Best-Selling Author Refuses $500k; Self-Publishes Instead

Last week we discussed an IT book author's adventures in trying to self-publish. Now, an anonymous reader points out an article examining another perspective: "Barry Eisler, a NY Times best-selling author of various thriller novels, has just turned down a $500,000 book contract in order to self-publish his latest work. In a conversation with self-publishing aficionado Joe Konrath, Eisler talks about why this makes sense and how the publishing industry is responding in all the wrong ways to the rise of ebooks. He also explains the math by which it makes a lot more sense to retain 70% of your earnings on ebooks priced cheaply, rather than 14.9% on expensive books put out by publishers."

Comments

Re:And when he...

[MoonBuggy]

...the readers give me a headache if I try to read for too long...

Have you had a chance to try an e-ink device? I understand the price may not be attractive for a single purpose device, and that's a fine point, but I'd be very surprised if they affect you any differently than paper. The image is absolutely static and not backlit, so shouldn't be any different on the eyes; admittedly they tend to be somewhat lower DPI than normal printing, but I can't see that causing a headache.

Re:Publisher's attitude is for you to bend over...

[SpottedKuh]

You, sir, have the finest licensing agreement that I have ever seen in the introduction of your book. I was genuinely moved.

Re:Never heard of him.

[hawguy]

But I'll tell you why I am not inclined towards E-books. I like to read in the tub.

But e-book readers are even better than paper books for reading in the tub.

I found that my kindle fits perfectly into a quart sized freezer baggy (which are a bit thicker than sandwich baggies), and I can still operate all of the controls. Perfect for reading in the tub, and unlike a paper book, there's no worries about the book getting soggy if you dip it into the water - you can dunk the entire baggy protected Kindle into the water and pick it up and continue reading.

The baggy also works well when you want to take it to the beach and protect it from sand... or when you're eating doritos and don't want it to get all cheesy.

And since I already had these baggies in the kitchen, total cost for this protection was a few cents.

Re:big diff: editors are actually important

[GrpA]

Because editors cost money, even when you're friends with a few. ( And I'd never ask a friend to edit my work for free as anything other than a mutual crit. )

I self-published an E-book. Admittedly, it could be better edited and I really wish I had the cash to do it. However because I couldn't afford an external editor, I went through 10 editing passes myself ( it's not easy spotting your own mistakes ) and through more than a dozen critics who tore every sentence to pieces.

The result? It's presently ranking 4.5 stars on Barnes and Noble and has a sales ranking up with the professional. The biggest criticism I get ? Making it free ( Voluntary shareware actually ).

So while I'd still say a GOOD editor is a valuable thing in the publishing process, I'd also say that you don't need to have a paid editor to do everything you need to make a great story.

Anyway, you're welcome to judge it for yourself if you like - And feel free to criticize me. I always welcome genuine criticism.

Title: Turing Evolved ( Science Fiction ) - Currently distributed for free.
Smashwords Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34627

GrpA