Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

This is an interesting post that appeared today. It is quite long but a conversation between Joe Konrath and Barry Eisler. http://barryeisler.blogspot.com/2011/...

It seems Barry had a $500,000 deal for two books with St. Martin's Press. He turned it down and is going to self publish his books instead.
He is doing some short stories as well, but this deal means that the next book THE DETACHMENT will be available in June of this year instead of Spring 2012.

This decision does not surprise me, but it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Thanks for sharing Cheryl! I finally got a chance to read this post last night and it raises a lot of interesting points.
One of the most telling points is a simple one, a digital book's shelf life is unlimited and with no inventory and an immediate delivery system, books can live on forever. (as long as the power and batteries hold out anyway)
I agree that the publishing companies have lost control of that which they dearly wish to control and self publishing is indicated to be the wave of the future. Not every author will have the skill set to market their books, design cover art and set them up for digital conversion, but the agents and people who do understand those things should have opportunities to free up many authors to publish as they want rather than on the schedule and whim of a publisher.

Ann, your comments are exactly what I was thinking. Many authors already send in their books to publishers by computer. I also believe there are many free lance graphic artists looking for work to do covers for books and free lance editors and English professors that could use the extra income to edit the books. And, isn't that how many authors in the late 1700's and 1800's became known thru self publishing?

Lorraine: Yes, I imagine that was the way it was then, and as with most entrepreneurial efforts, the ones who do it well will succeed!
Brakedrum wrote: " I also believe there are many free lance graphic artists looking for work to do covers for books and free lance editors and English professors that could use the extra income to edit the books. And, isn't that how many authors in the late 1700's and 1800's became known thru self publishing? "

Cheryl,

I was wondering what you thought about this. Barry does such a great job marketing his books, he's an ideal candidate to self-publish. I think this says more about the print vs digital trend more than anything. I'm sure in the long run he'll make more from his rights than he would have with St. Martin's.

I've been self-publishing since 2005 and I'm excited to see other professional authors joining the mix. I'm looking forward to the impact guys like David Morrell, Tim Hallinan, and Barry have on the perception of self-publishing in the industry.

C.J. wrote: "Cheryl,

I was wondering what you thought about this. Barry does such a great job marketing his books, he's an ideal candidate to self-publish. I think this says more about the print vs digital t..."

C.J. This did not surprise me. I am in communication with Barry, and I know after the announcement of his "major" deal, he was still carrying on discussions and things weren't being settled.
I am sure Barry thought long and hard about this, but I know he was very well informed before he decided. I am sure J.A. Konrath had a great deal to do with it since he and Barry are good friends.
Barry was not at all satisfied with what Ballantine did in promoting his last two books, and I am sure he can do a better job.

CJ:
I think the perception is changing rapidly! Reading comments on indie Kindle titles there is a bit of trepidation that the product isn't the best quality, so the buyer is a bit more alert to those comments but often quite pleased with self-published works.
C.J. wrote: "I've been self-publishing since 2005 and I'm excited to see other professional authors joining the mix. I'm looking forward to the impact guys like David Morrell, Tim Hallinan, and Barry have on the perception of self-publishing in the industry"

Ann wrote: "CJ:
I think the perception is changing rapidly! Reading comments on indie Kindle titles there is a bit of trepidation that the product isn't the best quality, so the buyer is a bit more alert to th..."

I admit that I was reluctant originally. Some self published work is very bad writing and poorly edited, but I think most discerning readers will soon figure that out.
As more well known writers make use of the format, they will stretch the boundaries and make quality work available just in a different format.