Category: Guest Bloggers

EVERYBODY’S TALKING AT ME

I’m referring to the doom-sayers who are bemoaning the demise of the publishing industry. I’ve tried to play that lovely old Harry Nilsson “everybody’s talking” song in my head and not hear a word the doom-and-gloom folks are saying, but it’s hard to tune them out.

Yes, I know we’re in a recession and, basically, the economy is in the toilet. For those of us who read and/or write books, we have to wonder how that’s going to affect us.

Random House CEO Markus Dohle says, “Because of the current economic crisis, our industry is facing some of the most difficult times in publishing history” (and Random House is doing major reorganization; see http://tinyurl.com/5r3lfg).

Another major publishing house, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has stopped buying books. (See http://tinyurl.com/6lcg6u if you want to read the story.)

How can a publisher stop buying books? What happens if others follow suit? A year from now, will there be no new books on the shelves? Or online either?

Okay, that’s inconceivable. I love books. You love books. We REQUIRE books in order to function! I’m an addict and no one’s going to cut off my supply <g>. So, yes, I’m sure that a year from now, and two years from now, there will still be bricks-and-mortar and online bookstores, and there will be books on their shelves, and you and I will still be shopping and reading.

And yet…we’re in a recession. Things have already changed and they’re going to change more. Lots of people have less disposable income. Those that do have cash are tending to hoard it rather than spend it (which we probably all realize is the very worst thing to do in a recession).

One theory is that book sales will actually go up. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, in tough times, we need escape, entertainment, laughs, thrills, happy endings, and what better than books to provide all those things? Second, books are pretty much the best-value entertainment around.

Of course, people can get books without buying them new. They can go to libraries, visit used bookstores, or borrow from friends. All of which are great for the reader, but pretty sucky for the industry. If publishers don’t sell new books—like my new books, Cindy’s new books, your favorite author’s new books—then guess what? Next time we send the publisher a proposal, the publisher is going to say, “Sorry, your numbers aren’t good enough. We’re not going to buy anything else from you.”

Ouch!

So, yes, these are scary times if you’re a writer. All we really can do is keep writing, keep the faith, spend our own spare dollars on books so that we’re supporting our fellow writers and the industry, and try not to stress out about a future we can’t control.

What I’d like to hear from you folks is your take on all this. Have your book-buying habits changed? What kind of books do you like to read when times are tough? How do you decide which books to buy new and which to get at the library or buy used? Are you still spending the same amount on books or have you either reduced or increased your book budget? Are you asking for books for Christmas? Giving books as gifts? Where do you think the publishing industry is heading? Do you have any bright ideas for how to keep the industry healthy?

(And thanks to Cindy for inviting me to visit!)

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To learn more about Susan and her books, please visit her website.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO GETTING PUBLISHED

My agent is shopping my latest manuscript and let me tell you the waiting is killing me. As a matter of fact, just this morning I noticed my hair is definitely grayer than it was last week.

When she first sent it out, we got an immediate response from a major publisher and boy was I excited. They raved about the author voice and the premise. They asked if the author had another book that could be packaged with it. Then they took it to committee, whatever that means, and the next thing you know they were saying things like, “It’s not for our list after all.”

Bummer. I felt like dumping my head in the washing machine while it was on the spin cycle. That got me thinking about all the authors out there that now have N.Y. Times bestsellers. Did they ever want to stick their head in the washer? I’d call them up, but I don’t have their numbers. Plus they’d think I was crazy so I’d probably just tell them how much I enjoyed their book and not mention their washing machine.

Maybe placing a project is so frustrating because of the way I first got published. I went to this book conference. At the reception I literally bumped into Ron Pitkin, the president of Cumberland House Publishing. He was kind enough not to notice I spilled his drink and asked what I was working on. When I told him fiction, he promptly replied, “That’s a crap shoot.” Definitely not what I wanted to hear. I mean, I’d paid good money to come to this conference and he’s raining on my party, big time. “Well,” I said, “that’s too bad, because I have a dynamite opening line.” I was prepared to walk away, when he gently took hold of my elbow and said, “So what’s your opening line?”

“The morning I died, it rained.” Keep in mind this was long before The Lovely Bones.

“God! I want to see that book,” he said, doing an about face.

“Ah, I don’t have a book,” I said. “I have a great opening line and a hundred pages.”

He asked if I had it with me. “Of course. I’m getting it evaluated in the morning. It costs forty-five dollars.”

He told me to give it to him, he wouldn’t charge a thing. I immediately went to my room and brought back the pages. I had a prologue, and the last chapter and the epilogue along with the rest of it. It wasn’t finished, but I knew where it was going.

Mr. Pitkin thanked me and went on his way. Come Sunday morning with the conference over, everyone was checking out. I spotted Mr. Pitkin making his way toward me and thought, oh-oh, this is where he’s going to pull the rug out from under me and tell me to get a real job. To my surprise he handed me the manuscript and said, “I want this and I want it yesterday. Go home and finish it!”

I figured if I took forever to finish it he’d never even remember that he liked it. I stayed up and wrote around the clock for the next five days, took the weekend off, stayed up again and wrote around the clock for the next five days and sent it off to Mr. Pitkin. I marked my calendar for three months, thinking it might take that long for him to get back to me. I started in on my second book. Just like all the books on writing said to do. The following Friday evening my phone rang. I answered. A voice said, “This is Ron Pitkin at Cumberland House and we’re going to bring your book out in hardback.” I said, “Ya? And I’m the tooth fairy.” And I hung up on him. The reason I did this is that the only person other than my husband who knew I’d sent off the manuscript was a good friend of mine who can mimic any voice he’s ever heard. He’d been going to this conference where I’d met Mr. Pitkin for years and has heard him speak many times. It had to be this friend playing a joke on me. Not a very funny one either. I wasn’t amused.

I went upstairs to comb my hair and put some lipstick on. My husband was starving and wanted to go and get something to eat. Poor thing, he probably was starving. I stopped cooking when the kids left home and I took up writing. No sooner did I get to the bedroom when the phone rang. This one has caller ID, the others don’t. I leaned over and saw CUMBERLAND HOUSE flashing on the screen. I’d hung up on Mr. Pitkin for real!

I picked up the handset, leaned into it and barely whispered “Hello?”

“What’d you hang up on me for?” he said. “Ah, it’s a long story, a very boring story,” I said.

“Well, we’re bringing out your book in hardback and bumping back our memoir piece on Dale Earnhardt (he’d been tragically killed), to make ROSEFLOWER CREEK the lead book. What do you think of that?”

I was hyperventilating and finding it impossible to speak. I did my best. “Didn’t you say fiction was a crap shoot?” I asked.

“Yes—and it is,” he said.

“Then I think you’re crazy or my protagonist got herself a miracle. What do you think of that?”

Mr. Pitkin laughed and said he’d be seeing me. This is a true story and a pretty amazing way to get published. I should have known there’d be rocky roads ahead. It brings to mind the old adage if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Oh well, maybe after the storms pass, I’ll find a rainbow. One can always hope. In the interim I’ve got everything crossed, including the hair on my husband’s head—all three strands.

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To learn more about J.L. and her books, please visit her website.