Defending Your Life

Guys, I've got the midwinter blahs. It's gray and slushy and cold and so very bleak-seeming.

I'm also tired. Now, that may have something to do with the fact that I got overexcited watching the Lost season premiere and didn't sleep well (highlight to read, spoiler alert: OMG SAYID OMG JULIET OMG LOCKE I CRIED SO MUCH MY EYES ARE PUFFY TODAY), or something to do with my fake thyroid hormone levels, or maybe, just maybe, it's the wear and tear showing.

Wear and tear caused by what I feel is a near-constant need to defend myself, my job, and my industry.

I'm sure the last thing anyone wants to read today is MORE about the Amazon/Macmillan thing, but that's where I'm headed, in full-rant-mode.

Here's the thing: I don't agree fully with either side. I think Amazon are tools for pulling the buy buttons in the way that they did, and for STILL not fully reinstating all the Macmillan titles for purchase. I think they are super-tools for deleting Macmillan books from users' wish lists, and sample Macmillan chapters from users' Kindles. But I can't say I'm *entirely* on Macmillan's side, either. From CEO John Sargent's statement:

In the ink-on-paper world we sell books to retailers far and wide on a business model that provides a level playing field, and allows all retailers the possibility of selling books profitably. Looking to the future and to a growing digital business, we need to establish the same sort of business model, one that encourages new devices and new stores. One that encourages healthy competition. One that is stable and rational. It also needs to insure that intellectual property can be widely available digitally at a price that is both fair to the consumer and allows those who create it and publish it to be fairly compensated. [emphasis mine]

How can he suggest that the playing field for brick and mortar retailers is level, with Walmart and Target and B&N deeply discounting lead titles and shutting out smaller indie stores who don't have the benefits of bulk?

If we really want to make things FAIR, if FAIR is our goal, then all books should cost the same everywhere, right? Or all books should be free and consumers should have the option to compensate authors based on how much a particular book was worth to them, a la pay-what-you-want?

Look, I only took one semester of economics in college, and only because my dad strongly suggested that I do, so I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of the free market, or supply and demand, or price fixing, or the manufacturer's suggested retail price act or whatEVER. What I understand is that I demand to have access to good stories told well, and I demand that that access not just be good for me, but for anyone who wants to read.

Here is a list of things I'm actively afraid of:

1. Indie bookstores going out of business. Why am I afraid of this? Because I, as part-owner of an independent publishing company, I know how hard it is to get readers to NOTICE, let alone BUY, our titles. We depend, much like Blanche Dubois, upon the kindness of strangers. Independent bookstores hand-sell titles they love, and if we are lucky enough to have published a title that an indie bookseller has taken notice of, read, loved, and hand-sold, our bottom line rises. If indie bookstores are driven out of business by B&N and online retailers, we lose a strong group of allies. Not that employees of B&N don't hand-sell -- when I worked there, I sure did -- but it is much harder to create a relationship with booksellers at a place like B&N, where turnover is high and so much of the store is plan-o-grammed according to publisher buy-ins, so that the staff has very little control over what books to display where. We can't afford front-and-center co-op purchases in big stores.

2. The homogenization of reading options. I LOVE that by virtue of the fact that we are publishing ANYTHING, we are publishing OTHER THINGS than every other publisher. By which I mean I want lots of publishers publishing lots of different things, because I love choice. I love to be able to decide what to read from a huge pool of options, all published in different formats and styles. It scares me that so much of the publishing world is consolidated into so few peoples' hands, and I like the fact that there are smaller, newer publishers popping up every day to bring readers options.

3. The overabundance of options so that the bad clouds the good. In contrast with point two, I fear a world where, since publishing one's own book in paper or ebook form is now so easily accessible to all, everyone who writes a book goes on to publish it, and the pool of options becomes so flooded with everyone touting themselves as the next J.K. or whoever that the options overwhelm readers and they give up. When I used to nanny, one of the best lessons I learned was not to ask the toddler, "What do you want to wear today?" but instead to ask, "Which shirt today, the red one or the blue one?" Too many choices are paralyzing, not enough choices causes thoughts to stagnate.

I don't want to be stagnant OR paralyzed!

4. Snakes. Because seriously, they are terrifying.

5. Being driven out of a job I do well because no one understands what I do. Ok, I'm delving into poor-me bullshit here, and I apologize, but I need to get this off my chest, and though I know I'm preaching to the choir, here it comes anyway: A GOOD BOOK NEEDS AN EDITOR. I don't understand how a banana farmer tends his crop to yield the tastiest bananas, but I believe that there are choices he makes that influence his output. What I and other editors do isn't nothing, and I resent SO MUCH the implicit suggestions that our contribution to the books we bring to market isn't worth compensation, when people say, "Well, authors should just self-publish because then books can be cheaper because there won't be all those middlemen." I am not a middle man. Neither is my proofreader, my cover designer, my interior layout designer, my publicist, or my intern.

6. Readers will stop reading because books cost more than they think they should/more than they can afford. (This fear is admittedly far-fetched, but I didn't say I only feared rational things.) I don't know how much books "should" cost. I know how much money it costs to produce a book today, and I know how many of a particular title we need to sell at a certain price in order to break even, but it seems to me that what we really need to have is a conversation about how much a book is WORTH. In the grand scheme of things, flexible pricing makes sense to me: Early adopters pay the highest price when a book is new, and as time passes, the price of the book drops. (I'm not talking specifically about the hardcover --> paperback transition that is traditional, but also about ebook pricing, and pricing in general.) The Kindle cost way more when it first came out, and early adopters knew it would cost less later, but the "have it now" factor was worth the extra money for them. But it also makes sense to me to listen to the market. I know you don't care to see our P&L statements, just as I don't care to see the banana farmer's biannual planting plan, all I want is good, affordable bananas. If bananas were too expensive, I would go without. If books become too expensive for you, will you go without? How can we make everyone happy here?

We're all addicted to reading, right? We need our fixes. How can we ensure that we're paying reasonable prices for our coke-books, while also ensuring that they're not all cut with baking soda?

I've been reading a lot about all this stuff lately, and rather than sprinkle the links throughout, I'm just gonna bulk list them here, so you can continue reading if you'd like.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/
http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/?p=2138
http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2010/01/amazon-and-macmillan.html
http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2010/01/31/why-my-books-are-no-longer-for-sale-via-amazon/
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2010/01/amazon-macmillan-an-outsiders.html
http://booksquare.com/
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58701
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/amazon-macmillan-start-e-book-price-war-and-amazon-loses-fo/19338550/
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/

In the bleak midwinter, it all can get to be a bit much, hence my frustration and ranty, nonsensical blog posts. Luckily, there's always:

Comments

[Roy Innes]

There's a kind of catharsis in reading a rant like yours. Good job. Couldn't agree with you more. I shudder to think of my novels appearing in the public domain straight off my keyboard. Editors (professional ones, not the next door neighbour)are crucial to putting out a worthwhile product. Today's self-publishing deluge is really, really scary.

[suzanne]

I agree on all points, especially on the lack of diversity that reduced outlets (read that as independent booksellers and publishers) cause. Consolidation has happened in so many other arenas (think banking, for one) with disastrous results, you'd think we'd know better by now.

And yes, when faced with too many choices, I tend to flee.

[Caitlyn Henderson]

Jeff, I must say I adore you. The combination of funny man and thought provoking intellectual is almost too much to resist. If both of us weren't already married I think you'd be my first stalking victim. Especially if you throw in some hot-buttered popcorn, to me it's just as irresistible as chocolate. Please keep ranting, everyone needs an outlet and yours proves so entertaining.

[Alan Orloff]

Great points, all. Nice post, Allison. Publishing is a crazy, mixed-up world that doesn't seem like it's going to be settling down any time soon. Buckle up!

[Beth]

This is a fearful post, Alison. Not only because so many of those fears are often uttered other places besides the safety and comfort of the internet, but because these fears and problems have so many crossovers between independent publishing and comics! (especially the point on snakes and self publishing) On the one hand self publishing is a beautiful, affordable, wonderful world of magic and self promotion. But as you highlighted, folks need to either learn to edit, or get on the editor train and plow full steam ahead!

BUT don't let the bleary winter-y dumps get you down! because then the terrorists win! Just kidding, but honestly, there is always some greatness to balance out the fear. <3

[Jeff Cohen]

Caitlyn: Not that I don't appreciate the odd mash note now and again, but I can't take credit for today's post--that was all our very own Alison Janssen, who SHOULD LEARN TO PUT HER NAME AT THE TOP OF THE POST SO PEOPLE KNOW SHE WROTE IT. But seriously, thanks for the sentiment. And if I ever start to rant here, trust me, I will alienate far more readers than I will delight. Alison is much better at it than I am.

[Dana Kaye]

Great post Alison, but the video is what really did it for me. Best thing ever. Next watch David After The Dentist...

[Dana King]

I blogged on this earlier this week, much in agreement with Alison about Amazon vs. Macmillan: a pox on both their houses. Amazon are lowlifes for pulling the buy buttons and messing with people's wish lists. (I didn't know that wish list part; now I'm genuinely pissed.) Macmillan has a lot of nerve telling their sellers what they MUST sell a book for. Take your wholesale fee and get over yourself.

The only people hurt here are writers; readers are inconvenienced, but we'll get over it. Personally, Borders and B&N just got a new customer.

[Ma Fea]

"I'm her mother." "No, she's not!" Priceless. As are you. From your mother.

[Lynne Patrick]

Alison, I wanted to comment on every point of your post to show solidarity, but everything I wanted to say has already been said.
I was at a meeting of a large writers' society once, and a publisher was the speaker. When asked how much a publisher makes on a book, she replied, 'Seven percent of cover price is good.' The sound of jaws hitting the floor was deafening.
If writers believe the publisher pockets the 90% they don't get in royalties, what hope is there for the rest of the world?
There has to be sensible pricing, or no one feels valued and everyone loses.

[Alison Janssen]

Oh, Sisterbot, you always know how to cheer me up. :)

And yes, I was a bit ZOMGZ BOOKPOCOLYPSE with this post, I know. But I'm feeling much better today, and maybe next week instead of listing fears, I'll list things I'm optimistic/excited about. Preview: Snakes are NOT on that list.