Finally, a Reason to Blog

readersforauthors.net will benefit both authors and readers

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

Some of my articles here on Medium might be described as being on the periphery of what a blog is supposed to be, but these were also my least informative, most unorganized and otherwise unrestrained rants about topics I had issues with.

That was then. Long story short, I wrote a novel a couple of years ago. I did my research, I wrapped my tale around my protagonist’s emotional arc, I hired a professional editor who (mistakenly) predicted it would be a bestseller. In other words, I did my due diligence before I released it into the world.

I searched for an agent and a traditional publishing house for about six months before running out of patience. There’s no reason an author should wait two months for an agent’s answer before sending what may well have taken years to write to the next person on the list. While I might well have eventually landed a contract, I also learned what that contract would chain me to. It’s not pretty.

First of all, once you sign that sheet of paper, you have essentially sold your rights for a period of five years for whatever advance you get. Spend that money wisely, because you won’t see another penny for at least three years. The Porsche is out of the question.

When the three years has lapsed, you might get another royalty cheque — minus the advance, of course. The only silver lining is that if your cumulative royalties haven’t reached the level of your advance, I don’t think you’re on the hook to pay back the difference.

And. When you sign away your rights, the publisher can do whatever they like with your work, literally. They could change the title, rename your protagonist, lose characters or alter the plot. They could even rewrite it for a different genre. Imagine, your carefully plotted spy thriller ending up on a Romance shelf. The horror!

Thing is, I’m old enough that I might well be ash in an urn on the mantle in that time. I don’t think that’s likely, but it is a consideration I needed to think of, Besides, I wanted to see whether my efforts would find an audience, so what did I do?

I joined the crowd

I did. I have worked in print manufacturing as a production artist, so I know my way through the publishing process and digital production. Self-publishing wasn’t an obstacle.

Only it was. Not the producing the epub part, but what came after. My novel got lost on the beach of independent publishing, a grain of sand among millions of others. Publisher’s Weekly devoted an entire page in their international printed magazine and returned a review so positive, I dreamed of film producers calling my mobile.

My dreams were dashed

Of course, that didn’t happen, but it got me thinking about how one might find a way to lift the gems from the sand.

Back in the day, you could wander through a book store and browse titles by writers you’d never heard of, confident in one thing — if the book was on that shelf, it met certain standards. A team of editors and artists and marketing experts had done what had been necessary to present the book in its best light. You could count on not feeling cheated after you paid, got home and then reached chapter 3 before you threw the book into the fireplace.

Succeeding as an independent author today is less likely than coaxing the grand prize from a digital slot machine in Vegas. Amazon takes 70% of your book’s revenue (Uncle Sam takes 30% of the rest) but despite this insatiable greed, Amazon doen’t make a lot from selling books. Their income comes from selling you advertising packages for your book. Spend $1000, sell a dozen books. Win-win, right? For Amazon, maybe.

readersforauthors.net

Folks, I’ve worked on this for over two years and feel I’ve worked out the kinks. The important ones, anyway. We’ve started building the website and, finish or fail, I’m going to blog the trip.

The greatest obstacle for new authors is gaining traction among readers. Readers need somewhere to source new titles which, in a throwback to bookstores, have been curated for quality.

Our answer? Exchanging a free digital copy of a work for a review posted on a major retail site which I’ll reveal later. Reviewers will also be asked to score the work in a range of categories so the author knows where to improve.

We are not (nor ever will be) a sales portal

Authors will upload their work to our site, where it will be analyzed by AI to prevent AI-generated content (ha ha), plagiarized ideas and that the work meets publishing industry standards for quality — if your mum edited your novel, likely you won’t make the grade (though you’ll get the same consideration as everyone else). This is key to finding those diamonds on the beach and putting them on public display to be recognized for what they are.

Authors will pay 2% of an Amazon advertising package each month ($20) to put their work in front of readers who actually want to read it. As we get up and running, we’ll advertise and you’ll benefit while doing what you do best — write (or read). Readers pay nothing.

I’m open to comments and suggestions — after all, I’m looking to foster a community you’ll want to be part of.