Business As Usual: An Insider's Look at Publishing

I think publishing has changed in ways that we haven’t begun to come to grips with. The changing landscape of the media-intensive culture we live in necessitates that we become content providers in ways we didn’t need to worry about even five years ago. While that’s exciting, on the one hand, on the other I find it, frankly, daunting.

So here is Aunt Noony’s down-and-dirty look at publishing, from my perspective. The biggest change I’ve seen is the eclipse of New York traditional publishing by the digital-first providers, which then turned so-called “traditional” publishers into digital-first by necessity. But what does all that bla-bla mean?

I’m going to pretend for a moment that my reader is a reader, and not an author, just so we can all get on the same page. To writers of my acquaintance, and at writing conferences, the term “New York,” “traditional publishing,” and even, sometimes, “real publishing” is used to mean the big houses, or “the Big Five”: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Penguin, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Technically, as of November, 2012, it’s the big four, since Penguin and Random House merged.

Digital-first is a term used to refer to houses that publish books in digital form first, and was coined as a way to step away from the idea that publishers that started out as e-publishers were simply “small presses.” Small press is a publishing house that releases a limited number of titles in a year, usually to specific market segments. Before the advent of digital publishing, authors really only had two possible markets: try to get into one of the big houses, or choose a small press and potentially smaller sales. (It’s worth noting that not all small presses mean smaller sales and not all “big five” contracts translate to big money.)

In 2010, Amazon announced that ebooks sold more than hardcovers, which shocked many people in the industry and observing it. (WSJ and NYT stories.)  Would that spell the end of traditional (i.e. paper) publishing? Speculation ran high as to when paper would end, how it would end, and how large a piece of the pie ebooks would consume. Fast forward to January 2013 and ebooks are an established part of the marketplace and a large portion of the reading public doesn’t know what they did before their e-reader. That’s not to say books in paper form are gone, but the trend is clear: ebook sales are growing, paper sales are flat or declining across all sectors, and New York houses have paid attention. The Big Five have started putting real money behind their ebook initiatives and digital-first publishing has hit the mainstream.

I could speculate as to what I think will happen in the next two years, but I don’t think that adds to the discussion. What will be, will be. My job, as an author and content provider, is to write the content, not worry about the channel. I need to understand the channel, but I don’t need to worry about it. The changes in the channel don’t change the fundamental nature of what I do as a writer: I still craft stories. How they get from my mind to the reader’s mind is not as important as that they get written first.

At the risk of sounding like I’m contracting myself, I do think it’s incumbent on us as authors to pay attention to the changes in the marketplace and to understand the channel. As interested readers, we can follow it as well, if for nothing else than to be witness to the greatest shift in media consumption since the printing press. So here’s what I’m going to do instead of make predictions. I’m going to show you a window into the predictions of the “big boys.”

While any publicly-traded company that trades on an exchange in the United States is required to disclose a ton of information on a regular basis, I found that none of the Big Five are publicly traded (though a couple parent companies of the publishers are). If the company is private it’s a little harder to get information on their official opinions, but you can always start by visiting their website and digging around.

Yahoo Finance and Morningstar have a wealth of information available, as does Bloomberg Online. Using the Big Five as an illustration:

1. Hachette Book Group is now a private company. more>>
   
2. HarperCollins is now part of Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp. more>>
3. Penguin and Random House merged in November, 2012, creating the largest publisher of consumer books. The merger still has to be approved because of ongoing litigation against Penguin for price-fixing of ebooks. more>>
4. Simon & Schuster is a part of CBS. more>>

Barnes and Noble and Amazon are publicly traded, however, and their quarterly reports to Wall Street and investors are archived on Morningstar. I recommend you check them out.

1. Amazon.com; Ticker Symbol AMZN; Q3 2012 Earnings Call Transcript
   (Q4 comes out the end of January, 2013; keep your eyes peeled for the transcript)
2. Barnes & Noble, Inc.; Ticker Symbol BKS; Q2 2013 Earnings Call Transcript

I suppose, in closing, I will leave you with the thought that as authors, we must understand that we are, also, in the publishing business. The better we can understand that business, the better – more effective – we can participate.

What questions do you have about the publishing industry in general or any of the specifics I’ve included above? Don’t be shy. It’s a complex subject, but we can figure it out together.

Write on!

--
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”
- E.E. Cummings

My links: Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | LinkedIn | Pandora
Knoontime Knitting: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Ravelry
Noon and Wilder links: Blog | Website | Facebook
The Writer Zen Garden: The Writers Retreat Blog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter
Team Blogs: Nightlight | Nightlight FB Page | Beyond the Veil | BtV FB Page | LGBT Fantasy Fans and Writers | LGBTFFW FB Page
Publishers: Samhain Publishing | Torquere Press

Check out BURNING BRIGHT, available from Samhain Publishing.
Check out EMERALD FIRE, available from Torquere Books.
Check out "Taking a Chance", part of the Charity Sips 2012 to benefit NOH8, available from Torquere Books.
Watch for COOK LIKE A WRITER, coming February 2013 from the Guerrilla Chicks.
Watch for TIGER TIGER, coming July, 2013, from Samhain Publishing.

Changing face of Romance

I've been wracking my brain trying to think of something insightful to say on this subject, which hasn't already been said by the other awesome members of this blog.

When I first sold, first started in this industry it was to Ellora's Cave. An e-publisher and for so long I wasn't recognized as a "real" author. I wasn't published in what the RWA calls, New York.

It was disheartening to say the least, but I loved writing for Ellora's Cave. I love writing erotic romance.

Still, I had many people look down their nose at me. I wasn't a real author. Wasn't it cute I was just dabbling in a hobby. Wasn't it sweet that I thought I was a "real" author.

Now it seems the literary worlds is EXPLODING with e-publishing. I see e-readers wherever I go and now those same naysayers are scrambling to get a piece or a foothold in this fast-paced industry.

I started in this industry in 2006, being published in 2007. It's been interesting to watch the changes and exciting too.

I can't wait to see where we'll be in another five years. Heck, with the way things are changing so fast, I can't wait to see where we'll be tomorrow.

Interview with Tori Scott

Today, an interview with best-selling Indie-author, Tori Scott.

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

The first one I wrote was way back in grade school. Needless to say that one doesn't really count. Then I wrote one called Goddess of Fire back in 1992 after a trip to Hawaii. It's still buried in the bowels of an old Word processor that I'm afraid to throw away in case I ever figure out how to retrieve the contents.

What led you to try your hand at Indie-publishing?

I'm a member of a group comprised of 2003 Golden Heart Finalists. Several of them were braver than I was and launched their Indie careers in 2010. They were having great success and it got me excited about writing for the first time in a few years. I wanted to try it and see if I could do it.

Would you recommend the Indie-route for everyone? If not, why?

For really good writers, yes. By that I mean those who know how to write a full novel, don't need a heavy-handed editor, don't need a lot of proof-reading. Those who have written several novels. Until a writer has reached that point, they still need the guidance of an experienced editor. But for those who've written several, have gotten good feedback on them from editors and agents but just can't get their foot in the door, it's a great opportunity.

Where do your ideas come from?

I have no idea. Most of my ideas come out of the blue as I'm laying down at night. Lines of dialogue start running through my head and before I know it, I'm back at the computer typing as fast as I can to get it all down. I'll usually write 5 pages or so before I can go back to sleep.

How did you come up with the idea for Superstition?

During a visit to California, we were standing on the Santa Monica pier and the wind was blowing really hard. The though popped into my head that it would be really hard to scatter someone's ashes in that kind of wind and...voila, a story was born.

Do you have any more paranormal romances in the works or finished?

Not at the moment, but there will be.

Will there be a sequel to Superstition?

Yes, that's second in line after I write the sequel to Blame it on Texas. Can't wait.


To learn more about Tori and her writing, visit her on the web at: Tori Tells All

Now, an excerpt from Tori's exciting paranormal romance.

Superstition:

Team Indigo

PROLOGUE

Gage Deveraux curled his fingers around the amulet, felt the incredible energy sealed within the hammered brass, and shuddered. In the wrong hands... He would just have to make sure it didn’t fall into the wrong hands. “Thank you,” he said to the old cleric who had placed it in his hands with great care. “I will guard it with my life.”

“No!” the old man shouted. “Do not guard it. Destroy it. Take it away in your helicopter and drop it into the depths of the ocean. Do not keep it. It will destroy you.”

But Gage didn’t hear him over the roar of the blades that churned up the desert sand and flung it into his face. He waved and jogged toward the chopper, scrambling aboard as it lifted into the air and swung away towards the base camp.

He settled into the seat next to the pilot and watched as the old man grew smaller, merely a speck against the sand. Something nagged at him, but he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. How had the old man known he’d be in this place, at this time? Why had he entrusted him with an ancient Babylonian treasure that supposedly held such tremendous power? And what was he going to do with it, now that he had it?

“ETA twenty-seven minutes, Captain,” the pilot said through the headset.

Gage nodded without taking his eyes off the amulet. It still pulsed within his hand. Heat radiated from it, warming the skin of his palm. Maybe the best thing would be to destroy it so that no one could ever attempt to use its power. But this entire mission was about stopping those who were stripping Iraq of treasures just like this one. He would be going against orders if he destroyed it.

Still, even a strong man could be tempted by power such as this...


CHAPTER ONE

It was a terrible day to scatter ashes. The night was rainy and cold, miserable with the storm whipping the ocean into waves that thundered and crashed against the shore behind her. But Caitlyn Deveraux had missed the last two chances because she hadn’t been ready to let Gage go. Now that she’d made up her mind, it had to be tonight.
She couldn’t stand to look at the urn on her mantle until the next full moon. A full moon, exactly at sunset. He’d left precise instructions in his will.

Standing at the end of the Santa Monica pier, Caitlyn clutched the cold brass vase to her chest as a gust of wind tried to blow her back from the railing, yanking at her coat and tossing her hair around her face. She brushed it out of her eyes and tucked the strands beneath her collar. The rain soaked her face, mixing with the tears on her cheeks, numbing them. Cold. So damned cold. Drawing on the courage of her ancestors, even though she continued to pretend they didn’t exist, she removed the lid and looked inside. Ashes. All that was left of Gage. All that was left of her family. Of her life.

It was time.

Caitlyn leaned over the railing, fighting the dizziness. She hated heights, even though there was a sturdy rail between her and the water, and only her love for Gage kept her in place. It took two tries to let him go. Before she could lose courage again, she turned the urn upside down, shook it, and spoke the strange words he’d written. Words of the Anasazi, the lost ones--who couldn’t be lost enough as far as she was concerned.

As his remains drifted toward the ocean, a gale-force gust of wind took her breath away. The ashes blew back in her face and she gasped, inhaling the acrid residue.

Caitlyn dumped the last of the ashes from the urn and fled, gagging, back across the pier, stumbling along the boardwalk to her car.

Oh God. To breathe in her brother’s ashes...

She wrenched the door open and grabbed her water bottle to rinse her mouth. Not enough. When she tried to take a drink, a coughing fit sent the water spraying across the driver’s seat.

Caitlyn dropped the bottle and collapsed in a heap on the ground, giving in to tears until she had none left to shed.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been there, but the moon was full and rising when she heard the scuff of shoes and whisper of fabric. She forced her eyes open to find a man in a dark suit towering over her. He crouched beside her and she cowered against the cold steel of her vehicle.

Where had he come from? Could she make it into her car before he could grab her? No, there was no way. She had to get on her feet. She was at too much of a disadvantage on the ground.

“Are you all right? May I help you in any way?” His voice was deep, husky, concerned. He didn’t look like a man intent on hurting her. But you couldn’t go by looks.

“No.” She shook her head and sat up straighter. Trying to appear confident and unafraid, she maneuvered to her knees. “I’m fine. Really. Just got a...a little emotional.”

“Ah, I understand.” He picked up the urn, rubbing it between his hands. “It is very difficult, saying goodbye. A family member?”

She shoved her hair back from her face and tried to stand. His hand immediately appeared and she looked at it, weighing the risk. No, better to avoid contact. She ignored his silent offer of help and pushed to her feet. “My brother.”

“I am so sorry. It is hard to lose someone so young.”

“Yes, it is. He was only thirty.” Her voice broke on a sob and the man offered her a crisp white handkerchief. “Thank you.” She mopped her cheeks and handed it back.

He refolded it and held it toward her face. “Lick this.”

“What?”

“You have smudges on your cheeks. I was simply going to wipe them away.”

Not a chance. He seemed harmless enough, but still...“I have a water bottle in the car.” Caitlyn pulled it out and squirted the last few drops of water onto the cloth, leaned over to look in the side mirror, and scrubbed at her cheek.

“Much better,” he said. Before she could move, he reached out and lifted the chain around her neck. “This is an interesting necklace.”

“Thank you.” God, she had to get away before she completely fell to pieces. “I have to go. Thank you for being so kind.” She gave him a small smile, climbed into her Ford Focus, and shut the door. Damn, she’d left the window down earlier. Before she could start the car and roll it up, the man laid his hand on the open window frame. Nerves hummed throughout her body and she berated herself for not being more diligent about her safety on this isolated stretch of coastal highway.

“I will follow you to see that you get home safely,” he said.

“No!” She struggled to control her voice, to not show how terrified she was. “No, please. That isn’t necessary. I’ll be fine. Thank you again, but I don’t want to trouble you any further.”

Caitlyn started the car and drove away. When she checked her rearview mirror, he was nothing more than a dark shadow outlined by the full moon. She stepped on the accelerator, picking up speed to put more distance between them. Now that she was safe, she wondered who he was. He reminded her of Jamir. He had that same intense gaze through eyes dark as pitch, the same ability to approach without making a sound.

A set of headlights followed her for miles along the coast, through the outskirts of Los Angeles, and even through the streets of Pasadena. Or maybe it was just her imagination. There were hundreds of cars on the highway, so what made her think it was the man from the beach?

Instinct. Stronger than she’d ever felt it before. But she couldn’t tell if he was watching over her, or if he meant to hurt her. She thought it was the former, but her instincts had been wrong before. She didn’t know if she should trust them now.

He stayed a couple of car lengths back, neither threatening nor comforting.

“You remind me a lot of your brother.” The voice echoed in her head, but sounded as though it came from inside the car.

She jerked the wheel. Who said that? Horns blared all around her and she realized she’d swerved into another lane.

“Whoa. Careful. Can’t afford to lose you now that I’ve found you. Settle down. You’re almost home.”

Who the hell was that? She looked in the rear view mirror, over the back seat. No one, yet the voice had been distinctly masculine, and it was close. Very close. Almost right inside her head.

“There, that’s better. Now, take it easy and pay attention to your driving. Then maybe we will both arrive in one piece.”

Nausea clawed at her stomach and her hands trembled. Think. What would Gage do? If someone followed him, he’d lose the tail by cutting through alleys and side streets. As long as she was on the freeway, she was easy to track.
Having a plan helped her push the fear aside. She could do this.

Her right foot punched the gas pedal and her car shot off the highway at the next exit, cutting off a car as she changed lanes. Her pulse kicked into overdrive, pounding in her temples. She heard tires squeal behind her, the clash of metal against metal. “Take that, you son of a bitch.”



Tori's giving away a free download of Superstition to one of our lucky BTV readers. Just leave a comment to this post, and make sure we have your email address. One winner will be chosen at random.

To buy Superstition, visit one of the following links:


Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

No matter where we are, writers are always alone when we write.

Publishing is changing. There are more options now. Paper (hardback, mass market, or trade), electronic, both. Big Six traditional publishing, smaller publishers, tiny publishers, self publishing (AKA indie). So many choices! And the writer may feel more confused and alone than at any other time since the Gutenberg Press was invented.  

Yet we are alone, each of us, when we create our writing. Right now, I’m sitting at the dining table and my husband is three feet away (tiny apartment) playing with his new Wii. But I’m alone in my head. I’m thinking of you, my readers as I write this, but if I were writing fiction, I would be alone with my characters.  That has not—and will never—change. It all begins with a lone creative being quill/pen/pencil in hand, scrawling words across a page. Or that lone creative being typing words that appear on paper or screen. Technology changes, but the process remains the same. Somehow a seemingly normal person sees pictures in her (or his) head and manages to transfer these pictures into words on a page/screen. This process isn’t understood by scientists, and I don’t think it ever will be. 

You see, I believe this transfer of pictures in a writer’s head to something that readers can read and enjoy is magic. Yes, I said it magic. And I’m simply fortunate (or unfortunate!) to be one of those people. Sometimes I feel the weight of this gift. When I want to give up. When I worry I can’t do this thing, something inside me whispers, “It isn’t yours to give up.” The next thing I know, I find myself writing in spite of myself. Because if the magic is in you, it’s gonna come out. The best thing to do is to enjoy the ride.

Have a great week!

Cheryel

www.cheryelhutton.com

A convoluted journey into the Indie-tide

Let's start off by admitting it took me a long time to come over to the digital side of publishing. My journey has been, um, not quite a straight line? More like a spiraling op-art piece.

I started the road to publication with a complete manuscript -- SECRETS AND SHADOWS. An editor for a particular Harlequin line -- yes, the heart of category romance -- loved it. But. That was a BIG but. I revised. Waited. Waited. Heard she left the house. Sobbed. Waited some more. Got a lovely rejection letter from her successor.

The entire process? About a year and a half, maybe two. It's all a blur. But I remember it felt as if I had flushed a big chunk of my professional life down the drain.

I was left with a good, very polished manuscript that was too short for other houses; one not-great finished historical romance; and several fits, starts, and ideas for stories. What to do?

I heard about Samhain Publishing opening up. I still wasn't sure about "selling out" to publish digitally. BUT, it sounded promising and I refused to rewrite that book for the sake of meeting a word count minimum. My writing friends were excited at the prospect. Most e-pubs at that time seemed strictly aimed at erotica, so Samhain was something new. They wanted everything!

Long story short... SECRETS was snapped up. I was elated. I then had to explain to my family that yes, I was with a 'real' publisher. Oy. We still go there, believe it or not, three novels later. :P

I had other stories along the route, too. Sweeter, funny stories pubbed with a tiny e-press. It was a great experience and I loved writing those down-to-earth romances. They seemed more 'real' to me -- like old friends. That publisher struggled -- don't all small businesses? -- and finally closed. I was left with more finished stories without a home.

These events -- plus a painful rejection letter, life interference, and a monster case of writer's block -- led me to the Indie-publishing idea.

Re-publish my own work? That's outrageous! Sacrilege! Not to mention narcissistic. I balked at the whole idea, believe me. Until I saw a talented friend take the plunge. And her plunge led to a huge splash as her stories rocketed to the bestsellers' lists on Amazon. It changed her life. Literally.

Wow. That's pretty cool. Could I dare? I mean I'm a good writer. I have these polished stories ready to go. Hmmm....

Yep, I dared. Not many houses want to re-pub stories by a virtual unknown. Don't blame them, really, it's a business. And so I jumped in to the Indie world, with my friend's guidance. Just ankle deep, however, I'm a cautious swimmer.

I wish I could say my wading turned into a tidal wave of sales. It hasn't. But I'm okay with that, really. I know there are a lot of ebooks out there. A LOT. And readers are understandably cautious about spending their money on the unknown quantity.

What have I learned in my journey? A few things:

#1) Write what you love, not what you think will sell. Otherwise you'll lose your love for it. Why bother writing if you wind up hating the job?

#2) Publisher's may be necessary for many of us. We don't all have the resources, patience, talents, knowledge and connections to do it all on our own. But if you decide to try the Indie-route. Do it right. Don't sidestep and do NOT put out an inferior quality product. Readers will notice.

#3) The publishing business is a living entity, changing and growing dramatically along with technology. It's exciting and scary all at once. It allows us to find otherwise undiscovered talented writers. Let's face it -- publishers can only put out so many books a year. They have to be selective. They have to pick and choose. If a story doesn't make the cut, maybe it's just the market and not the story or writing. How many times was Harry Potter rejected? Think about it.


Instant gratification is a very seductive beast. It's hard not to find a thrill in publishing a story one day; selling copies the next; and receiving monetary rewards two months later. In the traditional publishing world, you're lucky to see anything up to a year after the contract dries.

Although it might be tempting to look down our collective noses at independently published authors, we shouldn't. Indie-publishing is NOT narcissistic. It's not evil or lazy. Honestly, there's much more work involved for the writer who publishes their own books. I've also seen that this route is sometimes the only way really good stories by good writers can get a chance.

If you're willing to work and the traditional road seems too daunting, too limiting, or has failed you one too many times: check out the Indie-tide. It's a little dark and murky. It's a little frightening. But there are many resources and folks to help along the way. Whatever road to publication you choose to follow, just remember:

Success rarely happens overnight.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well.
If you need to write, do it. Never give up. Eventually you'll find your audience.

~~Meg Allison

Indulge your senses...
www.megallisonauthor.com

Aunt Noony's Inside Look at Publishing

It’s funny, I don’t really think of myself as being “inside publishing,” or inside the ebook publishing industry, but since I have a book out with a major digital-first press I suppose to others that I might be considered at least “published,” if not on the “inside track.”

So how’s the view from here?

The more I know, the more I learn that I need to know. As much as I know about writing (active voice, action tags, story craft), I find I still have more to practice. Each time I go through a manuscript to edit, I think, “This is the time, it’ll be so clean I won’t have to touch a thing.”

I’m wrong. Routinely.

Humbling experience, that.

Each time I think I “know about the ebook publishing industry,” someone will mention a new-to-me publisher that’s been in business for years. It’s not that they’re so small I’ve never heard of them, it’s that I’m not well versed enough on the businesses playing in the industry yet.

So here’s what I do know:

Concentrate on the basics and on what you can control.

1. Write daily or as often as you can. There are many prompts available on the internet (type “writing prompts” into Google and poke around). Experiment with a new one every day for a month. Write with a pen and write on the computer, see how the different mechanics work with your creative process.

2. Practice your writing skills. Get a book on grammar from the library or buy yourself a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Wrestle with comma usage and the dreaded semicolon; become an expert in verb tenses. Learn about the “story arc” and the seven traditional plots. Get yourself a copy of Fiction Writers Workshop by Josip Novakovich or take a fiction class through a local writing group.

3. Meet other writers. Find writing friends online through magazines like Writer’s Digest or The Writer, and make local connections using your local newspaper or Meetup. Exposure to others working on the same things you are is helpful for the learning process and can also inspire you to try new things.

4. Attend regional writing conferences or even a national one. My own writing organization, Evanston Writers Workshop, holds our annual conference very year during the third weekend of August. We bring in authors, publishers, agents, and have an awesome time learning and playing with words for three days.  There's a lot you can learn about traditional publishing and the ebook publishing industry, and how the interrelate and augment each other from the authors' perspective.  It's no longer enough to ignore ebooks; we as authors need to understand it because that's how a lot of newer authors are being published.

5. Stay humble. No matter how much you know or learn, remember there’s always someone out there that can teach you something. Be teachable.

6. Keep writing. Through it all, remember to keep writing. This is surprisingly easy to forget, in fact. I meet writers through Evanston Writers Workshop who have all sorts of dearly-held opinions about publishing and writing, but when asked what they’re working on, the answers “oh, this manuscript I’ve been writing for twenty years.” One manuscript for twenty years is not a good track record for knowing the publishing industry. One of our speakers, author Jody Lynn Nye, has published over forty books and over a hundred short stories.  I think THAT is the track record of someone who knows the publishing industry, don't you?  Everyone has opinions, and it’s easy to forget that our job description is “writer,” not “pontificator” or “prognosticator.” If you have the urge to do either of the latter two things, DO IT ON THE PAGE! Whatever you do, write.

Lots.

Write on!

From the Outside In

Greetings, Kittens!

My fifth release comes out next Friday, ITS SWEETEST FORM, and at least two others will see the light of day this year. That’s seven published works and yet, I can’t tell you a thing about publishing from the inside. Why? Because I’m on the outside of it. And that’s okay.

What puts me on the outside? Well, I don’t have an agent, I haven’t won any contest, I don’t belong to any chapters of anything, and I refuse to stick to a single genre, or to conform to the strictures of the genres I cross into. I write multicultural casts, but I don’t write Ethnic fiction. I write bisexual and sexually fluid characters, but I don’t write LGBTQ fiction. I write polyamory almost exclusively, but I don’t write erotica per se. I write paranormal elements in everything, but the focus is the human story of the non-human characters.

None of this in intentional. Not a single thing. I write the stories I want to read and the stories that I think need to be told. I write them the way I see the world and I don’t know another way to do it. To be honest, I don’t know that I’d want to learn another way if I could. So where does that leave me?

Well, people who love me and get me, REALLY love and get me. People who like me, really like me and seek me out. But people who don’t get me, put up signs and tweak their submission guidelines to keep me and my ilk away. You think I’m kidding...

Publishing is like any other business, they have a product and they have to sell it. The publishers are in competition with each other, so inventive and unique is a bonus. But it’s a very small trip from inventive and unique, to strange and indefinable. A publisher won’t contract what it thinks it can’t market, and therefore sell. For those of us on the outside, that means starting small and building up with proof of sales, or going indie and proving ourselves there.

I’m not the indie type. I appreciate the path and I’m sure there’s an indie release in my future, but I’m not an indie author. I currently lack the editorial skills, or the money to hire those with editorial skills, to turn out a product that does me proud. That means staying in this publishing game of horse shoes and waiting to get close.

So far, I don’t mind the ride. I’m learning every step of the way. I know the when to take criticism that will benefit a story, and when to ignore something that would fundamentally change a manuscript and my voice for the worse. I know the different between someone trying to elevate my work and someone trying to make me a clone of something easier to market. And that’s valuable, all of it. The process, even at it’s most subjective, adds something to the author every time, be it strength, patience, perseverance or plot ideas. Taken in the right stride, even with rejection, you walk away with more than you had before you began. And write to get better, right?

Seeya on the inside, Kittens!

~X

2012: Where is YA going? (and how will it get there?)

Hi all! I hope you had a great holiday season, and are looking toward 2012 with great hope. I know I am. I was drowning in a sea of deadlines, wrapping paper, and lesson plans last month, but with a nice holiday break, I feel better.

So, I guess in January we're talking about publishing. Which is always kind of interesting, at least to me. In fact I just had a conversation with my agent about what publishers seem to be looking for and what they're tired of, at least in YA. Based on that, and the state of the industry talk I heard back in June at the NJSCBWI conference, which corroborates what my agent told me, here's what's Hot and what's Not in YA for 2012:

NOT:
Vampires and Werewolves. As if there was any doubt in our minds. Apparently agents and editors alike are sick to death (pardon the pun) of bloodsuckers and werewolves, and of course the flood of Twilight clones that have been coming across their desks.

Paranormal in general is also said to be on the way out, but who knows?

Dystopian: This is not to say there's still not a market for a really good, original dystopian, but again, the flood of books and manuscripts trying to ride the coattails of The Hunger Games has editors pining for something maybe a little less apocalyptic. Lighten up, people.

Historical Fiction:  it's not really anything currently flooding the market, but straight-up historical fiction (NOT historical romance or fantasy) is almost always a tough sell. The market share is small, and it must be meticulously researched and impeccably written.

Fallen Angels: After Hush, Hush, and a bunch of other stories about angels, I've heard editors say they're tired of seeing those stories. But that's not to say that the right story wouldn't find a home.

Super-dark stories: I'm hearing that editors are looking for a little bit of hope, a little bit of light, and less...death, despondence, and despair.

And it goes without saying that stories about The Chosen One, wizard boarding schools, and any other number of Harry Potter repeats is probably on this list. At least for now.

HOT:

Steampunk: hot and getting hotter. The neo-Victorian historical fantasy genre has taken off, bolstered by novels like Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, Scott Westerfield's Leviathan series, and the upcoming The Unnaturalists, by Tiffany Trent. With no clear mega-hit to spawn a bunch of clones, and as long as there are a good long list of different and original stories, Steampunk doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon.

Re-told Fairy Tales: Just after I started writing Smoke and Mirrors,  the fairy tale retelling/steampunk novel that snagged me my agent, I discovered a whole host of re-issued, re-vamped, re-imagined fairy tales lining the shelves. Apparently this trend hasn't quite run its course yet, fortunately for me.

YA Romance: Romance is always hot, and there seems to be a surge in romance for Young Adults.

Upbeat contemporary: There seems to be a need for really fun, upbeat, coming-of-age but having a good time doing it stories. Go figure.

Mermaids: I have no idea where this trend is now. It seemed to be picking up steam last year, but I think it's sputtered out. I read a couple of mermaid books, and very few of them caught my fancy.


And the one thing that is always hot:

A good story.

Don't take this list as gospel. Don't write to fit a market trend, because by the time you are done, the trend will be over. MAKE the next trend. Write the story you want to write, the best you know how to write it. That's how YA is going to move forward.

Happy Reading!