Top 5 things I’ve learned about publishing

Hello Readers,

In honour of this past weekend having been Can-Con I thought I’d write about writing.

I’ve been published now for just over 8 years and there’s a lot I didn’t know about the industry that I wish I did.

5. Publishing is a hurdle not a finish line.

Everyone who writes dreams of the big publishing contracts with advances that will let you quit your job and become the next Stephen King. It isn’t that easy unfortunately (and it wasn’t for Mr. King either.) Most new authors don’t get advances or if they do they’re very small. Even older more established authors don’t get advances anymore.

Once the book is out there’s all kinds of things that have to be done and there’s the next books to think about. It’s a constant cycle.

4. Everyone is underpaid, understaffed, and struggling.

Rarely do authors make enough money to live off and that’s fairly well known but the same can be said about everyone else involved. The majority of small presses are volunteer or owner run. The medium sized ones aren’t much better off and rely on staff that can wear multiple hats.

The same goes all the way down. Booksellers, printers, designers, typesetters, artists, and editors. All of them have multiple jobs and does it out of passion, not for lots of money. (I can’t speak about the big 5 but I’d assume like any corporation that the CEO’s and stockholders are well paid and that’s about it.)

3. A publisher doesn’t sell your book, nor does a distributor.

WIth a few exceptions where a publisher has lots of faith and extra cash, they are in the business of making the best book possible, not selling your book. They will promote and some publishers do events where your book is for sale but it’s your job to push the book.

The same with any distributor, they distribute and will occasionally promote but it’s your job to sell the book.

One of the reason’s it seems that every tik-tok star is getting a publishing contract is that a lot of book selling is really selling you. (Not ideal for a curmudgeonly introvert like myself.)

2. Books don’t last forever.

Books have a shelf life or life cycle. They are born and they hopefully sell and then eventually they die. Big named books being an exception as usual. Most publishing contracts have a 5 to 10 year clause that says if your book doesn’t sell the rights return to you. (If your contract doesn’t say you get the rights back after your book is out of print, insist they change it.)

Series have longer lives because the first few get a boost with every new release.

1. Everything costs money, sort of.

If you are self publishing, you’re paying for everything. If you get a publisher they pay for as much as they can. With a publisher the money should go toward the author.

That’s mostly true, but it’s not always true. Sometimes you need to pay an editor to make sure your book is good enough for submission. Sometimes you need to pay for graphic design work for promotion, and if you’re going to sell your book solo at events, that’s your responsibility.

But just because you aren’t paying for things doesn’t mean they don’t cost the publisher which is why they can’t throw around advertising money like the Big 5.

*Warning* There are a lot of companies out there promising to make your book a best seller. They promise to do everything for a large sum of money. Best case scenario you don’t make your money back. Worst you lose the merchandising, film, and even the copyright to your own books. Writer Beware is an excellent source if you’re approached by these predatory companies.


Thank you for reading and check out some of my books!

Éric

Rejection is Hard to Take

Hello Friends, Family, and Fans,

In June, I got a rejection for The Copper Tarnish. I worked on that book on and off for almost seven years before submitting it. It’s one of my more raw books and reflects a lot of my feelings of wanting and not being accepted.

The whole book is an exploration of the small town obsession with uniformity. I use a parasitic (zombie-ish) infection as a metaphor for how far people will go to insist others fit their mould. There’s also an alien princess, sapphic romance, and some intense crossovers from other stories.

I’m proud of this book. I thought, when submitting, that it was the most layered of my stories, all wrapped in a 50’s style monster movie.

I requested feedback on the rejection, and despite the reply being very kind, it was obvious that they disliked the book.

I am absolutely NOT upset at the people who criticized or those who rejected me.

I want to be. I want to be indignant, I want to rage, I want to say they don’t understand my genius.

However, if I’m being honest, I’m just upset because I was rejected, because I’d hoped to release a book every year for 10 years in a row, and mostly because I failed.

The rejection was such a surprise and the criticism so broad that it’s thrown me through a loop. Between RSD and imposter syndrome, I’m finding it hard not to overthink everything I write. Unfortunately, that makes writing extra hard and me extra sensitive.

I just finished a chapter of Fanatics! Inevitable Honeymoon Crashers, and despite being excited about what I wrote, I keep feeling like I’m not doing a good enough job. I feel like the quality difference between my writing and Jen’s is starting to show more. (She’s damn good and only getting better.)

That’s one of the downsides of co-writing; the pressure to be as good as your co-writer, and feeling like they’d be better off on their own.

I’m not looking for any advice or reassurance. I just need to start building up my confidence again. I know I have strengths in my writing and I need to concentrate on those and work on my flaws.

As for The Copper Tarnish, it’s currently with a beta reader and based on their comments, I might send it to more beta readers, re-write it completely, or put it in my “I wrote this but don’t think I should publish it” folder with Cerulean Sky and Dinosaur Road Trip.

Part of me wants to give up but I know that I can’t. Writing is like breathing. I’m not sure I can live without it.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric

Writing is Hard, Publishing is Harder

Hello My Imaginary Friends,

I’m not asking for help or for advice, I just need to vent.

I’ve been writing my whole life. First novel was started when I was ten. I started writing seriously (meaning I actually finished my novels and stories) a dozen years ago. My first book was published in 2016 after 6 years of rewrites and re-submits.

My sixth book has just come out and I’m feeling a little frustrated. I feel like every book I publish is getting less readers, less reviews, and less interest. I have a lot of little easter eggs and details that cross between books and I’d love to hear someone geek out about them. (Other than my wife, mother-in-law, and daughter.)

I know part of it is caused from not seeing anyone, other than family, since March 2020. I miss talking to other authors, readers, and fans at conventions and in person.

My last two books have been launched digitally and it doesn’t give me any time to chat with one person at a time.

So I guess I’m both sad that my books aren’t reaching more people and that I can’t talk with people.

There’s hope for both cases; my publisher has recently gotten a distribution and promotion deal for all their books. And Health Canada is currently reviewing Pfizer’s vaccine for 5-11 year olds and they say that 4 and under isn’t far away.

I have high hopes for Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers (the book Jen and I co-wrote) next year. It’s set to be released in Fall and hopefully we can have an in-person release party. I’ll also hopefully be able to attend Can-Con that year.

Part of the distribution of new releases for my publisher means that some of the the books get placed in bookstores. The most recent wave, several amazing authors have had their books in stores. (Mine isn’t because it’s part of a series and they don’t put book 3.5 when they don’t have 1-3.)

I look forward to seeing Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers in bookstores. I hope it gets all the attention it deserves. It’s a fantastic book.

Thanks for reading.

Stay safe and be kind,

Éric


Canadian publishing… WTF?

Hello My Imaginary friends,

Last Thursday I got an email from our wonderful publisher checking in to make sure everyone was okay after, “a tumultuous week for Canadian speculative fiction writers”.

I’m on parental leave and not as involved online as normal, also I’m kinda isolated from the larger writing community outside of events. I had no idea what was going on.

Holy Expletive did I wish I didn’t know after I read up on it. It made me sick and more than a little angry. Here’s a quick clean description from S. M. Carrière:

It began with accusations of non-payment and verbal attacks levelled against ChiZine Publishing by author Ed Kurtz.

Then things exploded.  Stories by others associated with the press, either having “worked” for (I put worked in quotation marks, because payment was not something they often did) or volunteered with them, and other authors expression concerns about behaviour and non-payment.  Some of it was truly sickening; verbal and emotional abuse that I found extraordinarily triggering. […]

Thoughts on a Bloody Mess – S. M. Carrière

If you really want to learn more you can check out this blog post by High Fever Books. It’s comprehensive and is still updating with information.

I’ve had very little dealings with ChiZine… Mostly the reading series that was run in Ottawa. The reading series in Ottawa was run by some fantastic people and I’m extremely happy that they don’t seem implicated in the terribleness.

When I first met the publishers, I thought they were the rockstars of publishing. They had edgy cool books, snarky attitudes, and a slight punk vibe. I pitched my first novel to them and was shocked that they liked the pitch.

Over the next two years, I periodically emailed about my submission, always getting emails about how busy they were. It was a stark contrast from Renaissance Press that actually published the novel. They apologized for taking too long (less then 3 months) and even walked me through what I should do to improve the novel.

I asked Sandra about the submission in person at the next years’ Can-Con and she replied curtly that, they’d get to it when they had a chance. From that moment on, she and Brett pretty much ignored me. I was on a panel at Limestone Expo and Sandra spent most of the time talking over me and interrupting the other panelists. I mostly tried to avoid them after that. I assumed it was me. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea and can rub some the wrong way.

I don’t know all the details, but there are a lot of people speaking out about WAY worse things that ChiZine has been involved. It’s seriously disturbing how bad some of the stuff being discussed is.

In case it’s not clear. I believe and support those speaking out.

In times like these, I truly appreciate my publisher. Renaissance isn’t the biggest, nor is it the fastest growing, but damn do they take care of their authors. They have a careful, people-oriented approach to publishing that I greatly appreciate.

I have nothing new to add to the conversation, but I do want to repeat two important messages:

  1. Don’t punish the writers for their publisher.
  2. Don’t assume that everyone involved with ChiZine knew what happened or were involved. There are some genuinely lovely people who were involved with the company that might not have been involved in the horrible behaviour.

Be kind, my friends,

Éric

The Main Characters of A Study in Aether

Hello,

Last week my editor asked what I’d like to see on the cover of A Study in Aether. I said I’d love to see the three main characters on the cover. They then asked for actors or pictures that represent the characters I had in mind. Here are the quick descriptions and pictures.

Jackie

An avid reader of all things genre Jackie loves the idea of magic and other worlds. He’s one of the calmest and chillest people you’ll meet.

Physically he is brown skinned and gangly. Just having grown almost a foot before high school he’s still not used to his body.  I always pictured Neil Denis (Tilk’s son from Stargate)

Neil_Denis

Angela

The biggest of science nerds, Angela is absolutely brilliant. Her obsession with knowledge is only matched by her love of fashion. She’s shy and prone to rambling.

Physically she’s native and petite, with long brown hair. Very stylish. I picture her as a young Tanaya Beatty from Arctic Air.
S3Kaitlin2

Elizabeth

Absolutely obsessed with mysteries Elizabeth treats most situations as if they were a puzzle for her to decipher. She’s stubborn to a fault but cares deeply for everyone around her.

Physically she’s average high slightly chubby with curly blonde hair. Sort of a chubbier version of Sasha Pieterse from Geeky Charming.
superthumb
What do you think? Is this a cast you’d want to read more about?

Serial Story

 

Poll Closes tonight at midnight. Get your vote in while you can!

Serial Story 2016 - Last Round

  • Wargrave Island (50%, 3 Votes)
  • The Ruby Child (50%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 6

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Wargrave Island

Genre: Murder Mystery
Inspiration: And Then There Were None, Sherlock Holmes

Read the Beginning

[…]

“What happened?” asked Jonathan, drunkenly staggering towards them, trying to get to the boat.

“What’s in there?” asked Zoe, who was followed by the rest of the party guests who must have seen the fire.

Riko tried to keep them back, but Jonathan made it past her and yelled, “Oh shit, there’s a dead body in there!”

The Ruby Child

Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Inspiration: Firefly, Eberron

Read the Beginning

[…]

As he watched, in complete amazement, the ruby transformed into a baby with glowing crimson hair. The infant gave a tiny giggle and opened its eyes. He expected red eyes, but was surprised to see little clones of his own dark green eyes staring back at him.

“Oh Boy,” he repeated.

Éric

Responses and Houses. Yay!

I have a lot of stuff to talk about today so let’s split it up into topics.

House

Let’s start with the good news. My wife and I have bought a house. My in-laws have been a great help throughout the process and I am lucky to have them. We’re moving on the 29th of March, which means I’ll be crazy stupid busy for the next month. I’m trying to fight down the panic right now.

Who thought moving 800+movies and 2300+ books would be so much work?

Writing

On Writing by Stephen King

The last book I wrote came together in amazing and beautiful ways, for me anyways. It was a culmination of three years’ worth of thinking and planning.

This new book isn’t like that. Writing is hard. No seriously, some days I wonder why I bother. I’ve been writing a novel a year for the past three years and I’m now a third of the way through my fifth novel and sometimes I feel like it’s just too much work.

Then I start writing and realize how much joy it brings me. It’s a feeling that I have to hold onto even in my most depressed and insecure moments.

But sometimes it would be nice to get appreciation from someone who doesn’t know me.

Publisher Response

In that vein, I received word from one of the two publishers yesterday. It’s a kinda rejection and possibly the nicest I’ve received. That’s saying something, I’ve been rejected several dozen times (not much compared to most authors but I’m still young and haven’t written enough short stories) and they’ve all be extremely nice about it. I’ve really only received 2 kinds of rejections; the nice ones and the “no response” rejections.

They basically said they liked the story and the characters but that it needed a good rewrite and editing. The word “compelling” was used which I take as a great compliment.

The only part that stung was that they said it read like a first draft. It was my sixth draft and third rewrite. I’ve reached the point with the book were I know I need professional help. (Insert Psychologist joke here!) They did say I could resubmit once I had reedited and rewrote the novel.

It makes sense, they’re a smaller publishing company and my book needs an editor, which is expensive. I’ll wait and see what the other publishing house says and then I’ll have to look for an editor. Unfortunately editors are expensive and we just bought a house.

Anyone know a good editor that won’t cost me more than a used car?

As I said I’m still waiting on one reply for this novel and I’m waiting on a short story anthology. I’m still hopeful.

I would like to thank the publishing house for the sweet things they said… so if you’re reading, thank you.

Silver Stag Entertainment

I’ve really been enjoying being a guest of this podcast for the past few weeks. It’s great to sit around and chat about movies and books with smart and funny people.

I was on the panel this week for The Diamond Throne by David Eddings.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7qhKtNFlo]

Survey

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contest

Thank you for listening. Tomorrow you’ll get to choose who dies in my newest novel.

Éric