web stuff 4 writers

I’ve just received a comment from Lee Henshaw, whose novel, Queer Fish in God’s waiting room, is being published in February 2008 by Legend Press.

Lee’s been given three potential versions of his novel cover, and is asking his blog readers for advice on which one he should go with.

I did a similar thing, before Lessons to Learn was published, asking the readers of my blog over at LiveJournal which photo out of a series that my husband had taken one Sunday morning, should be used on the cover of Lessons to Learn.  I sent the four favourites from that vote on to the publisher, and ultimately, the one that was the most popular with my blog readers was the one that was chosen.

 Why ask your blog readers for advice?

Personally, I suck at making decisions, and once I’d asked my husband, parents, friends and everyone at work for their input, then blog readers became the next logical step. 

As a reader of blogs, I like to be asked.  It makes me feel like I’ve played some small  part in the publication process.

What do you do if you don’t agree with your blog readers’ suggestions?

Luckily, in my case, my readers’ preferences largely coincided with my own.  If they hadn’t, well, then the decision ultimately had to be made by me and perhaps more importantly, by my publisher.

Even if your blog readers have read your entries all through the drafting stages, even if they feel they’ve been asked then ignored, it’s likely that you’re the one who knows your book best and you’re the one whose names on the cover that has been decided upon.

Your thoughts

Would you/have you asked your blog readers for advice on any elements of the writing, publishing and/or marketing of your book?  What sort of reaction have you got?

PS: If you want to take a look at Lee Henshaw’s cover options, and give him your thoughts on those, you can do so at his website Next to Hemingway.

Tags: Blogging, Publishing by Natasha
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Earlier in the year, the UK rock band, Radiohead, announced that they were going to sell their latest album via their website, inrainbows.com. Nothing new there. What was different was that, when the buyer got to the virtual check-out, they were presented with a pound sign and then an empty box. Click on the question mark next to this box and they got the message, ‘it’s up to you’.

In other words, as the consumer, you could pay what you thought the album was worth.

Fast forward to earlier this week, when I discovered this Associated Press article: Most Fans Paid $0 for Radiohead Album. According to the study quoted in the article, 62% of the survey participants downloaded the album for free. The remaining 38% paid an average of US$6.00.

So, at first glance, it seems that Radiohead’s not making as much money out of this album as they would if they sold it through the music stores. What they are doing though, is making headlines. They’re getting their name out there, creating a buzz. And a buzz will sell box-sets, and buzz will get people to their gigs.

Also, when you download the album – even if you pay nothing for it – you have to register for an account with the inrainbows.com website. I’m not sure how this data will be used, but when you sign up for any website, there’s the potential that you’ll be made aware (usually by email) of any future products or campaigns.

Your thoughts

Do you see this business model working for book sales? If you had the option of downloading it for free, would you still pay for the right to download a book by your favourite author?

Tags: Promotion, Publishing by Natasha
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I received an email yesterday - rather belatedly as it turns out - about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel award.  Online book retailer, Amazon.com, is calling for manuscript submissions.  Submit your novel, and you could win a publishing contract with Penguin, promotional support from Amazon and a host of other prizes.

Problem is, they’ve already reached their limit of 5,000 registered authors.  So those 5,000 have a guaranteed spot on the manuscript pile if they chose to take it up.  If they don’t there’ll be opportunities for those on the waiting list.  According to the site, this will be on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you’re interested, you might want to register here as soon as you can.

It looks like Amazon customers will have a say in which novelist gets that final publishing contract, with online voting for the semi-finalists and finalists early next year before the winner is announced on April 7.  A kind of BigBrother for manuscripts, perhaps?

Your thoughts

How do you feel about readers being involved in the publication process in this way?  What are the benefits for the participants?  Penguin?  Amazon?

Tags: Publishing by Natasha
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