The only thing that I’d add — from a state-of-the-industry p.o.v. — is that I got a lot out of the workshop on the Google Books settlement. Which was sparsely attended, but which, I believe, will be available from the RWA website.

Any enthusiasm for online book/author promotion perplexes me, and not only because I am entirely immune to it. I’ve been online since sometime in the early 90’s. Even if I were so inclined, checking out blogs and bulletin boards and author FB pages would take away time from reading books. It’s probably a nice community-building enterprise for established authors but for newbies the return on the investment of time can’t be too much.

I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Quinn that farming out web presence (if you can afford it, which most authors can) is more sensible. She’s correct that the most useful promotion is publisher generated. Point-of-purchase visibility is hands-down the most effective. I’ve heard agents and editors and publishing marketing departments say so for years, and presumably they’ve got the numbers to back up their assertions.

I also tend agree even more with Mr. Axelrod if he did indeed say that online promotion doesn’t “work.” But I acknowledge that it’s not likely to be a credible message for readers on any online forum!

I now look once a day at various blogs, author sites etc. I have purchased more books from new authors because of this community and now I have a digital reader to top it off.

I think there will be more people like me who find the online community but it will take some time.

If RWA allows works entered in the RITAs by authors who are being woefully undercompensated by their publishers, then they are indicating approval of authors being woefully undercompensated by their publishers. This is completely against every part of RWA’s mission statement as an organization.

The current debate about how “undercompensated” is defined notwithstanding – the intent to support authors being paid for their work is what RWA stands for.

But regarding online marketing, after thinking about this issue, I have to vote in the direction of Steve Axelrod. The authors who have exploded in popularity over the past year or two (Joanna Bourne, Nalini Singh, Kristin Higgans, etc) have done so due to online word of mouth, but all they did were to write great books. They may or may not have a blog, and use twitter, myspace or facebook, but actually, the leg-work–so to speak–in marketing, was done by all the readers congregating online to talk about their work.

I can point to Jennifer Ashley’s The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie for example: Kristie J (I think) loved the book and slowly but surely her excitement convinced other readers to buy it. Ashley didn’t set up a blog or a twitter account or any other online marketing to promote her book nor did she pop up on all the popular blogs and leave comments to draw readers to her site. Yes, commenting on blogs, twittering, et al is great for getting your name out there, but I’m realizing that it is only worthwhile after you have a book or two on the shelves. And even then, word of mouth buzz is an uncontrollable thing–the only thing a writer can do is to write a great book and continue to do so.

It would be nice if the Golden Heart and RITA were electronic entries. It would save everyone money, as well as offering the opportunity for RITA voters to vote on the writing, not who wrote it.

Of course, this is IMHO, YMMV.

@Chrissy: “glacially ridiculous” just about sums it up IMO.

I have no horse in this race. I do, however, think anyone who can’t participate in the dialogue respectfully should just stay out of it.

I’ve done that because I don’t want to lose my temper and say something people will remember for a looong time. I’ve also withdrawn from RWA, but not in a power-flounce. I left years ago when it seemed, to me, a waste of money. I don’t mind paying the NWA in stead. I donate something to RD yearly. I pay attention to RWA, and attended the New England Conference.

Right now I’m watching, hoping, and not wasting precious energy.

But the “change comes slow” thing kind of bugs me. There’s slow, and there’s glacially ridiculous. And it’s been longer than you might think if you weren’t counting.

*shrug*

re: websites. I don’t have a website to gain new readers as the primary goal. I have a website so that my current readers can go there to find out more about me, read excerpts (or to link to excerpts or covers), and find out when I have new book out so that (hopefully) they’ll get it that important first week or two. However, other than the main index page, the “books” page is my second most hit page. Meaning, people generally come to my website and then click the “books” link to find out about my books, followed by two of my books, followed by the “about” page which is my bio and personal info. I have received email from readers who heard about my books then went to my website to read an excerpt, but most of the email I get through my website is from fans who wanted to tell me they enjoyed a book or had a question about upcoming releases or a character.

A website should be about the author and the books–at least that’s what I’m seeing through my stats. And it gives a vehicle for fans to contact the author, which creates a personal connection and hopefully the reader likes the answer and contact and is more likely to spread the word about a book they really like.

in this case that lack is the industry’s inability to embrace e-publishing as legitimate and relevant.

I my experience, RWA IS trying to figure out how to address ePublishing . . . it’s just not doing so fast enough for everyone, nor is it doing it the way everyone might want (but you can’t please everyone; so they are—legitimately IMO—concentrating on their core membership: published authors).

Finding a way to embrace and reward the good, legitimate, trustworthy ePublishers (and their authors) while not embracing the Triskillions (sp?) of the world isn’t an easy assignment (and let me tell you, when formerly “recognized” ePubs failed, there was howling in the streets and calls for blood over the fact that RWA hadn’t “done their job” and protected its members from getting burned; it’s hard to fault them for pulling back and retrenching).

You can put me in the camp who’s currently dissatisfied with the “solution”, but I’m also in agreement with Angela James when she says it’s a positive move.

I don’t agree that the compensation package isn’t a part of what’s being judged, or that it doesn’t have any impact, if (and this is my understanding of what people are telling me) the only books that are initially even considered for the judging have to meet a certain compensation package standard.

In all, I’m glad for the RITAs and I’m glad there is an RWA; for such a huge piece of the publishing pie, I think it’s crappy that Romance is still so begrudged it’s rightful place as authentic literature. I don’t think you can necessarily take all the comments here as being negative, per se, or think that they reflect negatively on RWA or the RITAs. BUT–they DO reflect a general discord between what people want and what they are being given.

If I think something is important and it isn’t addressed, my comments about that shouldn’t be construed as negative to the whole, but merely negative to the lack of whatever I was looking for–in this case that lack is the industry’s inability to embrace e-publishing as legitimate and relevant.

how to get their book into an iPhone App

This is extraordinarily difficult, and I doubt that a full-on press by a collaborating publishing industry would make it any easier.

It took 7 months to get mine approved. I was denied based on the F-bomb, but now that it’s up and available for sale, there is no content warning it. Very bizarre. App developers everywhere are having issues, not just for ebooks applications.

They can change the rules in the middle of the contest, just like this year. They have left it open for the next board, who takes control in the three week span, to change the rules. They did it last year, I doubt they would refrain this year.

They didn’t change the rules in the middle last year. They were changed at the board meeting in July, just as they were this year.

@RStewie:

I understand they are trying to promote a pricing/compensation package they prefer (in the interests of the writers, and that’s great) but it just rained on my whole parade to think that the compensation package that was offered to a writer has any impact on what I thought was an award for the book itself.

I agree, though, that it’s a step back. If you judge based on compensation packages before you are actually looking at the book, it limits and narrows the progression of digital media as a whole, and also of writers in general.

I’m not sure what you mean by judging on compensation? The books aren’t judged by that, it’s only a difference in when the book is entered.

I guess I’m just surprised by all the continued “they suck” statements/negativity. I would have thought that the authors who wanted to enter would be happy with this change because now they can, but I’m starting to get the sense that the person who said to me that people are just eager to find any fault possible with RWA was right. And of everything discussed about the RITAs and RWA, I think THAT is the most discouraging and the most negative thing, not any changes made.

I’m just a lowly reader but I do have some definite opinions on a few points that were made.

About online promotions….I think that online promotions are not really helpful or necessary. By promotions, I’m thinking blogging, facebook(ing) or twitting. But having a good informative website is a must, in my opinion. When I am reading a new author that I like, I put my book down and go check out the authors website–to find out about old books, future books and characters. Also, if the author is an old favorite and I wonder when the authors next book is coming out I go to the authors own website before amazon or B&N. If a reader doesn’t normally do this or has never thought about it, I think it just takes one visit and they will come back for more.

I think having a bad website that isn’t updated is detrimental. For example Brockmann’s website is not user friendly at all. It’s just bad. To me she should just take it down ala Linda Howard. In other words a bad website can hurt more than help. BTW I love SB! She’s a favorite of mine. I think she has a new book coming out but I don’t know when or who it’s about…….guess I’ll check amazon.

My last thought is that digital is the future. I resisted this idea for a long time. I thought that if you couldn’t get published in print you went digital. Boy, was I wrong. There are great digital (only) books out there. I have an ebookwise, a sony reader and an iphone. I read probably half my books digitally now and I’m sure that will increase. Future ereaders just need to be really user friendly and truly universal. Once that is worked out the sky is the limit. It’s great to save (bookshelf) space and paper! I can carry 100s of books with me in my little purse! What can be better!?! I hope all the bumps don’t take another 10-20 years to figure out.

The big thing about promotion is that you have to think about the return on your investment. And investment should be considered in terms of both money and time. What I suspect Steve meant was that going crazy with online promotion isn’t going to get you anywhere if it is pulling time away from writing your books. Not to mention that without the backing of your publisher, it is REALLY hard to make a dent.

I don’t blog. To me, the time involved + the brainpower to come up with original content just isn’t worth the return. I don’t think it would attract very many new readers, nor would it be something that might make my current readers feel any more invested in me as an author. Plus, it would make me miserable.

I do spend a fair bit of money to make sure that I have a well-designed, well-organized, comprehensive website. This is an investment of my money although not so much of my time, since I hire it out.

The facebook quiz I did cost me nothing but three hours of my time, and I had fun setting it up. It was something that my readers really loved, and it put my bookcovers into the feeds of probably over 50,000 people. So this one seems like a no-brainer, and I suspect Steve would agree.

I have tried out different promotional ideas at different stages of my career. There is stuff I did when I was starting out that I would never do now. Someone mentioned that I used to go to many many bookstores, introduce myself to the managers, and sign and sticker books. This is true and I think it was hugely helpful when I was starting out. I still do this occasionally now, but not as a part of a concerted effort. It’s very time-intensive, and I don’t think it would make an appreciable difference in my sales. (Whereas when I was beginning and my print run was much smaller, I –could– make a difference.)

My advice (and I think Steve’s, too) wouldn’t be to forget about promotion but rather to think carefully about it. With each initiative, think about the time and money involved. Think about what you may get in return (happiness and fun are perfectly valid returns on investment, IMO). Then decide. It may be that it –doesn’t– make any sense for you to blog. The big bucks you spent on a book trailer might be better used elsewhere, like in a great website, or on your kid’s orthodonture. At the same time, if you love and adore twitter, then keep on tweeting! You’ll gain a few readers (or maybe a lot of them) and have a lot of fun.

And now I have to take my own advice and get the heck off the internet and use my time to write…

JQ

I think Kassia Krozser said it best when she said that she is looking for something “New, but NOT different.”

I’d like to interpret what she meant as something fresh and exciting, but still instantly recognizable.

I agree with that interpretation! As a reader, I hate really gimmicky ‘different’–where it’s obvious that the author was purposely trying to write something “New! Different! Exciting!” That breed of book has an almost boring ’sameness’ to it and it’s so self-conscious in its ‘differentness’ (if that mess of contradictions make any sense). I read a lot of paranormals, and this past year there seemed to be a lot of them that were totally similar in their differentness. I’d much prefer a new take on something familiar.

maybe you can provide advice on how to negotiate for a better deal on your ebook royalties. why not be part of the educating?

Is it really such a secret? Maybe this is why I’m puzzled. I certainly don’t think I’m special. A lot of the educating gets done on the publisher loops–most of which you can join as soon as you accept a deal, before your contract is ironed out and signed, and long before you’re accepted into PAN. I know when I made my first sale, I was on my publisher’s loop immediately, where seasoned pros were telling me what to look out for in the contract. And you can bet as soon as the first round of authors were able to negotiate their electronic royalty rates up to the 40-50% range, people were talking about it on the loop, which then spurred everyone else to make sure they were getting that, too. The wonderful thing about the romance industry is how willing authors are to share information like this with one another, hard numbers and all. It’s difficult to imagine someone being left in the dark! I feel like I’m giving exactly this sort of advice all the time, just not necessarily in a public forum.