Fictionwise bestseller

I have no idea what this teaches beyond that having one's cover on the front page of Fictionwise sells books, but last night THIS MAGIC MOMENT was #8 on their romance bestseller list, and #17 on the overall list. Check out http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/c9/Romance/?si=0

While you're there, poke around a little bit. Look at the wide range of prices. Some of the books are directly published by authors. Some are there through other publishers like mine. Some may come through the big NYC print publishers. Every one of those prices represents a different payment to the author. Fictionwise will not sell a book at full cover price, and they take a large slice of the sale price for themselves. The balance is split between me and Belgrave House. For those selling through their NYC print publishers, the royalty rate is likely to be much lower.

It really is the Wild Wild West out there.

And don't forget, MYSTIC WARRIOR should be on your brick-and-mortar store stands now.

E-Publishing

Provided I can get blogger to actually add the image, this is the cover of one of my recent e-publications, selling at www.regencyreads.com

So I have a vested interest, no matter how small, in the RWA vs e-pubbed author controversy. I've been following it from a distance since the RWA lists are filled with emotional rhetoric that I don't have time to decipher.

I must confess, even after following lengthy discussions, I can find no easy middle ground. I agree that e-publishing will become a major part of our industry eventually. Right now, it's little more than a hobby income for most authors except for those in the erotica subgenre. The biggest concern is that e-publishers pay no advances. To me, that means an author is gambling with the many months s/he spent writing a book, not knowing if they'll sell it to a publisher or if the sales will provide an income. For authors who cannot sell elsewhere, and who have books languishing "under the bed" as we call it, or who have out of print books not being sold elsewhere, e-publication is an opportunity not offered by print publishers. Still, it's hobby income and not a living wage.

But as a standard business model, I cannot accept gambling for a living. Yes, I understand that e-publishers can produce books far faster than print publishers---for now. There is no guarantee that will last. What I fear is that if e-book authors accept no advance as a standard business model, that print publishers will pick up on this and begin offering their own e-books with no advance. That outcome will mean that all new authors or authors without the numbers publishers would like to see will have to write their books and hope someone will publish them and pray the income will trickle in later. This is a recipe for starvation.

So while I totally agree that RWA needs to keep their membership informed on digital publication, I cannot see how they can find a policy that will allow e-publishers to be recognized for whatever purposes. (again, I'm staying out of the Ritas because that's way beyond my ability to comprehend) Many means have been suggested, and they all fall short of what a writing organization can accomplish--unless authors actually want to turn over their royalty statements for examination. I don't advise this method, but I'm a private person. Maybe others are willing to tell all. I just don't think RWA has to accept such an unorthodox method unless they're desperate to include e-pubbed authors, and I think they've made it clear that they're not. They have enough problems with the ones they have. "G"

So I'll leave the forum open for comments, but I don't think I've clarified a thing. Sorry!