Public Enemy Number One

[Mythsaje]

"Big Media."

On my publisher's author list it has just been revealed that one of our distributors, Fictionwise, has apparently decided to side with the big publishers and violate our contract to distribute our books unless we are willing to either raise our rates or allow them to lower their rates to the point that they'll be seriously eating into our (the authors) profit margins. They're not huge in the first place, but what they're looking to do will reduce them by about 60%.

We're up against the giants here. They're trying to use their power to shut down the smaller presses and we really don't have the resources to fight them.

The internet has really gave the small guys a new lease on life...we've had some very good authors come to light in recent years, and e-publishing has become one of the industry's most rapidly growing segments. But this threatens the giants and makes them willing to exert enormous pressure on distributors to make it more difficult for our work to reach the general public.

I'm calling upon all good progressives to join the fight against the Big Publishers by supporting the little guy here. As one of the new authors whose work is being suppressed by these tactics, I have a vested interest in promoting the smaller presses, but I also think that it's of benefit to all people who enjoy reading and not having some corporate hack decide what is or is not good enough to pass on to the public.

Big Publishing has some really awful business practices, and has ripped off several authors over the course of the last few decades...lack of promotion and an inability to see the benefits of unusual or unique storylines have limited the theme variations readers have been able to experience.

One can't trust the big publishers...really. Some of the greatest literary works were turned down over and over again because a particular editor, or the thought processes common to many mainstream editors, said "this isn't something the public will buy."

The Wizard of Oz is an example of one such book.

Corporate Publishing is almost as bad a structure as the corporate media in general...

For more information about what e-publishing is all about, please visit my blog

http://sajewilliams.blogspot.com/2005_01_01_sajewilliams_archive.html

and look for the "Ever hear of e-books?" post.


On a related side note...I'm hosting an "author's day" on the yahoo group "ebooklove" tomorrow, with contests and prizes including free copies of a few original stories never before released. This will be going on between 3 and 7 PM, Pacific time, and will offer interested people a chance to really see examples of my work.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mythsaje]

2. What media is that?

The corporate clones spouting the same old drivel?

The media that took five years to come to its senses that we're being led by a pack of hyenas?

Oh, THAT media.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I know what you mean

I've never been able to get anyone to look at any of my written work. A neighbor has gone to a publisher that does e-books and print on demand. I think this is the real way to go any more. When I go to a bookstore, most of what I see is pure drivel, and it is rare that I can find what I'm looking for.

The best of luck to you on your endeavors.

[Mythsaje]

4. Print on Demand

gets a bad rap (particularly from those who support the big name publishers--they call it "Vanity Press") but, when you get down to it, it's simply more economical AND ecologically friendly. The Big Houses will print 10,000 copies of a book they think might sell, promote the hell out of it, and buy up copies themselves to enhance the book's status on the bestseller lists.

I'd like to know why it doesn't make sense to e-publish, which is very ecologically friendly, as well as being very economical and easy to distribute world-wide without unnecessary consumption of fuel, and only print the number of paper copies that are specifically needed?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Makes sense to me, too

I finally posted my stories online, and have had several nice people say they like them. But it's hard to take the computer to bed to read yourself to sleep :), so I like the idea of print on demand books.

[Mythsaje]

6. My wife bought me a PDA

to get me into e-books, since I can't seem to actually READ a book on my computer...I get too involved doing other things, like writing, or hanging out here.