Looking Into The Crystal Ball

Our theme, where publishing is going, is pretty much anybody's guess. Back when I started writing, paper books and magazines were the only way to go. Okay, I admit I still love the feel and smell of a paper book. But things have changed rapidly in the last few years, and not only with publishing. Remember Superman ducking into a phone booth to change? No matter how smart a phone is, it won't offer cover for costume donning. Now almost everybody has a cell phone—and they can be life saving in an emergency. Which is why I got my, not smart, cell in the first place.
I have to be honest, I was dragged into the computer age kicking and screaming. My first encounter with a computer terrified me. I was sure I'd push the wrong button and blow the entire building to smithereens. Slowly I learned to use the thing, and then I began to like the thing. Today, my laptop and I have a love-hate relationship. I love what it does, but sometimes I want to throw it out the window.
The same is true of electronic publishing. Yes, I was once one of those paper snobs who believed e-publishing wasn't REAL publishing. Once  again, time proved me wrong. Today I've had short stories, novellas, and novels published electronically. And I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. Electronic is the way to go.
Does that mean I believe the future will be paperless? That all reading material will be electronic? Let me look into my crystal ball and tell you.
I see electronic publishing growing and changing in ways we can't imagine right now, and in many ways staying the same—a different version of paper books and magazines. Paper isn't going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. There are too many people who prefer paper, and who dislike or even hate computers and spinoffs like tablets and e-readers. Still, e-books are going to be a bigger and bigger part of the publishing pie. I have two books available in both paper and electronic formats. The e-books outsell the paper by a huge margin, and I hear the same from my writer friends.
It's hard to believe, but electronic reading material is only a few years old. Try to remember that when you see typos and format issues in e-books. We as authors, and our publishers, are still learning. And besides, NY Times bestselling hardcovers have typos too.
It's true, you know, sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Have a great week!
Cheryel
www.cheryelhutton.com

Read an E-Book Week!

March 8-14 is Read an E-Book Week!

To celebrate, head over to the Samhain Cafe for Reader Appreciation Week and comment to win free e-books!

Times and technology are changing -- and changing quickly. While e-books have been around for several years, it took the marketing savvy of the folks at Amazon to really bring the idea to the public marketplace.

Now the big debate isn't paper or plastic, it's Kindle or Sony. The ladies at Dear Author regularly post about e-reading technology and their most recent post, How to Decide Between the Sony and the Kindle eInk Readers, is merely the latest in an ongoing debate.

If the nifty gadgets don't convince you, how about this article from EPublishers Weekly called 30 Benefits of EBooks. Top of the list? Ebooks promote reading at a time when people spend more time in front of screens, than in front of books. Also, they're environmentally friendly.

John Siracuse of Ars Technica gives a clear-eyed view of the changing face of e-book technology over the years with The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age.

For writers debating the merits of e-book vs traditional publishing, please keep in mind that, as Angela James notes in this article, A Different Way Isn't the Wrong Way.

However you choose to read, remember that the platform isn't the most important thing. It's All About the Story.

ETA: Head over the Barbaray Vey's Beyond Her Book blog at Publisher's Weekly. It's her 2nd anniversary bash and she'll be giving away a ton of books every day this week! Today is Paranormal Romance day, so you'll see lots of familiar names.

The Perfect Christmas Present...

This is a tough holiday shopping season. With the evening news reporting depressing news, it makes it hard to consider buying gifts. It makes us all more conservative with our spending.

But, it’s still Christmas and I have a suggestion. Don’t know what to get that special someone? BOOKS!

Yep. Books.

And if you’re feeling especially generous this year, you might want to look at those glossy big ticket items associated with them – Ereaders. Both Sony and Amazon have very nice readers worth a look if you’re in the market for one.

The great thing about Books as gifts is that there’s something out there for everyone. There’s men’s fiction and women’s fiction, nonfiction, and children’s picture books and chapter books. If you’re not sure what to get? Try a giftcard to your favorite retailer – or an ebookstore. There are more than just Sony and Amazon ebookstores, too. *coughSamhaincough*

And the best part? It won’t break the bank and provide hours of entertainment.

I know, I hear the grumbling. I’m an author, so of course I’ll say buy books. But you know something?

Before I was an author, I was a reader. My husband bought me my first electronic reader in 2001. Between you and me, I think it was his way of escaping the inevitable hours of waiting while I browsed the bookstore. My Gemstar meant he could stay home and watch television while I browsed the bookstore from the comfort of the couch…and he didn’t have to cringe at the cashier while he paid the bill. When the Sony Reader first hit the market, he somehow managed to find one after trying to order from Sony and told the best they could hope for was Valentine delivery instead of Christmas.

I don’t know how he found it, but I cried when I opened it because I was so excited. And if he wants to make me smile, he’ll slip a Sony Connect Store gift card into a card and mail it to me.

Why? Because giving me books means he knows me…and loves me enough to indulge my hobby. But more than that, he knows that a book is an evening of escapism from the trials of motherhood, career, and the general chaos that stresses us all out every day. It’s his way of saying that he wants me to take a moment to myself because he knows it’s those private moments to regroup that make me a better wife and mother.

So, consider adding the bookstore to your last minute shopping stops. Someone on your list might be hoping that you’ll think of it…

Going Electronic: Writing Contests

I just wound up our local RWA Chapter's first chapter contest as the coordinator. It was my first year to be the woman behind the curtain, and with a few small exceptions, the whole contest ran smoothly and was a great experience, hopefully for everyone involved. One of our final round judges even requested some full manuscripts, which is the best part of all. All that's left for me to do is to post our talented winners on the website and send them their prizes--and we give money, not jewelry!

There are so many RWA chapter contests right now. RWA chapters have to make enough funds to stay afloat, pay RWA dues, rent meeting space, etc., and contests are the moneymaker du jour. I tweaked ours in hopes of making it stand out. After the first-round finalists were announced, I expressed the scoresheets to them and offered to give any of the finalists who were interested a bonafide "Grammar Wenching" (that would be me) so they could use the scoresheets, my reactions, and their own gut to revise the entry one last time before we sent it to the final round judges--the industry professionals. Hey, two fulls got requested, so maybe our revision period benefitted them.

Anyhow, we're deciding how to improve our contest even more next year. I've already agreed to coordinate again, but there are more changes afoot. For next year our chapter is considering going electronic. I thought I'd bring some of the benefits and detractors to the Beyond the Veil cyber-table, since many of our bloggers and readers are quite familiar with the ins and outs of reading electronic fiction. But first, a few facts about our chapter so you'll understand what our constraints are:

1) The contest is our primary moneymaker aside from dues, and entries are down. We are faced with reducing services to members, primarily our awesome member retreat.

2) Although a small chapter, we use *all* in-chapter judges. This limits how many entries and categories we can have, but we decided this was a necessary evil. That way we can train all first round judges and we know where they LIVE *heh heh heh*.

3) We have a diverse membership, as do all chapters, from complete newbies, to a granny who writes some of the hottest erotica ever, to a lady minister, to a New York Times best-selling author or two.

4) We have 3 categories (contemporary, historical, paranormal), take 25 pages with no synopsis, and make an effort to find appropriate first-round judges if said entry has inspirational content, erotic content, or falls under "romantic elements" instead of straight romance.

So here are the pros and cons we have tossed around about going electronic:

Pros:

1) Saves trees -- paperless entries, maybe paperless responses

2) Saves money -- no postage, printing, etc.

3) Might increase the number of entries since many perceive electronic entry as "easier" or "quicker"

4) Many judges filled out their scoresheets on their computers, anyway

5) It has a hip/modern factor that might attract entrants who would not normally be attracted by our contest

6) I have wanted an excuse for an ultra-huge e-mailbox that can hold a lot more than the 10 MB my regular account allows, so I went ahead and got one. Ok, that's not really a "pro", that's just me being greedy.

Cons:

1) More chances of snafus with format incompatibility between entrant, contest coordinator, and judges

2) Some judges honestly do not enjoy reading on the computer, which means:
a) Will this reduce the number of judges in our limited pool? We don't want to go outside the chapter for judges.
b) Judges already volunteer their time and energy. Is it fair to ask ones who do not enjoy reading on the computer to use their paper and ink to print out the entries?
c) Conversely, is it too expensive for our chapter to print the entries for first-round judges who want to participate but don't enjoy reading on the computer (or can't for whatever reason)?

3) Might increase the number of poorly edited/sloppy entries since it is easier to pop off an email than print out the entry, sweat over the formatting, and find time to go to the post office

What I'm looking for, if you're willing to jump in, is a discussion of the pros and cons of a contest like ours going electronic, maybe a few new pros or cons we haven't considered. Then I can take a fully-fleshed proposal to our chapter board and we can decide what the best route for our chapter is.

Thanks for being my sounding board! (Oh, my local chapter is Music City Romance Writers, http://www.mcrw.com/.)

Jody W.
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--January 29, 2008, Samhain Publishing
http://www.jodywallace.com/ * http://meankittybox.blogspot.com/