Angie – everyone in the industry should be aware of your excellent classes and profile in the business. If you offered a class and they failed to snap it up – idiots.

Kassia – your new publishing house is the only one of two of the new startups I’d consider submitting work to, because you are truly savvy and you’ve been a strong advocate of education and a realistic outlook on the industry for years.

Jane – the voice of reason. Another commenter who has no particular axe to grind. Your comment on digital v e-pub is worth taking on board. I used to be a print buyer, mainly in litho, a technique that kept businesses overflowing with work and provided jobs for highly skilled workers. Now it’s all changed, thanks to digital design and manufacture.
I have learned that the bigger the publisher, the higher the sales, even if you do nothing (and I don’t ‘do nothing’), so publisher promotion is vital to the success of an author. My title which was a bestseller at Triskelion, “Wildfire,” went to Ellora’s Cave as “Sunfire.” More rigorous editing and rewriting, plus it coming out under the EC umbrella, made it, and its three successors, my bestselling titles to date.
And the backlist sales are terrific. Something print-only authors don’t usually get much of, so there’s another example of the way the model is changing.

I think the worst misinformation out there is the idea that epublishing and digi pub are one and the same. To me, epublishing is one model of business wherein the author is put out in e format first and offered higher royalty rates in exchange for little or no advance. (There are also marketing differences).

Digital publishing is an overarcing umbrella that encompasses every aspect of publishing and how the publishing world is changing (or not) to compete in an increasingly technological world.

If an author is a business person and she has to make decisions as to the entity best suited to produce her product and market and sell that product, then an understanding of digital publishing is vital. For example, what houses will be moving to an XML workflow that will reduce costs, increase efficiencies and assist smaller, independent bookstores to compete against larger entities?

What amount of money is the publisher willing to invest in the author in terms of marketing either in the form of coop or online. If they don’t have those types of plans, why or why not? Does it behoove an author to take a slightly lower advance and go with a mid or small print publisher or even an epublisher who has a better understanding of the evolving market?

What understanding do the publishers have of social media and other online marketing venues which are the number 2 way to create book awareness?

As online retailing grows and brick and mortar sales decline, what do publishers have in place to replace or address coop?

What publishers are poised to take advantage of emerging global markets?

What do publishers (or agents) understand about the growing digital market and how to leverage that to the best of their ability? Does your publisher have a presence on iPhone? Does your publisher have a planned presence on Blackberry, Android or Palm Pre?

What Amazon or Google partnerships exist and how does the publisher plan to exploit those platforms to push new sales?

Those are just some of the topics that I believe fall under the digital publishing umbrella. In 2008, online retail sales exceeded retails sales for the first time. There’s a chart out there that shows the skyrocketing increase of sales by Amazon and the flat and declining sales of specific retail and general retail as it pertains to books.

And perhaps I ought not have posted about my concerns with the devisiveness of the ‘digital’ issue. I am sensitized, perhaps, b/c of the intensity of how people have spoken about these type of issues when discussing related topics re: the digital publishing world.

I suppose I get confused when people talk about ’support’ and the like, b/c it starts to feel as though digital publishing becomes a social group mechanism.

I am wary of vehement ‘in groups,’ b/c they require a vehement ‘out group.’ This is about money, and where the money will flow, and I, as you, believe the future of publishing is shared quite lucratively with the digital world. And in 50 years, maybe no print at all. That seems quite possible.

What I get bothered by, confused by–and perhaps distracted by–is the us-them that happens. But your post did not necessarily invoke that, so perhaps I oughtn’t have mentioned it. Sorry if I’ve distracted.

The entire industry is changing. In a massive way. This seriously impacts authors. If you’re traditionally published or native digital, it doesn’t matter. How you sell your books and how you are compensated is changing. If you, author, do not comprehend these changes, well, you are screwed. Sorry to be so blunt, but if you don’t get how this impacts your career, you lose.

Like those who are suggesting the rogue session, I’m attending every major publishing conference, and I’m part of the mix. We know what’s being said, what the publishers (counting me) are saying, and how the economics work. If authors don’t understand where the business is going, how do they make smart decisions?

This is happening right now. Choices made today have long term repercussions. At least be informed.

What I don’t get it the reason it has to become some sort of social crusade.

Primarily b/c it seems rather inevitable, doesn’t it? So just relax and let it be.

Rogue seminars? Whatever. Talk about what you want to talk about. Where you want to talk about it. What’s with the drama?

RWA is what it is. Don’t like it? I get it. Change it, or leave. Everyone doesn’t have to be everything you want it to be. If RWA isn’t, move on.

if you want to be epubbed, go for it.

if you want to start an epublishing business, good for you.

If you want to buy ebooks (barring illegal file-sharing), awesome.

If everyone else doesn’t jump on board, *so what?*

I just don’t get why it’s becomes so divisive. Why it has becomes some sort of ‘us’ vs ‘them,’ with some ‘laughing all the way to the bank.’ Just go the bank, already. I personally am happy for you. I LOVE when people make a living selling HEAs. We ALL benefit when romance is well-loved.

Let’s all stop making it into a fight. Stop encouraging ‘them’ and ‘us’ talk. Our new president isn’t, and if anyone had a excuse, he did.

What’s most likely is that *everyone* wants to make money doing something they love. Therefore, if someone is ‘against’ epublishing (whatever that means), maybe they have a reason. Maybe if we listened to the concerns, with respect, we could find a way through. Together.

Best wishes,
Natalie Acres