Chat Log for Workshop #1 on 9/10/98:
Subject: E-Publishing
The following is a transcript of the Forum on E-Publishing held by
MSF&F. Special Guests included Mary Z. Wolf, publisher Hard Shell Books, and Rex
Anderson and Patricia White, authors and EPIC members.
Lila - logged on.
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Rex - logged on.
di - Hi Rex
Rex - Hi, Di.
Rex - Does this green show up okay?
di - :You must hit the update often.
di - Yes, it does
di - Have you found a home for EPIC
yet?
Rex - Okay. We're in the edges of
Tropical Storm Frances.
Rex - Yes. Want the new permanent URL?
Just went up.
Rex - www/eclectics.com/epic
di - Yes, please. I'll list it on the
new Millennium
di - Got it
di - After this weekend, Millennium
will be found at www.joppopub.com
di - no, jopoppub.com
Rex - Okay. Easier than all those
numbers.
di - yes, I am having trouble with
Internic about creativespec.com
Pat - logged on.
Rex - Hi, Patricia.
di - Hi Pat, welcome to MSF&F
discussions
Rex - Why don't I change colors? Be
right back.
di - Remember to hit update often
Pat - logged on.
Rex - Back. Ready for interview?
Lila - logged on.
Rex - Hi, Lila. Di should be back in a
moment.
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Rex - Hi, Dave. Ready to go sail, huh?
Pat - I'm getting an error message
that says the requested item couldn't be loaded
DaveC - Evenin' all.
DaveC - Rex, roger that.
Lila - hi
Rex - Pat, try your browser reload
button, if Update doesn't help.
Jo - Hi, folks. Thanks for coming.
Pat - logged on.
Lila - Thanks for inviting me.
Rex - Hi, Jo.
Jo - Hi folks. Am I late?
di - logged on.
DaveC - Hi Jo. Long time since we have
talked.
Rex - Right on time, I think, Jo.
Don't know what happened to Di.
di - sorry, I got booted
Jo - Hi Lila, glad you could make it.
Rex - Pat, are things working better?
Mary - logged on.
Rex - Booted! Just like old times!
Lila - Hi, JO
Jo - and rex and Dave and--and--just
everybody, (arms swing wide)
Pat - logged on.
Marion - logged on.
di - Hi Mary, Welcome to MSF&F
workshop
Rex - Hi, Mary.
DaveC - Di, good to see you. Long time
no talk.
di - Remember to update often.
Mary - Hi everyone!
Jo - Patricia, are you here? And Mary
hello.
di - Hi Marion, welcome to MSF&F
workshop. Remember to update often.
Mary - My server is acting up so I
hope I don't get bumped.
Marion - Hi, everyone! Looks like a
lot of us Epicurians are here!
Rex - Pat?
di - DaveC, what is the status on
Shield?
Jo - di, how many are signed up to
come tonight?
Pat - Finally I am here. Server kept
kicking me off.
Rex - Pat-- tip-- hit update after you
type something-- NOT return.
DaveC - Di, rewrite back to agent, now
just the big waiting game.
Rex - Good luck, Dave.
di - Well while you wait, can enjoy
Bifrost
DaveC - Thanks, Rex. I'll need it, but
I got high hopes nonetheless.
di - Mary, it is good to meet you. I
have enjoyed the novels that I have downloaded from Hard Shell
DaveC - Bifrost sounds like heaven
right now. I can't wait to be on the water again.
Jo - di, how many are signed up to
come tonight?
di - What made you decide to enter
such a field?
di - About 15 JO
Mary - Frankly, rejections. :-)
Mary - I received those
"good" rejections and got tired of the limited restrictions.
Jo - I'm getting kicked. Will be back.
Going to my other browser.
di - Altho several are from different
time zones that may make joining us impossible
Mary - I found Hard Shell, which was
started by Teri Lea Chander in Nov '96
Mary - They wanted my book. :-)
Mary - Then I bought the company in
Dec. '97
di - Is she still involved with Hard
Shell?
Jo - Ok, I'm back.
Mary - No, Teri Lea has health
concerns that required retirement.
Mary - But she was a great help
through the transition.
Jo - Mary, you are doing a great job
with Hard Shell. I read about it both online and off in the writer's mags
Mary - It was a coincidence that I had
decided to start an epublishing company not too long before I received her offer.
di - Rex, tell us something about
Epic.
Jo - logged off.
Mary - Thanks Jo!
Rex - EPIC-- a group of published
writers with an interest in electronic publishing. most are e-published. But some are
print-published only, so far.
Rex - Actually, Mary's the authority
on EPIC. She was one of the founders.
Jo - Hi, folks. Thanks for coming.
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Mary - EPIC started just over a year
ago with six people. :-) It's grown to nearly 80.
di - What are the goals of EPIC?
DaveC - What are the requirements to
join EPIC?
Mary - A lot of the time has been
spent "growing" and working on bylaws, etc. but now we're ready for the fun
stuff.
Rex - Dave-- sell a book-length work.
(And have $30) :-D
Mary - To join you must be either
print published (no subsidy or self-published) or electronically published or contracted
with an epub (no subsidy or self-pub)
Lila - any particular type of book?
di - Recently, I had an inquiry on
posting to a site that for a certain sum, would guarentee that agents and publishers would
visit the site. Have you heard of such?
Mary - Lila: No particular type, but
book-length (40M words)
Mary - Di, yes I have and I haven't
seen any guarantees that these people will visit.
Lila - Yes. I heard of someone in MS.
The agent he was hooked up with disreputable.
Rex - Di, I don't think they can
guarantee real publishers or agents would visit. I think it's another scam. AND it looks
to me like a great place for scam-artists to look to find possible new victims.
Lila - The agent charges $500-950 for
representation
Mary - Goals: Promote epublishing:
what is it, who are the legit publishers, encourage quality standards
Mary - I would recommend staying away
from places like that.
Rex - Lila---- DON'T!
Lila - I didn't. Unfortunately, two of
my friends did, although I advised them not to
Rex - DO NOT pay anything to anyone
for posting or representing your work, with the exception that a few otherwise legitimate
agents do charge moderate reading fees.
Mary - Education is a big part of
EPIC's goals--
DaveC - Mary, as I understand, you do
not publish, epublish, without prior publishing somewhere else?
Lila - How can someone guarantee
publishers and agents will visit?
Mary - because it's easy to put
"anything" up on a web site, a lot of readers and writers think all epublished
work is of this type.
Rex - Lila, it's pretty much just
another scam.
Mary - Dave, no we have new first time
authors as well as previously published authors.
Lila - Yeah, Rex. I know. I was part
of the Edit Ink investigation
Mary - We don't care if they're
new--as long as they've written a great book. :-)
di - Edit Ink?
Rex - Oh, boy--- Edit Ink. What a
mess! What an abomination!
Pat - As one of Hard Shell's authors,
I can tell you that it's very professional, editors, revision, the works.
Mary - You don't want to touch Edit
Ink with a 10 foot pole!
Mary - I've heard they have set up a
new business of the same type and are at it again.
Rex - By the way, All-- Pat just won a
bunch of awards from Under the Covers review site.
Lila - Edit Ink milked thousands of
authors for 4.3 million dollars. The NY Attorney General sued them. I sent out bogus
manuscripts for the NY ATT Gen.
di - What is a typical scam?
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Rex - Sending you a medal for helping
nail that bunch, Lila.
di - Congradulations, Pat!!!
Lila - Edit Ink is under a court order
to stop their unscrupulous practices, so if anyone knows of them starting up under a new
name, contact Dennis Rosen in Buffalo, NY
Rex - Di, practically anything that
requires a writer to pay money for exposure, publishing, etc. And many "book
doctors" are next door to scams.
Lila - Thanks, Rex. You want a copy of
my article about them?
Pat - thank you--and thanks for
mentioning it, Rex!
Vel - logged on.
Mary - Edit Ink and their ilk make
deals with some disreputable agents, who claim you have a publishable manuscript but that
it needs some work and send you off to people like Edit Ink, giving you the idea they will
di - Jo and I would love a copy Lila
Rex - Lila, thanks, but I've already
seen a lot about it. One of the original whitle-blowers was SPECULATIONS magazine, to
which I subscribe.
di - Hi Vel, welcome to MSF&F.
Remember to hit the update button often
Lila - Jo--can you send me the
addresses. I'll get it in snail mail Asap
Pat - All, Rex has a great article on
ebooks.
Rex - whitle = whistle
Mary - logged on.
Mary - Well, there was bump #1...
Jo has timed out.
DaveC - As of one and a half months
ago, Edit Ink was still going strong. I got a letter from the creeps. Second one in two
years. Almost fell for it once.
Vel - Hi Pat. I just came to keep an
eye on you
Lila - Are electronic rights any
different from print rights. Does copyright go through Library of Congress?
Jo - Hi, folks. Thanks for coming.
Rex - Actually, there are several good
articles listed on the EPIC web page at http://www/ectlectics.com/epic
Rex - Lila-- yes. Copyright, just like
print books.
di - What did they say DaveC? What was
their come-on?
Mary - Lila, the works have copyrights
and ISBN's just the same.
Rex - Wrong URL--- http://www.eclectics.com/epic
Lila - Dave C--Dennis Rosen wants to
know if Edit Ink if recontacting people.
Pat - Not to mention that EPIC is
running a great contest.
di - President Clinton just signed the
copyright law that includes the Web.
Mary - Most epublishers only contract
for electronic rights, leaving the author free to license the other rights elsewhere.
Jo - Sure Lila, I got blasted all the
way out to c:\prompt. Had to climb back in.
Rex - Di, I left the .com off the URL
I gave you earlier.
Jo - I'll catch up with what I missed
later, looks like it was really good.
Lila - What about for short stories?
Does having a short story on line mean "1st N. Amer. rights" are gone?
di - I recently saw a poll on SciFi
Wire. It asked if I would be willing to pay the same amount of money for an ebook that I
did a paperback.
Mary - Lila, it depends on the
publisher, but most likely yes.
di - caught it Rex
Mary - How did the poll turn out, Di?
Rex - Di, that survey was a little
strange. Paperbacks are around $8 now. E-books so far are quite a bit less.
Dar of Shield - logged on, framefree.
Vel - Lila, back when I was writing
short stories and articles, most times all I gave away were one time rights.
Dar of Shield - It's me, DaveC. Sorry,
I keep crashing.
di - Hi Dar, welcome to MSF&F
discussion of epublishing. Remember to hit update often
Lila - Thanks, Vel
Rex - And that $8 is dictated by the
fact that about 60% of all paperbacks printed go unsold and dumped into landfills.
di - I know, when I called the
surveyor on it, he was upset LOL
Mary - I feel that ebooks should be
competitive with paperbacks, which means they should probably be around the same or less.
But I can't see paying more.
di - There is also the fact that most
authors only collect $.10 per paperback sold.
Rex - Handheld readers are coming
along quickly. Two people in EPIC are testers for the new Rocketbooks reader.
Mary - Rex, actually four. :-)
Rex - And Mary loves her PalmPilot
reader.
Mary - And one or two for the Librius
Millenium
Vel - I don't how many of you know of
NINC (Novelists Ink). It's for published writers only and once again they've decided to
postpone allowing e-published writers to become members. I think that's changing for RWA
but I don't agree with NINC's policy because I firmly believe that e-published writers
need the kind of info that's available to NINC writers. Comments or maybe this was already
discussed.
di - The Japanese claim that they are
close to solving the emissions problem, and since their economy is linked to hardware, I
expect the text reader to be out in less than a year.
Mary - Vel, I think this will have to
change once those readers come out.
Rex - Di, there are several pretty
good ones available now-- PalmPilot and Velo. But they're in the $300 range so far.
Mary - Large NY publishers are lining
up to provide content. :-)
Mary - The Librius Millenium is going
to come out of the gate at $199 and they are specifically targeting popular fiction
readers, especially romance.
Vel - Mary, good point. I'm published
in print, these days with Tor which is the first major publisher to use the readers. I
gues that makes me both traditionally published and e-published at the same time.
Pat - Large German publishers are
putting up money for development.
Rex - Show of "Hands." How
many have read an e-book?
di - Vel, I saw the same thing happen
in the seventies concerning 'trade' (paperbacks). Progress is inevitable.
Mary - Bantam, Doubleday, Dell etc. as
well as Barnes & Noble are working with Rocketbook.
DaveC has timed out.
di - Hand up!
Rex - Vel, how did Tor handle the
electronic rights in your contract? If I may ask.
Vel - Hand up!
Lila - Rex, I'm late coming to the
party. So put me down for "no."
Jo - Hand up here.
Mary - Harper and McGraw Hill are
backing the Everybook
di - I can now by an ebook at less
than a second hand book
Dar of Shield - Sorry, hand down.
Rex - Aw, Lila.. <g>
Pat - I've read more ebooks than I
have fingers and have found them to be consistently good,well edited, and far from being
the same old stuff that's being put out by NY.
di - And in the case of public domain,
I can get the book for free
Mary - Dar, what do you like to read?
I bet we can recommend some good ebook choices. :-)
Marion - I've read lots of them.
Lila - Hey, Rex. I like to read in the
bathtub. What can I say?
Vel - Rex, Tor has claimed electronic
rights for years. I'm on book 8 with them and only the first (1989 I think) didn't have
that clause. That's one point they won't back down on. True for all prublishers.
Rex - Vel, I'd been hearing about
that. Not good.
di - I have recently downloaded all
the ER Burroughs "Mars Series"
Dar of Shield - SciFi, terror, murder
mystery, anything but NO ROMANCE.
Pat - Vel does have one out from NCP
though.
Mary - Oooh! You HAVE to stop over at
Hard Shell
Mary - We have a horror novel that is
nominated bor
Mary - for best first novel by the
International Horror Guild.
Vel - Thanks for the pitch, Pat. Dar,
why no romance?
di - Lila, on the books that I have
downloaded, I print out. I have one one-side of the paper, and another on the other side
Pat - Dar, you want a good ebook
myster? Try Night Calls from our own Mr. anderson's mighty pen--computer:-0
Mary - Rex has some great mysteries!
Lila - Wow, Mary. Neat
Jo - Most publishers are seeing the
advantage of having e rights as well as the usual. They don't want to lose out.
Dar of Shield - Well, I write SciFi
and murder mysteries. I have an agent for my latest book, but would be very interested on
how to get last two novels on the epublishing curcit.
Rex - Dar, go to www.hardshell.com
Lila - Di--thanks
di - How did it do Mary?
Vel - Mary, great on the horror
nomination. I've always loved the genre. All that talk about horror being dead is a crock.
Self perpetuating myth. Its now called suspense or paranormal or some such.
Mary - Jo, many writers are finally
starting to realize why the publishers have held those rights. :-)
Mary - Di, the winners are being
announced tomorrow night at DragonCon.
Vel - Dar, I'm just trying to give you
a hard time because I cut my teeth on romances. Wrote over 20 of the suckers. Then went
not too quietly crazy trying to write inside the box. That's why I love e-books. Much more
freedom.
Jo - Yes, Mary, that's very true.
Pat - Dream Thieves, the horror novel,
was also named Reader Favorite of 97 at Under The Covers.
Dar of Shield - Dar of Shield is
really DaveC. That's the only way I could get in. And, thanks, I'll be visiting the web
site tomorrow.
Mary - That's right, Pat. Thanks for
the reminder!
Mary - Dave, there are author
guidelines and a sample contract available right on the site.
Pat - Dar/Dave, you might want to look
at my fantasy novel while you're visiting Hard Shell. the cover was done by my favorite
artist, Mary's talented son.
Dar of Shield - Vel, I just flat can't
stand romances, nor the steryotyped in the box style of writing so many of them represent.
And yet, 75% of all new books published are romance. Go figure.
Dar of Shield - Wow, I can see I have
been missing out on a bet. I'll be with you, Mary, in the morning.
Mary - Dave, ebook romances are a
whole new world--because those authors can't stand the stereotype, same old-same old
either.
Dar of Shield - Pat, I'll do just
that, and thanks to you and Mary.
Jo - I think you will like Dave's
work, Mary.
Rex - Dar/Dave, what many e-published
Romance writers say is the print stereotype requirements is what broguht them to
e-publishing.
Vel - 75%? I don't think it's that
high. Pat, doesn't romance claim to have a little over 50% of the market.
di - DaveC, 48% of the marketplace
belongs to the RWA. Go figure?!? LOL
Lila - Is there an e-market for
screenplays, collections of short stories?
Mary - Yes, anyone interested, stop on
over and take a look. :-)
Pat - Mary, I know you are getting
lots of submissions, so how long a tunr around are you facing now?
Rex - And, hey! you can submit by
email! No SASE's!
Vel - Sorry. I'm going to have to
leave. Someone needs the phone.
di - Let's talk about money... I hate
to get in the trenches... but how does epub'ing pay?
Mary - Bye Vel
Rex - Good night, Vel.
di - See ya Vel
Jo - The "getting out of the
box" is very apparent in some of the work we see in electronic publishing. Most is
very good, but many have been rejected by the "Big" print publishing houses.
Maybe because it's not "Boxed".
di - Thanks for coming
Dar of Shield - This is exciting. I
quess I have been hiding my head in the sands of Bahamian Beaches for too long. I want in
on this new way of being published, and I want in now.
Pat - By, Vel, talk to you later.
Jo - Good night Vel. Thanks for
coming. Nice to meet you.
Mary - Good question Pat! I've put on
a couple more editors, so I think we'll be getting better, but right now we're out to
about four months. We've had a lot of submissions since we started to get a
"name." :-)
Dar of Shield - Night Vel. Nice
meeting you.
Mary - Dave, take a look at some of
the names in our upcoming Horror Antho.
Lila - Bye, Vel. Nice to meet you
Mary - Some of them may surprise you.
:-)
Rex - $$$ Royalty rates for e-books
are higher than for print. All depends on how much sales you can generate.
di - And a very good name, Mary. I
have enjoyed my downloads
Dar of Shield - Will do. Count on it.
Lila - But what about the money? How
does it work?
Lila - What is the normal royalty
rate?
Mary - Lila, HS's royalties are 30% of
the retail download price.
Dar of Shield - How does one sell
him/her self through epublishing?
Mary - So for a $3.50 download book,
the author is getting $1.05 per book.
di - I like the fact that I can adjust
the print size and print them out like the old Double Ace books
Mary - There are no advances, however.
Mary - Royalties are paid quarterly.
Lila - That's a good return
Rex - Usual print royalties are 10% of
price for first 5,000, 12.5% for next 5,000 and 15% for all copies sold after that.
Jo - Lila, you should drop by Hard
Shell's site. Take a look. I think you will like what you see.
Pat - Different publishers pay
different percentages, but most are more than print, a lot more. I have contracts with
three epublishers, two are 30%, one is a dollar a book
Mary - And it's even less on most
romance books.
Lila - Jo, will do
Rex - Paperback royalties differ
widely.
Mary - The print royalties I mean
Pat - I have a friend who writes for a
prin house and she get 3%.
Mary - There are a lot of SF authors
getting flat fees these days too, which isn't good.
di - Some print royalities are going
to flat rate per book. Three year time limit.
Jo - Mary, do you get many short story
collections, and how do they do in e-print?
Pat - Romance, both contemp and
historical, are going for flat fees also.
Marion - logged off.
di - Which is not different from the
old Ace books. They were flat rate
Mary - Jo, we're trying our first this
month, with is a horror anthology by the author of Dream Thieves, and then next month we
have the horror antho with a lot of authors
Mary - We have a mystery, a SF, and a
romance antho in the works. Then we'll take stock and see what the response is.
Lila - Mary, do you do non-fiction
books?
Jo - Great. Let us know how they do.
Vel has timed out.
Mary - Yes, Lila. We currently have
five non-fiction that fall into the 'self-help' or motivational category. We had a true
crime, and we have a couple coming soon.
Rex - I need to sign off. Weather is
getting nastier. Thanks for asking me here, Di & Jo! Dave, have fun on the water.
Cheers, all.
Mary - Bye Rex,
Jo - Night, Rex.
Lila - Bye, Rex. Nice to talk to you
Mary - Bye Rex, "see" you
soon!
di - Bye Rex, be talking with you.
Rex - logged off.
Jo - Thanks for coming. Good to see
you again.
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Pat - Bye, Rex, who is my favorite
author, by the way.
DaveC - Back, yet again, this time
under real name.
Lila - How many books does your
average author sell in a month?
Jo - Self help seems to be big. Is it
the same in e-publishing?
di - Rex has an ebook coming out soon
with illustrator, Doctor Les, as I understand.
Jo - Hey Dave
Mary - logged on.
Mary - Back again...
DaveC - Can't seem to stay in the chat
as Dar or Dave, but I 'm still here.
Jo - Rex is becoming quite famous. And
he deserves it.
Jo - Sorry we lost you, Mary. Glad you
are back.
Mary - Yes, the book is a YA SF with
illustrations and is great!
DaveC - DocLes does some great work,
as does Rex.
di - There are some authors who are
well known on the Web now. Brian A. Hopkins, horror, is one I am finding out.
Mary - Jo, yes the self-help books are
very popular.
Mary - In fact, they're our best
sellers through Amazon.
Jo - Doc is multi-talented.
Pat - I don't know how many books an
author sells, but I do know that ebooks are available much longer than the 3 weeks to a
month of print.
DaveC - Think I'll do a self-help book
on " How to Stay In a Chat Room for Longer Than 15 Minutes."
Mary - Di, he's in our Oct. antho :-)
di - Yes, Pat, I found out that if a
book does not sell at Book-A-Million in three weeks, they send it back
Lila - DaveC--LOL
Mary - Sales are hard to answer
because it varies greatly by how much promotion the author does, what genre it is, etc.
But our books are up for a year with option for renewal
Jo - Question of the day: Do you see
the print industry going under? We hear every day how the big houses are buying less and
less. Even dropping popular authors for "most popular authors"
Mary - And since I bought HS, we've
quadrupled each quarter.
DaveC - Mary, again, how does an
author sell him/her self with epublishing?
Jo - Good idea, Dave. I'll
collaborate!!
Mary - Jo, no, but I see them joining
the epublishing.
di - Yes, Mary, we lucked out with his
'Roses in December' for MSF&F's christmas edition. ;-)
Lila - Mary, I assume the author has
to do a lot of leg work on a book, no matter whether it's e-publishing or print. Does the
e-publisher advertise off the net?
Mary - Dave, pretty much the same as
with print.
Pat - Different publishers are
different--Mary sends out either hard copy or disks to reviewers, so do one or two others,
but some make the author responsible for all of that.
Mary - You can do signings,
appearances, etc.
Mary - We also do some print ads in
various reader publications.
Mary - For example, we have an ad for
Dark Whispers, (the horror antho) coming out in Science F. Chronicle
Dar of Shield has timed out.
DaveC - Okay, I think I understand.
Where do I sign up. Just kidding. Kind of!
Mary - Mystery Scene (Rex's and
others)
di - I have heard that all the print
houses now have a presence on the Web (under other names)
Mary - Dave and anyone else
interested, check out our guidelines and email us your submissions.
Lila - Di--interesting
Mary - Di, and just about all of them
have (some very quietly) started up electronic publishing divisions in the past year.
Lila - And Mary, I'm interested. This
has been an eye-opening session for me.
Pat - Peanut Press is epublishing a
lot of Tor's backlist--not including Robert Jordan.
Mary - Great, Lila!
DaveC - Very much for me as well,
Lila.
Jo - Arn't you glad you came, Lila?
Mary - Not? Did he keep his e-rights?
:-)
Lila - Jo, I sure am!!!!
di - It is my understanding that
Peanut Press will be selling downloads at paperback prices.
Mary - Pat, it seems to me I saw some
of his work available on one of the other epub sites...
Jo - See Dave, I told you we'd get you
up in the world.
Lila - A lot of writers I know are
getting frustrated trying to get a (reputable) agent. This business has changed so much in
such a short time.
Mary - Di, that's what I heard too.
Pat - Mary, I don't know if he did or
not, but I thinkg the series just keeps going and going, so they probably are still making
money on it.
Mary - Lila, we have a lot of agented
authors. Most of them have had their agents tell them they're on their own with ebooks.
Pat - Mary, maybe so, but not the
Wheel of Time, which is the big seller.
Lila - Mary--Why? Don't agents want to
handle e-books, or is it such a new medium, they don't want to work with it?
di - Some of the big houses are trying
to boycott ebooks tho. You should be aware of that.
Mary - With epublishing (now anyway)
you don't need an agent.
Mary - Some don't think it's going
anywhere, some don't have it in their contracts, and others know there's no negotiating
room.
Lila - Ah!
DaveC - I'd much prefer to be my OWN
agent, but to get into the big houses, you almost have to have an agnet today.
Mary - The NY pubs who aren't planning
to epublish are very threatened. And they're showing it. :-)
Jo - Mary, do you assist your authors
in ways to promote their books?
Mary - Yes, in several ways. We send
out review copies, do promotion,
DaveC - Mary, the more you tell about
this new media, the more I like it. It puts the author in some position other than flat on
his back. Good work, and keep it up.
Pat - Even libraries are looking at
the future which, to them, includes ebooks.
Mary - put out a monthly color
catalog, and most of all, encourage them to join EPIC.
Mary - EPIC is great for talking to
other epubs and finding out what does and doesn't work for promotion.
Pat - Also EPIC members are great when
it comes to helping each other with promotion idea, help.
Mary - Thanks Dave.
Mary - We are also providing content
for the Rocketbook and the Millenium field trials,
di - Does EPIC include an approved
ebook publisher, and a non-approved (or those who are scam artists) lists?
Mary - and will be among their charter
publishers when their products launch to the public.
Mary - Di, EPIC lists the requirements
for members, and avoids a list like that for legal reasons.
Mary - However, I have a list of known
non-subsidy epublishers on my personal web site
DaveC - To join EPIC, does one have to
have published a book, or would magazine articles count?
Mary - It's at: http://www.coredcs.com/~mermaid
Jo - Then you are right. At this point
in e-publishing, an author doesn't really need an agent. At least not yet.
Mary - Dave it needs to be book
length.
Pat - Mary also belongs to an
electronic publishers association, don't you, Mary?
di - Thanks, Mary
DaveC - Darn, I was afraid of that. Oh
well, I keep trying.
Mary - Yes, we're still in the forming
stage. It's called
Mary - the Association of Electronic
Publishers
Pat - Dave, you only need a signed
contract for a full length work.
Mary - To be members, publishers have
to agree to abide by the standards set by the org.
Mary - The site is under construction,
but you can see what there is at
Mary - http://www.dreams-unlimited.com/aep/
Mary - Pat's right. Once you have a
contract, you're eligible to join.
DaveC - Thanks Mary. I have three
novels, a book of short stories and an agent, but nothing sold yet in book length. I do
have well over 50 odd sailing, fishing, and flying safety articles in a variety of
magazine publications, but , alas, no books.
Mary - Well, good luck on those
novels! You know another place to send them now. :-)
Lila - Mary, do you have any books in
translation?
Lila - Mary, do you have any books in
translation?
Lila - Mary, do you have any books in
translation?
di - logged off.
Mary - Not at this time, Lila
Lila - Sorry, only meant to ask once.
Computer was doing something strange.
di - logged on.
Lila - Would you consider
translations, or is there a legal problem?
di - Dave, can I get one of those stay
in the chat books from you LOL
Mary - Translations of your own work
or someone else's?
Lila - LOL. I may need one too.
Something strange's going on here.
Lila - Mary, translations of works
from Spanish to English. (Works of published Spanish authors)
DaveC - Sorry, di, I'm deeeeep in the
consideration and dreaming stage right now. You'll be the first to know when I'm finished.
Maybe I could get Langos to help, or maybe the Utapotus.
di - Langos, he's my fav... sigh
Mary - They would have to be with the
author's permission, and possibly sharing the royalty. So far we only work with the
authors.
Pat - This was fun, but I'm going to
have to go. I hope to talk to you all later.
Mary - There are some sites that do
take work that's in the public domain and turn it into ebooks, a lot of them free.
Lila - What if the author's dead?
DaveC - logged on, framefree.
Lila - bye, Pat. Nice chatting with
you
Mary - Bye Pat. Talk to you later...
Jo - Goodnight Pat. Thank you so much
for coming
DaveC - Good night Pat, a real
pleasure sharing the evening.
di - Bye Pat nice chatting with you
and thank you for everything/
Pat - logged off.
di - Lila, I have been researching the
copyright thing. And all I can say is it is FUBAR
Jo - Well, I feel that I have really
learned a lot tonight.
Mary - Lila, several of the other
epublishers like Bibliobytes, I think, take this type of work.
DaveC - I have to sign off as well.
Thank you Mary for your enlightment. Di and Jo, thanks for the invite to a very
pleasurable evening, which proved most informative. Will talk to all of you soon.
di - If you renew in the 28th year,
apparently you have 50 more years even if you are dead.
Lila - The reason I ask is, I'm
working on a translation of a Spanish play, first performed in 1944. The author died in
'67. I haven't even thought real hard about marketing it yet.
Jo - Even if I did get kicked every 5
minutes. My Server sent a message saying they are having technical problems so if I
disappear, you know why.
di - See ya DaveC. Have fun!! You and
Caroline.
Mary - Nice meeting you Dave. Bye.
DaveC - logged off.
Lila - Bibliobytes--thanks for the
tip. I have to go as well. It has been my pleasure to be part of this discussion tonight.
Di and Jo, thank you so much for inviting me.
Jo - night, Dave. Thanks for coming
Mary - Lila, I guess you'd have to do
some digging on the copyright issues.
Lila - Bye Dave, and all.
di - It has been our pleasure Lila.
Thanks
Mary - Bye, Lila, nice talking to you
too. :-)
Jo - Thank you Lila.
Mary - Does anyone else have any other
questions or are we pretty much wrapped up?
Jo - I'll get that stuff in the mail
very soon.
di - I think that we are wrapped, Jo?
Lila - logged off.
di - Thank you for coming Mary.
Jo - I think that wraps it pretty
well, Mary.
Mary - Well, thanks very much for
having me! I enjoyed it and I think it gave a few people a better idea what epubbing is
about.
Jo - I want to tell you how much we
appreciate your coming.
Jo - I know it gave me a better idea
and I'm supposed to be in the e-zine business.
Mary - Thanks, and good luck with the
magazine. I'm sure we'll be in touch.
Jo - LOL
di - You'll be hearing from me Mary. I
want Rex's new book :-)
Jo - Yes we will, Mary. Thanks again.
Mary - Okay, sounds good!
di - I have already read the intro. I
hope the wife beater gets his LOL
Mary - Well, good night then.
Jo - Maybe I'll find time to submit to
you again. Don't know when tho.
Jo - Good night Mary.
Mary - Yes, Jo, I still think of that
book. But I'm sure you're plenty busy! I know I haven't had time to write my own work
since taking on HS. :-)
Mary - logged off.
di - I am going to say good night.
I'll email ya tomorrow.
Jo - better go myself tho before I get
kicked off again.
di - See ya!!
Jo - night
Jo - logged off.
