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

Posted by Soulskill on from the six-of-one,-five-hundred-thousand-of-the-other dept.

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."

2 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. Publisher's attitude is for you to bend over..... by blanchae · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Back in 2000, I contacted several publishers about publishing my 500 page book "Introduction to Data Communications", pretty much all declined stating that it was not specific enough. I wrote it specifically because at the time there wasn't an introductary level book. One major publisher had the following conditions that I would have to do in order for them to publish it:

    1. Add another 200 pages
    2. Create an online website
    3. Create an online test bank
    4. They would forward $5,000 of my expected earnings in order to perform the years worth of work.
    5. Hand over complete copyright to them
    6. If they decided that any changes were required, I would have to pay for the changes regardless if I agreed with them or not.

    I told the VP what I thought in the most appropriate terms and stated that I would give the book away rather than have anything to do their company. So since 2000, the book Introduction to Data Communications has been free online to anyone who wishes to use it. I used to make pocket change from the Google adds and for the last couple of years, instead of Google adds, I advertise the programs that I teach for at the post-secondary institute.

  2. Re:big diff: editors are actually important by Nursie · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Lies Incorporated springs to mind. Another PKD novel.

    First few chapters are relatively sane. As are the last few chapters. In the middle is pure PKD weirdness, only even more directionless and bizarre than usual (IMHO). Then I noticed that the weirdness and the last few sane chapters start with the same paragraph.

    So then I finally read the introduction, that says the book was originally published after a brutal pruning by the editor. Later, when PKD got a bit more famous, he managed to get the middle stuffed back in for future print runs.

    The editor was definitely right that time.