Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Future of Publishing

I attended the fun and informational California Crime Writers Conference last weekend. The event was sponsored by Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles and SoCal Mystery Writers of America. I really enjoyed it.

Cops and others in law enforcement spoke on various aspects of their professions in the Matters of Crime track, and I attended some of those sessions. I also went to several talks on promoting one’s work.

But the thing that I really took away from the conference was how the future of publishing seems to be heading--e-publishing.

That’s a topic that writers see everywhere these days. It wasn’t new to me. I’ve heard other authors speak about it before.

What really brought it home to me, though, was the information provided by Lee Goldberg, a well-known, award-winning novelist and TV writer who has made some of his backlist available in e-form, and is also creating original work for the e-market. Lee’s talk was very convincing--including how much more money a writer can make on the sale of an e-book than one in print form. He also provided a handout that contained lots of helpful information on who to contact to get an existing backlist book or manuscript in the correct formats for the various e-publishing possibilities, including having a new cover prepared.

My most recent traditionally-published books are put into e-form by the publisher and sold both ways. My e-royalty rates are in keeping with the rates for the print-published ones. The idea of making more money per book is certainly appealing--assuming that people will buy them.

Am I running right out and starting to e-publish my backlist or new material? No, but I’m glad I have the rights back to some of my earliest works that came out in traditional form. One of these days, I may try to make one available in e-format just to see how it works out. I’ll probably have to update it, but that’s one of the advantages of e-publishing. You can always make changes.

I don’t intend to change my career to the e-direction. I love my current books and publishers. But I also won’t close any doors either now or in the future...

How about you? If you’re a writer, are you e-published? Would you consider making your backlist available in e-form, or have you already? If you’re a reader, do you buy e-format books, either an author’s backlist or new ones? What’s your opinion of the future?

8 comments:

Shel said...

After a nasty divorce where I left practically everything I had and moved cross country (including an extensive mystery book collection started by my mother), I look at ebooks as a miracle. I never ever have to worry about moving cartons of books, losing them to water damage, or not being able to afford to ship them. I can (and do) carry my "library" in my purse. I have worked for seven years trying to rebuild that mystery collection while keeping up with the new releases. My only sorrow is that not everything is available in ebook yet, and I get so frustrated at some of the things I'm not able to replace (example: Charlotte MacLeod and Virginia Rich, both examples of "orphan works". They aren't a priority to release in ebook for the publishers because there's not enough money in them and there's no author alive to nag them.) I also get frustrated at publishers of contemporary authors (example: Laura Childs) who seem to flat refuse to release her works in ebook. I know my views on this aren't popular, but I firmly believe that ebooks are the future and that eventually publishers will start to lose measurable sales if there is not an ebook version of a work.

Monica Ferris said...

There's a lot of information out there about e-book publishing. Some of my work as Mary Monica Pulver is now out in e-book format. But things are in a state of flux and it's impossible to know for sure how it's all going to work out.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Flexibility and ease of transport are both excellent reasons for going to e-books, Shel. I'm glad that my latest releases are available in e-format.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I hope and expect that the print format will survive, Monica, but I also anticipate that the e-format will continue to grow in popularity. It'll be interesting to watch!

Jacqueline Vick said...

I think of epublishing for mysteries that are harder to sell (like traditional mysteries) and for short stories and novellas.

Linda O. Johnston said...

That makes sense, Jackie. The Internet is also a good way to let potential readers know that those kinds of stories are available.

Dru said...

I think the future can handle both printed and digital books. I still read printed book, but the east of carrying all my books when I travel is such a joy.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I've started carrying my Kindle on trips, Dru, and you're right--it's a lot easier than toting along multiple books! I agree, too, that the world should be able to support both formats. I'd hate to give up holding books in my hands.