Publishers Behaving Badly?

A quick post because (wouldn't you know it!) the work week is kicking tail.

In case you've missed this, Kiana Davenport (a traditionally pubbed writer recently turned indie) claims her publisher is demanding their advance back because she epubbed a short story collection after she signed their contract.

There is a discussion about it here, and a response here.

I'm sure there are others, but I lack the time necessary to hunt them down. 

I haven't formed a solid opinion about this story, yet. I just think we're going to have to wait and see how this plays out. Could something like this happen? Absolutely. But I don't think there's enough information out there, and I'm left with some lingering questions, especially "breach of contract"-related questions. Since I have no clue what Kiana's contract states, I'm not sure how she is or isn't in violation of it (which, I'm assuming, is what the disagreement boils down to).

(Is it sad that the English major in me wanted to fix that cliché to: "to what the disagreement boils down"?)

Anyway, I would love to see the publisher make a statement.

If nothing else, it's a great reminder to always, Always, ALWAYS read the fine print. If you don't understand it and your agent can't explain it, hire an attorney who can.

We're all still feeling our way around this "indie revolution." Traditional publishers are re-thinking their strategies (or should be, at least), agents are trying to figure out what role they play, Amazon is expanding its reaches. . . . I think it's a really great time to be a writer, but the landscape is changing faster than anyone predicted, and we're going to have to be vigilant as we ride out the "learning curve."

KK

YA Indie Spotlight: Jennifer Snyder

Hi Everyone!

I have a new YA Indie Spotlight for you today (as promised). Today, I'm featuring Jennifer Snyder's YA contemporary novel: Shattered Soul.

SUMMARY

Hellish Nightmare...

If seventeen-year-old Seth Bradson were to describe his life in two words, those would be the two he’d choose. Seth prefers to cope with his crappy existence by spending his days in a drug-induced haze. But when Ali Carson steps into his life, Seth finds something he’s subconsciously been seeking—a new drug, one that consumes his mind unlike any other.

Love.

In a moment of unforgivable weakness, Seth allows Ali to try crystal meth, his most addictive temptation. This single event begins the unraveling of both their lives and forces Seth to learn the definition of regret the hard way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Snyder writes Young Adult Edgy Contemporary novels as well as Young Adult Paranormal Romance novels. She resides in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and two children. Jennifer finds great joy in blank notebooks and a smooth writing pen.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

"An extremely intense story." 

"Raw and truthful."

"A wonderful story about the cost of addiction and the struggle to win free of it."

Shattered Soul is priced at $2.99 and can be purchased for Nook and Kindle. It is also available through Smashwords and in paperback.

You can find Jennifer on the web here!

Happy Friday!

KK

Writing Again and a Request

I guess we're heading full-throttle into September now. It's like I blink, and weeks pass. Right now we're transitioning back to a school schedule and holding on to the last of the summer weather. The sun is leaving us earlier and earlier each night, though, so I know winter's coming. (Not my favorite season, but I like hot chocolate. And sweaters. And when it's too cold to go outside I don't feel so guilty about staying in.)

I mentioned last week that I'd spent quite a bit of time plotting book three of The Guardian series (yet to be titled). As tough as this last novel is going to be to write, I think there would be some pretty unhappy people if I just abandoned Genesis and Seth where I left them in Vendetta. Now that I have the outline of the story, though, there's nothing left to do but start writing. So, I sat down yesterday and I wrote. I wrote all 370 words of the first page. 

I know. *HUGE* progress. But I didn't want to overwhelm myself right away. I usually only put out 1,000-1,500 words a day when I'm drafting. Any more than that and my head explodes. Three hundred and seventy words is a good start, I think. And there are plenty more coming. Today, in fact.

In the meantime, I try not to put out too many "pleas" for things, but since I lost my reviews for The Guardian last month, and Vendetta is still so new, I would *Love Love Love* for anyone who's read either story (and enjoyed them!) (and is willing) to leave a review (especially at Amazon). Word of mouth is a powerful thing (you see what happened with Cross My Heart), so . . . no pressure, but if you're game, I'm grateful. (And yes, I'm through with the parentheses.) (For now.)

Stay tuned for a new YA Indie Spotlight. I plan to post one on Friday. And yes, I feel like if I go ahead and tell you, I'm more likely to follow through. I am *that* simple of a person. :)

Happy Wednesday!

(whispers: It is Wednesday, right?)

KK

August Sales Numbers

It's that time again!

I've finally finished crunching August numbers, and the grand total is:

2,320

(That's a nice, round number don't you think?)

Regular readers know that this total is actually down from previous months, but we'll talk about that in a minute.

The breakdown goes something like this:

The Guardian sold 173 Amazon US copies, 5 Amazon UK copies, and 45 Barnes and Noble copies for a total of 223 copies (or 7.1 sales a day).

Cross My Heart sold 1,658 Amazon US copies, 155 Amazon UK copies, 3 Amazon DE copies, and 112 Barnes and Noble copies for a total of 1,928 copies (or 62.1 sales a day).

On August 6, I released Vendetta (Book II in The Guardian series), and sold 131 Amazon US copies, 6 Amazon UK copies, 1 Amazon DE copy, and 31 Barnes and Noble copies for a total of 169 copies (or 6.7 sales a day for the number of days it was on sale).

August was probably the most stressful month I've had sales-wise. It's hard watching numbers as closely as I do, and I envy those who only log in and check once a day/week (I don't know how you guys do that!). Still, without the data, it's hard to keep track of what's happening when it happens.

There were quite a few "dirty names" for August on the Kindleboards this month, and the general consensus is that sales were down for most authors throughout the month.

During this time, Amazon released its new Indie Store. They haven't segregated indie writers, and I don't feel they're going to, but there was a lot of angst in general about this. By August 10-11, authors were experiencing reporting issues. This wasn't an isolated incident: everyone witnessed a lull during these days. Our rankings were shifting, but no sales were being reported. They seemed to be catching up by that weekend, but there were intermittent reporting problems throughout the remainder of the month. There was also a hurricane last weekend which left millions of people without power. This might've had some kind of effect on sales, too.

Just before Vendetta released, I lowered the price of The Guardian from $2.99 to $.99. I still haven't been able to break the 10k sales rank, even at the $.99 price point. I plan to watch it through September, and if there's not a noticeable change in numbers, I'd actually rather keep the 70% royalty rate. There was a slight increase from last month, though, so we'll see how this plays out. During the Amazon reporting issue, I also lost my previous reviews for The Guardian. I'm back down to two (that were posted after I released the DRM-free version).

The Summer Doldrums kicked some tail, and I still haven't built the momentum I lost after last month's Amazon sale. I've slipped about a thousand spots in the rankings, and lost my place on the Amazon Teen Top 100. Even so, I spent over one hundred days on that list, and I'm totally thrilled about that.

And even though my numbers were lower this month, they're still higher than I ever dreamed of when I started. "They" (those who have come before me) say that August is the worst month for book/ebook sales, and my Kindleboard lurking confirms that many authors saw a decrease in sales.

Now it's on to September!

Hopefully Amazon worked out the kinks in their reporting system, and fall readers are *much nicer* to everyone. :)

KK

Plotting. That's all. Just . . . Plotting.

Yesterday, I went to my home county's annual literacy luncheon. This is actually the first time I've attended an event like this, and everything was beautiful and sparkly and the cheesecake was to DIE for. . . . 

The keynote speaker was Nicholas Sparks. He didn't go into too much detail about writing/the writing process (he mostly talked about his books/life), but he confessed that he doesn't do a whole lot of outlining before he begins writing a book. He did share, however, the things he needs to know before he sits down and actually begins writing.  

First, he needs to know who the main characters are (including age). He needs to know how they meet. He needs to know what is going to keep them apart (the conflict). And finally, he needs to have an idea of how the story is going to end. 

Even if you're not a "plotter," this is a great foundation on which to build.

Every book I've written is the result of a different process. I do like a general outline, but I've followed some more than others (I like to let my characters take over when they can). 

Since it was my first attempt at urban fantasy, The Guardian was actually a "fly by the seat of my pants" story. I was just meeting these characters, and I didn't know what would happen (just that it would end badly). I let the plot unfold the way it wanted.

I approached Vendetta differently. I already knew my characters, that they had a history together, and I knew I had to build on that. Since Vendetta was the middle of the trilogy, I also knew things were going to get worse before they (hopefully) got better. I actually wrote Vendetta scene by scene, then re-ordered it in subsequent drafts. In fact, the "love scene" is the first scene I wrote, even though it appears in the next to last chapter.

For the final book in this trilogy, I find that I'm plotting more than ever. There are SO many loose ends to tie up (and not just which guy Genesis will choose—or if she even CAN choose them). I sat down two or three weekends ago and filled about 20 notebook pages with ideas, or things that could happen, and focused on how the story would all come together. By the time I was through, I ended up with 85 strips of paper that tell me exactly how the story will unfold (this might change during the drafting process, but the skeleton of the entire book is definitely in there). 

The point is: you may have to approach each book you write differently. And that's okay. If you're a hardcore plotter and find yourself letting the story tell itself, go for it. If you're stuck to an outline, keep at it. When it's not working, don't force it. Be open to trying new things. 

And, according to Nicholas Sparks, it's never a bad idea to know who your characters are, how they meet, what will keep them apart, and how it all ends. Once you're there, it's time to start writing. 

KK