| Who is still writing books and publishing them? | |
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+7Abe F. March Al Stevens Victor D. Lopez joefrank Don Stephens Shelagh dkchristi 11 posters |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:50 am | |
| How's it going?
I don't find it quite as much fun as when I started publishing in 2006. I think a sudden gush of self-publishing and small presses has glutted the market. It provides lots of reading opportunities, but so much competition for marketing. I can't get in the newspaper any more and even blogs have become more selective. Certainly popular blogs and reviewers are busier and for some it's like submitting for publication.
I know we have one member who blogs and reviews pretty steadily. Anyone else here do the same? I don't see that a lot of forum members comment on his reviews or blogs, though. Do you read blogs? Reviews? How do you select the books that you read?
I am presently reading a book written poorly that I can't put down for the emotional content. It reminds me of all the English teachers that can't get a novel published because they want perfection. This person just put it on paper and Simon & Schuster published it in the TEEN imprint. I know, I'm reading a book for teenagers and enjoying it. I guess I'm regressing. |
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Shelagh Admin
Number of posts : 12662 Registration date : 2008-01-11 Location : UK
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:56 pm | |
| I have stopped promoting and my sales have all but dried up. The hours of time taken to produce a few sales is not worth the effort. I enjoyed my ten years of publishing, but now I want to use my time to do other things. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:46 pm | |
| That's the problem. It's either market or perish and I truly authored books and stories because I loved writing them, not selling them. And, like you, my sales were directly proportional to my marketing efforts and maintaining that momentum is a challenge.
We had a good run, though, didn't we? I guess everything has its season. Where are you putting your time now, Shelagh? Your beautiful garden? |
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Don Stephens Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1355 Registration date : 2008-01-25 Age : 85 Location : Wherever my hat's hanging today!
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:19 pm | |
| I’ve run out of ideas for stories, but more than that I’ve run out of the drive necessary to put in the time to write and market the work. Between caring for my bride, three dogs and a garden I have trouble finding the time and/or the energy to sit down to read let alone write. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:02 pm | |
| It seems my bubble burst all at once, from running out of marketing steam to actually reading either. I used to devour books and I miss that passion. And I don't have three beautiful dogs and a wife - though I have responsibilities that sap energy I need to place elsewhere.
Maybe everyone could list the books they currently have for sale and say something about the one or two they'd like to see find a rebirth, if only on our own forum. |
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joefrank Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8210 Registration date : 2008-11-04 Age : 75 Location : Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:39 pm | |
| 7/12
Don..
I want your poodles, love them , their gentle and so loving, I still remember the one I had she lived to be 10, heart failure, her name Gi Gi.. I never got another one, when she went my heart went with her...
Cheers..Joe |
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joefrank Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8210 Registration date : 2008-11-04 Age : 75 Location : Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:36 pm | |
| 7/12 Let's see I've written five books and did a photo book on Santa Fe and my three favorite books are 1. " Dusty," 2. " Clara Layten- The Chelsea Murders," and " Murder On Society Road," All books are on Smash words, I originally had semi-wrote out lines for six books on Clara Layten ( Book cover on bottom of this page,) but I can't use the manuscript because the publisher and we all know who that is still has one year to go before they will release it back to me even though I own the copyrights, so I'll wait but the new cover is the one at the bottom because I can't use their's ... Cheers..Joe.............. |
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joefrank Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8210 Registration date : 2008-11-04 Age : 75 Location : Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:12 pm | |
| 7/12 I was thinking tonight my first book I wrote and put way was " Clara-Layten The Chelsea Murders," " in 1990 " Dusty," wasn't written until eight years ago. So I have decided to continue with my photography and art, oh here's a photo I shot several years ago here near the mountains of Santa Fe, NM. I have been doing photography since 1976 , painting on canvas since 2001. Cheers.....Joe.... |
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Don Stephens Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1355 Registration date : 2008-01-25 Age : 85 Location : Wherever my hat's hanging today!
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:41 am | |
| A Need To Kill A Sixth Sense Africa Back Into Hell Bearkiller BRODIE JONES Mountain Man Coming of Age Cunning Tiger Deception Hunter It's Not Wise To Piss Off... Leave No Man Behind Lumbongo McGowan P. I. Memories My Time In Hell Shadows From The Past Soft Wind Some Very Special Soldiers Terror in Paridise The Army Guy The Assassins The Business of Killing The Contract The Heart Of A Warrior The Hitman The Hunters For Justice The Leopard's Lair The Past Comes Hunting The Protector There's Only Today They Just Disappeared Under Attack Wet Work
BEARKILLER was my first and still my favorite. |
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Victor D. Lopez Four Star Member
Number of posts : 984 Registration date : 2012-02-01 Location : New York
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:57 am | |
| DK,
We've all touched on the effect of indie books--especially free ones--on readership in the past. When everyone can write a book, the time will come when no one will read them--at least the self-published ones. Quality ranges tremendously in this wide-open field, and bad books outnumber good ones by a large margin. That makes it even harder for readers to buy (or even download free) our books. It's a shame, but there we have it.
Like some here, I don't put much effort into writing, let alone promoting, my indie books. I still write--constantly, in fact--I just don't self publish. I advertise only through Goodreads because it is very inexpensive, but at best break even with my extremely modest investment. I don't blog as much as I'd like either because time is a very real issue, and it is far too easy (and fun) to do this than it is to do real work.
I'm working on a third edition to one of my textbooks, Business Law and the Legal Environment of Business for textbook Media Publishing. I am also working on an article comparing the differences (and effects) of Good Samaritan laws in all states. Unfortunately, like Don and too many of our other friends here, I'm also struggling with loved one's health issues, especially my mom and dad who have no other support and live hours away and have very serious issues. I won't write about that, not any time soon at least.
As to my self-published books, my intellectual property reference book still sells, though very weakly and mostly the eBook versions. My Mindscapes short story collection sells a book or two a week on average in its audiobook format, and even less well in eBook and paperback. And the individual short stories also sell on accasion, but irregularly. I have a standing offer for an expanded version of my intellectual property book from a major scholarly book publisher, but i don't really want a $100 book that only libraries will buy and an occasional researcher, though it would I think sell well with those distribution channels. I may shop around for another traditional publisher for a modestly expanded edition that can sell for under $30, though I don't have time for that either at present. If I can't get an appropriate publisher within my price point and desired distribution channels for the book, I may look for an agent. I've sent out very tentative queries--three to be precise--to agents that deal in short story anthologies as I'd like to release my Mindscapes collection through a traditional publisher and that is impossible without an agent. I'm not holding my breath, though, for an established house to be interested in taking me on given my meager fiction output. I have never needed an agent for my non-fiction, including the textbooks and trade books, but time is a more precious commodity for me these days, so I may change that too--especially if a traditional, established agency were interested in pursuing the short story collection. Bad agents are worse than no agents, though, so I'm very cautious in that area as well, especially if I'm giving up 15% of my royalties. And too many so-called agents these days are about as useful as most vanity presses masquerading as small presses. It will be a cold day in hell before I pay any prospective "agent" a reading fee or agree to pay open-ended "administrative, copying and postage" fees for an agent's representation. Fortunately, I don't need an agent for the type of writing I do that actually pays, though a good agent would open doors for non-textbook projects that are closed to me. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:25 am | |
| Don, that's a lot of books! If they are all in print and in ebook I hope they are doing well. Joe, I hope you do well with your photography and art - many beautiful pieces shared with us. Victor, I miss LC posting as she had textbook publication in common with you and seemed to find it quite easy to stay published and sell her texts. Shelagh has quite a list of books, including some very nicely done anthologies and assistance to other authors on this forum. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:26 am | |
| I remember DT has lots of ebooks. I wonder how he's doing. |
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Al Stevens Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1727 Registration date : 2010-05-11 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:27 am | |
| Still at it. Sales are bumped whenever I add a title to my series, which I try to do every couple months. It pays better than playing piano in a whorehouse.
(Although the fringe benefits aren't as good.) |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 12:50 pm | |
| Having a series is a good idea. How many are in your series now? I like the way Shelagh includes her book covers in her signature here. |
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Don Stephens Five Star Member
Number of posts : 1355 Registration date : 2008-01-25 Age : 85 Location : Wherever my hat's hanging today!
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 3:47 pm | |
| All of them are in paper back and about half in ebooks. I'm not going to get rich but it brings in a monthly royalty check that covers the dogs grooming bill. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 4:16 pm | |
| Mine were paying for groceries but the eatin's gettin' slimmer lately. Not me, though. |
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Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Mon Jul 13, 2015 11:35 pm | |
| - Shelagh wrote:
- I have stopped promoting and my sales have all but dried up. The hours of time taken to produce a few sales is not worth the effort. I enjoyed my ten years of publishing, but now I want to use my time to do other things.
I think my activity is more closely associated with that of Shelagh. Although I have not made money on sales of my books, I value the experience. Further, I value the knowledge and the friends I made in the process. The only reward that means anything at this point is feedback that says something like: "I enjoyed reading your book and learned much from it." My current writing has been limited to writing posts. Sometimes I think it is a waste of time, but then realize that it keeps me active and in touch with others who may have strong feelings about current events. Activity that involves medical problems has kept me engaged and diverted from any writing. It is possible that my current activities involving "Myasthenia Gravis" may result in writing a book about "Searching for a Cure". I have met with the head Doctor at the Clinic where my wife is currently a patient. Had a frank discussion with him. Yesterday a visit to our family doctor and another conversation. Each encounter is a learning experience. The learning thus far has been one of learning that they don't know what to do and are experimenting. Is that part of "practicing medicine"? When it comes to a loved-one, using them as a learning specimen is not a comfortable feeling. On the other hand, giving up is not an option. Trial and Error is part of most research projects. I remain optimistic for a successful outcome. |
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cjt Two Star Member
Number of posts : 51 Registration date : 2013-11-08 Age : 55 Location : Boston, MA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:13 am | |
| I still under a five book contract, so I'm still writing. Even if I wasn't under contract, I'd still be writing since that's my hobby and maybe I'd just post them at Smashwords. |
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alice Five Star Member
Number of posts : 15672 Registration date : 2008-10-22 Age : 76 Location : Redmond, WA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Tue Jul 14, 2015 5:21 pm | |
| I am too busy with the doctors to write just now. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:31 am | |
| Anyone else with publications? |
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joefrank Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8210 Registration date : 2008-11-04 Age : 75 Location : Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:01 am | |
| 7/18 Does anyone know of a free program to convert a manuscript to a E Book ? I don't quite understand Smash Words conversion..Thanks Cheers...Joe... |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sat Jul 18, 2015 11:51 am | |
| Have you tried Kindle? I found it quite easy. My other option would be to sign up with an ebook only publisher to get them to format it.
I'm glad you posted - I thought everyone went on vacation at the same time! |
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alice Five Star Member
Number of posts : 15672 Registration date : 2008-10-22 Age : 76 Location : Redmond, WA
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:22 pm | |
| My books are available. I just don't market them and they don' t sell themselves.
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Abe F. March Five Star Member
Number of posts : 10768 Registration date : 2008-01-26 Age : 85 Location : Germany
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:19 pm | |
| Alice, it seems we are in the same boat. |
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dkchristi Five Star Member
Number of posts : 8594 Registration date : 2008-12-29 Location : Florida
| Subject: Re: Who is still writing books and publishing them? Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:00 am | |
| I guess that was the hard lesson. |
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