Author: Lynne Cantwell

Lynne Cantwell grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She worked as a broadcast journalist for many years; she has written for CNN, the late lamented Mutual/NBC Radio News, and a bunch of radio and TV news outlets you have probably never heard of, including a defunct wire service called Zapnews. But she began as a fantasy writer (in the second grade), and is back at it today. She currently lives near Washington, DC. Learn more about Lynne at her blog and at her Amazon author page.

My Best-Ever Author Weekend

Lynne Cantwell medium shotI don’t mean to brag, but I had 850 people show up at my first book signing.

Okay, they might have been there to see Gene Wolfe, or Stephen R. Donaldson, or Elizabeth Bear, or Peter Straub, or Patricia McKillip, or…well, you get the idea. But I was there, too!

“There” was the 2010 World Fantasy Convention, in Columbus, Ohio. This annual convention travels to various venues around the world – last year’s was in Brighton, England – and is geared toward speculative fiction in general and fantasy in particular. Membership is capped at 850, and many of the attendees are authors, agents, and editors.

I went with friends, and we all went because Donaldson was going to be there. But one of the questions on the sign-up form was, “Are you an author?” I’d just had my first novel published by a small press, so I checked “yes” and put in the Calderwood Books website since I didn’t have one of my own yet. Not only did they believe me, but they put me on a panel. And they let me sign books with the big guys on Friday night. Continue reading “My Best-Ever Author Weekend”

Choices in Publishing: Paperbacks

publish buttonFor the past two weeks, I’ve been writing about choices for indies who want to publish their work as an eBook. But nothing beats the rush of holding in your hot little hand an actual, physical, dead-tree book with your name on the cover. Particularly if you’re planning to do book signings or any other type of personal appearance, a paperback edition of your book is essential.

Authors who want to create a paperback edition have several publishing options. But first and foremost: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH A VANITY PUBLISHER. Here at Indies Unlimited, we have had our fill of stories about these vultures, which sometimes also call themselves hybrid publishers. They prey on newbie authors with their slick websites. They say they will take you under their wing and do everything you don’t know how to do, from editing your book to promoting it. It sounds terrific. But their editing work is often substandard, their promotional efforts are slim to nonexistent, and their contracts are extremely difficult to get out of. And they will charge you hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of doing this to you. The saddest part is that in today’s publishing climate, you can do everything yourself, for free or cheap. I don’t know about you, but free and cheap are my two favorite prices. This article will show you how to spot a scam.

The following three print-on-demand services are the ONLY ones we can recommend. And even then, there’s a caveat. Continue reading “Choices in Publishing: Paperbacks”

Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part 2

publish buttonLast week, we talked about publishing your ebook by uploading your file to a distributor such as Smashwords or Draft 2 Digital. There are valid arguments for letting a distributor do the job for you. For one thing, you only have to upload to one place (well, two places – more on that in a sec), which means that you only have to prep one electronic version of your book. And when you need to correct the inevitable typos, you only have to upload the corrected file to one place.

But there are disadvantages, too. For example, a distributor won’t pay you for your sales until the merchant has paid them, and merchants don’t update the distributor in real time. For another, you are going to get a smaller royalty if you use a distributor, because the distributor is going to take their cut before they pay you. Let’s use Barnes & Noble as an example. If you upload your book directly to Nook Press, B&N will pay you 65 percent of your list price (assuming your list price is between $2.99 and $9.99). If you put Smashwords in the middle, B&N will pay Smashwords 65 percent of your list price; Smashwords will pay you 60 percent of list, and keep the other 5 percent for its trouble. And while Smashwords pays quarterly – and must wait for B&N to report sales to them first – Nook Press pays 60 days after you’ve made a sale (although, like Smashwords, you must accumulate $10 in sales before they’ll pay you anything).

You should also keep in mind that you’re going to have to prepare a separate file for Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) anyway, because KDP doesn’t play nice with any distributors. So you may decide that it’s worth the hassle to cut out the middleman and prepare separate files for each retailer. Your call.

Let’s run down the Big Five: Continue reading “Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part 2”

Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part One

publish buttonCongrats! You’ve finished your book! Your editor and beta readers have worked their magic, you have a kickass cover and an awesome blurb, and your ARC readers are ready to post their reviews as soon as you push the “do it” button and release your book.

The question is which “do it” button to use. The good news is that you don’t have to pick just one; you can mix and match, depending on how many ways you want readers to be able to buy your books. And the choice you make now doesn’t have to be your final answer; if your book isn’t performing on a particular platform, you can bail out and try something else.

But there are a few things to keep in mind when you’re making your initial choice. I’m going to cover eBook publishing options today, because I happen to think eBooks are quicker and easier than print. (Your mileage may vary, of course.) We’ll get to the options for dead-tree books later this month. Continue reading “Choices for Publishing: eBooks, Part One”