Ebook Publishing a Bad Career Choice?
For years ebooks have had a bad reputation thanks to poor quality, shady publishers, and unprofessional behavior from authors and publishers alike.
But things are changing. According to Fiction Matters, ebooks sales are up. We’ve been blessed with snazzy new ebook readers like the Sony, Kindle, and even the Iphone. Publishers (a few anyway) are blazing a new trail by focusing on quality stories with thorough editing. And several big name print authors (anyone recognize the names Lucy Monroe or Deidre Knight?) are joining forces with Ebook Publishers (specifically, Samhain.) And hey, we’re a site dedicated to romance ebooks.
But, it seems, there are still many folks who don’t think writing ebooks is a valid career choice. For instance, Diane Pershing - RWA’s current President, is under fire this week for comments made in her June column From The President in the organization’s journal, Romance Writers Report.
Many authors have publicly posted their disapproval for Ms. Pershing’s comments. Find a thoughtful post by erotic romance author Lauren Dane here. See Kristin Painter’s response here. And Dear Author is running a poll and asking for comments. Monica Burns weighs in over at the HEA Cafe.
That said, I have some tough questions.
First of all, does Ms. Pershing have a point? Are the majority of ebook authors who are not “making a living” writing ebooks working at a career in romance writing? Taken directly from RWA’s website: The mission of Romance Writers of America is to advance the professional interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy.
So the question is, what constitutes a career? And is “making a living” also a personal preference? Are there authors out there who just want to make spending money? Should they be striving to make enough money to pay for all household bills, vacations, new clothes, save for retirement etc?
Is there a minimum hourly rate? A yearly income? Wordcount? Number of completed books required?
According to RWA’s website, any member in good standing who has “earned at least $1,000 in the form of an advance on a single romance novel or novella published by a non-subsidy, non-vanity publisher (”Option One”); or (2) who has earned at least $1,000 in the form of royalties or a combination of advance plus royalties on a single published romance novel or novella published by a non-subsidy, non-vanity publisher (”Option Two”) shall be eligible for membership in PAN.”
PAN, for those of you who don’t know, is the Published Author Network within RWA. Some would say membership within PAN is the benchmark for “being a published author.” Obviously, RWA needs a way to decide who is and isn’t considered a published author within their organization. It’s a necessary evil.
But have they picked a good way to do that? With the publishing industry changing so rapidly, there are so many things they don’t seem to keep in mind. Some ebook publishers do offer a small advance. Some print publishers no longer offer an advance. Some publishers offer an advance, with half payment up front and the other half when the book is turned in to the editor.
Is $1,000 a reasonable cutoff?
Let’s be honest, a many ebook authors don’t make $1,000 per book. At least, that was the case in the past. Is this different now? Does it matter to you as a reader if the author is a member of PAN? Authors, without giving away anything confidential or private, do you see the need to put a number on how much you have to earn (per book) before you’re considered “published.” What about novellas and short stories?
While there are certainly plenty of authors who do make $1,000 a book at an epublisher, how many authors don’t? In terms of a “career” would authors who are barely making any money at all be considered interns? Would it be better for RWA to educate all their memberships on the pitfalls and triumphs of ebook publishings? Shouldn’t there be a focus, at least a small one, within an organization that represents “all” its members on the digital age? On selling and promoting ebooks?
Are there any authors out there who make a living (again, would “paying all bills” be a reasonable definition) who write nothing but romance ebooks? Is that even a possibility yet? I’ve always thought that if you don’t write a great book, it doesn’t matter who publishes it, you won’t sell many copies and that should be a natural deterant for both the author and the publisher.
Authors, are ebooks part of your career plan? Do you even have a career plan? A business plan?
Some authors do see ebook publishing as an important part of their career. Monica Burns (Mirage, Samhain, June 09, a RT Top Pick by the way) is just one of them. “I firmly believe NY sees ePublishing as a hunting ground for new authors. I’m glad I started in eBooks because I would be totally lost at the moment. It’s given me experience with regard to promotion, experience with the editorial process, gave the chance to create a brand for my name and most importantly grow a reader list,” Burns said. In a recent article, agent and author Diedre Knight points out that she signed several ebook authors and was able to sell their work in New York.
So why isn’t RWA listening?
For authors who are serious about ebooks being a significant part (or all) of their income, do dues paying members get their moneys worth, if the organization as a whole does not provide adequate information on ebook publishers, contracts and career pathes?
Another question, would ebook authors be better served by a new organization devoted to romance ebook authors?
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Thanks for helping shed more light on this important subject.
And psst - It’s KristEn, not KristIn. lol Thanks!
E-book author here. Why e-books for me? I wouldn’t have been able to publish my Steampunk story 2 years ago if I chose the NY route-which, I hear they’re looking for steampunks now. E gives me the freedom as an artist to write the stories I want.
Another illogical point in Ms Pershing’s letter was that RWA makes it’s decisions for ALL of RWA, and then goes on to say that not ALL e-authors make a lot of $. Well, not ALL of the RWA members reach the goal of NY publication. Not many who do are able to live off their earnings. Many NY published authors still have 2 jobs, because their writing career can’t support them so “career focused” defines whom, then?
Thanks for a very insightful article.
(Reposting this to spread the word)
I know epublished authors can and do make money epublishing. The Board is calling for “hard numbers” too back the claims. If anyone is willing to turn in their numbers (as in income for 2008 as claimed on taxes), that would help. If you wish to turn them in to me privately, email to me at marilacroix @ yahoo.com (no spaces). I will keep your identity confidential.
Also, if any epublished author can tell me exactly what they want from RWA, please email me that as well. I mean, what do we all want? How can the RWA show support for the epublished members? Does it come down to the RITAs or is there something else?
Seriously, send me your info. I am one of your reps on the Industry Changes committee, and I NEED input to back me up…in turn, backing up the epublished community.
Would it be better for RWA to educate all their memberships on the pitfalls and triumphs of ebook publishings?
YES! This! Their current stance, in not so many words, is that e-publishing isn’t even worth educating their members about. If you want to settle just so you can say you are published, go ahead, we won’t support you. Give me hard facts as to why I shouldn’t publish with an e-press/small press. Not opinion.
The division within the organization doesn’t help the members as a whole, which are the reasons Pershing gives for her stance.
At the same time I don’t think the $1,000 advance/royalty is asking for too much. If you haven’t made this amount on one book, within a year, maybe you should sit back and think about why not? Also, if authors meet this designation then they should be open to all perks. They should be able to enter the Rita. They should be able to sell their novels at RWA’s booksigning. I think what most members are asking for is consistency.
I thought of something else after I clicked “publish” and Marilyn, this sort of answers your question as well.
When it comes to RWA and what they provide and don’t provide, it brings me back to about 10 years ago when I was just diving into the web, learning where to find information for writers and connecting with other writers.
One of the big things I’ve often seen and heard that I very much consider a problem is lack of information for writers in regard to publishers, contracts, and practices.
Who are the possible ebook publishers. Which are the good ones? Who should you steer clear of? What should you look for in a contact? How should you ask for changes? Is this information any different than Print Pubs in NY? Just like we have preditors and editors and we all want to know who the vanity presses are and crummy agents… we should have that info for ebook publishers. Who requires you to buy your own cover art, print copies, etc.
These are all things that I think RWA should be discussing. It’s one of the reasons we have CataU and the writers loop. Open discussion.
The other thing that RWA doesn’t seem to be considering…ebooks from NY. Harlequin, etc. are publishing in digital formats a lot these days. Shouldn’t they at least have discussions and workshops informing their “PAN” members about what’s in it for them? Should they accept the contracts as they’re being offered or retain digital rights and sell elsewhere?
What Melissa said. Every word.
Eva, you have a good point. How many RWA members never get published? How many of them give up the dream, drop out, or go the self publishing route? All members includes members who choose to go the digital route. Not just the ones who succeed in getting into NY. Some authors don’t even submit to NY and are happily published with epublishers.
Melissa, I think you’re right. $1000 isn’t too much to ask. And that goes back to “what is a career?” How much money do you have to earn before you are “in a career?” I’m pretty sure every member of RWA, if it is their goal to make money by being published, is career focused. They want to make money. They want to make $1000. And many do. So why are they made to feel unequal to those who make $1000 from Print pubs?
Saw an interesting stat go by on Twitter last week from Bob Mayer. Over 900,000 of the books published in 2004 sold 99 copies or less.
Saw an interesting stat go by on Twitter last week from Bob Mayer. Over 900,000 of the books published in 2004 sold 99 copies or less.
Ouch!
So why are they made to feel unequal to those who make $1000 from Print pubs?
The question of the hour. What really bothers me is that she is not taking into account authors have no control over their sales. Most authors believed their books had a market, one in which they would get paid handsomely in. I’m sure if you asked those authors did they intend to only sell 99 copies of their books the answer would be no.
The smash and grab theory of “I got paid an advance so who cares about the sells” makes my skin itch. I truly don’t know what is worse. Not paying out your advance versus very little royalites at all. We are in this business to sell books, not to get snubbed for our method of doing so.
Here’s a great article n e-books and royalties by ex Random House CEO Peter Olson co written with Bharat N. Anand.
http://www.bookbusinessmag.com/article/amazons-kindle-has-raised-issues-book-publishers-such-appropriate-pricing-options-e-books-407856.html
“This development leads to the reconfiguration of roles in the book business. Authors remain essential: E-book royalties per book should not be reduced in absolute dollar terms below p-book levels in order to provide the necessary incentive for creative energies that could otherwise be directed elsewhere (the current royalty schemes proposed by publishers would unfairly give authors only a percentage of net revenues).”
And if HarperCollins (HarperStudio) is not giving advances and an RWA author signs with them for a book deal, how does her 1k or no 1k matter? It’s moot. Royalties are moot. Are we published or not? I understand that they seek to protect their members, but putting their heads in the sand is not the way to educate people.
Life is NOT fair. Business’ go under. The only thing you can do to protect yourself is to educate yourself and when you fall take your lumps. It’s a rough stance, but ask any entrepreneur out there what the reality is. The best thing RWA can do is to EDUCATE their members about e-publishing to the point of OVER information. RWA should not be the secret holder, they should be the group that tells ALL. I know e-publishers would love the chance to give talks and answer questions. There should be no PRO/PAN, there should be PUBLISHED and NOT. There should be a wealth of information on the e-publishers available to all RWA members and names with e-mails for further inquiries. RWA can’t protect all of it’s members by excluding certain publishers, they can only help manage risk-and in this they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
I think the big problem comes from RWA not being able to look at different business models and understand that both can help an author build a career. Publishers are having to do the same thing as they try and play catch up with the digital side. But the letter from Diane Pershing has me ready to quit. Why should I pay an organization who sees me as illegitmate? Why should I give my money during bad economic times to an org that apparently think I am beneath them?
Seriously, why are we not questioning her motives and actions and calling for something to be done? I think because at this point I think I don’t give a damn about RWA. I used to really believe in the organization, but I am sick of the stupidity. It makes RWA look like a clique instead of legitimate trade organization. Even if she thought that, the president should not be telling members to leave if they didn’t like her opinions…esp when so many of us are looking at the economy and trying to cut corners. That shows a true lack of good judgement.
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I’ve made over $1000 on my first ebook/POD mystery (with romance). But since ebooks don’t count for RWA, I’ve never understood why I should join.
Thanks for stopping by, KristEn.
Sorry bought the name, a good friend spells it the other way.
You’re welcome Angeleque.
Thanks for dropping by Marilyn, I’m glad someone inside RWA really wants to know what members think.
Marie, I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you as to why you should join. I’ve always felt that the internet has brought together writers in a way that RWA never has or could. On one hand, face to face is important in this business. But on the other hand, the amount of information available and distributed via the internet is staggering. I truly never felt the need to join RWA for the information. Now that’s b/c when I began writing it was the mid/late 90s when I was on the web. I joined RWA for the networking and the face time at the local chapter.
One other thing I think RWA should address more considering this impacts ALL their members…piracy. What to do, who to contact, smart ways of handling it.
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As an author who is published by both traditional and e-publishers, what I would like is to have my e-books recognized as legitimate publications. They were not self-published or put out by vanity presses. I worked with an editor to polish them and spent as much time and effort writing and revising them as I did on my traditionally published books.
Those in my chapter who are e-pubbed experience my frustration–we are as serious about our careers and as dedicated to succeeding as authors who have traditional publishing contracts, yet our needs are ignored at nationals, and we are treated as pariahs by the organization.
I feel rather like a single mom who joins a parenting organization only to be told she’s not a “real” parent because her child is “illegitimate.” E-published authors need and deserve the same support, encouragement, and education as traditionally published authors.
Marianne, The Rita is only the tip of the iceberg. Being able to participate in that is only fair and right. But the major problem is the overall attitude exhibited toward those who are e-published.
As for making money, I’ve made as much or more from my e-books (none of which paid advances) than I ever did from traditional publishing. I’m the sole support for my family and have made enough to pay off our house, car, and almost all our debts from my e-royalties, so I’d say, in the long run, e-publishing has been quite lucrative even without any advances–or perhaps because I received no advance, but instead get 30-45% royalties on books that don’t go out of print. And, interestingly enough, the books I did for traditional publishers in the past two years (under another name) have all gone on to be e-published.
Times have changed and so has the publishing climate. I think the time has come to look more closely at this issue and update old policies.
To answer Marianne’s question:
I know there are many e-publishers out there who are shoddy, vanity presses, self-publishing mills, etc., but tarring every e-publisher with the same brush is unfair and discriminatory.
Yes, those of us who are e-pubbed do want to compete for the Rita, but more than that, we want to be treated as the professionals we are.
INFORMATION. For me it has ALWAYS been about Information. I pay my dues so I can have access to information. Yet the information RWA does provide has this restriction or that restriction on it.
Melissa is spot on. Give us the facts not your opinion about ePublishing. Show me the facts that ePublishing is bad for your career. Show me the facts that I can’t make a living at it. Of course I expect you to show me the facts that there are a lot of mid-list print authors not able to make a living at their writing as well.
I agree to about the $1000 showing. I’m thinking about showing them my $1000 Samhain book vs. the page with my Berkley advance on it.
This whole mess is just RWA acting like they’re a record album in the age of MP4s. Oy.
[...] *EcataRomance asks if ebook publishing is a bad career choice… [...]
I am published under two names, both e-publishing and print publishers.
First, there are print publishers who have cheated and more, even big-named ones in business for years. I have a friend who wrote an article for Fate Magazine and was supposed to be paid by them after publication, been a few months now and no money. They’ve been in business since Sixties.
There are many quality e-publishers and I have been paid by them, from acceptance of a story to royalties.
If I need any answers to spomething to do with my books or stories, I get answers. I’ve been burned by bad ones, but then you will have those out there. That’s the nature of business.
But I am not ashamed to be e-published. And as what is coming to pass about me saying people will be embracing reading e-publisher stuff, I predict that POD and more will be the norm for even big publishers.
Bookstores and even RWA will eventually get behind it.
[...] Publishing a Bad Career Choice? http://www.ecataromance.com/?p=1224 Asking some tough questions. Got answers? [...]
[...] Publishing a Bad Career Choice? http://www.ecataromance.com/?p=1224 Asking some tough questions. Got answers? [...]