Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary » Features

First Page: Romantic Urban Fantasy

Jane — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:25 +0000

Welcome to First Page Saturday. Individual authors anonymously send a first page read and critiqued by the Dear Author community of authors, readers and industry others. Anyone is welcome to comment. You may comment anonymously.

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Tarnished

Rap-tap-tapping at the chamber door is never a good thing. It usually means the failsafes have, well, failed.

The C door is made of wolfram, titanium, and silver the alloy most likely to repel and stand against any ass-hats attempting to enter the chamber without the codes. Its gleaming metallic surface was a stark contrast to the bare white walls and carpeted floors that enclosed her, completely cutting her off from the outside. The C door was a necessary evil according to the US military. How else could they control her? Study her? Imprison her?

The interior of the chamber looked benign. Like any other of a million hotel rooms across the globe, it sported a double bed in one corner butted up against a table with a light. A flat screen dominated one wall, with the entrance to the bathroom next to the bed. A bit austere but it did not appear hideous. Of course, appearances could be deceiving.

Silver backed away from the door as it began to show strain at the hinges. The bulging center section popped each pin in slow motion until the door lost its support on the right side, falling in with a booming thud.

The scent filled the room first. Meaty, piquant, the aroma filled her senses. Saliva pooled in her mouth as hunger ravaged her for the first time in months. A hand threw a small package around the partially supported door. Before she could stop herself, she was on it. The taste filled her senses with pleasure, the meat raw and full of the sweet iron reek of fresh blood.

She could hear the soft whining filling the room but it wasn’t until the room began to fill with vapor that she realized the sound was coming from her, and by then it was too late. She staggered towards the doorway, her vision blurred from the vapor and whatever had been hidden in the meat.

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Will the length of a story affect how much you are willing topay?

Jane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:58:43 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Robin (aka Janet here) wrote a great piece for Access Romance Readers’ Gab blog about value and creative content.

In the commercial world, we are used to thinking of value in the context of price. A “good value” is often defined by some quotient of quality and price, specifically as relatively high quality for a relatively low price. But the value of books, while commercial art and commercially marketed products, is not so easy to define.

I admit to be one of those people who equate value to length (among other things). Going into a purchasing situation, I will be willing to pay more for a longer work than a shorter work even if at the end of the reading both, my positions would have flipped because the shorter work was of higher quality than the longer work. But buying decisions are made on the front end so I balk at paying a higher price for novellas or short stories than I would for full length novels.

Does the length of a story affect how much you are willing to pay for it?

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Harlequin Horizons, What’s In It For You

Jane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:42:10 +0000

Q: I’m a reader and I’ve heard about Harlequin Horizons but I don’t know what it is or what it means for me.

Harlequin Horizons is a vanity press where aspiring authors pay to have their books published and put into stores, whether it is a physical retail location like your local Borders or it is online retailer like Amazon.

Authors using this service may or may not have their books professionally edited. Some authors who are self published have very high quality standards like self published author Moriah Jovan whose epic romance books aren’t well suited for traditional publishing. Other self published authors or authors who use a vanity press will not put as much care into their books as Ms. Jovan. Therefore, the quality that you read from books published through Harlequin Horizons can be very uneven.

Q: What do you mean by traditional publishing?

Harlequin is not the publisher, the author is the publisher and therefore solely responsible for the quality of the content. In traditional publishing, authors go through a rigorous vetting process. First, their works must make it past a person called an agent. The agent then has to sell this book to publishers. Only a very small percentage of writers become published authors through this route. The hope, of course, is that through the traditional publishing process someone is weeding out the poor quality books or improving on the quality before the story gets to you, the reader.

Through the vetting process, however, books that publishers don’t seem commercially viable can be excluded from publication. Some writers become frustrated with this and turn away from traditional publishing.

Q: I am a writer who wants to be published. Is Harlequin Horizons right for me.

Traditional Publishing Route

Only you can answer this. If you want to make a career out of writing, the traditional path is through acquiring an agent and selling to a print publishing house such as Harlequin, Random House, Penguin, and the like. Some writers cannot sell to these publishers because their books do not conform to the guidelines of a traditional publishing house, whether it does not conform for quality reasons or some other concern. Not all publishing houses offer the same advantages in terms of ability to market and sell your book. This is true for agents as well. You will need to do hard research when shopping for an agent.

Digital Press Publishing Route

Another path to making a career out of writing is through digital publishing. Under the digital publishing model, you do not get an advance but in exchange you get a higher royalty. (If you don’t know what these terms mean, please educate yourself by reading up). As with anything you need to do your research to ascertain what are the most reputable digital publishers out there.

Self Publishing Route

A final path to making a career out of writing can be through self publishing. Self publishing is where you, the writer, controls all the aspects of your work and you sell directly to the public or through retailers. There are many self publishing programs out there.

Vanity presses are for the self publisher who wants to pay someone to do the work for them. Vanity presses can be a costly and non profitable form of publishing for a writer.

Please do your research before committing to a venture like this. It is possible that self publishing or vanity press publishing is the right solution for you, but you must do your research. Do cost comparisons. Sit down and figure out how many books you would need to sell to make your investment worthwhile and the likelihood you can sell that number of books.

You can read more about vanity presses at Writer Beware blog or visiting the forums at Absolute Write or Romance Divas.

Some of the commenters also have important information regarding self publishing and vanity press publishing and the dangers therein.

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Malle Vallik, Harlequin’s Digital Director, Answers Questions on Harlequin Horizons

Jane — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:21:53 +0000

I emailed Malle Vallik to ask her three questions which pertained the biggest question I had about brand dilution:

Will the books be sold through the eharlequin store?
Will there be any HH branding on the book, either on the cover or in the copyright page?
Are you (Harlequin) concerned about brand dilution?

This is Ms. Vallik’s response. She said she would be around to answer a few questions.

1.       The books will not be branded Harlequin.

2.       The books will be branded HH (see nice logo on website) attached

3.       The copyright is not associated with Harlequin.

First, why is Harlequin launching a self-publishing business? Bowker reported in 2008 that more titles were published through self-publishing than traditional publishers. Self-publishing is a fast growing and vibrant part of the publishing industry today. Harlequin has decided to provide a romance focused self-publishing business for those that choose to go down the self-publishing road.

Brand – Harlequin put its name on the Harlequin Horizons site to clearly indicate this is a romance self-publishing site. The books published through Harlequin Horizons will not carry traditional Harlequin branding. The self-published author will be the brand and the Horizon double H logo will appear on the spine of the book. Harlequin is the gold standard in romance and that will not be compromised. Readers will not confuse Horizons books with traditional Harlequin books.

Distribution – Self-publishing has a different distribution model than traditional publishing. Horizons books will not be carried nor appear in traditional Harlequin distribution. The self-published book will not appear next to a traditionally published Harlequin title.

The Harlequin Horizons site very clearly indicates it is a self-publishing business and that those who choose to publish with Horizons will not receive the traditional Harlequin distribution and marketing support.

Many authors are choosing to self-publish. There are a number of reasons to select self-publishing including as a way to see their work in print – to give copies as gifts, to have a bound copy to help in finding an agent, or simply as a keepsake. Harlequin is providing a service to those choosing to self-publish with a leading organization in this field, Author Solutions.

To recap, self-publishing is an option for those who want to put their story into print. The Harlequin brand will not be on these titles. The Harlequin Horizons site is very transparent that it offers self-publishing services.

Is Harlequin still publishing aspiring authors: Of course we are! We remain committed to reading and acquiring manuscripts from aspiring authors.

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Harlequin Horizons: Shortsighted or Farseeing?

Jane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:08:32 +0000

I couldn’t resist the wordplay for the title. In any event, it appears that authors really are unhappy with the announcement of Harlequin Horizons. I’ve heard that some published authors are asking for the RWA board to examine whether Harlequin should be a recognized publisher.

Essentially it appears that Harlequin is lending its name to a self publishing venture that will be sourced by AuthorSolutions Inc. My guess is that Harlequin will use this to monitor sales and move authors who are selling well from Horizons to one of its print/digital lines. HarperCollins UK does this with Authonomy but it isn’t a profit making venture, yet.

As I see it authors have three basic complaints:

dilution of house brand
possibility of unsuspecting authors spending money on the chance of getting the notice of Harlequin.
the choice of POD partnership.

Dilution of House Brand

This one is the most understandable to me. Harlequin Horizon books are labeled with the Harlequin brand (although we don’t know what the badging will look like). If a number of works in circulation carry the Harlequin brand and the quality declines, one assumes that the Harlequin name brand also declines.

Authors also refer to this as a loss of prestige (which is not the same as brand dilution in my opinion). Essentially saying that you are published through Harlequin can become ubiquitous, thus reducing the personal cachet to an author.

Unsuspecting Authors

I have a much harder time with this argument. People who have written books and then want to pay to have their books published are somehow chum for the sharks of vanity press. I’ve seen people use the words “prey” and “predator” in reference to the vanity press. Essentially a person pays a vanity press for everything that a publisher should do for you if your work is accepted. Is business model making victims of people who want to be published but cannot get accepted by traditional or digital publishers?

Another way of asking it would be is Harlequin required to be paternalistic to non published authors? Or is there something just so offensive about the business model of vanity presses?

POD Partnership

Random House has a self publishing interest in Xlibris. It owns 49% of the company. I haven’t heard that Random House is preying on innocent writers. Amazon owns CreateSpace, a vanity press. On the digital front, Smashwords is a self publishing company in which Smashwords keeps 20% of an author’s sales. Smashwords is partnered with Barnes and Noble.

I only point out these other relationships so that I can get to the core of what is the complaint about the Harlequin Horizons endeavor. I understand the brand dilution thing. I’m not so sure I follow on how HH makes victims of authors.

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Tuesday Midday Links: Harlequin Horizon’s, A self publishing venture

Jane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:58:10 +0000

Harlequin is launching Harlequin Horizons through a partnership with Author Solutions, Inc.

Through this strategic alliance; all sales, marketing, publishing, distribution, and book-selling services will be fulfilled by ASI; but Harlequin Horizons will exist as a division of Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Harlequin will monitor sales of books published through the self-publisher for possible pickup by its traditional imprints.

My guess is that if an author is selling well by herself, then Harlequin will see that and offer to bring it to a larger audience. It’s like a reader run slush pile. Some authors are dismayed by this, feeling it will hurt the publisher brand. I’m not so sure that they are wrong about this. From a reader point of view, since I buy primarily by line and author, I’m not certain if it affects me. Thoughts?

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A Canadian high school is the first to go all digital. Each student will be provided a Sony Reader with all the textbooks preloaded. The students will be using the Sony Reader Touch edition which has a 6″ touchscreen and the ability for a student to write on the device. Indigo books is estimating that 10% of book purchasers in 2010 will be in digital format. It’s possible. Currently the number is 5% and the sales of digital books has increased 170% over last year. Crain’s New York reported (paid link) that through September 2009, Simon & Schuster digital sales on the Kindle alone were over $22 million. Last year at the same time, Kindle sales for S&S had only generated $2.9 million.

****

The Kindle is available in Canada!

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Authors Whose Books I Wished I Liked

Jane — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:18 +0000

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I was reading Rosario’s blog the other day and she was blogging about how much she enjoyed Linnea Sinclair’s Down Home Zombie Blues. As I was reading Rosario’s review, I was thisclose to buying the book but the fact is that Linnea Sinclair’s books just don’t work for me. I’ve tried her in the past (and on more than one occasion) because so many readers I admire love her work.

There are times when I read reviews by other readers, particularly readers like Rosario who I like and whose tastes I think are similar to mine, when I want to love that author’s work but I just don’t. I think its because when another reader articulates a love for a particular author or a particular book I find myself wishing to be in agreement with them.

I know Jo Goodman is like that for many people. I’ve heard complaints that her work is too dry or she is too wordy. Her books are too languorous. To some extent, the very reason people don’t like her or aren’t moved by her are the exact reasons why I connect with her work.

Shuzluva had these thoughts:

After tweeting with you briefly about this, I gave a lot of thought to the topic. I came back to the following thought: regarding those authors that I don’t like to read, do I really wish I did like them? I’m not sure if the answer is yes. I have quite a large stable of authors that I go back to time and again for everything, including writing outside of the romance genre (shocking, I know). And I am certainly willing to try out new or unexplored authors. There is always more room for love in my backlist. However, if I have found that I don’t like the writing style, characterization, plotting, worldbuilding or what have you, should I feel compelled to continue reading that particular author’s books just because everyone else is? Then again, I sit on the sidelines when certain authors have a big release and simply can’t be part of the hoopla, which makes me feel like the kid that wasn’t invited to the party. Here are a few examples:

Jo Goodman. I admit, I bought If His Kiss Is Wicked on your recommendation, and I can’t remember a thing about the book. I even went back and re-read your review. Nope, nothing. Not even why the characters are together. Let me curtail the inevitable suggestion that I probably read this back in 2007 and then had another baby and *POOF* there went my brain. That is not the case. I purchased this last spring while casting around for something to read. I remember reading the book relatively quickly. However, the author failed to elicit any sort of strong emotion from me one way or another. As a result, I am reluctant to make a foray into her backlist or new releases. People adore her, and I feel like I missed something.

Alex Beecroft. False Colors was a total drag for me. I felt that every time the story began to accelerate, the topic or scene would change and the momentum would come to a grinding halt. Then the entire cycle would begin again. In addition, while I thought that the historical settings, recounting of British Naval life, and extreme prejudices of the characters were fascinating and enjoyable to read, I failed to feel the connection between the two main characters on any level. I felt that there was a lack of intimacy between John and Alfie, and couldn’t see their physical or mental connection. Sure, it said they were attractive and attracted to each other, but for me, that didn’t come across through their thoughts or actions. This book was an extreme disappointment, especially after so many waxed poetic. The feeling that I overlooked something here continues.

L. L. Foster. Lori Foster was pretty much my go-to in the early stages of mass market red-light writing. I can’t call it erotica, but it was certainly hotter than the run-of-the-mill contemporary. Remember Wild and The Winston Brothers? When Dionne Galace asked me to review a stack of books including one by L. L. Foster, I was very excited to see how the writing style would change with the subgenre. Suffice it to say I wasn’t pleased with the outcome. I know a lot of people are thrilled and floored by Ms. Foster’s foray into urban fantasy. Unfortunately I am not one of them. From my review at www.dionnegalace.com:

I had a major squick issue going on here. To me, Gabrielle reads like a 15 year old delinquent. And her total innocence about sex in what is supposed to be an urban fantasy world creates a giant disconnect. I also don’t see any of the redeeming (or attractive) qualities that Luther sees in her, other than she’s hot.

Ms. Foster has legions of fans, and people are rabid for the Servant series. Along with about 1/3 of the vocabulary in the books, I don’t get it.

Do I really wish I liked what these authors are producing? It would be nice to have that visceral happy dance reaction to these authors that so many others have. I want to be a part of the majority, damn it, and to look forward to collecting backlists and jumping on new releases and tweeting and commenting with the rest of the romance reading community. To get over it, I’ll just go cry into the box of books I bought from BN today.

I’m with Shuzluva. It’s not so much I want to part of the majority, but it’s about wanting to be part of that community. When there is great love expressed for a book and I read it and didn’t feel the same way. Conversely, I want people I like to like the same books I have enjoyed. In fact, in emailing with a friend last night she confessed she hadn’t read either Nalini Singh or Patricia Briggs. Half jokingly I said something like “don’t email me again if you aren’t expressing anything but joy over these authors’ works.”

What about you? Do you feel a bit glum when you are out of synch with readers you like? Do you want others to like the books you like? Any suggestions on why you think that is? Any authors you wish you liked more but don’t?

(Special thanks to Shuzluva for allowing me to reprint her email to me in its entirety!)

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Monday Midday Links: It Looks Rosy for Romance

Jane — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:21:14 +0000

Romantic Times is blogging about Carina Press. The blogger, Nicole, says that the manufacturer limitations is what has prevented her from adopting ebooks. What Nicole is talking about, however, seems to be limitations by the publisher and not the manufacturer:

I know that one of the reasons I have resisted a Kindle or a Nook is because of the limitations put on it by the manufacturer. I want something that allows me to upload and read any document I so chose, regardless of origin. I also want to be able to manage my own electronic products, move them around if so desired.

Stephenie Meyer is burnt out on vampires and her next book is likely to be a follow up to her adult novel, The Host and maybe a fantasy book. Sounds like she doesn’t have anything written. Maybe look for Meyer in 2010 or 2011?

Publishers’ Weekly has an article entitled “Romancing the Recession” and it talks about the vibrancy of the romance genre. Paranormal leads the pack with historicals selling strong but what is surprising (but encouraging for me) is the rise of the contemporary. Long time readers will know that I love a good contemporary. Sarah Wendell and I even created a special website called SavetheContemporary.com.

St. Martin’s, says Enderlin, continues to see growth in this area, especially with humorous, contemporary romances such as Susan Donovan’s Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, about the romantic fortunes of a group of single women in a dog-walking group. SMP also recently launched a new chef-themed series by Louisa Edwards with Can’t Stand the Heat; the follow-up, On the Steamy Side, is due in March. Each title is billed as a “recipe for love novel.” As Enderlin says, “Right now there’s so much dark paranormal out there. Light, funny, contemporary can be an antidote to that.”

Author Sharon Ashwood is offering holiday greeting cards in an effort to assist dogs and cats who are injured and abandoned. These cards also serve as a promotional vehicle for her upcoming release, Scorched. Photos of GVAC pets and artwork for the greeting cards can be found at: http://www.sharonashwood.com/gvac.php.

For every card downloaded, Ashwood, a native of Victoria, Canada, will donate 54 cents, Canadian, to the Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders (GVAC). All donations will help defray veterinary costs for one of GVAC’s injured pets. Once that animal’s expenses have been covered, all donations from Ashwood’s program will then go toward the health care costs of another dog or cat. The author says she settled on 54 cents as the donation amount because that’s the current cost for a Canadian first-class postage stamp.

Wired takes a look at adaptions of children’s books that have resulted in box office disappointment.

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Where Gene Wilder succeeded in making Willy Wonka a lovable character with a sardonic twist, Johnny Depp did quite the opposite, and director Tim Burton helped turn the character into a creepy loner with too much makeup. While the children were spot-on and the music was updated to current pop culture standards, the presence of Depp’s Wonka gave the film a disturbing vibe that was hard to shake. —Curtis Silver

Apple has filed a patent on ad technology that would require you to interact by pressing a button or tapping a screen in response to a directive from the ad itself. Egads, is this scary or what?

The technology can freeze the device until the user clicks a button or answers a test question to demonstrate that he or she has dutifully noticed the commercial message. Because this technology would be embedded in the innermost core of the device, the ads could appear on the screen at any time, no matter what one is doing.”

Can DNA matching serve you better than a regular old dating site?

A couple of genetic testing companies are promising to match couples based on DNA testing, touting the benefits of biological compatibility. The companies claim that a better biological match will mean better sex, less cheating, longer-lasting love and perhaps even healthier children.

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My First Sale by James Hayman, Call It Beginners Luck

Jane — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00:24 +0000

Welcome to the My First Sale series. Each Monday, Dear Author posts the first sale letter of bestselling authors, debut authors, and authors in between. Like the hero of The Cutting, James Hayman is a transplanted New Yorker. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan, he spent more than twenty years writing TV advertising for clients like The U.S. Army, Lincoln-Mercury and Procter & Gamble. He moved to Portland, Maine in 2001. Four years later he decided to scratch a lifelong itch to write fiction and began work on his first suspense thriller featuring homicide detective Mike McCabe. St. Martin’s/Minotaur bought rights to The Cutting and published it in July, 2009. Hayman is currently at work on the second McCabe novel which is due to be published in July, 2010. The tentative title is The Chill of Night.

***

I took my first crack at writing a novel at an age when my most of my contemporaries were figuring out their Social Security benefits and considering the merits of taking up golf full time.

Not to put too fine point in it, I was more than a little gray. As it turned out I was also more than a little lucky.

While I’d been a writer all my life, I’d never tried fiction before. Not so much as a single short story. I’d spent more than twenty-five years as a copywriter and creative director at several of the biggest advertising agencies in the world. I wrote TV and print campaigns for a long list of major clients that included the US Army (“Be All You Can Be”), Lincoln/Mercury (“The Shape You Want To Be In”) and Advil (“Advanced Medicine For Pain”). After I left the agency business in the late nineties I put in several years freelancing for clients in the financial services and healthcare industries. I wrote articles, brochures, annual reports, and, for the last couple of years, glossy coffee table histories of major institutions.

At the end of 2005 I finished an assignment writing the history of a major hospital based in Portland, Maine. I had nothing else scheduled. I’d always thought I’d like to take a crack at writing a thriller and I decided if I was ever going to do it, this seemed like as good a time as any.

So I asked my wife how she would feel if I stopped working for a year, we lived off our savings (this was, of course, before the 2008 market crash) and I wrote my first novel. If I couldn’t sell it, I told her, I could always go back to writing institutional histories.

“Is this something you really want to do?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, “I really do.”

“Well then,” she said, “You’d better get started.”

And so I set to work. I bought a bunch of books on how to write a novel. Write Away by Elizabeth George and Stephen King’s On Writing were probably the most helpful. I joined a writing workshop led by a woman who taught creative writing at a nearby university. And I started developing plot ideas and a lead character for a thriller series based in my hometown of Portland, Maine.

For the next eighteen months I wrote and revised, wrote and revised. I finished a polished draft of THE CUTTING in June, 2007.

The rest, amazingly, turned out to be easy. And extremely serendipitous. I mentioned to a neighbor of mine that I’d finished the book and she asked me what I planned to do next. I said I was going to start looking for an agent. She said her sister had gone to elementary school with a woman who was now a literary agent in New York and asked if I like her to contact the woman. I said sure, not really expecting anything to come of it.

I googled the agent’s name and discovered she was one of the top mystery and thriller agents in the business, representing writers like Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Gardner and Julia Spencer-Fleming. She told my neighbor to have me to send her a cover letter and the first eighty pages of THE CUTTING. I did.

A week later she emailed me to request the rest of the manuscript. Two weeks after that she offered to represent me. After a couple of months of further revisions she sent the manuscript out to six or seven major publishers. We got two offers including the one we took for a two book deal from St. Martin’s/Minotaur.

Yes, I believe I’m a good writer and that THE CUTTING is a good book. I think it’s fast paced, well-written and exciting to read. Most of the critics and most of my readers seem to agree. It’s gotten terrific reviews.

Still I know I was extraordinarily lucky to have everything fall in place so quickly. I’d be a fool to think otherwise. Maybe the gods simply took a look at all my gray hair and decided if I was ever going to become a novelist they’d better hurry things along a bit.

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Does eBook Pricing Affect Your Opinion of a Publisher, Author or Retailer?

Jane — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:00:59 +0000

Ellora’s Cave is finally selling its ebooks outside of its own portal, jasminejade.com. Strangely, though, Ellora’s Cave is setting its list prices at third party vendors at twice the rate of the ebook price at jasminejade.com. For example, Jade Black’s After the Storm sells for $7.99 in unencrypted PDF, HTML, MS Reader, Mobipocket, and Rocketbook at Ellora’s Cave but at Amazon, the Kindle version has a digital list price of $18.99 which is kindly discounted by Amazon down to $9.99. The digital list price is the price that is set by the publisher. Devil in Winter, a novella by Diana Hunter is at Ellora’s Cave for a price of $4.45 and it is at Amazon for $8.99. Alien Overnight by Robin Rothman sells for $5.95 at EC and $11.90 at Amazon. You get the picture.

St. Martin’s Press and Simon & Schuster are notorious for selling its ebooks at a super premium price. Simon & Schuster lists several of the backlist titles at $9.99 ebook price even though these books are currently available in a mass market price. St. Martin’s Press lists ebooks as high as $14.00 for books that have a comparable print version in mass market.

It frustrates me to no end that St. Martin’s Press and Simon & Schuster place what I like to call an ebook tax on its digital copies. I would love to access Ellora’s Cave books outside of Ellora’s Cave. I find the checkout process to be unwieldy and frustrating. Oftentimes the site will not load or the login process takes several attempts or the book won’t download and so forth. But to charge twice as much at a third party site is not only frustrating but seems short sighted.

The core readership of Ellora’s Cave is not likely to switch their buying habits to accessing books via a third party site, knowing that the prices at Ellora’s Cave are cheaper. Readers who do buy via a third party but learn later that they paid twice as much will become very frustrated. But will the ire be directed at the publisher (Ellora’s Cave) or the individual author?

Digital publishers are heavily publisher branded. I think readers associate heavily with the publisher identity rather than individual authors when it comes to digital publishing. When you look at the covers of Ellora’s Cave books, Samhain, Loose-Id, and Liquid Silver, to name a few, the publisher brand is carried on the front cover itself. I sometimes think that EC and the digital publishers that came after them were inspired by the Harlequin category lines and its heavy publisher branding.

Interestingly, over at Barnes and Noble, readers are upset with the ebook prices at BN, arguing that the BN prices are too high in comparison with Amazon.

For most readers, though, the face of a book is the author. If the reader doesn’t like the title or the cover or the price, the reader often blames the author. If there are typos and grammatical errors that occur in the post author stage because some copyeditor gets his hands on the manuscript last, the author gets blamed. So, in the case of ebook pricing, does the reader blame the author, the publisher or the retailer?

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