Category Archives: Business

Well, okay it wasn’t very funny, but I thought I worth mentioning. Recently, I have had a lot of people wanting me to tell them how wonderful being a publisher is. They want to know all about the glamorous trips to meet authors, the cocktail parties, the dinners with agents, etc. What I want to know is, where the hell do they get these ideas?

I’ve been trying for a couple days to to figure out how to explain this to people without whining or bitching or insulting people without using their names. I fear I may do a little bit of all. An average day for me, as a publisher, can be all manner of things. There are so many high points and so many low points, I usually don’t know if I am coming or going.

I can tell you that every single day I thank God for giving me the chance to do what I love. I will say without any arrogance that I am good what I do. I feel good about every story I contract, I feel great about finding new authors and introducing them to readers, and I feel good about giving established authors a venue to showcase their works. It is a blessing to be able to read and publish and know that I am playing a large role in triggering a whole crapload of emotions in people I don’t even know.

Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have absolutely shitty days. Recently I woke u to a barrage of emails that had my head spinning and sent me running hysterical in tears to Dunkin’ Donuts for comfort. I’ll give you the top five highlights.

1. Three (3) authors contacted me to let me know they wanted their rights back (less than a year into their contracts) so they could self publish. They simply feel they can promote their work better that way. WTF? Why does who your book is published by make any difference to how you market it? Don’t get me wrong, not against self-publishing, just do it before you sign with a publisher and they make investments of time and money on your behalf.

2. Got word from two agents that the contracts I sent to them were unacceptable because I would not pay the author 20% of retail, let them keep all their rights except print, and do not offer a solid marketing budget. Oh, and one wanted me to give the author 250 author copies. Really? I am guessing they did not do their research and have no idea what size publisher they are dealing with. One even called my contract “Childishly designed.” What the hell does that mean? Anyone? Bueller?

3. I discovered that I have lost 3 editors.

4. I sent 60,000 books to be remaindered. These are books that I printed for authors who either did nothing to help me sell them or left Echelon to go self-publish.

So there’s a bad day, and yes that was one day (okay one and a half).

Now, far be it from me to leave you feeling sorry for me. Let me tell you about a good day. This is actually two days, but you get the point.

1. I finished a submission that I had NO IDEA I would like so much because the author wrote on a topic that was of no interest to me and she did things in this book that will curl hair in some cultures. It was an awesome book and she made an unthinkable situation make sense and work for me. I loved the book and I will be offering a contract.

2. I sent revisions to an author who I had met at a conference and I was pretty harsh (it needed some work) and the author has sent me several emails thanking me and letting me know she is revising and will be resubmitting soon. I was expecting a quick kiss off and perhaps some snarky tweeets. The writer is a real doll, though. Hoping we can work together.

3. I learned from one of my short story authors that she wants me to consider a novel by her. this is especially cool since so many are jumping ship to self-publish. I do have a place in my heart for loyalty. LOL

4. Our Echelon Press site had higher than usual views for three days in a row.

5. I finished initial edits on a book by an author who I have adored for years, who has signed on with Echelon to reissue her previous titles and to publish her new works. This is especially thrilling for me as she has been a mentor to me as an author for a very long time.

As you can see, the ride is wild and it can be trying, but for those people out there who think we have lots of expensive lunches and attend cocktail parties and schmooze. Here’s a little secret. Most days I eat alone and it’s usually Dunkin’ Donuts or Chipotle, the last cocktail party I went to was eight years ago and I paid $1000 in conference and travel fees to be there, and I drive a Toyota Corolla. Glamor? Not so much. Excitement, depends on what day it is. Schmoozing? I’m the one doing all the schmoozing, so I’m not sure if that counts.

I love what I do and I plan to do it for the rest of my life.

By now the entire world knows of the struggles and woes of Borders Corp. The bankruptcy, the closed stores, the dishonor. Yes, there is a crapload of dishonor.

Let’s talk about the bankruptcy first. The result of the latter mentioned issues have put the superstore company in grave danger of total destruction. Please keep in mind that this is only my take on the situation, but observations I have been establishing for many years. Borders claims to have run out of money, unable to pay their rent, or their vendors. They continue to order books from authors and publishers when they have no money to pay for them. Of course it has been my experience that they stopped paying their bills long before the bankruptcy. There have been plenty of complaints and actions against them for just this. This lack of money has fueled the fire under their big skillet.

Buy at Kindle Now!

Quite some time ago, readers were fortunate to have the option of going to Waldenbooks within their local malls to browse and buy books. Then everything at Borders changed and they began to kill off the Waldenbooks, first slowly, then whoosh, they were gone. These little gems of comfort and the only good service you could get from a Borders corp store were eliminated. Employees who had been in these stores for years and built relationships were uprooted and given the heave-ho. Readers lost their havens and publishers and authors lost many valuable places to actually sell books. These Waldenbooks either disappeared or were replaced by the little fart stores called Borders Express. We all know Borders stores as big superstores with lots of employees who have no idea what they sell or where to find most of it. Borders followed their misguided instincts and filled many of these locations with employees who neither understood or cared about the book business. How sad. Now, they have closed hundreds of their express and superstores.

Finally, there is the dishonor. Having built a reputation for bad customer service in their stores, they have gone on to excel at even worse service and tactics on their website, including Kobo. With the rise of eBook sales, it is only natural that Kobo use this venue to help finance its floundering company. Everyone knows that the distributor/reseller makes the bulk of the money with regard to eBook  sales. Yet, Kobo has felt it necessary to stick a red-hot poker into the eye of the very people who feed its coffers. The publishers and authors. Many other online sellers of eBooks have very strict rules about competitive pricing. If you price an item with them it cannot be priced any lower elsewhere. If it is, they will reduce their price to meet the competitor. Not that big of a deal, unless said discount affects the income potential from the other venues. Say you have a base retail price you must pay: $2.99 to receive a 70% royalty (this is part of a pricing agreement with the vendor that is not Kobo), which a publisher then shares with the author in the form of royalties. Kobo comes along (knowing full well what will happen when they price the $2.99 book at $2.69) and discounts the book, hoping to gain the support of the reader by charging less. What they have actually done, is they have forced the other venue to discount the retail price to meet the lower and knocked the item down from a 70% royalty to a 35% royalty for the publisher. It is not easy to split 35% of $2.69 with an author and keep them happy.

What Kobo doesn’t understand that when they back a publisher into a corner like this is that they force certain actions. One thing that could happen is that a publisher could remove ALL of its titles from the Kobo venue, thereby giving Kobo and Borders what they deserve: ZERO!

Another thing that could happen is that a publisher could write a scathing Blog post asking readers and eBook buyers NOT to make purchases from Kobo because it would kinda make them an accessory to premeditated robbery. That publisher could also ask readers to tell their reader friends who may not read said Blog about the unethical tactics of Kobo.

One would have to ask though, why Borders execs are not smart enough to know that if they want to save their sinking company they should be making friends and not bending publishers, authors, and readers over the proverbial cash counter without giving them flowers first.