Paying for Space

CASH UP FRONT by Randy Kennedy
Published: June 5, 2005, Sunday New York Times

New Author? Frustrated by the lack of bookstores scrambling to shelve your newest work? Don't feel bad. You're hanging with the majority when it comes to obtaining the all-so-precious space at any local book retailer.

I recently read the article, CASH UP FRONT, in the NYT (well, online at the Times) by Randy Kennedy. Most enlightening. And I highly encourage any author to peruse it in depth whenever they become discouraged about the whole "book-stocking thing."

Overall, the general theme of the story (if you haven't guessed it) is that most publishers pay in some manner or another to obtain space on the retailer's shelves, aisles, windows, and so forth.

A throwback from the Depression, this arrangement (referred to in the article as co-operative advertising) is expensive albeit very beneficial to those who have the means to chalk up the dough, but in essence it makes it difficult for mid-list and underdog authors to gain the valuable consumer eye much less the shelf space in bookstores.

They also throw out some numbers, just in case you're interested and have a few grand lying around. Well, more like ten or so. To quote:

"…but some publishers said that the price for placement on front-of-store promotional tables for only a few weeks or a month … can be between $10,000 and $20,000 per book... Placement on eye-catching cardboard displays can cost much more than $20,000."

Well, I say … that brings the game into perspective.

It's a lengthy read, but well worth the effort. If you have a few moments spare, you may want to get by and check it out.


LINK: NYT Archive

NPR Talks Self-Publishing

Taking the Plunge into Book Self-Publishing by Gloria Hillard

Overall, I found this to be a pretty good story-much promise with just a few misleads-and the quote by the man from Penguin was quite encouraging, stating how there is "a need for self-published works" in the industry.

However, the main misconception brought to the front was the idea that works being produced through fee-based companies are "self-published" in the traditional sense.

This happens more often than not but regardless there is a difference between true SP and publishing through a fee-based service-namely the whole who buys the ISBN thing-but I can't dwell on it too much for I do believe that anytime the industry can gain notice in a positive way (however accurate) it far outweighs a few inaccuracies along the line.

Check it out when you get a chance but make sure that you listen to the actual playback of the story. There's far more material there than what is in the text. (Look for the little icon right below the title.)

LINK: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4699387

The writer of this article own book was produced through iUniverse. You can check out her website at: http://gloriahillard.com

First Post: Where to Begin

I guess I should begin from the beginning, right? As we all do…

In a nutshell save all the gory details: I started writing in high school. Friends loved it. Family rarely if ever saw it. (But that’s okay. For some skewed teenage narration by a reclusive, outcast mongrel is probably not what parents truly want to hear.)

Then the real world stepped in. Took the forefront of my attention. Marriage, kids, home, picket fence. Yeah, it’s all good. And I truly thank the high heavens for every day I’m privileged to receive.

But things have a way of making full circle. And it did. One day a computer. Next day, the itch. You know the one. The one where those living characters within the gray goo say, “Oh, here I am. Remember me? Good. Now let’s get to business.”

Ah, so … now we have something. The words came like water from a trough. Fluid and mesmerizing. Almost one hundred thousand words of pure unedited manuscript. And a dream. A dream to see it in print. To believe that if people read it they’d go, “Yeah, it’s all good.”

And in my ignorance came much bliss (for only ninety-nine bucks upfront). Not bad to see those living words in print I must say. But with this bliss also came a rude awakening and much deserved education.

Which is why I started doing what I do. To save you the trouble. To in some small way be able to help others on the path I struggled to learn.

Writing is a business and a hard one at that (which was Lesson Number One for me). Yes, there are rewards, but in truth only those who do it with a dedication to the craft will survive. The rest, well, I feel for them. Deeply.

So, it’s with this small rambling that I want to welcome to my new blog, The Backroom, as I say. A little place off the beaten path where I hope to provide a resource to aid both new and established writers who want to use the technology to create or build their future. Or maybe to just relive their past.

I guess we’ll just have to see.