publisher, but so far only Carina — wait! I take it back. JCP Books and Carina Press do the blurbs — and bless them for it. All the others, you have to write your own blurbs. Samhain does have a blurb editor, but the hard part is the rough draft, not the tweaking.
I don’t know anyone who enjoys writing their own blurb. It’s like having to write a mini-synopsis, which is another thing writers dread.
The delay on getting blurbs and cover art up on Amazon is Amazon. Someone explained the reason for the delay once, but I don’t remember it now.
Hi Sirius
Amazon does this for Kindle owners. Sorry Sirius, I thought you had a Kindle. However there is a ‘help’ site called Kindle Boards on the ‘net which may have better information than me because technology and me – we’re not friends. 🙂
I’m getting more picky as my experience with the genre picks up. I buy mainly based on a gut reaction. I used to buy books because someone I trusted said it was great, even if it was a theme that didn’t appeal or something about it didn’t call out to me. I’ve learned my lesson. If someone doesn’t trigger a “that sounds interesting” response I pass. Sure there are hundreds and hundreds of books but I don’t WANT to read EVERY SINGLE BOOK ON EVERY SINGLE THEME. I don’t care for certain types of books so I don’t buy them. Certain author’s voices don’t work in my head. They appeal to others who don’t enjoy the types I do. I’m glad there’s something out there for everyone. I’m not a huge historical fan so I’d hate for every single book to be historical and I’m sure fans of the genre would be pissed off if it didn’t exist. I think there is room for all.
My TBR is largish (50?) but I also know some of those older books I never should have purchased, made because someone said it was good, not because I was interested in it. As for new authors, well, if the blurb grabs me, I’ll get it. Cover is not a factor if I see the blurb first. However if I’m skimming through a bunch of thumbnails, obviously the cover will get me to stop.
I usually go on a bit of a publisher walk-about every couple of weeks and see what was out there I heard was good or wanted to get but haven’t yet. I hit some publishers regularly and others more sporatically, maybe only when I’m seeking out a specific book. But most of the time from the major publishers I buy on instinct. Just because I’ve liked an author in the past doesn’t mean I’ll necessarily get their new book if the blurb doesn’t work for me, and not having a clue who the author is dosn’t stop me from trying them out if I like the sound of it.
*shrug* That’s how it works for me. I don’t “research” books I buy, it’s kind of a spontaneous decision, like shopping in a paper book store. You don’t run home and look up everything on Good Reads to see what everyone says, you pick it up, read the back, flip through, look at the cover and decide in a few minutes. I find most of the time it works.
Tam, Tam, Tam
Isn’t there some sort of a dichotomy in that statement? You’re more picky but you buy based on gut reaction? LOL How can you be both? 🙂
I always read the blurb the same way I never read the long excerpts authors provide (no time) and I always check out the cover. (Hate those torso covers with a passion). One book I’ll never buy in print is Sean Michael’s latest because I think the only place for that cover is in the 6th Ugly Covers Competition. 🙁
In a paper book store you can read several chapters in a book before you decide to buy. I think DSP is probably the only epublisher that allows the reader the opportunity to read the first chapter before buying (there may be others I’m unaware of).
What I meant was I used to buy something just because it had a high rating, even if it didn’t appeal to me I had convinced myself if it had a 5 star rating it must be good. Now I know that doesn’t mean anything. As someone said, a low rated book may have something in that I love anyway, so I don’t just buy books because someone said it’s great, I trust my gut as to whether “I” think it will be great for me.
Oh and I don’t have time to read 2 chapters in a book store. Forget it. If a page and a half doesn’t convince me that I like the style, 2 chapters sure as heck isn’t. Maybe I’m just impatient like Val. Either something calls to me right away or not. Love at first sight perhaps. 🙂
This post is pretty well-timed, since I have a new book out this week. 😉
I do think there’s a little more to it than just writing a good book. I have a really limited amount of time for self-promotion, so I worry sometimes I’m not doing enough to get heard above the din of new releases. I’m not sure what the answer is here; I’m still a fairly new author, I’m still figuring out how all this works.
I buy books based largely on reviews and if the premise seems interesting. I agree with Tam, there are some kinds of books I just don’t care for, so I’m certainly not buying every book that gets a 5-star review. And I also recently bought a book that only got a luke-warm review based solely on the fact that the concept pinged all my happy places. (Note to publishers: apparently, if there are sports involved, odds are really good I’m gonna buy the book.) I’m also willing to forgive a bad cover if the book is good. So, I guess buying is really subjective?
Anyway, interesting post, Wave. Between this and Josh’s post, there’s a lot to think about!
Ditto Kate, on your self-promo point. I try to do what experienced authors recommend, but with the introvert in me fights every step of the way. 😉
I just bought your book 15 min. ago Kate. 😉
Why did I buy it? In part because of the blurb I read up top and in part because I liked your last book. Now you to live up to my expectations huh? No pressure or nothing. 😀 I kid, I kid, I’m sure i will be enjoyable.
Oh and certain subject that others hate with a passion hit all my hot buttons and the plot holes can be big enough to drive a bus through and I’ll still buy the damn thing.
Wow, thanks! I hope you like it!
I bought it, too! (Last night). Also because I liked her previous one. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Kindling-Fire-With-Snow-ebook/dp/B00486U4OE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287781363&sr=1-1
I liked your previous story too Kate, and will buy this one too because I read a blurb here, but this is a good example of what I am talking about, the book was available on Amazon as of October 20, right? Unless I need to press extra button, I do not see any blurb on Amazon as of right now and have I not not liked your previous book and did not see a blurb here, I would not have bought it. I think blurbs should be available same day as book becomes available.
Kate
Yes, and you should be paying me because Kindling Fire With Snow is today’s DSP “free” book on the site. How did I know you would be here today? You should also pay me for all the sales you made today right here on this post. LOL Book sales should be this easy.
Third, guess what’s on my Kindle that I started today on the subway? Yes you guessed it. I might even review it next week. 🙂
Well you don’t have to do anything now, we’ve done it for you. 🙂 Of course I’m kidding, but promotion is not as difficult as most people think. It can be done in good taste (no balloons in front of your house) LOL, and you don’t have to follow what everyone else is doing.
Kindle books are now outselling hardbacks on Amazon. It’s in the e-publishers’ best interests, in my opinion, to make their books available as fast as possible on Kindle. They will receive less of a profit percentage, but they will totally make it up and then some on volume sales!
But doesn’t the .prc format work on Kindle? And what about calibre? Doesn’t that make it all moot?
Yes, Josh, I use .prc on my Kindle. I have noticed, however, that readers will wait for the book to show up on Amazon, even though the publisher offers .prc, because they want the instant download. (Now I have to admit I’ve done that once or twice too because I hate fiddling with the USB cable to sideload new books.)
Re. Kindle: there’s another side to, too. If a story is ONLY available for a Kindle it’s a real turnoff for me, because Amazon charges an extortionate amount for orders from outside the US. As an example: Josh’s story In Sunshine and In Shadow costs $3.43 for US customers but $5.74 for customers from Europe. As it happens I had already read the story when it came out in Kindle format, I wouldn’t have bothered buying it at that price.
This situation has changed somewhat recently as there’s now a UK Amazon Kindle shop which is a lot cheaper than ordering from the US website. But there’s still no German Amazon Kindle shop and when looking at Kindle books, unless you go directly to the UK site, you are automatically re-directed from the German to the US site.
I did not know that, Liade … I really hope Amazon addresses that.
It’s because Amazon automatically includes “shipping”, i.e. wireless transmitting via mobile phone lines, which is more expensive internationally. Unfortunately there’s no “download only” option which would be especially useful to people who don’t own a kindle but could still read books on Kindle apps on their computer.
Liade
I live in Canada and Amazon ships my Kindle purchases wirelessly on their Whispernet for free. Also they have converted about 500 PDF files free for me to the Kindle format and they shipped them back to me via email so that I can transfer them to the Kindle through the USB connection. The reason they don’t charge me for this service (they charge US customers for this serivce) is they haven’t figured out how to send the files back on the Whispernet, so they email them to me. If you ever want files converted to Kindle format by Amazon and you live outside the US I can show you how to get it done for free. Just email me.
In Sunshine and In Shadow costs $3.43 for US customers but $5.74 for customers from Europe. As it happens I had already read the story when it came out in Kindle format, I wouldn’t have bothered buying it at that price.
Holy crap! Ouch.
I started trying to make those oddball titles available on Kindle and then people complained they were only available on Kindle, so I made them PDF files from my site, but then people complained they were only Kindle and PDF…and I’m not a publisher! I was trying to react to all those requests for the stories I’d really only ever intended to be in print, but then people are complaining because they’re expensive and not in every format. It does kind of wear you out after a while.
But I digress.
Josh, one of the reasons I am a total fangirl — that you would go to all that trouble for stories I would never otherwise be able to read. Thank you!!!
How can I buy the PDF? The instructions say to send to the site via PayPal, but my money got sent back to me. Help!
what about calibre?
Calibre is so-o-o helpful. Very true. I use it with everything that I have to put on my Sony reader.
Doesn’t that make it all moot?
It probably does if the consumer has some tech savvy, ha, ha!
I tend to fall into the vast “Don’t make me think!” subcategory of book-buyers. (I’m not sure if we’re the majority, or just a big minority of consumers out there.) I just want to buy what I’m used to very quickly with a minimum of fuss. And so I go back to Kindle again and again. Like Pia was mentioning, that instant download means a lot.
Josh,
Converting from Calibre can be hit or miss. I loaded some PDFs into Calibre and tried to convert them into PRC/MOBI and the result was unreadable. On the other hand, I’ve converted other formats into PRC/MOBI with no problem. It just depends on the source format.
Personally I did not even get to converting being hit or miss with Calibre. My computer went crazy after I installed it and since I knew that at least one friend had the same problem, I uninstalled and was back to normal again. Of course maybe somebody with more technical knowledge than me would be able to figure out which programs do not work together, but I do not have that knowledge and cannot afford to uninstall any of the programms that already on my computer. Thus for me Calibre did not work at all.
See, I’m so un-tech-savvy that my idea of ebooks is PDF files on my laptop. It took me a while to grasp that having books available in epub format was a good thing. My original reaction was, why do people need ANOTHER format? It’ll just confuse them. 😉
Hey Josh
I love this – I write a post and have to do some real work and you’re kind enough to help out. Now that you’re on Twitter I guess you’ll know what my Friday posts are about and decide whether you want to dangle your toes in the water. I warn you though, some of them are really raunchy — the guys make me write those. 🙂
Prc works for me on my Kindle. Whenever I send PDF books to be converted by Amazon (because I still haven’t figured out how to convert them) I get them back in a format called .azw whatever that is.
I know. It’s true. I’m playing with my new toy Twitter. But I suspect the reality of my schedule will soon sink in and spoil all my fun.
Great post, Wave! What Tam was mentioning about spontaneous decision making also makes me nod in recognition. When I’m buying books, it always arises on impulse and I do it very fast with only half of my attention on what I’m doing. Sounds weird, but I have a feeling that’s typical of today’s internet culture.
I get books from
(1) Amazon and All-Romance-Ebooks
(2) Amber Allure, Dreamspinner, Loose Id (all at the same frequency)
(3) and then very reluctantly from other publishers if I’m really intrigued by a book.
Titles attract me first because I often only see books as linked titles in a list of new releases. So a really striking title like Electric Melty Tingles (by KZ Snow) will make me click every time versus a generic sounding title like “Fires of Lust” or whatever.
I tend not to like proper-name titles because they don’t grab my interest. I mean, even the Harry Potter titles had something added like “and the Goblet of Fire” to give me a little more context.
Blurbs are very important. They’re the next thing I see after I click on a title link. But, since I’m rushing through a new release list at close to the speed of thought (with no time to think), I don’t want to have to slow down and figure out a confusing blurb.
I also don’t want to be burdened with unnecessary info like the characters’ surnames. A blurb that might make me buy will give me an idea of location, personality types, and the basic conflict, which I hope will be a strong one.
Cover art is important. I won’t buy anything with really ugly cover art, no matter how good the story sounds. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Generic, uninspired cover art is forgivable, but really good cover art will sometimes get me to buy on that basis alone.
Reviews are important to get me to buy – the more detailed, the more influential.
The author’s online persona factors in as well. I’ll buy from authors who I know, even only slightly, through the blogosphere, because their names are familiar and I’m interested in them as people.
The online persona can work against authors as well. If I hear of an author lashing out against a reviewer or another author, it’s very easy for me to avoid their work indefinitely because there’s already way too many books and authors to keep up with.
Hell I bought a book based solely on a font that caught my attention. So I guess covers do count for something. LOL
I’ve also bought books based on color. Immortality is the Suck anyone? Luckily a great book but I would have bought it anyway because of the blue. Put that color on your book and I’ll buy it, I likely won’t even care what it’s about. It’s like a Pavlovian response for me. The font book also had that shade of blue so I was destined to get it. LOL
Reviewer mind-meld??? That color drew me in for Immortality as well. That same blue was also on Freaks in Love by TA Chase. Luminous science-fiction blue? It attracts me every time.
Yep, Angel 1089 Sci-Fi font PLUS sci-fi blue. LOL I haven’t read it yet but Lily liked it so I’m hopeful it will be a good one for me and more than just a pretty font.
I picked up Tuluscan Six and The Time Circle (by Anne Brooke) because of font, cover art, knowing the author’s work, and intriguing blurb. It had everything going for it.
Tam, I liked Angel1089! Felt a bit steampunkish to me, in a cool way.
Tam
If I told you that I also liked Angel 1089 would it make a difference? That darned Lily stole it from me because I really wanted to review it. LOL. I really think you’ll like it even if Sci fi is not something you gravitate to generally.
As a reader, I check my autobuy authors first and foremost. Then, my favorite publishers. Then, onto a 3rd party vendors to hunt for the treasure of new writers and finally review sites & goodreads for rec’s of same. I look at blurbs and give only a passing glance to covers. Primarily because a sexy cover does not a sexy book make, sorry. The size of my TBR is irrelevant. Deliver what I want to read and I’ll buy. Every time.
That’s as a reader.
As one of those new writers…I’ve kept my expectations low. When my book is reviewed? I’m ***thrilled***. When somebody shoots me an email and says, hey, that was cool? I coast on that for days, LOL. I know what my numbers are (at least for my first book). I know where I want to be and I know I’ll have to work my tail off to get there.
To me, it’s all about patience. I didn’t throw in the towel when my first book was so bloody awful I didn’t even sub the d*mn thing. I discover new writers all the time. Someday, someone might discover me, but until then, it’s up to me to produce the best story I can and promo my heart out. Maybe it’ll pay off, maybe it won’t, but at least I’m enjoying the journey.
Kari, I 2nd your post! I think this is mainly how I shop my books, in order of importance.
1. Favourite authors. Their own website/blog matters to keep me in the know of what they are doing. Doesn’t have to be often that they post, once a month to let us know work is progressing and they are alive? Kept me calm about Fish and Ships to hear they are working on it, if you know what I mean!
2. Favourite publishers. Covers and Blurbs and even websites and how easy they are to use/format etc matters here. I prefer publishers who favors story over sex in their books and I am more willing to give new authors a chance if they are published by a publisher I like.
3. Reviews. This can make me take a chance on new authors, new publishers and books who’s blurb/cover I didn’t like. I might buy lower marked books if the genre is a “fetish” of mine but I might even give a genre I am not so fond of a chance if the review is written favourably. I agree in that I want a detailed review.
even websites and how easy they are to use/format etc matters here.
I agree. Websites are very important. They have to look good, professional, and be so simple and intuitive to use that I don’t have to waste time figuring it out. Website design was a big criterion for me in choosing an e-publisher to submit my fiction to.
Val, not many publishers have nice websites though, with a simple clean professional design. Weird no?
It’s very weird! Maybe because many started out emphasizing the erotica image of their website?
That might account for the overly dark backgrounds that strain the eyes, the lurid colors, too much visual clutter, overly ornate fonts, and an overall unprofessional look. But I can’t explain how un-user-friendly some sites are …
As one of those new writers (my first ebook comes out a week tomorrow) I was very interested in this article.
Although my reading time these days is pretty limited, I’ll throw in my two pence worth of how I choose what to buy.
There are only a few publishers that I regularly go to check out the new releases from. Dreamspinner, Ellora’s Cave and Silver Publishing (the latter being my own publisher so I spend a lot of time there anyway).
I utilise my wish lists at all the sites and also at ARe, which is the last site I regularly visit.
Although I have bought from a few other publishers they are few and far between and there has to be something special about the book to make me do so.
Usually it is a case of the author being a must read and my being too impatient to wait for the book to hit ARe, though occasionally it might be something else like a really great cover catching my attention, Fugly by K Z Snow being the most recent example of that.
I generally rely on the blurbs for what to buy when it comes to new authors, though a cover can grab my attention as well. I try not to rely too closely on the covers though. All too often they don’t reflect the quality of the work inside.
So, as a writer, how will I try to make my voice heard amongst the masses?
Like Kate McMurray, I have limited time for self promotion and I know that it will be a struggle to get any sort of a reader base without a lot more time and/or resources.
My book probably won’t be the best written out there. I’m new, I’m still learning and although my editor has been amazing, I am realistic enough to know that there are far more polished authors out there, many of whom will no doubt be releasing new books at the same time as mine comes out.
I am hoping (emphasis on the hoping) that my own stories will spark interest because of unusual plots and characters (ghosts, mermen time travellers to name a few) and that maybe it will be enough to be stand out from the crowd when someone is looking for something a little different.
But for the most part I will be working on the basis that at the end of the day I write because I enjoy it. Getting published is a bonus, and even if I can never make a living from writing alone, if a single person has bought my book and enjoyed it I’ll have achieved something I never thought I would.
I’m venturing into the world as a published author. I admit to having little to no idea how to get my books known. At the moment I’m concentrating on learning the ways of the three different publishers I am with.
However, I am an avid reader, and I know what attracts my attention, so when I’ve found my footing a little more I shall concentrate more on the peripheries.
And I still suck at blurb and summaries.
Sue
You must be really talented if you have contracts with 3 publishers and you’re just starting out. Congratulations
We can’t all be good at the same things and if you really feel that this is an area where you are vulnerable, your publisher should be able to help. I can’t stress enough how important blurbs are to most readers (except to Tam of course). 🙂
Hi Wave! Excellent post, as always. Until a little over a year ago, when I decided to google (on a whim) m/m e-book reviews, I relied solely on e-book covers and blurbs. You are so right in your assessment of bad cover art and blurbs being a turn off. In fact, I now have many books in my files (both read and to-be-read) that had what I thought were bad artwork or blurbs…or in some cases both! I now rely on reviews (of which this lovely place is my number one source *yay*)…and yahoo groups where there are members that enjoy the same kind of m/m books that I do (of which my tastes are incredibly eclectic). Because I came into the world of m/m fairly recently,(though I DO have about 1000 e-books that I have already read) I have found that I have a huge TBR pile, and a huge TBB list…which is fine with me, because between recs from review sites, other readers, and in some cases just finding an author I love, I know that I have many years of great reading in my future. And as an avid reader? I couldn’t ask for more.
Elaine
I wish more authors and publishers would realize this. So many augthors tell me how P.O’s they are at some of the blurbs and covers, and some blurbs even have spoilers. Leslie once refused to include the blurb in a review.
1000 books huh. That’s a lot of reading time. LOL
I got my Kindle less than a year ago and I already have more than 600 books on it – it’s no wonder I can’t find anything. 🙂
There are a few different factors that make me more likely to try a new author
1. Availabilty through Amazon for Kindle. I check Amazon almost everyday for new releases, so if the book is available on Amazon, I’m likely to see it. Also I like that I can download a sample from Amazon and read the first chapter or two to see if I like the writer’s style. Like Sirius said above, though, it would be nice if the blurb was present at the same time the book was released to Amazon.
2. The author has published with a publisher I like and check out regularly (loose I’d and dreamspinner are the ones I check most often.
3. I’ve read a good review of the book by a reviewer I trust or a lot of my GR friends have rated it highly.
Of course the book also has to be in a genre I like– if it’s sci-fi there’s not much that will tempt me to try it.
Josh, prc does work on the Kindle and most publishers have that format available; however, it’s SO much easier to buy a book directly from Amazon with 1 cluck and have it sent straight to your device.
Wave, did you never try the mobipocket converter! It’s easy to use! Am I going to have to make a trip to Canada to walk you through it? 😛
Nichem
Shit, shit, shit. As I was writing the comment I was hoping against hope that you wouldn’t log on today and read it. Damn! To be fair I did try but the text came out garbled. I have so many books to convert (and so little available time)that it was easier and lazier for me to just send them to Amazon to convert. They are so NICE. LOL.
I promise as soon as I get off this latest crazy work schedule and have some time for myself I will try again. At least I know what the different formats are – Josh hasn’t a darned clue.
Sirius, authors don’t put the blurbs on Amazon, publishers do. And I have no idea how the arcana of that works. It probably involves blood sacrifice and moon phases.
Many houses have the authors write the blurbs. These are ready to go before the release date, just as the cover art is.
Your book from Dreamspinner was most likely Print on Demand. Most small presses don’t do print runs. When you ordered it, they sent a request to the printer, had it made and then shipped it. It wasn’t a simple matter of going to the warehouse and mailing it. And two weeks is excellent service for that.
As for the question, I’m not much of a book-buyer. The last three I bought were horror novels from a publisher and authors I know. I’ve been looking at the paperbacks and now the ebooks are on sale for 2.99, Monday Wednesday and Friday. (Apex Halloween sale, if anyone is interested.)
A cover and a blurb will always get me. A good cover has pulled me into many many fictional worlds. And blurbs have pulled me into more. Reviews can inspire purchase as well.
Authors I know personally always get my support.
Hi Angelia, well no matter who writes those blurbs and who puts them on Amazon I want them there faster :), no matter what blood sacrifice or other sacrifices it involves hehe.
Although now that I know that usually authors write them (I see Josh Lanyon’s response, so I should say authors who publish with small presses), it makes me shake my head. I realize that it is very hard, but remembering a blurb I read recently for otherwise superb book, oy.
I would guess that small presses do print on demand, but I guess I thought that Dreamspinner now is big enough that at least for some of their books they do advance prints?
If it was print on demand, I guess it is not bad, although I bought books with Lulu and believe it or not they delivered in a week and they are always print on demand and no, I did not pay extra shipping either.
The book was First blood by Alexandr Voinov and Barbara Sheridan.
I should say though that the nice thing they did is that book came with authors’ autographs. That was sweet.
Although now that I know that usually authors write them (I see Josh Lanyon’s response, so I should say authors who publish with small presses), it makes me shake my head. I realize that it is very hard, but remembering a blurb I read recently for otherwise superb book, oy.
Even though it’s all writing, it’s a different skill. For one thing, you’re sort of having to boast about your own work…But when Jason meets hot and hunky Brad, there’s gonna be sexy hell to pay!
I actually hear the words in a booming commercial announcer’s voice. It’s hard to get past it.
Secondly, the writer — oddly enough — is not automatically the person best placed to understand the most commercial elements in his or her own work.
Some come quickly, but I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve sometimes sat there for hours trying to write one lame-o paragraph.
Angel
Thanks for making my point about the power of blurbs and a cover, the duo that I feel are the most powerful from a reader’s perspective in terms of making a sale. Reviews do help too (whether it’s written or word of mouth), as many of the readers on this site tell me all the time about what motivated their purchases.
Did you see the glowing review of Privateer’s Treasure written by StaceyR?
Josh, one of the reasons I am a total fangirl — that you would go to all that trouble for stories I would never otherwise be able to read. Thank you!!!
Thanks, Keri. I do love my readers — I’m not complaining about them, just that it’s hard to make everyone happy all the time. I do try and indulge my readers where and when I can. Listening to them is part of the job — not that I can or even should always give them what they want, but I do generally listen.
Quote from earlier post:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindling-Fire-With-Snow-ebook/dp/B00486U4OE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287781363&sr=1-1
I liked your previous story too Kate, and will buy this one too because I read a blurb here, but this is a good example of what I am talking about, the book was available on Amazon as of October 20, right? Unless I need to press extra button, I do not see any blurb on Amazon as of right now (end quote)
Kate – I followed this link through, and you probably need to know that the blurb for your book, Kindling Fire with Snow, is accompanied by the cover for Core Training by Andrew Grey.
Oh – I’ve just put Andrew’s book into the search, and it come up with your book cover attached!
Hope you can get it changed over quickly.
Hi Rachel and KateM
I emailed Elizabeth North who provided the following information:
The problem was reported to Amazon on Thursday morning. They flipped all the files for the two titles. It isn’t just the cover.
It’s showing correctly now.
Hey Wave, thank you so much for checking with Dreamspinner, but are they sure that problem is resolved? I am so annoyed now I can’t tell you. I am annoyed at Amazon of course, not at you for going extra mile and finding out that information. Yeah, apparently they switched all the files all right down to the BOOKS all right. I bought it on Friday evening, so I guess they did not switch it back under the correct name and started reading it today and trying to figure out what the heck I am reading about and where are the characters that blurb promised (Kieran O’Mailey et all) and instead some annoying Hue and Max show up. I read one chapter, want to throw the book against the wall, and then go back to this thread.
GRRRRRR. I guess this book is lost sale for me after all. I will e-mail Amazon asking if they could switch the books for me (no offense to Andrew Grey but I had zero intentions of buying this book of his)> Sorry, just needed to vent, that would teach me to buy too fast.
Sirius
I have two solutions for you. I emailed Dreamspinner and they have offered to send you a new book right away. Here is where you write:
contact@dreamspinnerpress.com and they will make sure you get the correct book without having to deal with Amazon, which can be cumbersome.
For your information, my understanding is that the book is fixed on the Amazon server which should mean that anyone that downloaded it can access the new files from their Kindle bookshelf. You may not be tech savvy enough to know how to do that and it might help, since you’re already feeling frustrated already, to have a fresh copy sent.
email me when you have the correct book. 🙂
Hi Wave I really appreciate your and Dreamspinner’s kindness and will contact DReamspinner. I actually tried to deal with them and it does not look it is going anywhere. I actually know how to download book from bookshelf and no, the wrong one was still downloading. So Amazon issued a refund on this one for me, which should be a good thing right? At least they tried to do something 🙂 But see stoopid me still wanted a book lol, so I BOUGHT again, deleted the old one and guess what? STILL wrong book. Do I address my e-mail to specific person? Thanks again Wave really appreciate your help 🙂
The articles the past several days have been very interesting. As a reader only, it’s very enlightening to get the inside story from writers, book reviewers, and readers just like me.
I love to read the author sites, the book blogs, and the reviews. I consider it to be part of my reading hobby now. I’m fairly new to the m/m genre and I might never have read one of Josh’s books if it wasn’t for Lb Gregg going on and on about his writing on another blog site. When I finally decided I had to check out this awesome author, I discovered not only an author whose writing I totally adore, but also a genre that resonates for me. The blog and review sites are paramount in my book-decision process.
I also prefer the ebook format in the m/m books because the covers can be racy (I know, I know, they can be racy in the hetero books, too!) In the ebook format, it’s just a little bit easier to keep the books secure and yet have the ereader in an easy to get to location.
Hi Patty
Since I’m a reader just like you I try to write posts that would interest other readers as well as authors. 🙂
One of the reasons that this sub genre is so popular to female readers is because the books are mostly electronic and readers don’t have to go into the bookstore to buy them. “No embarrassment zone” re the covers. LOL
Hey Guys
Re book formats
I was advised by Treva Harte that Loose Id provides the following formats:
.pdf, .html., .exe, .lit, .prc, and .epub
I just checked my bookshelf on Dreamspinner and they offer:
PDF, .lit, mobi/prc,html and epub
TQ offers each purchaser
PDF, .lit, mobi/prc and epub. Not sure about html but I’ll check and add that information if this format is available
I’ll check Amber Allure and a couple of the other larger publishers and update this comment.
I also am more picky with buying than I was a year ago. I only buy the books I think I will like not because they have got 4 stars or more. I have burned my fingers with those buys in the past and I don’t want that any more.
So the cover, blurb and length has become more important.
Almost all books, 99%, I buy directly from the publishers. But I do wish they would all implement one click buying. Like with Allure I have to give all my info each time I buy. So I tend to buy in batches there.
Ingrid
Not every 4 or 5 star book is for every reader. One of the reasons that this site works so well is that there’s a guest reviewer who likes most types of books. We need someone who really loves YA and YAOI so that I can accept more of those books for review but other than that I think we’re OK.
I’m making notes of all the reader requests so that I can contact the publishers with your suggestions, and your comment about 1-click buying makes a lot of sense.
JOSH
I would never dare say that you and ZAM are “pester children”. LOL. Seriously, you do a wonderful job of marketing and keeping your readers updated about all your new releases both on your website and Livejournal as well as your newsletters. I really do think that other authors should learn from you how it should be done.
Het sales SHOULD dominate romance. This sub genre has had 100 years to perfect its craft and grab more than a toe hold on the market, and it’s only within the last 2 – 3 years that they have really had ANY competition, and that’s from M/M which is still in its infancy. I think it’s wonderful that M/M is now giving hetero romance more than a run for its money, and the fact that such a small, but dedicated group of readers can do this, says a lot for this sub genre. More power to M/M for being David to the hetero Goliath. (I can wax poetic if I want to- YAY) 🙂
BTW Josh I used to read het romances years ago. I left because I found the stories stereotypical and boring, which is one of the reasons I’m always going on about improving M/M plots and characterizations, so that this sub genre doesn’t fall into the same trap as het. Also, I could not relate to the TSTL heroines that seemed to proliferate in het. Maybe things have changed, but even if they have I have no desire to return.
*getting off my soap box now* LOL
I am totally quilty of buying a book based on the cover, or not buying it for the same reason. If the cover doesn’t do it for me, I don’t even bother picking clicking on the blurb or the review.
I like print books rather than ebooks when I can get them, and on the flip side, I don’t want a cover that I can not comfortable sitting in a cafeteria or work place reading them, because the cover is so revealing that people are moving away from sitting with me. lol
I guess for me, its that fine line. As a new reader to M/M, I don’t have a backlog of books to be read yet. I read ’em as I buy ’em.
Hope
Good post, Wave! And a good topic too. I was thinking the same recently, cause I looked at titles I put on my to read list (to be honest, they are mixed. There are some titles on there that I’m reluctant to buy, because I don’t know if they’re good) but it has reached 132 titles…
As discussed about, it’s nice that there are so many titles, but I’m getting pissed of too, because the quality is going down at a fast rate. Someone told me recently that it’s almost like fanfiction gone paid and while I do not agree on all cases, there is a point in there.
It’s not just a good blurb and an up to date website. It’s good editing too and a little insight into character & world building and more original topic, cause if I read another book with a big misunderstanding in there I’m going to scream! 😉
Like Ingrid, I’m a lot more picky and careful in what I buy and where too.
And on the format subject. Thank God for Calibre!