Quality Sells Ebooks

Sometimes in the rush to get a book to publication, quality can be compromised. It's especially tempting when self- publishing an ebook because downloading the file and clicking that button are just too easy.

Quality Control Check before publishing:

1. A fully-edited manuscript. (And even then, typos just have a sneaky way of slipping through. Grrr to typos!)

2. Formatting. Pay a professional to have it done right, it's worth it!

3. Cover. Your cover design should reflect the tone and genre of your story. Especially with online sales, the cover can make all the difference. It should look professional.

4. Description. I've seen book descriptions with misspelled words, missing punctuation, poor grammar, and I wonder what the book will read like if so many mistakes slip through a brief paragraph or two. The ideal description will make a person want to pay money for the experience of reading the book.

5. Details. Small details can enrich or (unfortunately) ruin the reading experience. Everything from typos and formatting to how chapter headings are designed, how paragraph breaks are done, whether or not the character names are suited to the story, and even comma usage. One or two departures from standard punctuation won't bother me, but when I'm into an ebook several chapters and notice repeated errors (like commas used for semi-colons and semi-colons for commas) it's a huge distraction.

A book must be so well-written, so thoroughly edited, so polished and professional that it really is a wonder when anyone tries to do it alone. Very few of the successful self-publishers do. They hire professionals to help them with all parts of the process to get that quality product readers want.

You want book sales? Don't forget the Q word!

Why I'm Not a Fan of the .99 eBook

How to price an ebook? I've read many posts on this topic and considered the variety of opinions. After all the research, it finally hit me why I disagree with pricing ebooks at .99. It occurred to me one day while gazing lovingly at my cookies.

Convenience stores buy my cookies for $1 apiece to resell at $1.59 or $1.79. I make 24 dozen each week, using extra ovens for baking and other techniques to speed up the process without sacrificing quality.

Imagine that each of these cookies represents one book selling on the Kindle for .99. Compare production time of cookies to that of creating a book good enough for people to pay even .99. Scary thought, isn't it?

 Don't forget that Amazon gets 65% of each cookie--er--book, netting you 35 cents per sale. If you went through a publisher they take their cut. Is the solution to self-publish so you get the entire 35 cents? That's what many are saying, but it's still just a pittance for an awful lot of effort and expense.

I wouldn't sell my cookies for .35. If that's all I got, I wouldn't bother. Remember, I sell to the stores for $1 and they add the extra .59 or .79. I, who created the recipe and made the cookies, get the larger cut of the product. I'd be a fool to give the stores over half my profit.

When an ebook is priced for .99, Amazon gets the largest cut because royalty is only 35%. Priced at 2.99 or higher, royalty rate goes to 70%. A Kindle ebook priced for 3.99 earns $2.76 on royalties. Big difference between getting $2.76 for each book sold compared to 35 cents.

Now if I could write 24 dozen quality books a week hahahahahahahaha, I might consider pricing them for .99. But probably not even then, because that's not really .99 it's .35, which is split 50/50 with my publisher.

* So for each .99 book sale on the Kindle, Amazon gets 65 cents, my publisher gets 17 cents and I get 17 cents.

* For each 3.99 book sale on the Kindle, Amazon gets $1.19, my publisher gets $1.40 and I get $1.40.

* $2.99 is the lowest price available to get 70% royalty rate. At that price, Amazon gets 89 cents, my publisher gets $1.05 and I get $1.05.

* I'd have to sell six .99 books to get the same amount of money I get from one sale at $2.99. I'd have to sell eight .99 books to get the same money I'd get from a $3.99 sale.

A .99 promotional price has merit but as a permanent price on one's books? No. I would not do this for 17 cents, not even for 35 cents. At that price, I'm better off making cookies.

On Friday, I'll post about one publisher's experience with pricing ebooks and how price has affected sales.

The Future is Bright for Writers

Look to Amazon if you want to know the future for books and writers. See the new Kindles they're coming out with in time for Christmas. See how their ad shows it in a teen-age girl's back pocket. See how they make it affordable as stocking gifts for your kids. See how they realize the Kindle has a whole new market of readers to find-- children and teenagers.

As e-readers get cheaper and more diverse, people will have several. I have a Kindle, but I'd like an iPad too. Why not a Nook? And kids will have them.

More people than ever will be looking for books to read on their new readers. So, writers, get busy writing their books! 

I've been kicking myself to write more. Soon I'll go from one book to three that are available as ebooks. I have another novel in the works that I hope can be ready for March release. I think I  can get another one done and into editing for next October release.

My goal is to have five books with my name on them available by next Christmas. Right now I have one. Pathetic, I know, but I have goals.

It's time to buckle down and get writing. We determine our own futures. If we don't write the books, then life goes on without our names on the titles.

It's not about print vs. ebook or bookstore vs. online sales or small press vs. large

I came across this statistic the other day that shows where the real competition is in the publishing industry--

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [English Language Edition], the seventh and mostly widely read book in the series, sold 44 million copies over three years.

- The video game Bad Company 2 sold over than 5 million units in one month, while Modern Warfare 2 sold an estimated 10 million in four months.

- With a US audience of 116 million, the average time spent on Facebook is over 7 hours each month and growing.

- And, of course, while watching videos (on the internet and TV) accounted for 9 hours per month, it was more than made up for by Americans watching TV 84 hours monthly.

These kinds of numbers tell why books keep shrinking in value (and sales). Because the reading public is shrinking. Especially kids, with all the other entertainment options out there, too many are no longer picking up books when they have free time.

Yet more books are being published than ever before. Books are everywhere, in every format. Is it any wonder that free and .99 has become standard for self-published ebooks?  Look for publishers, especially the smaller ones with lower overheads, to start following suit on that trend.

It is sad when books become devalued in a society. 

The Secret to Getting Published

What it's not:

• Having an idea no one's ever used before. (There's no such thing. Shakespeare saw to that and Dickens took care of whatever Shakespeare might have missed.)

• Being famous or related to someone famous. (It might get you noticed but there's got to be some talent to back it up. Still, they might put your face & name on a ghost written book, if you're really famous.)

• Writing the perfect query. (Be natural, be normal not needy and let your story speak for itself. There is no perfect query format. Even if there were, and you write it, how many query letters do you see for sale at Borders?)

• Getting the busiest and best-looking agent on the internet. (That one who looks like Tom Cruise comes to mind.)

• Getting a degree in creative writing. (Helpful, since hours of creative writing are required to get said degree.)

• The result of a highly popular blog with tons of followers. (Notwithstanding the scene in Julie Julia where 6 dozen agents leave pleading messages on her voice mail.)

Although if you have achieved any of the above points, you are fortunate indeed, (especially if you have that agent who looks like Tom Cruise). And you are definitely farther along the path to publication than the guy next door who says he's writing a novel but spends all his time on the Wii.


Then what is the secret to getting published? Come closer and I'll tell you. Are you ready for this?



You have to want it more than you want anything else. You must want it with every fibre of your being.



The rest of the secret:

• You will need to give up stuff to write. Lots of stuff. Like maybe, free time and all the fun things you see other people doing. Be responsible and prioritize (especially if you have young children). But make time to write.

• Writing well isn't easy or fast. It's a long, slow slog into awfulness involving disappointment, discouragement, depression and all those other "d" words until you begin to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Be prepared for the long haul.

• Never quit until your prose sparkles and jumps off the page, until your characters come to life and your story strikes a universal chord. You may have to write six novels (like Talli Roland did) before you finally write the one that's got IT. Or spend ten years on one manuscript until it becomes a novel worth publishing. (Hello Uncut Diamonds.)

• Seek out and research every agent, every publisher, every avenue to publication that you can find. Don't be a publishing snob, thinking that only the best will do. A small press or an unknown and/or less attractive agent may offer you a contract and provide invaluable experience with editing, publishing and marketing.Your book could be on store shelves while your friend who snagged that extremely good-looking much busier agent is still waiting for an offer.

• If, after extensive research, you choose to self-publish or epublish, you won't rush into it with a poor quality piece of work. Nor cut corners on editing, design and typesetting, because you know that, in the end, it means nothing unless  readers (who are not your relatives) willingly shell out cash for your book.

• One finished manuscript or one published book is only the beginning. This is a career not a hobby. Never rest on any hard-won success. Celebrate then get back to it. Your best work may not yet be written.

• You might get lucky and hit the big time fast, but then what? Keep going. And going. Stephen King wrote On Writing after an accident that nearly killed him. He was in so much pain he could barely write for thirty minutes at a time-- a man with countless bestsellers to his name and plenty of money-- yet he did not stop writing.

There it is people. The secret to getting published. Go after it!

Interview with e-publishing author Simon Kewin

When I read on Simon's blog, Spellmaking, that he had decided to publish one of his stories electronically, I wanted to know more about the process. He graciously agreed to an interview about the experience. When I read his answers to my questions, I was blown away with Simon's knowledge and expertise. And I'm sure all of you appreciate his broad-based and detailed information.

(Note: Read Simon's part with a British accent.)

KarenG: What made you decide to publish electronically?

Simon Kewin: I was interested to find out how the whole process worked. There are these huge changes going on in the publishing industry - in the way we read books - and I felt I wanted to know more about it all. As it happens I don't have any sort of eReader device myself, but I know lots of people who do. I felt a little like I was being left behind. There are supposedly 1.5 million Kindle users out there, for example, not to mention all the other devices. But I had no idea how easy or hard it was to get my stories onto those machines. I'm a professional software developer, too, so I suppose my interest was partly geeky.

Karen: Are you on Kindle? Can you be downloaded on iphone or any other device, or only Kindle?

Simon: I'm on the Kindle and also on the iPhone and a host of other devices. I think eReaders are in their infancy and will need to get a lot better than they currently are. I'm sure they will. The Kindle seems to be the market leader but it's pretty drab isn't it? It's hard to escape the belief that the Apple devices - iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch - will become the de facto standard because they're so ubiquitous. But then there are all these other machines coming out too, such as the Microsoft Courier, which I like simply because it has two pages. You open it like a book and it’s immediately immersive.

The problem all these machines have is their price, I think. The price of the actual text of an eBook may be pretty low but the price of the hardware is way higher than it is for the paper of a novel. Obviously it's a completely different thing, but I'd happily take a paperback to places I wouldn't want to take an eReader for fear of it getting damaged or stolen. I'd be wary of taking a Kindle to the beach.

The other issue which has to be sorted out is the whole area of sharing. With conventional paper books, it's easy to pass along a book you love to a friend. I'm sure writers attract a great many new readers in that way. But how is that going to work in the electronic world where copying/pirating a file is trivially easy? You either try to stop people sharing at all via DRM (Digital Rights Management) or you make it a free-for-all and just hope that some of the people who get free copies of your work then go on to buy other things you've written. Perhaps it depends on how established a writer you are. Perhaps there is some sort of middle-way. I don't know.



Karen: What was the process you went through to get everything set up?

Simon: I used two different services : Amazon's own Digital Text Platform for getting my work onto the Kindle and the Amazon store and then Smashwords to cover all the other devices. There are alternatives out there but Smashwords seemed to me to be the best at what they do. They cover the iPhone via the Stanza app, the Sony Reader, Palm machines and so forth. You upload your manuscript once and they convert it to all the formats they support. They also develop their service actively so I was fairly confident they would cover new devices and platforms as they came along.

The process for each service was more or less the same : prepare your manuscript to adhere to a particular format, upload it, provide a title, a description, some categories, provide some cover art-work, set a price and click Publish. Each service provides a lot of help should you hit any snags. My own blog describes in a bit more detail my experiences with Amazon, for instance.
Both services are free to use, although they obviously take a cut of any sales you make.

Karen: Was it easy? Like easier than you expected?

Simon: It was way easier than I expected. I suppose it helps that I’m a bit techie but I’m sure anyone could use these services without too much trouble. As writers we’re used to formatting our manuscripts in certain ways. Using these services is just a matter of formatting it in the way they need it. You don’t have to get it right first time; you can upload, see how it looks, then try again. It took maybe an hour to use each one. The hardest parts for me were coming up with the interesting blurb/description and then providing the cover artwork. Alas I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. Or, if I do, it isn’t one of the bones in my hand! So I just bought a stock image that suited the story, added my own text and used that.

To be honest, the publishing bit of ePublishing is the easy bit. The hard bit is in publicizing your work, in finding readers. Because obviously there are lots of people out there all doing the same thing and you don’t have a conventional publisher to push your work. I haven’t put a vast amount of effort into the promotional side as I don’t want to eat too much into my writing time but I dare so you reap what you sow.

That all said, I was pleasantly surprised that readers started downloading and buying my story more or less straight away without me doing very much. Not in vast numbers, but more than I’d anticipated.

Karen: Which works have you uploaded? Full novels or short works? Word count?

Simon: I uploaded an SF short story entitled The Armageddon Machine. Actually it’s more of a novelette at around 14,000 words. It was a story I’d had published once before in a magazine but it wasn’t available anywhere at that time so it seemed like a good candidate. Also, I imagined that people who like SF would be more likely to have eReaders but I have no evidence for that!


Karen: Have you gotten any feedback from readers?

Simon: Some. Not a vast amount. Both Amazon and Smashwords have reader review/rating mechanisms. The last time I checked I had some feedback on my Amazon page, which I’m pleased to say was good!

Karen: Are you optimistic about sales?

Simon: Not enough to give up the day job! I’ve had some sales which has been gratifying but it’s obviously hard to make much headway without putting a fair bit of effort into the publicity side.

Karen: Would you do this again?

Simon: Yes, I think I would. I suppose everyone has to decide for themselves about this. But I think there are grey areas in the strict publishing vs. self-publishing debate. Writers are all encouraged to blog, tweet and “build a platform” these days. As far as I can see, ePublishing provides one way to do just this. I wouldn’t ePublish a full novel, nor even an extract, but I might ePublish, say, a short story in which some of the characters of a novel appeared. That might be one way to build up a readership.

Karen: Will you continue to seek an agent for your other projects?

Simon: Definitely, yes. For me, right now, an agent is the right way to go for novels.

Karen: Do you think you will prefer this to traditional publishing?

Simon: Traditional publishing is still the main event so far as I can see. But I see both worlds coexisting and, no doubt, intermingling in all sorts of unexpected and interesting ways. For me, ePublishing is a way of establishing my name and building a readership rather than an end unto itself. Obviously, that may change. There are others who rely on indie publishing and make some sort of living at that. And good luck to them.

Karen: What advice would you give to other writers considering this option? How to begin? The pros and cons, etc.

Simon: Have a go if you’re interested! There’s plenty of help out there on the web, as well as FAQs and guides on the sites themselves. It genuinely isn’t too tricky to do this and it may get you somewhere. I suppose it all depends on where you are with your writing. If you have an agent and a publisher, then ePublishing yourself might not make much sense. I certainly wouldn’t ePublish something I was also trying to find an agent or a “proper” publisher for because I’d have blown the “first publication” rights. But if I was at the stage of trying to establish a name for myself -which I guess I am – then it seems to me there’s a lot to be said for ePublishing alongside conventional magazines and publishers. These are interesting times in publishing and I think writers need to keep themselves up to speed with what is happening.

Karen: Thank you, Simon! Wow, these are such great answers. I have nothing to add to this, I'm just trying to take it all in. I hope many people will read this interview and ask you questions here, because you are the one in the know. And I hope many will purchase The Armageddon Machine and enjoy it on their Kindle or whatever device they prefer. Awesome cover, by the way, Simon. I love love that cover!

Okay, folks, your turn. Any questions or comments for Simon?

Is e-publishing for you?

Who isn't interested in the topic of epublishing right now? A year ago I wasn't in the least. Now I'm compelled to find out more about it. My publisher plans on trying it out with my novel Uncut Diamonds as it's first trial and error project. I'm fine with being the guinea pig. It won't be the first time lol!

I interviewed author Victoria Wescott a few months ago on my blog. You can read that interview here if you want to see why she went this route and how she made it happen. Another blogger and writer I have followed for some time, Simon Kewin over at Spellmaking, recently made the decision to publish on Kindle.

As usual, I have a lot of questions about the process, and Simon has agreed to be interviewed about his experience. So watch for it in the coming days! Meanwhile, I'm wondering-- has anyone else considered epublishing as an option? Why or why not?

E-publishing Done Right!

Victoria Wescott wrote a fabulous book called Guide to Teaching in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians. which she published electronically. I met Victoria on Marsha Moore’s blog and wanted to do an interview because I was fascinated by the publishing process she used and wanted to know more about how that worked. I have read part of her Survival Guide; but I had to stop before I packed my bags and rushed off to teach in London. I was impressed by the thoroughness of the book, by the ease in reading and the fine editing. Basically an excellent job, well done, Victoria! Now, if you don’t mind, a few questions....

Did you submit this manuscript to any publishers before going electronic?

No, I didn’t. I thought that the market would be too small, since it’s specifically for teachers who want to work in London, England, plus I wanted it to be available immediately. I was keen to just get the material out there to help all those teachers trying to do their research into teaching in London.

What was the process involved once you chose this format?

It’s a fairly simple process with the right help. It’s a long story, so I will try to keep it short.I am fortunate in that I have a sister who is a professional screenwriter and a cousin who is a designer, so we joined forces and did the project together. We each had one week.I wrote the book in 7 days, which was surprisingly not that tough. I just sat down and wrote everything I know about teaching in London, from 3 years of teaching there myself as well as recruiting teachers.

My sister edited the book in 7 days, and made it into something people would want to read, and finally my cousin designed the ebook and made it the professional file it is today.

The last stage is probably the hardest and the most expensive if you want your ebook to look and feel professional. My cousin also designed the website guidetoteachinginlondon.com and had a colleague of hers launch it online. The ebook was up within a few weeks.

You must be happy with the finished product, it looks great. Are you happy with how the company has treated you and your book?

I should have clarified – I didn’t go through a company, but did it all on my own and with the family. So, there was no company involved at all. It’s really just a matter of deciding if you want to write an ebook, edit it, publish as a PDF file and then launch a website on your own, or hire designers & editors. And with my sister and cousin and I, how could I not be happy? I wish we had more sales, as we split the profit amongst the 3 of us, but I also know I should do more with marketing. Time, time, where is the time?

They say an author has to spend more time in marketing than in writing the book itself, and in your case that would definitely be true. Seven days from start to finish, that's amazing!

Isn’t it routine to pay an editor and designer for their work rather than split royalties with them? Why did you do it this way?

Yes – it’s a bit unusual to split the royalties between the editor and the designer. The other way would have been to pay each of them for their services, which would have been costly no doubt. So, this way, the money we earn is split amongst us as we earn it.

Did you research other forms of self-publishing? Why did you choose electronic?

I did. I looked into publishing with Lulu, which is a site where you can submit your ebook and people can purchase it as an electronic file or as a paperback, or even a hardcover. It looked good, but I decided to test it out as a customer to see how their books look & feel and how long they take to arrive.

Smart move, Victoria. How did that go?

It arrived about 2 months later, and that just didn’t sit well with me. My customers need the information much faster than that. The look was okay, but not great. Also, teachers who are looking for this information are across the country, and often abroad already. So I needed a way where they could get the book quickly, and I doubted whether a publisher would pick it up as quickly as I wanted. So, electronic made the most sense.

I know that self-publishing can run into thousands of dollars. Is e-publishing a cheaper way to go?Why is it that so many self-publishers don't seem to understand this? If you're going to take the trouble to write a book, you better spend the time to get it edited and designed to measure up to the professionals. And that's what your book does.

I also read Joe Vitale’s Ebook “How to Write and Publish an Ebook in as Little as 7 Days” (www.7dayebook.com) which became the inspiration for our own 7 day project. I recommend this book to anyone who is really starting out, but I will say that it needs some serious editing! It’s repetitive, and design-wise, I personally think it’s a nightmare to look at. Otherwise, the information provided is very useful.

Your demographic is a fairly small niche, but I would think any teacher, even one in the US, would be interested in this. What kind of marketing and promotion have you done?

Not nearly enough! I write two blogs about teaching & moving to the UK, and I think most people find the book that way. I also do presentations at universities for new teachers across Canada, and would like to push this more in the States. I pay about $15/month for the website to be up, and had some disks made with the PDF file, so that cost about $50 plus the cost of printing the labels (pennies really).

What about rights? For instance, you sent me a pdf. file of your book and I immediately thought of two teachers in the US who might be interested in looking at it. Would it be cheating for me to email it to them? My guess is yes, so I won’t do it, but what’s to keep people from unauthorized “sharing?”

Yes – this is an issue, and one that might make me seem a bit naïve. I know people might give it to others, and have to admit that I have also done this with other ebooks I have purchased.

I think the number of people who will pay for the ebook will outnumber those that get it from a friend. Also, since I own Classroom Canada, a teaching agency that sends teachers to work in London, I get teachers who apply after reading the ebook. By doing their research they are better quality candidates, so in the end my company profits.

Joe Vitale pushes affiliate marketing in his ebook, which means that he profits from the links that readers click on in the ebook. I didn’t really do this, but could have and would make money by whoever reads it, regardless of whether they paid for it or not. That seems a bit “salesy” to me, who am I to judge?

E-publishing is in its infancy stages right now. Do you think it’s better for an author and/or publisher to wait until it’s more widespread, or to get in now while it is new?

Good question. I think it really depends on what you are writing and who your market is. If it’s a niche market like mine, and you doubt that a publisher would pick it up because of that, then yes. Go for it.

But if your market is larger, I would advise going with a traditional publisher. Publishers have a vast array of skills and networks that you simply won’t have. Also, I’d like to see more publishers of ebooks out there for niche markets like mine. If I didn’t have my sister to edit and my cousin to design it, I’m not sure my ebook would be the success that it is today. A publisher could have really helped in the process, particularly with marketing & sales.

What advice would you give to anyone who might be considering this format for their manuscript?

Edit, edit, edit! Make your ebook a professional product that you would pay money for. Also, giving a free chapter is a great way to encourage readers to purchase your ebook if they’re not sure.

I also 100% guarantee my ebook, and am pleased to say that no one has ever asked for their money back. I would suggest you offer this as well, and don’t worry that people will all ask for refunds. If they do, you should look at what you’re offering & rethink your ideas.

What are you writing now? Do you have plans to publish again electronically?

Technically, I am writing the American edition of the Guide to Teaching in London, but to be honest it’s not a top priority as I’m in my busy season for just recruiting teachers to London with Classroom Canada. I will publish it electronically again I’m sure.

I also just submitted the first one to a publisher. After all this time, I thought I might try my luck and see if an education-specific publisher wants to offer it in paperback form. It’s worth a shot right? I was inspired by Marsha Moore and thought I should just get over my own personal fears of rejection and at least give a publisher a chance to decide for themselves.

Of course! Fear of rejection has kept many a writer from publication. How can interested followers get in touch with you, or order your book?

Here are my websites and blogs:

Guide to Teaching in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians ebook – www.guidetoteachinginlondon.com
You can download a free chapter here: http://www.guidetoteachinginlondon.com/free_chapter.html
Classroom Canada and Classroom America – www.classroomcanada.com
Classroom Canada Blog – www.classroomcanada.blogspot.com
Canadians & Americans in the UK – http://canadiansintheuk.wordpress.com

Thank you for all this great information, Victoria! It really helped me understand e-publishing a lot better. I appreciate your willingness to share your expertise, and good luck with your book.

Thanks so much for this interview! It was fun to do, and I hope it helps others out there understand the process more. Feel free to leave me questions or comments here and I’ll try to pop by and answer them.

Wonderful! I'll leave this post up for awhile to give everyone plenty of time to ask Victoria questions.

Coming Up--an interview with an e-publisher

I am so excited about this! Victoria Wescott, a Canadian author, e-published her book A Guide to Teaching in London: A Survival Guide for Canadians. She did it in seven days. Okay, all you authors out there waiting six months to get a rejection note, or a year to get an acceptance letter, then 18 months in editing, and 6 months in typesetting and printing....SEVEN DAYS!!

And lest you think quality suffers with speed, Victoria along with her editor and designer did a fabulous job! I read much of it, and looked it over carefully. It is very clean, sharp and impressive imho. Extremely well-done.

Victoria and I are putting together an interview about her book and her e-publishing experience, which I will be posting soon. (tomorrow?) I was planning to do it Friday or Saturday, when I read about Nicola Morgan's huge blog party on Sunday. Well, that should be perfect! I can post the interview with Victoria and leave it up all weekend.

I don't know about you, but I am really intrigued with the whole concept of e-publishing. Whether it's the wave of the future or not, it's still a part of the publishing experience that writers should understand better. I'll get this up tomorrow and leave it through Sunday for Nicola's blog party--plenty of time for anyone to ask Victoria questions. And hopefully some broad exposure for her new book. See you tomorrow!

Does Publishing have a Future?

So many elements seem to be conspiring to drive publishers out of business. Bookstores are struggling due to a variety of reasons-- the current economic climate, the decrease of the reading public, the ease and economy of purchasing one's books online, the influence of the media on one's reading choices that makes everyone want to buy the same book rather than try something new. These are just a few reasons; I could add a lot more and I'm sure you could, too.

At the same time, countless people want to write and get published. Thus the rise of the vanity presses, the self-publishing services, the we-will-publish-you-if-you-pay-us companies, the POD companies like Lightening Source and many others. When millions of people are writing books and craving publication, willing to pay for the privilege, companies will then arise to fill this huge market.

With the news that Harlequin is now offering a vanity imprint, I am wondering what all this means for the publishing industry. Clearly here's where the money is--publishing for a fee. Forget about quality, or promotion, or marketing, or even getting the books into bookstores. Why should these publishers care? They already have their profit.

Is this the future of publishing? Brick and mortar bookstores closing while millions of books are available online, e-books, on websites, etc? And the reading public can pick and choose according to their interests? Publishing company particulars no longer mattering? The struggling small press having to switch over to charging author fees in order to survive?

I am shuddering here. I don't like this picture. And I shall do my part to help the small press in any way I can, such as posting a review here on Zarahemla's release, No Going Back by Jonathan Langford, an excellent book which I want to promote in my own small way. Watch for it on Friday.