“It’s been clear for months that it will be a not-so-merry holiday season for publishers, but at least one house has gone so far as to halt acquisitions. PW has learned that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.”

– By Rachel Deahl, Publisher’s Weekly, 11/24/2008
“HMH Places “Temporary” Halt on Acquisitions”

An author who wrote a funny, sassy book and found it rejected many, many times has kind of taken matters into her own hands, turning rejection into a web party. She’s holding a funeral for her book! I wonder if this will happen more times than not, as the economy gets worse. Those who’ve been chewed up and spit out by publishers, this is the site for you.

Also, folks like Tor have had amazing success with making the ebook free, and the print book for sale (though this is something initiated by the author and agreed to by the publisher, not the other way around.)

Check out Cory Doctorow. He’s had stunning success with this. A good point he makes is that print books are fetish objects to most readers. While some will buy ebooks, print books aren’t disappearing. And he’s sold more print books of the same title he gave the free ebook away, than other authors he knows who aren’t doing it.

Now maybe Doctorow is just a better writer, or a better marketer, but I think free ebooks are an amazing marketing tool all their own.

Zoe

Getting published in this economic environment vs. last year’s is kinda like the chances of being destroyed by the Large Hadron Collider making either a micro black hole or a strangelet. Either one is a remote possibility although one is somewhat more remote than the other. If I understand my obscure physics conspiracy theories correctly. Which I probably don’t.

Anyway, I think you should take some hope from the hopelessness and know that it can still be done — with as relatively much difficulty as ever. Geez, I’m not helping, am I?

The only good thing (as a debut author I’m trying to think positive here!) is that so much good writing comes out of this country when times get tough.

Think of all the great books and movies of the depression era! Both literary writing and writing for entertainment (to make a superficial distinction) tend to rise to the occasion in order to “survive.”

Though I’m always on the hunt for a good storyline, I know I’ll need to be extra vigilant to have my debut now!

Don’t canceling contracted books and only offering one book deals lead to fewer titles being released?

A year or two down the road, yes. But I’m thinking of more immediate action.

Am I missing something? If a book is canceled, it means it’s not being released — thus no danger of low sales of said book or being skipper or competing for space with another title –more space for another book to be bought.

Yes, but that’s not what I was thinking. I was thinking of spreading out/delaying the releases, not canceling them. What seems to be happening or considered is the dropping of authors/books in order to replace them with a title that’s less expensive to acquire. I see that as a dangerous precedent and a plan of action that will take a year or longer to affect change.

I don’t understand how that can be the best choice among all the options. Surely there’s another, better way?

Am I missing something? If a book is canceled, it means it’s not being released — thus no danger of low sales of said book or being skipper or competing for space with another title –more space for another book to be bought.

It’s a terrifying prospect as I watch freinds’ series being canceled, books being canceled, books being skipped, contracts not being renewed and knowing it could happen to me next, but I think that is the end result of such moves.

http://tinyurl.com/58ng9e