Tag: Hugh Howey

LynneQuisition: Hugh Howey and AuthorEarnings.com

Interviews by Lynne CantwellUnless you’ve been off-planet for the past couple of weeks, you have probably heard about bestselling author Hugh Howey’s new website, authorearnings.com. Hugh and an unnamed number cruncher have been studying the bestseller lists at Amazon, and they’ve come up with some pretty amazing numbers. For instance, according to their numbers, indies who write genre fiction are taking home nearly half the author revenue generated by eBook sales on Amazon.

Of course, the blogosphere has blown up since the release of the initial report Feb. 12th. Trad publishing industry apologists like Mike Shatzkin have been loudly dismissive of Hugh and Data Guy’s numbers and methodology, while Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler (among others) have been busy picking apart the critics’ arguments.

In the meantime, Hugh is continuing to work on the project, with the aim of convincing traditional publishers to provide, among other things, more author-friendly contract terms. He has consented to sit in the comfy chair under the hot LynneQuisition lights and tell us a little more about his new venture.

Hugh, thanks very much for stopping by Indies Unlimited. What prompted you to start authorearnings.com? Continue reading “LynneQuisition: Hugh Howey and AuthorEarnings.com”

Self Publishing the Talk of Frankfurt Book Fair

Frankfurt, Germany, Frankfurt Book FairThe Frankfurt Book Fair wrapped up last week, touted as the biggest marketplace in publishing. Well, 300,000 attendees must not be wrong! Perhaps the biggest surprise of the conference was the greater role of self-publishing among the traditional publishing giants.

In fact, an editor from Publishers Weekly proclaimed, “The self publishing discussion is the only conversation we need to be having today.”

Here are some of the important discussion points that culminated with a two-hour panel conversation on self-publishing. Continue reading “Self Publishing the Talk of Frankfurt Book Fair”

Is Success Just Around the Corner?

Rainbow of successHow close are you to success? Do you see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

We never really know, do we? We don’t know what is around the next corner. Just ask someone like Hugh Howey of Wool series fame. In his interview with IU he mentioned that he attributes a lot of his success to “… dumb luck. Things just take off sometimes.”

How do we know if success is just around the corner for ourselves? We don’t. I’m not a Starbucks Coffee fan, but its founder, Howard Schultz, once said, “I believe that life is a series of near misses. A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all.” Continue reading “Is Success Just Around the Corner?”

What’s New From Kobo?

During Book Expo America, I had an opportunity for a little face time with Mark Lefebvre, director of self-publishing and author relations at Kobo. A writer himself, Mark is eager to help improve the experience of authors using Kobo. We talked about some of the new goodies Kobo will be releasing over the next few months to help you get more exposure for your books. Continue reading “What’s New From Kobo?”