I have serious insomnia. Here it is after 2am and I can't sleep. I took my sleeping pill 4 hours ago and I am wide awake.
I wanted to try to write but no matter which story I open up, the words won't come. There are just too many of the voices in my head and I can't hear myself think long enough to write even one sentence. So, I'll babble here for a while and hope something I say stimulates my brain into action and I can get back to writing.
PA says they hold the electronic rights to my books so I can't go publish them with an e-publisher, yet they want $99 before they will publish my books in the e-book format. And on top of that, they charge $9.95 for the e-book, which I think is just too high. People aren't going to spend that on an author they know, let alone an unknown one.
I can't wait until the seven years is up on my contracts. I will republish all my books then with another publisher. At least I can set the prices then to something that is a bit more fair for the everyday reading consumer. I wan't my rights back to all my books but that costs $99 also, per book. Sometimes I just wish I'd never heard of this company.
I shouldn't be talking bad about them on my own site but I really can't help it when I see how they work and how they treat their authors.
All of the 5 books I am working on now though will go to Pub It and be published in e-book format. I think I like that idea much better. I can set the prices and I get a much higher royalty. I went to a webinar last night to see how Pub It works and I was impressed, to say the least. Barnes & Noble runs Pub It and I know they are reputable, so I believe I will be using them from here on out. If you want to see anything of my new books as I write them, you can go to www.jcnoelle.webs.com and see it all there.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say I heard about your plight on AbsoluteWrite forums. I wish you nothing the best luck in your writing career. Think of how many books you can work on in those seven years!
Cheers!
Way to go! You've made the right choice to scrape PA off your shoes. I know it looks dark now, but things are absolutely going to get BETTER.
ReplyDeleteI hope at some point you sub your books to advance-paying publishers and get paid real money for your hard work. They're out there, and they are looking for new writers.
I always recommend getting a book workshopped and critiqued first--and I know how scary THAT can be!
But really, it's just a way of giving a book a "tune up" before sending it off to an editor or agent. You hone your craft and stay at it.
I did that to my first book back in the day, and though it wasn't easy, the payoff was the best: a multi-book deal and a career I love.
No need to go it alone!
Try this writers' board:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php
It's FREE, run by pros, and has tons of help for all phases of the writing/publishing process.
Not only can you get feedback from other writers in the Share Your Work forum, but they have a great forum for those who choose to self-publish. You can learn a lot!
They're good people. Seriously, they ARE.
Good luck!
I'll echo the advice to check out Absolute Write. You can find everything from advice from editors to lists of publishers to a critiquing workshop to a friendly shoulder to cry on. Writers really are friendly, caring people who want to "pay it forward" by helping new writers, and Absolute Write has a lot of big name authors as members who are incredibly helpful and supportive.
ReplyDeleteWhile self-publishing is right for some people, don't forget that there are hundreds of publishing houses, large and small, print and e-press, that accept submissions in your genre. They can give your books the exposure and readership that is very difficult to achieve with self-publishing.
DJ - all I can say is way to go for scraping the PA off your shoes and moving forward. You have an entire community of writers behind you 100%, so join in when you are ready.
ReplyDeleteTerri