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What could publishers offer? An interview with T Q Chant

February 5, 2016 by Andrew Leave a Comment

Sam Cane
Sam Cane: Hard Setdown

Tim Chant self-published Sam Cane: Hard Setdown and the ebook is now available on Amazon. Tim kindly gave me time to talk about the book, about self-publishing and what he might be missing by not having a publisher.

Tell us about Sam Cane: Hard Setdown

It’s a tense and at times horrifying SF survival adventure (or so I’ve been told…). It follows Sam, a newly minted security specialist with a shady past, as she arrives on a far-flung colony world only to find the settlement deserted. Stranded by a callous corporation lightyears from help, what follows is a desperate struggle to survive, stay sane and work out what happened. These are the opening shots of a saga that will pit Sam against a ruthless enemy and that will range across the early stages of human interstellar colonisation.

Sam Cane is available on Amazon for Kindle. There’s no publisher listed. Why go it alone?

Going straight to self-publication became the plan fairly early on in writing this. The SF market is pretty crowded right now, and there’re also some issues in it that I wanted to keep a handle on. The story
was in my head, though, and writing it gave me a break from redrafting a much larger work, so self-publication made sense. It’s also done me a power of good just to publish something after years of scribbling – I’ve been far more productive since taking the leap.

What do you think a publisher could offer that you or a boutique PR agency couldn’t?

Reach. There’s a lot of good fiction out there and people only have so much time to put into reading, so any help getting noticed would be a massive boost. I’ve been really lucky in knowing some very talented people who have provided editorial input, done the cover art and the proof reading, so yep, marketing is the key thing a publisher could bring.

Talking to authors you’ll sometimes hear Amazon described as the huge villain and sometimes as the saviour of the industry. What are your views on the behemoth?

I don’t do absolutes – I’d hesitate to describe anything as being absolutely good or evil. I think we have to accept that technology has changed the way we shop for and own everything, and you can’t deny Amazon has been very clever in taking ownership of this change. At a time where publishers are (perhaps understandably) focused on hanging on to their big earners, Amazon has made it possible for writers like me to get our work out there and maybe get noticed – and while other companies offer similar services, I don’t think they’ve got the same market as Amazon. I think this has driven a trend for publishers to consider work that’s been self-published, which I think is a healthy thing.

What tips and tricks have you picked up?

In terms of writing? I’ve been given all sorts of good advice, some of which rings true (no such thing as a magic bullet, it’s all about hard work etc). The thing I found most useful when writing Sam was to be transgressive. This started life as a fairly straight-up Mil-SF with a fairly standard main protagonist – what really brought it to life for me was when I decided the main character should be a woman from a multilcultural background (I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that Sam is my first female protagonist) – from there flowed a far more interesting background that has been really helpful in planning out how she reacts to things and what will happen next for her.

Tips for self-publishing? Plan ahead and do your research – I maybe leapt before I’d looked properly, and while I don’t regret it for a second I could have made some steps of the process a little less stressful for myself.

What are writer groups and are they important?

I’d go as far to say absolutely vital, particularly when starting out. Working at its best, a writer’s group is a collection of people who may not be like-minded but are all going through the same process, where everyone puts forward their work for constructive criticism. As long as you’ve got a thick enough skin to take it, rigorous criticism can be very important in tightening and polishing work, getting you to realise that a passage you’re maybe overly proud of doesn’t work, and helping to crystallise your thinking. It’s more than just being critted – reading and commenting on other people’s work and listening to other people comment can be just as helpful in honing your own work, and honestly just chatting over lunch

I’ve been lucky enough to be a member of the Edinburgh Science Fiction and Fantasy writer’s group for years now (big shout out to M Harold Page for the initial invite) and have been critted by both established authors like Caroline Dunford and those like me who are just starting out. It’s been hard, sometimes, and I haven’t always taken on board all the criticism, but it’s been worth it.

Which books from indie or small press authors would you recommend to readers who enjoyed Sam Cane?

With a certain amount of chagrin, I must admit that I don’t really pay much attention to who publishes the books I read. I’ve been enjoying the Daniel Leary series by David Drake (Baen), sort of Patrick O’Brian in space, and I’m currently working through the first volume of James S.A. Corey’s ‘Expanse’ which has a similar slightly lower-tech horror feel to it. I’m a slow reader and alternate factual and non-factual books so my recommendations may be a bit lame…

What can we expect next from Tim Chant?

I plan (hope?) to release Sam Cane in 30,000 word or so novellas (in a way, Amazon has allowed a look back at the original SF serial publishing) so keep an eye out for ‘Sam Cane: Hard Lessons’ in four or five months. I’m also finishing a ‘Steamquill’ work which I’m soon going to be sending to agents and publishers, and starting to plot out a turn of the 20th Century naval adventure.

An author and marketer: An interview with Gail Z. Martin

June 25, 2015 by Andrew Leave a Comment

iron and blood
Iron and Blood

Gail Z. Martin’s Wikipedia page is full of awards, positive reception and a busy bibliography. She’s written the Ascendant Kingdoms Saga, The Chronicles of the Necromancer and the Fallen Kings Cycle. The latest book is Iron and Blood from The Jake Desmet Adventures.

How would you describe Iron & Blood if you had to pitch the concept today?

Steampunk inventions and dark magic in a high-thrills adventure set in an alternative history Pittsburgh at the height of the Gilded Era Age of Steam.

BM predicted steampunk would go mainstream by 2014. How important is it for an author to stay ahead of the trends and therefore have books ready just when publishers want them?

While you can’t help being aware of trends and getting a feel as a reader as well as a professional when some subjects have been done to death and the market wants a new twist, I know few if any people who try to write solely for trends. A book takes an average of a year (or more) from the time the author begins to type out the first draft until the book appears in stores. A lot can change in that time. I’d think if anyone could predict trends that accurately, he or she would do much better in hedge funds or commodity futures than in publishing!

What’s the role of the publisher given the trend towards ebooks, print on demand and self publishing?

Traditional publishing was heavy on up-front risk and speculation. A lot of money gets tied up in printing physical books in large quantities, warehousing them, shipping them and incentivizing bookstores to promote them. No one has that kind of crystal ball, and the remainder bins were evident that there were plenty of misses for every big hit. Margins are slim. Publishers were reluctant to move toward ebooks and print on demand, even though it could reduce their costs and risk, even when quality rivaled traditional printing because they had not foreseen the permanence of the new business model and shifted to meet it. They were like Kodak, so sure no one would ever give up film cameras that they got creamed by digital photography when they could have owned the market had they moved more quickly to adopt change. The warning in the Kodak example is potent. Small publishers and independent authors have embraced new technology much faster, not just with ebooks and POD but also with Kickstarter financing and Patreon and other tools.

Traditional publishing said anthologies were dead. I was part of a themed anthology, Athena’s Daughters, which asked for $8.5K and got $44K, becoming the bestselling literary project of all time on Kickstarter. Small presses have proven that anthologies aren’t dead, they just needed to be reimagined. Small entities can be more willing to try new things because they don’t have as much baggage, as many layers to win over for permission, and as much inertia to overcome.

I think publishers will be around forever, but the really successful ones will re-think their roles to see where they can provide the most value. It’s no longer a daunting and risky proposition to format a print book or an ebook and produce it. Now the value-add comes in promotion, visibility, branding and distribution. Those are the pieces that are difficult for authors to do for themselves on the same scale a major publisher can do. I don’t think most publishers see that yet.

Zebra Eclipse believes that marketing and publishing are on a common evolutionary path; both about the use of great content and story telling to engage audiences. You’ve had senior marketing roles in the past so would you agree or disagree with this premises – and why?

I agree. And I believe that the publishers and publishing-based consortiums that find a way to create a strong brand for their authors and style of fiction will cut through the clutter. Readers right now are overwhelmed. They can’t browse physical bookstores anymore to find new books, and thumbnail covers on Amazon don’t do the trick. Most people don’t go to genre conventions to hear authors talk about their work and read from their books. I’d like to see the genre associations begin to behave more like industry trade associations with a focus on consumer-oriented branding and visibility. That would be hugely valuable to authors, because right now, it’s hard for a title to rise above the very cluttered marketplace.

Has the relationship between readers and authors changed at all in recent years? Do readers now expect more direct, social media-centric, access to authors for example?

Oh, absolutely. Writers today can’t get away with being Harper Lee or JD Salinger and hiding away in seclusion. Readers want to get to know you through Facebook, through live events like genre conventions, through podcasts and signings and YouTube. Authors have always been entertainers, but until now we’ve been introverted entertainers. We didn’t have to be on stage. I think that like it or not, successful authors now need to figure out how to add some showmanship or at least graceful public presentation skills to their repertoire. We live in a time that hungers for disclosure, so we need to use our storytelling skills to make our own personal stories interesting and entertaining.

How important is it for authors and creators to attend conventions?

Conventions are a huge opportunity for authors and creators to gain visibility with the most hard-core component of fandom. People who attend conventions are active and prolific consumers of fan-oriented content and products. They read hundreds of books a year, see all the genre movies, watch the sci-fi/fantasy/supernatural/paranormal TV shows, buy CDs of filk music, purchase geek lifestyle accessories and clothing. We largely know each other. Pro authors usually know some if not many or most of the other pros even at a new convention. Often, we all know each other and we share a lot of information. Fans are the same way–they not only know the pros and have built friendships over the years, but they also know each other, so the whole thing is like a big family reunion. Going to conventions builds those relationships with fans and pros, it taps you into the grapevine of important industry information, and is the place many pros pick up new publishing contracts, editing projects, anthology invitations and more. It’s the lifeblood of the genre. I’d love to see more publishers take the conventions seriously and make an effort to do more branding through convention presence. A few publishers are doing it and it pays off for them. I wish more would follow suit.

How do you see the industry evolving over the next couple of years?

If I knew that for sure, I’d invest in whatever technology or trend is going to emerge and retire wealthy. But while my crystal ball is more like a broken Magic 8 ball, here’s what I think….

I believe it will be the norm for all but perhaps the most entrenched pinnacle authors (the likes of Stephen King and JK Rowling) to pursue hybrid careers, simultaneously and/or sequentially bringing out projects with Big 5 publishers, medium-sized houses and small presses, while also keeping some story franchises for themselves via self-published ebooks and POD. I suspect organizations of some kind will emerge to create at least some degree of counterweight to the power Amazon now holds in the marketplace. Ideally, those organizations would better represent the interests of authors, without whom there isn’t a publishing business. I’d like to see reinvented business models for publishing that focus less on hitting a one-in-a-million home run with a superstar than discovering a way to create long-term profitability out of experienced and dependable writers who can be counted on to produce consistent quality and have loyal audiences. And I think readers will embrace–and reward–efforts to ‘brand’ books in a way that helps readers better find titles that suit their interests. Then again, it’s like the ancient Chinese curse. We live in interesting times.


The Hawthorn Moon Sneak Peek Event includes book giveaways, free excerpts and readings, all-new guest blog posts and author Q&A on 28 awesome partner sites around the globe. For a full list of where to go to get the goodies, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com.

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books and Orbit Books. In addition to Iron and Blood, she is the author of Deadly Curiosities and the upcoming Vendetta in her urban fantasy series;The Chronicles of The Necromancer series (The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven, Dark Lady’s Chosen) from Solaris Books and The Fallen Kings Cycle (The Sworn, The Dread) as well as Ice Forged, Reign of Ash, and War of Shadows in The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga from Orbit Books. Gail writes two series of ebook short stories: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures and the Deadly Curiosities Adventures and her work has appeared in over 20 US/UK anthologies.

Larry N. Martin fell in love with fantasy and science fiction when he was a teenager. After a twenty-five year career in Corporate America, Larry started working full-time with his wife, author Gail Z. Martin and discovered that he had a knack for storytelling, plotting and character development, as well as being a darn fine editor. Iron and Blood is their first official collaboration. On the rare occasions when Larry isn’t working on book-related things, he enjoys pottery, cooking and reading.

Find them at www.JakeDesmet.com, on Twitter @GailZMartin or @LNMartinauthor, on Facebook.com/WinterKingdoms, at DisquietingVisions.com blog and GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com, on Goodreads free excerpts and Wattpad.

This week’s link herd July 21, 2014

July 21, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

It is a large link herd update this week as there hasn’t been one for a while. The headline is, again, the constant rise of native advertising and publishers adapting to cope.  Today’s wordcloud is based off the herd’s bullet points.

zebrawordcloud72114

  • Time Inc. moves into native advertising with CEO Joe Ripp creating eight-person native team
    Big beast Time Inc have created an 8 person strong team that will specialise in native ads. The team will work side-by-side with editorial staff.
  • Amazon Isn’t Killing Writing, The Market Is
    Danny Crichton writes; “Amazon is finally reaching its end goal: the complete dissolution of the traditional book business model through a vertically integrated publishing platform, from writer to Kindle.”
  • French blogger fined over review’s Google search placing
    Oh dear. A French judge has fined a blogger after her negative review ranked too well on Google. There’s some comment on the ruling, though, to suggest this won’t create legal precedence.
  • Upworthy’s Sponsored Posts Are Crushing Their Regular Editorial. Here’s Why
    It turns out that Upworthy’s sponsored content might be better than their regular posts. Is this good or bad, though?
  • Does Michael Acton Smith stepping aside as CEO at Mind Candy mark the end of the company behind Moshi Monsters?
    A games centric write up of Michael Acton Smith stepping down from the role of CEO as Mind Candy. This is an interesting development as Mind Candy is one of those neo-publishers many brands strive to become. The challenge they face, though, is that their audience has changed. Kids grow up quickly. The next generation of kids are doing something different. Mind Candy has become a big company so is it agile enough to meet the needs and demands of kids today and tomorrow?
  • Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti expects branded content growth
    Peretti argues that the phrase “Native Advertising” is used in different ways by people who want it to mean different things.
  • In Google Newsroom, Brazil Defeat Is Not A Headline
    Wouldn’t be scary if Google tried its hand at being a publisher? Trick question. We’re all publishers now. In this piece Aarti Shahani gets access to Google’s experimental newsroom and discovers the giant is mining trends and using influencers in order to produce viral content.
  • The Biggest Media Company You’ve Never Heard Of
    Forbes’ write up of MLB Advanced Media. This is a company streamed 18,000 hours of live video – in 2009! The company does tickets and content; often a magic mix and that might be why they have $1bn 2016 target.
  • Ryanair eyes digital acquisitions for £10m-a-year tech hub ahead of second pan-European campaign
    Ryanair is on the hunt for digital acquisitions to build an in-house hub. This is in addition to looking for a digital agency for a long term partnership. In another sign that brands are all publishers Ryanair Labs will be looking at content as well as an understanding of the audience and the platforms (starting with mobile) they use.
  • Lanning: Publisher-developer relationships are very unfair
    From the world of computer gaming publishing – the returns for making the games are far less than those from publishing them. Lorne Lanning, who closed his studio in 2005, tells MVC that; “…for the most part the big publishers didn’t want to have anything to do with you if they couldn’t own your IP”
  • Facebook Buys LiveRail to Make Video Ads Better
    Facebook’s bought an ad optimisation system for video. It’s a good bit of technology and must, again, hint at Facebook moving towards video. Could Facebook be far off from launching a content rich AdSense rival?
  • Defining The Native Advertising Landscape (video)
    Rebecca Lieb, an analyst at Altimeter Group, talks about native ads to an audience of search marketers. The video is a 101 but contains some helpful insights and likely some points you won’t agree with – which is the hallmark for a good discussion.
  • EA Games rapped for ‘omitting’ in-app purchasing information in email ad
    I think there’s a lot to be said for the 0-1-100 model. That’s free to use, easy to spend £1 and possible to spend £100. A lot of “free to play” games use something similar. EA’s Dungeon Keeper tried but upset fans. Was the game really a playable experience without spending money? The ASA thought not.
  • ‘Traditional Marketing Is Broken,’ Declares Richard Edelman
    The famous Richard Edelman declares the marketing is all wrong – lots of money spent for very little results. Why the change? Brands are becoming publishers.
  • In content-marketing era, agencies tap publishers for expertise
    About DigitasLBi (disclaimer: work) hooking up with BuzzFeed while 360i teams up with Mashable’s viral trend spotter. In the article Ricardo Bilton argues that publishers know what agencies don’t.
  • 7 news trends and their effect on PR
    A PR point of view on the trends in the news business. Ever noticed how a story is “breaking” even though a news channel as been reporting on it for the last two hours?

This week’s link herd May 12, 2014

May 12, 2014 by Andrew Leave a Comment

It’s time for a Monday update and a link herd. Compiled below is a collection of reads related to the common evolution of marketing and publishing. The driving force here are content creators, curators and community moderations – these are the people who can now reach audiences. That’s step one in the process of making money online.

herd10

  • Unglue.it Sets Books Free After Authors Get Paid
    Unglue.it is a marketplace in which ebooks become free and part of Creative Commons after enough people buy it. Once the book is free readers can still opt to pay for it if they want. The system tries to address the balance question of content for free while somehow paying creators.
  • @WalmartLabs Buys Adtech Startup Adchemy, Its Biggest Talent Deal Yet
    Agencies and publishers are on a similar evolutionary path but they’re not alone. The “magic shopkeepers” are also in the game. These are the big retail players with audiences in the millions. Case in point is Walmart who run Walmart Labs. Startup Adchemy, backed by nearly $120m, is the latest purchase.
  • Mail Online has grown ten-fold since its 2008 relaunch, but is it journalism?
    A press centric look at the rise and rise of the Mail Online. The site has grown ten fold since its relaunch in 2008 but the Press Gazette asks whether journalism is behind any of it. No. Of course not, it’s about the audience engagement you’d associate with clever marketing. This is convergence.
  • 5 charts showing the rapidly changing face of UK content consumption
    The mediabriefing has a collection of stats that quickly visualise how people are engaging with content differently.
  • Does having native advertising make a news site less credible? This study, at least, suggests no
    Journalists are squeamish about native advertising – but why? Is it because of the money or the concern they might be tricking readers into mistaking editorial for advertorial? This study suggests that, at the least, the credibility of the site isn’t harmed.
  • Tesco is Now a Larger Tablet Maker Than RIM, Barnes & Noble
    Tesco have sold over half a million Hudls. Not bad for a first effort in the tablet space, huh? It puts them ahead of Blackberry – who tried the Blackberry Playbook. It probably puts them ahead of Barnes & Noble too.
  • Amazon to Acquire Digital Comic Book Service Comixology
    This comic book fan approves. Amazon is buying another marketplace leader and will now have an interesting relationship with recent movie giant Marvel (Marvel’s own app is a Comixology white label). Hopefully this means Amazon’s affiliate program will come to Comixology.
  • Why Is Facebook Page Reach Decreasing? More Competition And Limited Attention
    A superb look at how Facebook’s News Feed works these days and – importantly – a look at why it has to work in that way. This post has a simplified but effective formula on how Facebook works out whether to show your posts to more users or not.
Next Page »

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