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Category Archives: Sharing

The egalitarian, hard-work myth dismantled

Posted on 19 Nov 14 by Editor

Michael Bourne at The Millions takes on the egalitarian myth behind teaching the craft of writing:

[T]he problem with craft talks isn’t what is being said from the podium. The problem is the unspoken message of the genre of the craft talk itself, which is that one becomes a successful writer by mastering a series of discrete elements of literary craft. You learn to keep your scenes short. You gain a deeper understanding of the role of voice in narrative fiction. You remember to always put a little bad in your good characters and a little good in your bad characters, and — poof! — one day you open your laptop and discover you have written A Visit from the Goon Squad.

This is a species of magical thinking. It is, of course, impossible to write a good book without a deep appreciation of how language and stories work, but it doesn’t follow that successful writers have simply worked at it harder than less successful ones or that their understanding of the craft of fiction is any more acute. What successful writers have that their less successful counterparts do not is talent. [emphasis mine]

This inconvenient fact offends our sensibilities because it is elitist and because it means that for all but a very lucky few of us, literary greatness remains beyond our grasp. A belief in the transformative properties of craft also undergirds an ever-growing industry of creative writing education that, one way or another, now pays the bills for most working poets and literary writers. For these reasons, we have constructed a culture of discussing creative writing designed to skirt the obvious. Because craft exists outside us and can be improved through effort, a focus on craft gives us a way to talk about bad writing that is less hurtful to the writer. The successful writer is saved from having to tell the less successful one, “Sorry, but you have no talent.” Instead, the successful writer can say, “You need to work on your craft.”

This analysis coheres neatly with what I have said about the “Authorhood of All Readers” myth and the dangers of pyramid scheme dynamics in a publishing culture wherein writing teachers teach writing to writers who will primarily go on to teach other writers (to be writing teachers).

To read the rest of Bourne’s fascinating piece, check it out here!

Category: My Two Cents, Sharing

Author J. A. Konrath dismantles AG-AU hypocrisy and the agency model

Posted on 17 Nov 14 by Editor

Hard to argue with these numbers:

The Authors Guild has, many times in the past, voiced that ebook royalties should be raised. So do something about it.

The AG, and Authors United, have been able to get beaucoup media attention during the Hachette/Amazon spat … Now the AG, and all of the bestselling authors who supported AU, need to show some backbone and integrity and use the same tactics to force the Big 5 to raise digital royalties …

Konrath’s numbers, my chart

On a $25 hardcover, the author makes about $3.75, and the publisher around $5, after all production, delivery, and middleman costs (distributors and booksellers). On a $25 ebook, an author makes $4.37, and the publisher $13.12. How did this happen? Where was the outrage when this was slipped into all major publishing contracts? …

I won’t point fingers, but a Google or Twitter search will show how many authors seem to think Amazon is bad, the agency model is good, and the poor Big 6 are getting the shaft. Uh, no. That’s just plain wrong. I’m going to explain why the agency model in this particular case is indeed bad for authors …

Under the prior [wholesale] model, Amazon bought ebooks at a percentage of the recommended retail price. Then they priced them how they saw fit. The wholesale price for ebooks was often about half of the hardcover price. So a $25 recommended retail price meant Amazon paid $12.50 for the ebook. According to most contracts, the author made 25% of the net price the publisher received. So at the above numbers, an author would make $3.12 NO MATTER WHAT PRICE AMAZON SOLD THE EBOOK FOR.

Konrath’s numbers, my chart

In other words, if Amazon wanted to sell the ebook for $9.99, the author still makes $3.12. Sell it for $5.99? Author makes $3.12. Sell it for 99 cents? Author makes $3.12.

So what happens when the agency model comes into play? First of all, Amazon no longer controls the price … Amazon works its butt off trying to keep prices low. That’s why so many people shop there.

With the wholesale model, authors made more money per unit and sold more units. Funny thing is, publishers also made more money under the wholesale model. But instead the Big 6 decided they wanted an agency model. Authors still get 25% of net. But net has gotten lower in almost all cases.

With the wholesale model, net was $12.50. With the agency model, net is 17.5% of the list price set by the publisher. So the publisher sells it for $12.99, the author makes $2.27. Sell it for $9.99? Author makes $1.74. Sell it for $5.99? Author makes $1.04. Sell it for 99 cents? Author makes 17 cents.

Read the rest at J. A. Konrath‘s blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing.

Category: Blogroll, My Two Cents, Sharing