UPDATE: Why did these four established authors go indie? (And where are they now?)

In July 2011, we ran this post about why four established authors were going indie on some projects. Where are they now? Here's the original post with a brief update.

We have four very different writing styles and four completely different publishing journeys behind us. What these four BoxOcto authors have in common is an enduring love and respect for books and an unwavering dedication to the art and craft of writing. And we've all made the decision to self-publish.

There's a pervasive perception that people only self-pub when they've been rejected by "traditional" publishing. That's not the case here. We all plan to continue and expand our endeavors in print publishing. We're not burning any bridges. And we're mindful of the reality that traditional publishing is not about ink, paper and royalty negotiations; it's about a zeal for excellent writing, respect for thorough editing and joy in thoughtful presentation.

So why have we gone over to the Dark Side? Well, there are the esoteric reasons Thomas Jefferson and I laid out this weekend in An Author's Declaration of Independence. But on a pragmatic level, we have four very different reasons.

Mylène Dressler
Mylène was the first of us to go live with her haunting sophomore novel The Deadwood Beetle, the story of an aging Dutch immigrant to New York, a retired professor of entomology whose father was a Nazi collaborator. The depth, beauty and artistry of this novel won thousands of fans (including me) when it was published to great critical acclaim by small literary press Blue Hen (a Penguin Putnam imprint) back in 2002. Mylène's next novel, The Floodmakers was published by Putnam in 2004, and her career expanded to include her unique brand of writing and creativity guruship. She's done fellowships and residencies at the Carson McCullers Center, UT and other lucky universities, and is now in residence at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Why is Mylène self-pubbing her backlist? Midlist authors make more money doing their own ebooks. We can get 70% of the purchase price when we sell directly through Amazon, and going through any Big 6 publisher, the best we can hope for is 25% of net. Because the book has already passed the gatekeepers, been edited and copy edited and enjoyed (in M's case) excellent reviews, it stands out from the crowd, which is the most difficult aspect of self-publishing now that the gold rush is in full swing and the market is being glutted with hastily produced amateur efforts.

Update December 2012: Dr. M, as her students affectionately call her, is in residence at Guilford College and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her novella The Wedding of Anna F, which appeared in Big Fiction Magazine. Look for the ebook in 2013.

Colleen Thompson
Bestselling romantic suspense author Colleen Thompson's maiden self-publishing effort was The Night Holds the Moon, an epic fantasy collaboration with longtime pal Parke Roberts, in which a magic flute meant to be handled only by a docile, well-trained virgin is placed - by fate or magic - in the hands of a disreputable young lady-in-waiting. It's a feat of both world-building and storytelling and is a radical departure from Colleen's body of work. With her 20th romance novel in the pipeline, one would expect her to stick with the genre that brought her to the prom, as it were. But that's not where her heart is right now, and if there's one thing a romance author knows, it's the importance of following one's heart. The Night Holds the Moon marks an exciting turning point for Colleen. More about that later this year.

Why did Colleen self-pub this original novel? I've been bugging her to blog about the fascinating backstory on this book, so I won't give too much away. Bottom line: When Colleen and her collaborator were offered a print deal, it came with a request for some major rewrites. The publisher was asking for compromises Colleen wasn't comfortable with, so she and her partner passed on the deal. Cue Frank Sinatra. She did it her way. And because she's a seasoned pro, she had the know-how to do it well. Her publisher controls most of her backlist titles, but Colleen's pubbing her back-backlist, historical romances she wrote as Gwyneth Atlee, including Innocent Deceptions, a Romantic Times Top Pick and nominee for Reviewer's Choice Best American-set Historical Romance of 2002 and the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence.

Update December 2012: Colleen indie pubbed her Gwyneth Atlee books, which continue to sell well. She's currently working on two books under contract with a major publisher, and Amazon has picked up the rights for several of her backlist romantic suspense titles.

Joni Rodgers
When I signed a deal with HarperCollins for my memoir Bald in the Land of Big Hair back in 1999, "electronic rights" referred to film, TV and audio adaptations. The memoir tells about how I wrote my first two novels and began my publishing career while undergoing treatment for lymphoma, a virulent blood cancer, and Lifetime was interested in optioning rights for a television movie. With my long-term survival in doubt, my husband and I felt - as desperately as we needed the money - a movie about our family could be confusing and unhealthy for our children (then 7 and 9) if I wasn't around to see it. My agent withheld electronic rights. The book came out in 2001, got rave reviews, and propelled my career into high gear. Fast-forward ten years. The book is still in print, I'm still alive, and the ebook revolution has arrived. (Not sure which of these astonishes me the most!)

Why did I self-pub my memoir? Once again, it's about the Benjamins. I make more per copy. More important, I saw the opportunity to begin my own ebook venture with this bestseller as a flagship title. Blessed with generous reviews and built-in buzz, it's going to provide sturdy coattails for my backlist fiction (coming out this summer) and a new original novel I'll release this fall. HarperCollins has been enthusiastically supportive of my self-pubbing endeavor and even helped me gain permission to use the fantastic original cover (designed by Chip Kidd) because they know I'm more valuable to them if I'm thriving creatively and commercially.

Update December 2012: With BLBH enjoying steady sales and a fresh influx of glowing reviews, Joni indie published two mystery novels and a mini-memoir. She's currently working on a ghostwriting project with a major publisher and preparing to launch her own online indie bookstore.

Barbara Taylor Sissel
Bobbi is the baby of our publishing sisterhood. Her story is more typical of the self-publishers who are basically sick of the wrongheaded query process. Her writing is not typical at all. We've been part of the same critique group for six years now, and I'm continually astonished by the transcendent quality of her prose. Her fiction is issues-driven, rich in imagery, peopled by believable, engaging characters. Her first novel was pubbed by a small literary press several years ago, but Bobbi is reclaiming her publishing virginity and considering the forthcoming novel The Ninth Step her debut. And rightly so. She isn't the same writer she was back then, and Lord knows this isn't the same publishing industry.

The Ninth Step is a riveting and richly human story about an alcoholic's search for redemption in the wake of a fatal mistake, a woman's search for answers in the wake of harsh disappointment, and a family's search for peace in the wake of wrenching loss. I loved this book and can't wait for readers to get their hot little Kindles on it. Watch this space for release details!

Why is Bobbi self-publishing her debut novel? In a word, she's ready. Since her agent left the biz, the time-suck of querying, rewriting, waiting months for response simply doesn't make sense for her. Because the caliber of her writing is so high, she seldom gets the form rejection, and this drags the process out even longer. She's open to being edited, but she's wisely reluctant to follow market-minded agents and anyone else who wants to lead her too far from the path she's chosen for herself as an artist. Without giving an inch of her artistic integrity, she's asked for and received feet-to-the-fire editing, and she's investing in a beautiful cover that will open the door and welcome readers into the warmblooded world she's created. For Bobbi, this is about the art of publishing in its purest form: a skilled author, whispering directly into the ear of a discerning reader.

Update December 2012: With the success of her indie titles lighting a fire, Bobbi was signed by a fantastic New York agent who quickly landed her a big fat 6-figure 2-book deal with large mainstream publisher. The first of the two, Evidence of Life is now available for pre-order.

You'll find a continually updated carousel of BoxOcto author ebook titles in the sidebar on the left.

Early report on Gary's Kindle Fire: "I like it."

If Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet end up being the Christmas gift everybody gets this year, 2012 will be an amazing year for ebooks. I'm seeing a prodigious blast of ebook consumption coming, and I think people will be very surprised at the books that emerge as big sellers.

Based on my Margaret Mead observation of the Gare Bear since the moment he got hold of his new Kindle Fire, it looks like price point is a major influence on buying. The first thing he did was search on his favorite authors and was seriously dismayed that their ebooks (obviously from the big publishers) were almost as much - in some cases more than - what he's been trained to pay for paperbacks.


So the next thing is visibility. How to authors aiming for the same demographic as that arguably overpriced big name get their book into the reader's eyeballs? Theories continue to evolve.

All we know for certain is that ebooks are not the next Big Thing. They're the current Big Thing. My new novel, The Hurricane Lover, came out on Kindle and Nook this weekend. So begins my indie pub maiden voyage, and I could not be more thrilled about what lies ahead.

Perhaps this is a good time to announce my forthcoming novel: The Hurricane Lover

Hunker down, East Coast! We on the Gulf Coast feel your pain. A hurricane is an incredible experience. Scary, fascinating, beautiful, terrible and (pardon the pun) mind-blowing.

When Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, my husband and I were among the volunteers who helped care for evacuees arriving at mass shelters in Houston. As I carried water to the long lines, a weary New Orleans police officer said to me, "This is a great day for news people and con artists." I was instantly smacked by the story hammer, and that initial inspiration evolved as I wrote, revised and did serious deep-dive research between ghost projects over the next five years.

Set on the Gulf Coast during the epic hurricane season of 2005, The Hurricane Lover is a tale of two cities, two families, and two people who find each other in a storm. A firebrand environmentalist from New Orleans and the whip-smart, self-determined daughter of a Houston oil baron come together to track a con artist who's using hurricanes as a cover for identity theft and murder. Hurricane Katrina is the perfect storm for the perfect crime. In her wake are twisted sisters Ophelia and Rita. The summer goes down in history for its mega-storms, oppressive heat, disaster management goat screw and polarized politics. The stormy relationship and complicated Southern families at the heart of The Hurricane Lover make it personal.

I set out to write a fast-paced, character-driven story with a strong atmosphere (think Lisa Unger/ Michael Crichton love child raised on the Gulf Coast by James Sallis) woven with the fascinating science of these real life mega-storms, along with actual email (made public through the US Freedom of Information Act) to and from FEMA director Michael "Heck of a job, Brownie!" Brown, President George Bush and others involved in the abysmal government response to Hurricane Katrina. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when Hurricane Ike decimated Galveston and Houston in 2008. At the height of the storm, I couldn't resist; I had to go outside. It's nothing I could have imagined - or written about - without experiencing it.

The Hurricane Lover is a grand experiment for me. After three novels and several nonfiction bestsellers with Big 6 publishers, I'm doing this novel as an indie ebook that will transition to a traditional print deal. I'm convinced that hybrid publishing is the way forward for career authors, with upsides for us, our agents, publishers and - most important - readers.

Now, if I could just decide on which of these two covers to use! (Let me know what you think.)

Look for The Hurricane Lover on Nook and Kindle November 1, 2011.

Lifehacker looks at the top 5 ebook sellers

Interesting article on Lifehacker discussing their favorite five ebook stores with results of their reader pole. Not surprisingly, here's how the numbers break down with over 3500 readers weighing in:

Kindle Store = 45.01%
Kobo store = 27.26%
Barnes & Noble = 12.41%
Project Gutenberg = 9.11%
Google ebooks = 6.22%

I was kind of stunned by the Kobo and B&N numbers, which may reflect their readership more than the general population. I really love Project Gutenberg, a go-to source for me for years, but I've downloaded four books since they started offering Kindle interface, and all of them had formatting problems that were pretty annoying/ distracting for my taste. Hopefully that will improve.

I think the lesson here for ebook publishers is that the venues are expanding.

New York Times will have e-book bestseller list early next year

File under "Gee, ya think?"

In an acknowledgment of the growing sales and influence of digital publishing, The New York Times said on Wednesday that it would publish e-book best-seller lists in fiction and nonfiction beginning early next year.

The lists will be compiled from weekly data from publishers, chain bookstores, independent booksellers and online retailers, among other sources.

Read the rest here.

Marion Maneker breaks it down to the dollar in "Want to Know What a Book Really Costs?"

Yesterday on Slate's The Big Money, Marion Maneker offered an excellent just-the-facts-ma'am explanation of the hard and soft cost breakdown on books and ebooks in Want to Know What a Book Really Costs?:

Publishers say the physical costs of a book—paper, printing, warehousing, shipping and handling returns—account for only about 10 percent of the total. Digital distribution does not erase the need to spend on author advances, editing, marketing, and other functions.

Yes, Virginia, that can be true. Strictly defined, those costs are probably close to 10 percent of the retail price of the book. As astonishing as that may seem to nonpublishers, I'm not so sure the numbers support the publishers' case for higher book prices. So I did a little math for Jack. And I tried to show my work.

Maneker goes on to break it down to the dollar, and the real deal might surprise you. Check it out.