This is MOST awesome!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Amazon strikes again! WATCH OUT! Danger. Danger.
Since it's all about publicity and getting out there, I like to share with authors the things that have worked for me. I also like to make them aware of the things that DO NOT work and in fact WILL work against you. My recent discovery, Amazon's Customer discussions. Please read this before you decide to start one. This is straight from Amazon:
Wow! Really?
So here's what happens. You open a discussion in a community that "seems" like the right place for your discussion but some random poster feels otherwise. Personnel attacks are added along with information that has nothing to do with the original post. You report the post as abuse and it may or may not be deleted by Amazon, you know, depending on if the harassment can be justified. To top it all off, the creator of the discussion CAN'T even delete the discussion they started because Amazon has full rights to ANYTHING you put there.
Well, with yesterday being National against-bully day, I can't tell you how this sets with me. Thanks Amazon for making it possible for good folks to be bullied. Thank you so much. Damn straight I won't be starting any other Amazon discussions. DAMN STRAIGHT!!! But you can if you want to. ;)
I apologize for the situation and that you feel another customer may not be conducting them self in an appropriate manner.
Unfortunately we are not able to have the customers remove discussion forums they have started since there are other posters who are participating in the forum.
Our disclaimer that reviews and discussion posts become our property allows us to have free range on posting them or not posting them. We don't censor reviews or posts inappropriately or change the tone of comments, but we do reserve the right to delete comments that fall outside our review and discussion guidelines.
Thanks for sending us your comments about our Customer Discussion Boards. I'll be sure your feedback is passed on to the right people in our company. This kind of feedback is invaluable to us, as it helps us continue to improve our website and provide better service to all of our customers.
Wow! Really?
So here's what happens. You open a discussion in a community that "seems" like the right place for your discussion but some random poster feels otherwise. Personnel attacks are added along with information that has nothing to do with the original post. You report the post as abuse and it may or may not be deleted by Amazon, you know, depending on if the harassment can be justified. To top it all off, the creator of the discussion CAN'T even delete the discussion they started because Amazon has full rights to ANYTHING you put there.
Well, with yesterday being National against-bully day, I can't tell you how this sets with me. Thanks Amazon for making it possible for good folks to be bullied. Thank you so much. Damn straight I won't be starting any other Amazon discussions. DAMN STRAIGHT!!! But you can if you want to. ;)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Check it out!!!
Black Bed Sheet Books moving on up!!! Suwheeeett!
Bring it Kristy!! I still have my monkey pen. Do you have yours?
Bring it Kristy!! I still have my monkey pen. Do you have yours?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Large bookstores WILL buy non-returnable books.
Making your books returnable is what will keep a small press or self-pubbed author from making anything off the sale of their book. Mainly because POD distributors don't allow for the return of the books to publishers. So the publisher has to refund all monies back to the bookstore who brought the book and they never see the returned book again. This means the publisher eats the print cost of the book and in some cases has to pay their distributor of choice some fee for handling the returned book which is usually never returned.
Purpose of this post? So many self-pubbed authors tell me that if they don't make their books returnable, large bookstores won't order them. Wrong. They will and do. I just requested a report from LSI my POD of choice (because they are less scary than some of the other POD distributors out there and they have connections with Ingram) and the report shows that the last few orders for my book which is non-returnable came from Ingram. Good news is, it's a done deal. They can't be returned. The money is mine. The book is sold.
And in my previous post before this one I said large bookstores won't carry small press books or self-pubbed authors. That's slightly inaccurate. They can carry them and will on occasion even if they're non-returnable. Most of the time you have to make a deal with the devil or consider that the book will be placed on the shelf in the back room if it's ever taken out of the box. If the book is non-returnable and you convince them to buy a few then who cares where they put them. The book is sold. It's up to them to get a customer to buy it which is why they don't typically buy non-returnable books. =)
But yes, you can get my non-returnable book all day long from any bookstore in any country!!! You just won't see it on the shelf probably. Larger bookstores are depositories for larger publishing houses.
The return policy isn't designed for small presses or self-pubbed authors. It never was.
Purpose of this post? So many self-pubbed authors tell me that if they don't make their books returnable, large bookstores won't order them. Wrong. They will and do. I just requested a report from LSI my POD of choice (because they are less scary than some of the other POD distributors out there and they have connections with Ingram) and the report shows that the last few orders for my book which is non-returnable came from Ingram. Good news is, it's a done deal. They can't be returned. The money is mine. The book is sold.
And in my previous post before this one I said large bookstores won't carry small press books or self-pubbed authors. That's slightly inaccurate. They can carry them and will on occasion even if they're non-returnable. Most of the time you have to make a deal with the devil or consider that the book will be placed on the shelf in the back room if it's ever taken out of the box. If the book is non-returnable and you convince them to buy a few then who cares where they put them. The book is sold. It's up to them to get a customer to buy it which is why they don't typically buy non-returnable books. =)
But yes, you can get my non-returnable book all day long from any bookstore in any country!!! You just won't see it on the shelf probably. Larger bookstores are depositories for larger publishing houses.
The return policy isn't designed for small presses or self-pubbed authors. It never was.
★Only the BBC!!!
Yes. Only the BBC would liken the rescue pod, used to bring the Chilean miners up, to Dr. Who's Tardis!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!
LOVE IT!!!!
Sometimes I blog about comments left on other post of mine!
So be careful if you fear this happening (why would you, but I'm just saying.) First I will say this comment was left on my re-posting concerning how the ludicrous return policy that plagues the book industry got started. Obviously this poster is a frequent reader of my blogs and brought up other concerns as well. So without further ado, the comment and subsequent response:
My piece by piece response:
If we buy them at B&N or Borders or Amazon, we're feeding the "massive discount" system and screwing ourselves.
The "massive discount" system isn't the problem and I never said it was so I'm not sure what this means. The issue is that large booksellers can and do return books from small publishers/self-pubbed authors (should they be enticed to buy them which most don't.) And the issue with that is that the POD distributors small press and self pubbed authors use NEVER give the option to have the returned book back AND they charge small publishers big fees when the book is returned. So again, don't know where this comment is relevant to anything I've said or written or know to be true. I'll discount my book to the nth degree but not when I have to pay for returns that I never see again.
If we buy them at Books-a-Million, we're buying in effect stolen property and screwing ourselves.
Books-A-Million has two distributors that provide stock to BAM. These two distributors only deal in returned-from-the-bookstore books. Yes. If my books show up in BAM I call them stolen as I know how they got there. To say ALL these books are stolen would be inaccurate as large publishers know exactly that this is what will happen to their returned-from-the-bookstore books and actually MAKE money off the deal. Small pubbed authors and self-pubbed authors surely do not. The only safe-guard is to make your book non-returnable which I've done.
If we buy them at used bookstores, it goes without saying that we're screwing ourselves.
Really? How's that? Used bookstores are great IMO. Most I know of acquire books from readers who are done with them. *Sue shrugs at this.*
So where in the world are we SUPPOSED TO BUY BOOKS, then? Strictly from publishers' web sites? From the poor author who's expected to have inventory on hand and turn into a shipper? Please...clue me in.
If it's a small press or self-pubbed author who has a website then that does sound like a grand place to buy them!! The author and publisher both make all the money. As far as a "poor author" turning into a shipper and expecting to have inventory on hand, POD distributors take care of that. Problem solved. You're not going to find these books in larger bookstores to buy them anyway. So yes. That's where you should go to buy these fine books. Oh and of course Independent Bookstores who so rock!
But if small booksellers are dropping like flies--the nearest independent bookstore I can think of, off the top of my head, to me is a couple of hundred miles away now!--then where are we supposed to buy books at all?
Small booksellers who make their books returnable will drop like flies or like rocks to the bottom of very deep pond. Small presses who make their books non-returnable will do just fine. But you still won't find these books in larger bookstores so apparently you will have to buy from publishers to get the books worth reading! Larger bookstores barely cater to small presses or self-pubbed authors because they don't see them as their money makers. I know. Right?
We're not going to change publishers' policies by writing blog posts.
LOL Is someone trying to do this?
We're not going to do it by commiserating with each other.
I'm going to assume the poster meant change the industry as nothing else makes sense. And no feeling sorrow or commiserating about something doesn't usually bring about change which is why I typically don't commiserate to bring about change. I do inform though and provide facts. =)
And we're not even going to do it by not buying books...since that does no one ANY good.
That sort of stands to reason. Glad to know that people aren't going to stop buying books.
So what DO we do?
As readers you should be aware that large bookstores are there because of and for large publishers. You should be aware that return policies set up to work between these two entities does not work for small presses or self-pubbed authors. Large bookstores barely even humor small presses and self-pubbed authors if at all. So if those are the authors you want to purchase books from, you won't find them in larger bookstores. Sorry.
As writers you should remember the above as well AND you should make your books non-returnable as large bookstores will still purchase them for customers and you won't eat your printing fee.
So there ya go! =)
Buy books.
Read and enjoy them!
Support small press and self-pubbed authors by shopping at publishers' site or Independent Bookstores. If you don't have an Independent Bookstore in your area, go to your larger Bookstore and place an order. It's really that simple.
I'm not defending this policy, by any means...but this does present a dilemma for those of us who want to actually buy books. (There are a few of us out here still left!)
If we buy them at B&N or Borders or Amazon, we're feeding the "massive discount" system and screwing ourselves. If we buy them at Books-a-Million, we're buying in effect stolen property and screwing ourselves. If we buy them at used bookstores, it goes without saying that we're screwing ourselves. So where in the world are we SUPPOSED TO BUY BOOKS, then? Strictly from publishers' web sites? From the poor author who's expected to have inventory on hand and turn into a shipper? Please...clue me in.
I don't mean to be facetious. Really. But if small booksellers are dropping like flies--the nearest independent bookstore I can think of, off the top of my head, to me is a couple of hundred miles away now!--then where are we supposed to buy books at all? Not buying books isn't going to solve this problem. It's just going to put more booksellers under MORE pressure to find MORE ways to save MORE money...and in the end, once again, it screws us.
We're not going to change publishers' policies by writing blog posts. We're not going to do it by commiserating with each other. And we're not even going to do it by not buying books...since that does no one ANY good.
So what DO we do?
My piece by piece response:
If we buy them at B&N or Borders or Amazon, we're feeding the "massive discount" system and screwing ourselves.
The "massive discount" system isn't the problem and I never said it was so I'm not sure what this means. The issue is that large booksellers can and do return books from small publishers/self-pubbed authors (should they be enticed to buy them which most don't.) And the issue with that is that the POD distributors small press and self pubbed authors use NEVER give the option to have the returned book back AND they charge small publishers big fees when the book is returned. So again, don't know where this comment is relevant to anything I've said or written or know to be true. I'll discount my book to the nth degree but not when I have to pay for returns that I never see again.
If we buy them at Books-a-Million, we're buying in effect stolen property and screwing ourselves.
Books-A-Million has two distributors that provide stock to BAM. These two distributors only deal in returned-from-the-bookstore books. Yes. If my books show up in BAM I call them stolen as I know how they got there. To say ALL these books are stolen would be inaccurate as large publishers know exactly that this is what will happen to their returned-from-the-bookstore books and actually MAKE money off the deal. Small pubbed authors and self-pubbed authors surely do not. The only safe-guard is to make your book non-returnable which I've done.
If we buy them at used bookstores, it goes without saying that we're screwing ourselves.
Really? How's that? Used bookstores are great IMO. Most I know of acquire books from readers who are done with them. *Sue shrugs at this.*
So where in the world are we SUPPOSED TO BUY BOOKS, then? Strictly from publishers' web sites? From the poor author who's expected to have inventory on hand and turn into a shipper? Please...clue me in.
If it's a small press or self-pubbed author who has a website then that does sound like a grand place to buy them!! The author and publisher both make all the money. As far as a "poor author" turning into a shipper and expecting to have inventory on hand, POD distributors take care of that. Problem solved. You're not going to find these books in larger bookstores to buy them anyway. So yes. That's where you should go to buy these fine books. Oh and of course Independent Bookstores who so rock!
But if small booksellers are dropping like flies--the nearest independent bookstore I can think of, off the top of my head, to me is a couple of hundred miles away now!--then where are we supposed to buy books at all?
Small booksellers who make their books returnable will drop like flies or like rocks to the bottom of very deep pond. Small presses who make their books non-returnable will do just fine. But you still won't find these books in larger bookstores so apparently you will have to buy from publishers to get the books worth reading! Larger bookstores barely cater to small presses or self-pubbed authors because they don't see them as their money makers. I know. Right?
We're not going to change publishers' policies by writing blog posts.
LOL Is someone trying to do this?
We're not going to do it by commiserating with each other.
I'm going to assume the poster meant change the industry as nothing else makes sense. And no feeling sorrow or commiserating about something doesn't usually bring about change which is why I typically don't commiserate to bring about change. I do inform though and provide facts. =)
And we're not even going to do it by not buying books...since that does no one ANY good.
That sort of stands to reason. Glad to know that people aren't going to stop buying books.
So what DO we do?
As readers you should be aware that large bookstores are there because of and for large publishers. You should be aware that return policies set up to work between these two entities does not work for small presses or self-pubbed authors. Large bookstores barely even humor small presses and self-pubbed authors if at all. So if those are the authors you want to purchase books from, you won't find them in larger bookstores. Sorry.
As writers you should remember the above as well AND you should make your books non-returnable as large bookstores will still purchase them for customers and you won't eat your printing fee.
So there ya go! =)
Buy books.
Read and enjoy them!
Support small press and self-pubbed authors by shopping at publishers' site or Independent Bookstores. If you don't have an Independent Bookstore in your area, go to your larger Bookstore and place an order. It's really that simple.
Simon and Schuster are the ones to blame!
*****Reposted with today's date specifically for Kristy Tallman =)
Well after continued research I now have the smoking gun and it lies squarely in Simon & Schuster's lap. Whose responsible for the outlandish return policy that sinks all small publishers eventually--Simon and Schuster. Here you go:
. . . The Great Depression of the 1930s hit the book publishing industry as hard as it hit every other sector of the American economy. Booksellers at that time were mostly small local businesses, and to help them survive the economic hardships of the depression, Simon and Schuster invented a system allowing booksellers to return unsold copies of books for credit against future purchases. Other publishers quickly had to follow Simon and Schuster's lead, and the practice became the industry standard. At times booksellers have been able to use this system to their advantage to clear inventories or to "pay" for copies of new books by returning unsold copies. Publishers have adapted to the system of returns by adding costs of shipping, warehousing, and recycling returned copies into the price of books. . .
Always nice to have facts. ;)
So a system designed to help small booksellers survive the depression has become the Industry Standard and we have Simon & Schuster to thank for it.
It says that publishers have adapted to the system of returns by adding costs of shipping, warehousing, and recycling returned copies into the price of the book. This means larger publishers. Smaller publishers haven't adapted to anything. They were never a part of the scenario. There is no costs for recycling books for them. Returned-from-the bookstore-books are never recycled and I doubt they ever were. My understanding is that today returned-from-the-bookstore books are sold to wholesalers who dabble in selling such books. For instance Books-A-Million's two main wholesalers only sell returned-from-the-bookstore books. Going into a Books-A-Million you'd never know the books weren't actually new. For us small-pubbed authors those are stolen books. In other words we never see any money from them and our publishers never see any money from them. Our distributors tell us these books are destroyed.
Anyway I just wanted to add that little tidbit for all you new authors who wonder why things happen the way they do.
I particularly liked this clip as well which sort of sets the tone for how larger booksellers operate today.
In the 1970s, national chain bookstores such as Barnes and Noble and Waldenbooks began to open retail outlets in malls across the country. By buying in volume, chains could earn more profit on each copy of a book sold, allowing them to pay higher rents. Buying in volume also meant that they could negotiate deeper discounts from publishers. By passing this discount on to book buyers, the chains were able to attract customers away from the smaller independent bookstores.
Well would you look at the bolded text! And one wonders why I detest Barnes & Noble and ALL the larger chains. I'll never make my books returnable again. Everyone makes money in this business but the producer of the product. Lovely.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
No protection for small press or self-pubbed authors whatsoever!
UPDATE!
Yes, it seems I'm an idiot. Most people know NOT to click on a link that promises FREE copyrighted stuff. LOL But my virus protection allowed me to go to this site. Anyway I suppose the danger is actually downloading the supposed legitimate PDF. So http://www.worid-of-books.com which actually comes up as www.world-books-com is a virus spreading site for well . . . IDIOTS like me. LOLROFL.
Nothing to see here. ;)
*************************************
Yep. It's true. I'm googling last night and find a site with a FREE PDF of Never Ceese. I investigated and the site claims that all books are uploaded by readers and they aren't responsible for quality or content. Really? Well. How nice. It was the cover for the hardback version yet had me S D Enterprises as the publisher.
I clicked the abuse button, asked the site what made them think they could legally offer a free pdf for a book I owned and sent it along. Now if you click to download it says they are checking on this book but be sure to check back later!!!! Buddy, I don't have a lawyer but you can bet I'll have one straight away if this PDF goes back up for free.
Yeah, right! Like I can do anything. Nothing is going to happen. I can't even contact them through e-mail. It comes back as a wrong address. Ah, welcome to the world of publishing.
Yes, it seems I'm an idiot. Most people know NOT to click on a link that promises FREE copyrighted stuff. LOL But my virus protection allowed me to go to this site. Anyway I suppose the danger is actually downloading the supposed legitimate PDF. So http://www.worid-of-books.com which actually comes up as www.world-books-com is a virus spreading site for well . . . IDIOTS like me. LOLROFL.
Nothing to see here. ;)
*************************************
Yep. It's true. I'm googling last night and find a site with a FREE PDF of Never Ceese. I investigated and the site claims that all books are uploaded by readers and they aren't responsible for quality or content. Really? Well. How nice. It was the cover for the hardback version yet had me S D Enterprises as the publisher.
I clicked the abuse button, asked the site what made them think they could legally offer a free pdf for a book I owned and sent it along. Now if you click to download it says they are checking on this book but be sure to check back later!!!! Buddy, I don't have a lawyer but you can bet I'll have one straight away if this PDF goes back up for free.
Yeah, right! Like I can do anything. Nothing is going to happen. I can't even contact them through e-mail. It comes back as a wrong address. Ah, welcome to the world of publishing.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sick of being "tricked" into reading targeted Christian propaganda.
Boy I'll bet that got your attention but as an author who is also a believer in Christ, I get sick, sick, sick of seeing work for any "targeted" audience pushed to readers who could care less!!!!!!! Soooooo, here's a few helpful tips to avoid accidentally buying something you'd rather not own and for sure not read.
First off, anything put out by a CBA or ECPA publishe (you can find a list of these at cba.org but it isn't easy to navigate. Sorry) is evangelically targeted fiction and written with a very specific Christian audience in mind. General market readers aren't expected to like these books but these publishers market to these readers anyway. Not sure what the logic is, I guess a sell is a sell is a sell even if the reader drags it through hell with their review. Who knows.
But what about the targeted Christian fiction coming out now that isn't through an affiliated publisher?
Just look to see if the publisher makes a distinction between the CBA market and ABA market. If they do, run the other way if targeted Christian fiction isn't what you want to read.
Keep in mind that CBA and ECPA(a group of CBA publishers) have never allowed general market Christian authors into their bookstores but flood general mearket bookstores with their work. Oh now that's Christian isn't it. Better still, they get away with it.
Okay, that's all from me for now. Carry on.
Oh and remember when you see my books showing up bundled on certain seller's sites alongside of targeted" Christian publishers books, it isn't my fault. AMAZON just doesn't know what they're doing. But in their defense no bookseller understands CBA or ECPA otherwise something might be done about the way these two affiliations do business and have been doing so since 1950 when they first decided to provide targeted fiction for a fee to publishers to the then Baptist Bookstores.
Now that's all.
First off, anything put out by a CBA or ECPA publishe (you can find a list of these at cba.org but it isn't easy to navigate. Sorry) is evangelically targeted fiction and written with a very specific Christian audience in mind. General market readers aren't expected to like these books but these publishers market to these readers anyway. Not sure what the logic is, I guess a sell is a sell is a sell even if the reader drags it through hell with their review. Who knows.
But what about the targeted Christian fiction coming out now that isn't through an affiliated publisher?
Just look to see if the publisher makes a distinction between the CBA market and ABA market. If they do, run the other way if targeted Christian fiction isn't what you want to read.
Keep in mind that CBA and ECPA(a group of CBA publishers) have never allowed general market Christian authors into their bookstores but flood general mearket bookstores with their work. Oh now that's Christian isn't it. Better still, they get away with it.
Okay, that's all from me for now. Carry on.
Oh and remember when you see my books showing up bundled on certain seller's sites alongside of targeted" Christian publishers books, it isn't my fault. AMAZON just doesn't know what they're doing. But in their defense no bookseller understands CBA or ECPA otherwise something might be done about the way these two affiliations do business and have been doing so since 1950 when they first decided to provide targeted fiction for a fee to publishers to the then Baptist Bookstores.
Now that's all.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Vampire Film Festival 2010 Interview with Sue Dent
What an amazing interview this turned out to be! Wow!
New interview with Sue Dent!
I, along with several other notable authors, will be on the literary panel Why women write such bloody good vampire novels." =)
Y'all come on down!!!
New interview with Sue Dent!
I, along with several other notable authors, will be on the literary panel Why women write such bloody good vampire novels." =)
Y'all come on down!!!
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Main Street Books-Hattiesburg
One of the BEST INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES I've ever visited and proud to be that which they should be. I didn't even have to call to bring books to sell. Just brought them with me and collected my money at the end of the day. AND I sold books. Yes I did. So take that Barnes & Noble in Ridgeland MS who still hasn't paid me for a booksigning going on two years now. Wow!
We know who respects the small-pubbed author. Also I left two copies of Never Ceese there and signed too. Both hardbacks for retail which I actually get money from cause they're mine.
Thank-you so much to the Hattiesburg Branch of the MS Writer's Guild. You guys were great! More to write about that later.
Also, and I have to say this, this was the first event I attended where someone saw the ad ahead of time and came to see me and buy my books. What an excellent feeling thank-you so much MINDY!!
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