Embrace Obscurity

 

Did you see Larry Crowne, the Julia Roberts & Tom Hanks movie? I loathe that film because whenever I write a blog post, I feel like I'm that slob of a husband of Julia's. Yeah, I have nothing but time on my hands, so I spend it writing, which everyone knows isn't "real" work. The cool thing about obscurity, in this case, is that I can write whatever I want and NO ONE WILL CARE. I'm not a brand, and by the time I become one, evolution will have put Morlocks in charge of the planet.

Blogs and websites that cater to authors are chock full of smarmy pep talks designed to inspire and encourage. An unprecedented crush of ebooks, a flood of Biblical proportions, is keeping you and your titles beneath the horizon. Still, however, you read optimistic posts just to remain focused on the dream of landing one of your titles onto a NYT list. Well, are you still fired up?

Reading motivational sludge is like a football team listening to the coach's rousing pep-talk moments before everyone hollers and races out of the locker room, ready for the big game. Yet, in this scenario, they rush out onto an empty field devoid of a team to play and fans to cheer them on to victory.

You, the quarterback, tuck the coach's speech away into a back corner of your brain and trudge off the field in search of a cold shower. Maybe next time someone will show up, you hope.

Obscurity is the prelude and finale to every artist's career. The good news is that if you're reading this, you're career as a writer has just begun (no well-paid author would waste valuable writing time reading my self-help drivel), and as such, you have nothing but blue skies ahead of you.

Instead of obscurity being your wasteland, I challenge you to embrace it as your playground. The benefits and perks can far outweigh the rewards of being a mid-list or branded author. If I repeat those words often enough, I'll probably believe them one day.

This post isn't motivational; I didn't write it to cheer you on. On the other hand, what I wrote isn't designed to tear you apart, either. I'll leave trashing your heart and artistry to your friends, family, and surly readers for the time when your career is soaring.

Instead, I offer a twist to the bitter lemon of obscurity.

Scrooge Was No Fool

This is, by far, my favorite reason why I choose to remain obscure. Sure, I have to sabotage my perfect stories, but plot holes and poor character-development ensure I retain my grip on my money. I can spend it on food and bills and save enough to avoid living on the streets with a guy named Mumbles.

When the day comes that relatives and friends discover that I'm making money writing books, they'll expect handouts on a scale that would make Santa Claus blush. Oh, the hostility and hatred … and that's just from me.  I shudder to think how friends and family will react when I tell them no or how they'll treat me if their gifts aren't from Macy's.

They'll rue the day when, from the ashes of my overwrought imagination and sleepless nights, a finely tuned writing machine emerges. I, the Phoenix, will methodically crank out money-making prose. Magnificently enriched and benevolent, I shall be packing forgiveness and tons o' goodies. I will understand that showering love and attention won't be good enough for my family and friends; they'll demand the bling-bling … and I'll encourage each of them to write their own friggin' novel.

Most images I use on book covers I get from public-domain sites. I'm sure the design artist doesn't mind giving away works for free, right? Hmmm … No, I'm almost certain I don't care about the double standard …

Grow Yourself Some Alligator Hide, Princess

Another benefit of obscurity is that my spouse, parents, siblings, and even my children don't pretend to be supportive of my passion and effort. I don't have to fend off jealous barbs about my stories, characters, grammar, clothing style, choice of toothpaste, and the like. When that does happen as my career takes off, I'll have my agent return their calls; I'll be too busy running their Prias off the road with the limo my fans buy me.

For now, I have to live with the fact that no one cares about my aspiring career. I can't get family to read my short stories, let alone the novels, so my craft remains unadulterated. I get to write and publish exactly what I want with no fear of upsetting my spouse with one too many commentaries about the mother-in-law's bushy moustache.

Critics refer to my artistry as a "hobby" that I'm "dabbling" with. The Bar of Expectations is set so low for me that I get attaboys just for finding the courage to get out of bed each morning.

Condescending backrubs and head pats are plentiful, given when someone passes behind my desk chair. Instead of a constructive critique, they offer little more than a tongue click or a snide comment pooh-poohing my plot.

I daydream about ripping the offender's face off and cramming it through my shredder, all the while screaming, "It's fiction, you idiot. None of it's real." But then, I notice I'm alone in the room … all alone. (*sniffle*). Instead of sharing playful banter, I just slap on a foolish grin and wave happily at his/her rapidly disappearing backside, knowing that one day, I'll thank them for their lack of support with their share of lavish gifts.

Sybil-ized

Obscurity keeps me from being pigeonholed into a specific genre demanded by my publisher and readers. I can experiment with the most bizarre plot twists and character quirks imaginable. It's refreshing that there's no pressure to write formulaic factory books—the brass ring.

Planning ahead for my inevitable fame and fortune, I created multiple identities via pen names. I have begun using a different one for each genre I write within. I couldn't get away with this approach unless I was obscure. Think about it—once I'm a famous novelist, my breadwinning genre will demand a significant chunk of writing time and attention to keep the money flowing. My new and refreshing stories will have to exist under separate personalities, and none of these can be worked hard until my cash cow's milk has run dry. Not a problem when one is buried deep within obscurity because it lets me do that NOW!  I get to goof around and see what sticks.

IRS? No Royalties = No Worries!

Taxes, shmaxes, The Man can't take what I don't have. Without book sales, I don't get paid. The financial headaches that plague mid-list and brand authors are inconsequential to me. Every end-of-quarter and April 15th, I grin because I don't have to calculate the potential income I might earn from a fickle readership. My taxes are based on the single W-2 I get from my shifty and unscrupulous employer. None of my royalties are wasted on legal and financial services.

My Day Job

Obscurity gives me the opportunity to refine my skill at sucking up to my boss and his/her cronies. I can't afford to lose my job because my book sales are in the toilet, so I've really become a people-person at work.

No Black Eyes

In a favorite dream, I'm competing in the 100-meter dash against the super-model Cindy Crawford. My strategy is simple: I keep a few paces behind her for the first 70 meters and wait for gravity to work its magic. Cindy's 38DD boobs bash her in the face with each stride, eventually knocking her senseless. Before collapsing from the pain of getting two black eyes, she yells to me, "Curse you and your tiny boobs, LC!" Then, I do a touchdown strut across the finish line.

Huh? Well, since I don't pack the big guns of the Famous, obscurity works against gravity and protects my stories from piracy and tyrannical reviews common with high-profile authors. This means I save gobs of money on legal fees and aspirin. See? No black eyes.

Unfettered Vacations

When not writing, I relax in my pool chair, sipping Corona knock-offs in front of my wall mural of a Caribbean sunset.  Without a beach nearby, my cat's litter box is an adequate substitute, even though I avoid driftwood and the tidal pools. I did chuck my ringing mobile phone into the mural's water once. Unfortunately, my neighbor was home. He responded to the hole I'd put in the wall by crushing my phone into silicon dust. If I were a B-list author, I'd already have a replacement phone, but since I'm obscure and broke, does it really matter that my voicemail box is full?

Well, Almost No Black Eyes

Writing short stories is inexpensive therapy for me. I publish and give them away for free. I never expect reviews of my free stuff; however, there are readers who feel obliged to hammer a stake into my heart anyway. Because of the internet's longevity, spite-slathered reviews will be forever tied to my titles, and I detest that fact.

As I write this, I wonder if I'm growing out of obscurity. A hateful review means that I succeeded in drawing enough emotion out of a reader that s/he felt compelled to react. Being obscure, it would be less of a sting if the reviewer had actually paid money for the title s/he blasted, though.

As such, I prefer to remain in my bubble of obscurity, safe below the horizon of fame and fortune and out of reach of dorks disappointed because I don't write Barney stories.

Out of necessity, brand authors and high-profile mid-list authors have to keep their mouths shut all the time and hide behind their publicists and attorneys. As you can see from this diatribe, I ain't got nothin' to lose. After all, when you're obscure, is there a level called "Obscurity minus One?"

Neener, neener, neener

I'd like to thank Ruth Ann Nordin for publishing this post on the Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors blog. I do appreciate the kind feedback my observations received from SPAHA's readers. See the comments at: http://selfpubauthors.com/2013/05/09/embrace-obscurity-a-guest-post-by-lc-cooper/#comments 

 

 

Douglas County Libraries Refers Patrons to Bilbary. What About Smashwords?

Douglas County Libraries' (DCL) director, Jamie LaRue, is referring DCL's patrons to Bilbary for ebooks that aren't available within the county's library system (see ""Buying Ebooks from Bilbary – Douglas County Libraries"). Mentioned is the fact that the Big 6 are still rather unwilling to sell to libraries, and those that do, still place insidious and insipid demands on libraries. To circumvent traditional-publishing's buffoonery, DCL makes available, via Bilbary, ebooks that are published by some of the Big 6; Random house was Bilbary's latest addition.

Bilbary's roots run deep within the sanctuary of the Big 6. Although a fledgling commercial venture, Bilbary is built on the backbone of Ingram Content Group. It does not loan ebooks for free; however, when a DCL patron buys an ebook from Bilbary, DCL claims it will receive 50% of the proceeds, which will supposedly be reinvested into titles from publishers other than the Big 6.

Enter Smashwords: This week, Smashwords will deliver, via its new Library Direct platform, an initial order of ebooks to DCL. Oddly, DCL's site makes no mention of its new relationship with Smashwords, but instead, focuses on gaining indirect access to Big-6 ebooks. So, Smashwords delivers best-of-class functionality once again, but the effort is downplayed – knocked from the limelight by the allure of Big-6 titles.

I am ecstatic that many well-branded authors are coming to Smashwords. How long will it be until the roles are reversed and Smashwords takes its rightful place in the catbird seat?

Smashwords' Tasty Upper Crust?

Recently, Smashwords.com's founder, Mark Coker, wrote and posted two releases to the Smashwords blog that target the library-lending markets (see "New Library Direct Enables Libraries to Acquire Large Opening Collections of Smashwords Ebooks" and "Smashwords Pricing Manager Tool Enables Custom Library Pricing." Smashwords' Library Direct offering allows libraries and library organizations to purchase a large quantity of ebooks from Smashwords. The second innovation gives authors the ability to set pricing for libraries differently, if desired, than retail pricing.

These innovations expose a departure from Smashwords' precedent-setting platform. When Smashwords came online and alive in 2008, it provided a neutral, level playing field where indie authors and publishers could publish all types of ebooks. Authors, retailers, and readers could coexist within the Smashwords environment. The ingenuity of Smashwords' Meatgrinder and relationships with retail partners crushed the gate-keeping practices of traditional publishing within 2 years of Smashwords going online. In 4 years, Smashwords has become the dominating force in indie publishing.

There is a shift underfoot as Smashwords matures. Today, libraries, and the buying power of their organizations and aggregators have become the bedfellows in the quest for incremental revenue. Realizing the future potential from gaining access to libraries and their patrons, startups like Bilbary and Jellybooks aspire to capture market share, but Smashwords clearly demonstrates the strongest position in the marketplace.

Within the gooey center of the Smashwords pie, 45,000 authors elbow and jostle each other as they vie for very few reader dollars. This heart of Smashwords has already become generic and rather plain-tasting as over 100,000 titles crowd the ebook shelves. The once-vital heart wallows between bland layers of muck and mediocre marketing. Instead of focusing on improving the quality of their ebooks, many authors practice screwing over each other by price slashing. Every once in a while, an author's bubble of creativity quietly rises to the top, raising the ire of the rest of the authors struggling within the tar pit.

There is a crust forming atop Smashwords' pie. Tasty, light, and flaky, this addition sounds absolutely scrumptious, but is it?

Those authors that bubble to the top are getting to participate in Smashwords' Library Direct program. My impression is that, although slow out the gate, Library Direct will entice libraries and library organizations to place large initial purchases, and do so by cherry-picking from among the most popular ebook titles and authors at Smashwords. Popularity is defined in terms of sales dollars, not reader-reviews and rankings. Although professional reviews may play a role, Mark Coker has remained quiet regarding how the selection criteria are defined.

Where Smashwords' design delivers all approved titles to retail partners, its new Library Direct model, which represents a departure from status-quo neutrality, segregates and rewards high-performing authors with access to library patrons. These additional exposures help these preferred authors build their platforms and increase income. The majority of Smashwords' 45,000 anemically-performing authors, of which I am one, are not, by design, invited to participate in Library Direct, and thus, are denied access to library patrons. Library Direct replicates the traditional library-supplier model that plagues authors today.

As I see it, a light and flaky upper crust is forming at Smashwords. To make the high-performers titles even tastier to libraries and library aggregators, Smashwords created a pricing tool that permits authors to price their ebook titles differently (probably lower) for libraries than what a retail customer will pay for an ebook. This offering benefits only the high-performing author. The strategy is that if a strong author wants to get her/his entire backlist of ebooks into libraries, then s/he should drop the price significantly for each title offered to libraries.

Since the vast majority of Smashwords' authors can't make it past the first hurdle of being a top performer, the library-pricing tool, then, becomes pointless. Having said this, its existence, however, allows promising authors the ability to change their library price on the fly so that libraries will snatch up their rising titles at bargain prices.

Back in March of this year, a blog post I wrote, entitled, "Legacy Publishers Poised to Fight Back: Do Silos Spell the End to Self-Publishing?" generated a lively discussion about the past, present, and future of ebook publishing, including a couple of possible outcomes of Smashwords' success. Smashwords' Library Direct program and its library-pricing tool dovetail nicely with the shared thoughts about Smashwords' evolution.

Quite a few folks commented on the Smashwords' blog regarding Mark Coker's announcements about Library Direct and the library-pricing tool. What I wrote in today's post is my take-away from that thread (to which I posted two comments). Admittedly, I was frustrated that Mark Coker avoided answering my questions; specifically those where I requested information about the detailed criteria for inclusion in the Library Direct program, and the intent behind the design of the library-pricing tool.

What's on the horizon?

Smashwords is following the traditional business lifecycle. Beyond innovation and implementation, it's moving into the maturity phase, where decisions are made to differentiate its products and services from its competitors. My prediction is that Smashwords will soon offer better-than-normal royalty rates (and even possibly tiered rates based upon incremental volume sales) to celebrity and high-profile authors to jump ship from competitors and/or to retain profitable authors and publishers on the Smashwords platform.

I predict that within the next five years, one of the Big 6 or another type of competitor will buy out Mark Coker's controlling share of Smashwords. That's the retirement scenario. Another possibility is that as the ebook market matures, Smashwords will come to a point where it has to decide if it wants to remain the big fish in a diminishing pond, or grow larger to satisfy the needs of the new marketplace. Without deep pockets of its own, Smashwords' management team may decide to take Smashwords public to generate investment capital or to fend off a buy-out threat. All it takes, then, is for an investor to purchase a majority share of Smashwords' stock and the entire landscape changes.

All I know for today is that Smashwords is maturing. I believe that its Library Direct offering and the library-pricing tool represent Smashwords' next salvo in its efforts to establish itself as the new legacy publishing model. In ten-or-so years, who will be the young visionary who leads the revolution that knocks Smashwords from its conceivable gatekeeper and patriarchal roles? The business cycle dictates this will be the outcome.

Nervy times we live in, but I'm sure enjoying being in the thick of the publishing revolution!

Take care,

LC