eBooks: Bringing Down the House, Part 2

A little over a year ago, I wrote an article about the advent of eBooks and what it means for traditional publishing. If you'd like to read that article first, visit here:

eBooks: Bringing Down the House, Part 1

My friend and coauthor Christopher Hopper recently posted a very thought provoking article on the same subject. If you'd like to read that article, visit here:

The Future of Print Books

Christopher's article and some of the comments afterward got me thinking a bit. I don't wish anyone ill, and I don't want to see anyone's career disappear, but honestly, I'm glad to see the Big Print Publishers in a bit of turmoil right now. You might be asking, "Are print publishers in turmoil right now?"

To answer that question, all you have to do is take a look at how big publishing houses are approaching the eBook phenomenon. By and large, what they are doing is pricing their eBooks at about the same price or a little less than print copies of their books.

James Patterson, for example. Latest book in Hardcover: $16.79, eBook: $14.99
Christopher Paolini's New Inheritance book in Hardcover: $14.99, ebook: $13.99
Stephanie Meyer's Twilight in Paperback: $7.99, ebook: $8.99

So...where's the turmoil? It's in the mindset. Publishers are trying to "protect" their print books by pricing the ebooks similarly. Rather than embracing the digital revolution, they are trying to cut their losses. Print publishers don't seem to understand or want to recognize that consumers will not pay that kind of money for noncorporeal property. It's binary folks. We don't pay top dollar for that. See iTunes. Sure, some folks will, but most will not. And right now, independent authors and Amazon are vexing print publishers to no end because they are offering excellent fiction for low cost: .99--$2.99. That kind of money is pretty much chump change, discretionary for a LOT of readers. And, therefore, these readers are willing to buy ebooks and lots of them. But not at hardcover prices. So what's happening? On Amazon, kindle book sales have now surpassed print sales. Borders Bookstores are on their way out. Print publishers are struggling.

And while I do not rejoice at anyone losing a job, I am happy that print publishing houses are having their trees shaken a bit. There are several reasons why I'm happy, but I'll give you two:

#1 Talent Selection: Publishing houses have been the gatekeepers for decades, judging the talents and marketability of authors and wannabe authors, and deciding what gets into print and what doesn't. Now, it's good to have a standard of excellence, right? Of course. And to their credit, there are a ton of hardworking and brilliant editors out there. Consequently, we've seen some pretty good books on the market. BUT, and this is a Grande Gluteus Maximous: How many sensational stories have they missed?

Ever thought about that? We've all read tons and tons of anecdotes from published authors who got rejected hundreds of times before finally landing a deal. Think about that. Big Time multimillion selling authors were rejected. I wonder how many brilliant authors over the years got discouraged by rejection and just gave up. Makes me sad to think about that. I might have been one of them. I scored dozens and dozens of rejections. There were times I thought about giving it up.

Why do print publishers miss great authors? A million reasons. But most reasons flow out of the system itself. Think about it: Joe Publisher decides what you will like to read. Sound a little odd? Sure, once sales are accrued, then the buying public directs future book deals. But many times, it's just a single editor or a marketing guru putting their finger in the air and saying, "Yeah, I think it's time for pirate stories to make a comeback." Often, they simply look at what movies are popular and try to hop on the bandwagon.

Another factor is that editors are often bombarded with manuscripts. Hundreds and hundreds of potential books every week. Sometimes, editors have precious little time to read a manuscript, often deciding yes/no in the first few pages. Everything else: stamp REJECTED.

And then, when the editor finds something he/she likes, it has to go through all kinds of hoops to ever see the light of day. There are many times that an editor may LOVE a book concept, but the marketer says, I can't sell this: stamp REJECTED.

The system is flawed. Who should decide what you like to read? You should, of course. eBooks are going to make that possible. Any author will have a shot at making a reader out of you. But won't that put a lot of crud out on the market? Sure. But there's already crud out in print publishing. For every book that sells 20,000 copies, there are tens of thousands that sell a few hundred copies. With the internet, word will get round. Just like any other product in the free market. You like it, you tell someone. They like it, boom! Word spreads.

#2: Talent Compensation: Most people are absolutely floored when I share with them about how much I make for each book of mine that sells. I'm almost embarrassed to tell folks sometimes, especially to those people who know me well and know how hard I work, how many hours I sacrifice, and how stressful it can all be. The current publishing paradigm does just what other industries have done (esp. music industry); it steals from the talent. The industry standard for fiction royalties is somewhere between 10-15% of gross (in secular market) and 8-12% of net (in CBA market). In other words, if you sell a $16.99 hardback, you make $1.69--$2.54 or, if off of Net, much much less. And what most nonauthors do not understand is that the majority of their sales will not fall into this category at all. There are hundreds of different subsidiary rights that cut, and cut, and cut the royalties.

Since 2005 when The Door Within released, I've sold more than a quarter of a million books. If I'd made a dollar a book on those, I'd be ridiculously underpaid. As it is, I -WISH- I had made a dollar a book. Not. So. Much.

I'm not an anomaly. As the print publishing paradigm stands, the talent--the writer--gets a tiny percentage of what the book brings in. The lion's share goes to the publisher. Oh sure, the publisher has to pay everyone and their uncle: distributors, editors, proofreaders, typesetters, etc. But in the end, the publisher earns out so much more than the author. eBooks are changing that.

With an eBook, I can write a book, and that costs me only time. I can pay to have it edited or find a willing soul to do it free. I will need a professional cover. I will need eBook formatting. I can get it all done for between $500-$1000 easy. Then, I can put my book up on Amazon and sell it for $2.99 and get…I almost can't write it without goose bumps…70% royalties. It doesn't require a marketing guru to figure out the profit differential: Print Publishing, sell 1000 books at $10.99 at 12% royalties versus selling 1000 eBooks at $2.99 at 70% royalties. Print = $1,648; eBook = $2, 093. Subtract all the reduced subsidiary rights sales, and eBooks even look more attractive.

And that is why this summer, I will be releasing my first exclusive eBook: "Ghost." You'll be able to get it on Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, Nook, etc. etc. for $2.99. I will not be signing a print contract on this book, the first of a LONNNNG series, hopefully. I'm intending this eBook to appeal to adult readers, and hoping it catches fire. For those who really want a printed version, I'm going to make it available using a Print-On-Demand service. Much more on that later.

So, will eBooks bring down the House? If print publishers don't embrace the new paradigm, yes. I predict in the next five years you will see the least flexible publishers fail utterly. Those that change will likely flourish.

All I want, and all any reader should want, is for good stories to be available at a reasonable cost.

You know you're a Creative when...

I've had a lot of time off of work lately. It began with my kids getting a stomach virus (that was fun). Then, my school system had parent conferences, so I had Friday off. We had Tuesday off for elections, and then an ice storm hits so Wednesday, I'm off again. Wednesday morning, lucky me, I spike a 103.1 fever and come down with the flu, so there goes the rest of the week. So, I've had a lot of time off. Besides doctor-ordered rest, guess what I did?

I fired up my computer, loaded up my 3D art program: Bryce 3D (by Daz Studios) and CREATED. I created my fool head off. I was picturing one of the settings for my new fantasy series and trying to make a 3D rendering of it, and you know what? I had SO much fun doing it! That got me thinking: I am a Creative. God made me that way. In fact, to one degree or another, I believe God made us all creative. God did, after all, make us in His image. And He is The Creator. Ever seen a sunset or the forest after an ice storm? Nuff said.

But I believe it's abundantly clear that God has given some people a special talent for creating--and not just the talent--but the DESIRE to create. These people are CREATIVES. I started thinking about the special kind of nutty-ness that defines us creatives. Think about it this way: sculptors, architects, painters, artists, musicians, writers, etc.--we spend days, weeks, months, even years creating something that our audience will devour or experience for a relatively short time. I just got reader mail from a 12 year old who read my whole Door Within Trilogy in a weekend. A WEEKEND. Those three books took me a total of FIFTEEN YEARS to write, and WHOOSH, he's done in two days. Look at some of the brilliant architecture in the world, esp. Europe. Breathtaking---absolutely breathtaking. And yet the tour bus drops off people to look at it for a few minutes...an hour, maybe, and off it goes. It's like your mom when she spends days working on Thanksgiving dinner only to have it gobbled* up in a brief feeding frenzy that would put a school of bull sharks to shame. WHOOSH, and it's over.

So, why do we creatives do it? Why spend so much passionate effort to create something so fleeting? I think the answer is multifaceted. Part of the answer, I've already mentioned: we were made to create. We create because we need to. It's in us and we need to let it out. We create because, if we didn't, part of us would go clinically insane. It's who we are. In his mega bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about the importance of doing what "we were made to do." There is a satisfaction we feel when we create. If we didn't create, we'd walk around feeling like something was unfinished...and waiting.

But I think also, we create because we want to please others. Now, don't misunderstand me. My main goal in life is to please God. Jesus said the greatest command is to love God. But then what? Jesus said, love your neighbor. I believe that creativity in its many forms (art, music, fiction, etc.) shows love to out neighbor. People are encouraged, uplifted, inspired, provoked, and comforted by creativity. Why else do we hang paintings or matted photos in our homes? Why do we have little crafty knick-knacks on the shelf? Why do we feel moved when we hear a certain song? Art touches people. Imagine a world with an absence of creativity. What would that be like? Uhhggh. I don't like the looks of that picture either.

Our creative expression can be love and light to the world. And I don't just mean paintings of Jesus, praise hymns, and conversion stories. Nothing wrong with those things--all good. But any quality expression of our creativity. A painting of a sunset. A song about your wife. A good old adventure story. It all** shows love to the world. The only thing is that love and light have to be broadcast to other people. You can't hide a light under a basket. You can't keep your love to yourself. What good does that do? Sure, I can draw something and enjoy it myself. But why stop there. Maybe someone else would find joy in it as well.

But that's where another characteristic of the Creative can get in the way of our desire to create: we tend to be our own worst critics. Creative types tend to want their creation to be "just right." And that's a good thing to a degree. We don't want to publish a story that is poorly written. We don't want to record a song if the tune is discordant. But we cannot allow our own perfectionism or self-doubt to keep us from loving the world with our art! You might think that your work isn't good enough. But how will you ever know? If you don't have someone else experience your creative expression, how do you know if it's good? Sure, start small. Share it with one other person, a parent, a teacher, a trusted friend. But do share it. Get some feedback. Get some training. Practice. And then...share it some more!

I am convinced that RIGHT NOW, sitting in various places all over the world there are the following people: a) photographers and artist whose images *could* adorn galleries and homes and remind people of the greatness of God's creation. b) composers and songwriters whose melodies *might* lift thousands from the jaws of depression and give them hope. c) writers whose stories *could* change the lives of a generation. I have no doubt that there are thousands of such CREATIVES out there, but still dormant. And for every thousand of those whose works *might* have a sweeping impact, there are hundreds of thousands of people whose creativity *could* impact on a smaller, more local scale. Maybe the one kid at school who listens to your song, looks at your picture, or reads your story, maybe he was contemplating suicide…but won't go through with it because of your loving him though your creativity.

So, are you a CREATIVE? I bet you know if you are.

But just in case you don't, here's a little nonScientific/nonAuthoritative way of finding out. I put this in the format made famous by comedian Jeff Foxworthy and his "You might be a redneck if..."

So here is:

You might be a Creative if...***

1. You find yourself sizing people up for future characters.

2. You're watching a movie and think, "I could do better than that!"

3. You have rock-hard callouses on your fingers from clutching a drawing pencil, as well as, smudges all over the side of your pinky finger and palm.

4. You're left handed.

5. You just can't get that little melody out of your head.

6. You find yourself scrawling little story ideas on napkins, sticky notes, church bulletins, your arm, and...your little brother's arm.

7. You call your cell phone to leave yourself a story idea.

8. You can't wait for __________ to end so that you can go work on your story, song, etc.

9. You're angry because your computer's art program only works with 600 colors.

10. You find yourself laughing OUT LOUD at something you've written.

11. You nearly run off the road because you've got an idea that MUST be written down.

12. Your dream was so offbeat there just has to be a story in there somewhere.

13. The most wonderful thing you've ever seen is: a blank sheet of paper.

14. The most terrifying thing you've ever seen is: a blank sheet of paper.

AND FINALLY, you know you might be a CREATIVE if: You find yourself giggling like an idiot when you make something YOU KNOW IS GOOD.

I think it's time to take the basket off of our light. Don't you?

*pun intended.

**Like any good thing that God gives us, creativity can be misused. So art, music, fiction, etc. that leads people away from God, isn't cool.

***Official Disclaimer: If these things are not true of you, that does not necessarily mean you are NOT creative. These are just humorous reminders.

Sean Taylor...Looking the Other Way and The Breath of Life

National news. Front page headlines. Sean Taylor, Redskins All-Pro Safety, Gunned Down in his Florida Home. Dead at the age of 24.

I'm a HUGE Washington Redskins fan. I bleed maroon and gold. But even so, I'm not sure why Sean Taylor's death has hit me so hard. I didn't know Sean. I've been to Redskins Park for training camp many times, but I've never shook hands with the man.


Unlike the thrilled young man in the picture above, I've never had Sean Taylor sign a ball for me or my kids. And yet, when I flipped on the TV this morning to catch the weather, saw the graphic pronouncing Sean Taylor dead, I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. All day long I've felt a thick mantle of melancholy on my shoulders. And all day long I've been trying to figure out why I feel this way. Maybe it's the fact that last night there were a few small signs that Sean Taylor might recover…only to have that hope stolen away. Maybe it's the fact that someone close to my brother lost an 18 month old boy in a tragic drowning accident...and I just feel the sense of general loss. Maybe.

I've been thinking about it all day. I'm still not sure, but here's why I think this event has hit me like a hammer. Sean Taylor's death was senseless, unnecessary, sudden, and tragic. He was murdered in the prime of his life. I noticed. The news networks noticed. America noticed. But how many kids die in America every day…with very few people noticing? How many teenagers are murdered over gang turf, casual glances at girlfriends, trendy jackets, or tennis shoes? How many kids are bullied into self hatred and take their own lives? How many kids drink or drug themselves into a stupor and kill themselves in a car accident? How many of these headlines and news reports do we read and shrug off as "just another statistic?"

And I wonder...how many of these lives were lost because someone or many someones looked the other way when they could have lent a helping hand. Don't get me wrong. I'm not claiming that I could step in, clean up gang violence, racism, drug abuse, bullying, and all the other ills of the world. But I can do something for someone. I have a sphere of influence. And so do you. Maybe once a week, maybe once in a year, maybe every day we find ourselves in a position where we could step up and help someone OR not. Many times these situations we can ignore and no one will know any differently...just us and God. In some instances other people would totally understand or even applaud us for looking the other way rather than "getting involved." How many of these situations come down to a decision between "The Need" and "Our Want?" Personal convenience versus helping someone who may not ask again. I pray that I won't look the other way anymore. I pray that you won't look the other way anymore.


I hear Joe Gibbs (The Redskin's Head Coach) talk on LIVE television about cherishing life. Gibbs said Sean Taylor had become a Christian that he "has a great relationship with the Lord" and now has gone home. Gibbs explained that this loss will not be easy to handle--that it strikes each of us with how fleeting life is. But Gibbs said he will comfort himself with knowing that Sean Taylor is in heaven where it will take us a 1000 years just to get over the sheer impact of being in heaven.
Amen to that, Joe Gibbs. None of us are guaranteed even one more second of life. Not one. The moment we took our first breaths, we were already dying. Who was it who said "The statistics on death are staggering. 100% of people die."

Life is a vapor...a breath. We've got to come to grips with the facts:

1. The world is too beautiful and complex to be an accident, so someone had to make it.

2. This someone made the world just right to support human life...to allow humans to flourish, so this Creator someone had to love mankind.

3. This loving creator must have loved people enough to give us choice because somewhere along the line evil entered the world where it continues to this day.

4. This loving Creator cannot love evil...so He must do something about it and yet make a way for people to still love Him back. This loving Creator must have a plan.

5. If He has a plan, he should communicate it to people. He has. No other book can explain life like the Bible. No other book offers hope like the Bible. No other book is verified by prophecy, history, archeology, astronomy, and human experience like the Bible.

6. The plan was made flesh and God's son Jesus took the penalty of the world's collective evil on his back. He nailed it to the cross, died, and rose.

7. He defeated death once and for all so that we could go to heaven one day...the day that my heart--your heart--beats its last.

I still have a heavy heart, and I can only imagine what Sean Taylor's family must be going through. But, this life is not all. And this life is not the end. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

In the meantime...

I'll be posting Suspense Technique #4 very soon!

But in the meantime, I have a quandary I'd like to run by readers and retailers. I'm a Christian, and I'm a writer, and my publisher is a Christian Publisher. My mission as a Christian Author is twofold: write good quality fiction and hopefully get my nonChristian readers to start thinking about the big questions of life--question for which IMHO Jesus is the only answer. I wrote The Door Within books so that someone familiar with the Bible would pick up on the allegories, the parallels, and the symbolism. But I wrote it with the intent that ANYONE could simply enjoy the thrilling adventure. Truth is there, but I don't want to be preachy.

So here's the issue: my books go to Christian Bookstores and Secular Bookstores. In a Christian bookstore, The Door Within Series (and presumably Isle of Swords) can be placed in a number of sections and still be found by readers shopping for new books.

BUT, in the secular chains: Borders, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, etc. my books are being shelved and displayed very differently. Borders shelves the books in with regular fiction, but the others put my books in "Religious Fiction" or worse, "Religion." The problem with the latter is that in these giant mainstream stores, the "Religious Fiction" sections tend to be squirreled away into tiny, very non-visible parts of the store. Guess how much traffic these little sections get? Yep. Not much--not compared to the regular fiction sections.

I've spoken to several store managers, and they agreed that it's the publisher who decides how a books should be labeled. The bookstores then shelve the stock according to the publisher prescribed label. So there's the rub: my publisher says where the books go, but I'm concerned that my books will miss half (or more than half) of my mission field.

Any thoughts? Where do you shop? And where do you look first? Or is this much ado about nothing?