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 

 

 

Revolver and Bozell Books - New & Fresh or SOSDD?

Just when I thought there were some new and exciting options for indie authors, digging deeper reveals the two I checked out are the same old s**t, different day (SOSDD).  Enter the new ballsy literary journal, "Revolver," and the new self-pub division of Bozell.

To summarize - *Sigh* and *tsk, tsk, tsk* - Yep, that about sums it up.

Revolver) is a new literary journal, claimed to be "rowdy." Their editing staff wants prose that hits you like a bullet to the brain. Now, excuse me if I missed the point, but if writing hits me that hard, I'd either be dead or in a vegetative state, and neither outcome appeals to me. "But, hey," I thought, "let's see how gutsy and fresh these folks are!"

After briefly creating an account in Revolver, I eagerly proceeded to the submission process. I have six titles that are between 1,000 and 5,000 words, which qualified me to submit up to 3 as long submissions. "Oh, this is going to be great fun," I thought, just before wetting myself.  After stepping out for a quick "Depends" change, I giddily clicked on the "Submit" button.

"Crash!" cried the brick wall: There before me sat the cold and unblinking block that demanded a cover letter. Flooding my brain, um … kinda like a bullet hitting it, I suppose … were the memories of dozens of rejection letters from agents and publishers.  I meekly went through the mechanical exercise of cranking out a cover, but then deleted it; the pabulum had no soul.

As I suspected, Revolver's "Legal" page on its website reads exactly like the submission process for traditional-publishing's model. Then, I determined after sifting through the cover letters, they'll take a month or so to get back to the author regarding pub'ing. *Yawn* – not exactly the ballsy, rowdy, indie environment I've chosen to be accustomed to.

In my opinion, Revolver provides its investors with an easy way to gather edgy and inspired works for free, and then make money off the included titles by selling the printed version of the Revolver journal to retailers (I did read that sales objective somewhere, but I'm not wasting any more time searching for it again). Nowhere, btw, in Revolver's "Legal" page, do they mention paying royalties to writers.

Then, tonight, I looked into Bozell Books, the supposed self-pub division of Bozell. "Oh, whatever," I spat as I read the bilge identifying Bozell Books as yet another vanity publisher. Their hype read like an uninspired Dilbert cartoon. Steer clear – no matter how they package it, their offerings are the playground of vanity publishers. I expected better out of Bozell – not another "me too" offering in a tired, worn-out, and bloated market segment.

I hope this post helps you leapfrog the SOSDD in your search for publishing's new frontiers.

With kind regards,

LC

Legacy Publishers Poised to Fight Back: Do Silos Spell the End to Self-Publishing?

Today, Smashwords' founder, Mark Coker, posted his defense of the Agency model. He provided an impressive body of statistical evidence that suggests the Agency-pricing-model is putting downward pressure on ebook pricing. Current reports suggest that ebooks are now priced, on average, around US$3.00 – down over a dollar from just a few years ago. This negative development shows no sign of stopping.

The trend toward reducing book prices to US$.99 or "free" would have been unheard of two years ago. But then, two years before that, self-publishing was an experiment, dismissed as an anomaly. Vanity publishing was the only meaningful way an author could publish without the gatekeepers and hurdles of the traditional publishing landscape. Authors began searching for alternatives when it became obvious that vanity publishers offered eye candy, but their broken pricing, distribution, and delivery models echoed those that exist in the traditional publishing marketplace.

Fast-forward two years. Desperate for a meaningful alternative, self-publishers, and distributors such as Smashwords,  quickly rose in popularity. They provided authors the ability to price and control their books' distribution and longevity. This meant the end for lofty pricing models controlled by the Big 6. Instead of remaining satisfied with meager royalties, and forced to turn brilliance into pablum, a significant number of authors abandoned the traditional publishing hamster wheel.

Now, we're hurling past the dreamy period when authors believed readers would pay US$2.99 for an ebook. Before this, pricing was artificially set by the Big 6. The transfer of power to authors and readers had a heady and profound effect. Wild and wide fluctuations existed, with the understanding that the reader would ultimately dictate the price s/he was willing to pay. The Agency model, courtesy of Apple, came around at the perfect time to offer a framework everyone could wrap their arms around.

Without the regulatory governance and stability the Big 6 brought to the table, authors began competing with each other to attract customers. Unfortunately, instead of beefing up our products to differentiate ourselves, we fell back on the short-term price-slashing tactic.

Additionally, thousands of unemployed professionals swelled the writing and publishing ranks as the global economy worsened, bringing along with them a lack of tolerance for slow and steady growth. These weekend warriors were looking to turn a fast buck while waiting to get hired on by their next employer.

The economic possibility exists that many of these unemployed folks, hoping to hit a homerun from writing one book - akin to hoping to win the lottery – are leaving scars that may never heal. Desperate to earn a buck, these part-time authors did exactly as they were taught in the business world: When competing for market share and sales volume, cut prices when you face stiff competition. This is usually the preferred short-term method instead of investing further to develop unique features to a product that is rapidly becoming a commodity.

Commodity sales are basically straightforward. If the buyer can't get the goods cheaply, s/he will shop around, completely indifferent to trappings. Genres of books are crammed full of "me too" ebooks, varying little from each other. As such, ebooks are becoming a commodity, and as such, readers are driving the prices ever faster toward "free" for everything from meager offerings to amazing works.

Frankly, there's just too much competition in today's landscape. The pricing and marketing problems we authors face will get worse before the pendulum swings back toward anything resembling a seller's market, if it ever will. As is the case with Wal-Mart, the expectation of always having the lowest price puts pressure on Wal-Mart's competitors to reduce their prices to remain in business. This slippery slope begins with the greed of one and then rapidly snowballs.

Out of this economic chaos rose an all-too-familiar business model. A fifteen-year-old internet tactic (one with timeless roots) has resurfaced. Known as portals, thousands of websites vainly attempted to retain customers by being all things to all people. Today, we are experiencing a seductively appealing transformation, a shift in packaging and distribution that cloaks a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Amazon's KDP Select took the next evolutionary step and, first out the gate, rushed to capitalize on the lousy economy. KDP Select tempts authors with the potential to get some money in exchange for exclusivity. Potential money sounds much better than no money, which is what most authors are earning these days. Unfortunately, KDP Select appears to be accelerating an author's ever-diminishing returns. You can read more about this situation within an earlier post of mine - "Amazon's KDP Select is Driving Prices Down."

What's on the Horizon?

Leviathans with an Insidious Purpose
In the 1990s, silos such as America Online (AOL) provided customers with a protective and comfortable environment. Not satisfied, AOL's customers clamored for the ability to access the rest of the internet. Free-flowing portals, often created by indie internet-service providers (ISPs) appeared as a result. Silos gave way to portals, as silos aren't constructed to provide access to all types of information, products, and services. Instead, silos can control and restrict activity, suppress pricing trends, and confine distribution. AOL's myopic vision of the future was avoided by the internet-savvy for over a decade. AOL, as it's turning out, was right on track after all.

The world became a much smaller place because of the explosive integration of the internet into our lifestyles. Of late, many folks began dreaming of a quieter and less cluttered playground that supports the pragmatic allure of the cocooning trend. This cocooning phenomenon, where people insulate themselves by creating a narrow band of friends, family, and outside influencers, is a direct outcome of information and stimuli overload. The internet's silos recognize this and market themselves as safe havens and playgrounds.

"But, you ask, "what does all this have to do with ebook pricing?"

Back to Scrambling for Crumbs
The KDP Select silo offers a restrictive environment to authors in exchange for co-op money. Other silos are created around proprietary ereaders. Meanwhile, as all this activity supporting consumers' cocooning is going on, publishing's Big 6 were waking up to realize they were no longer the sole gatekeepers to the writing and reading experience.

Indie publishing's nemesis is scrambling to remain in control of the publishing industry. Leapfrogging KDP Select and going straight for the jugglar, the Big 6 have invested in a hybrid that will rise from the ashes of the legacy and self-publishing models to regain control over the distribution platform. This hybrid makes KDP Select's restrictive environment look like child's play.

Enter Bilbary.com, a silo espousing the reader experience, is built on the backbone and offerings of Ingram Content Group and investments from within the Big 6. From Bilbary's current homepage, the company states its strategic and tactical objectives as:

·        Content: We aim to offer all the ebooks in the world. In the next few months we will add 750,000 titles.

·        Reader: We are developing a cloud reader so you can read your books online.

·        Apps: We are creating apps for your phones, tablets and computers.

·        Rental: We are working with publishers on a system of ebook rental.

·        Languages: We intend to translate the site and include books in many languages.

·        Libraries: Bilbary is working with the public library system to see how we can increase the availability of ebooks to library patrons.

A year ago, Benedicte Page wrote an article entitled, "Coates to Launch Bilbary e-Book Site," which provides a good summary of the company's vision. Then, I took a look at the Bilbary demo on YouTube.

Concerns

·        The role of the author appears purposely downplayed. Bilbary is touted as a reader's ultimate experience. Publishers, which I gathered from the reading will be the Big 6 and their affiliates, will receive their customary (legacy) 80% royalty, but nowhere was I able to find a reference to the indie author's cut.

·        Within the welcome email I received from Bilbary, it states, "If you are a publisher, we offer excellent terms and free access to data and analytics on your titles. You will be able to choose whether to sell books, rent, or both sell and rent." Does Bilbary accept authors as self-publishers?

·        In the very next paragraph, the email appears to downplay the importance of the author in the publishing lifecycle, as there is no mention made of an author's rights to access data and reports about their titles: "If you are an author or an agent with the digital rights to your books we aim to host both new books and an extensive backlist." By its omission, this reads to me like the legacy publishers will be peddling and pushing their same rules and restrictions within the ebook marketplace. I see Bilbary as nothing more than window dressing. They create an interesting and fresh looking interface, but the machine operating behind the façade is the same old nonsense that indie publishing has strived to circumvent.

What about the future of Indie Publishing?

Can fledgling and growing e-distributors such as Smashwords resist the lure of selling their businesses to silos such as Amazon KDP and Bilbary? No doubt, with only 3 years under their belts, indie-book distributors are market leaders, but their grasp is tenuous. For example, might Mark Coker tire of running Smashwords and sell the company? Being a very rich retiree is an extremely attractive position to be in, especially when you consider the volatility of the global economy and the instability of the epub marketplace.

Well-intentioned and focused on growth, what if Smashwords were to go public? With its extensive lists of titles, readers and authors, Smashwords would be snapped up by the deep pockets of any of the Big 6 publishers, drained of its value, and then spun off or shut down.

The lure of small money is stronger than that of no money. Will authors sell their souls in the hopes of receiving meager handouts offered by this latest incarnation of the legacy publishing model? Tragically, I believe this could be the outcome if traditional publishing succeeds in going toe-to-toe against indie distributors.