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Blogs by Pamela C Labud
Can we blog here? 5/30/2007 7:08:02 AM
Hello again, Gentle Readers!
I know, two postings in one week? Call me crazy, but I had some thoughts this morning about this strange thing we call publishing and I wanted to share some of what I've learned so far.
This sharing of wisdom does come from with a disclaimer. For every 'truth' you find in publishing, or in life, for that matter. There is always someone who 'in their experience' has a valid experience that is totally opposite to yours. In other words, take it with a grin and a grain of salt.
There are many things that a writer is responsible for in her published book. The characters, story, conflict, plot line, tension. sexual tension, and story premise, just to name a a few.
However, there are just as many things that are not under an author's control (at least at the beginning level--we all know top authors who can get just about anything into their contracts because of their major selling successes--I am certainly not among their number).
Title. Yep. Just because you have slaved over a clever and outstanding title for you book, doesn't mean the publisher will keep it. It's all about marketing, folks, and since publishing is a business, they have a whole department of smart/saavy people who work on getting the most sales for your book. This translates into more money for them, for you, and if you're lucky, a chance at more contracts in the future. Don't hate the marketing people. They're just trying to sell your work. Give up control of the title. You may get input, you may not. On rare occaisions, you can even get to keep yours.
Does that mean you should skip even titling your work at all? No way. That title may be the tiny blip that will catch an editor or agent's eye. Work on it, be clever, and use it to the max. Just don't get too attached to it.
Book covers. Because mass market publishers have art departments, they work with your editor and the marketing department to produce what they think is an eye catching cover. This is awesome. If you don't get the cover you like, also remeber that there are dozens of other books out there and you have to compete with in the market place. Try to keep an open mind. Hopefully, yours will be beautiful and garner lots of sales.
For my case, I have to say that when my editor offered me a contract, she sent out several book covers of previous books in my line. They were awesome, and one in particular caught my eye. I loved it. My editor did too, and she worked with the art department to give me something that fit my tastes. This was awesome, but maybe not the norm. Still, I love my covers for SPIRITED AWAY and IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND. Not every author will be as lucky as me.
In the world of ePublishing, this may not be true. There are occasions when you can work with the cover artist and get what you want. Sometimes you get to fill out little forms on what you want on your cover. This is great, if you can get an artist whose vision and talent match yours. I loved my covers on my ebooks, and I enjoyed working with the artists.
Cover blurbs. Yep, those short little things that live on the front and back of your book. I hate writing them and I am totally amazed at the talent of my editor who wrote them. She read my book, worked her magic, and made my books sound totally tantalizing. I understand that not everyone will be this lucky, some authors even hate their cover and their blurbs, but we as authors have to keep our eyes on the prize. More book sales. That's always the goal.
I thought it was a gift, because the only thing I'm worse at than writing titles, is cover blurbs. I did it for my ebooks and hated it. If its less that 75,000 words, I stink at writing it.
Finally, the very last thing I want to add here is about print runs. Too often I hear some authors lament on how low their print run is. I can totally understand. There is very little chance of you getting on a bestseller list with a small print run.
On the other hand, (and there is always another hand), if you have a huge print run and don't sell through, then the chances of you getting another contract are slim. It's sad but true. As a new author, I wanted to sell through at least 50%, (extremely good for a newbie). Anything more than that is pure gravy. I did decent enough, thank heavens, but getting that second contract is tough, even for those who sold more than me. I'm also happy to report that my first mass market book went to a second printing, so that's really good news.
Now, my goal is to get another contract. You can believe that I have worked up several proposals and have my agent hard at work helping me to get them to the right places. Some have said that getting a second contract may be even harder than the first one.
It's a tough business, and there are many days that I feel like throwing in the towel. When that happens, I write my writer friends, read some cool author blogs, and work on my stories. It helps, a lot. I'll let you all know how I do.
Until next time, everyone take care! Happy Reading, Pam.
