On Writing And Publishing – Comments On The Book Industry, Plus Some Blatant Self Promotion

James Patterson is to books what Starbucks is to coffee. So big, one wonders if there’s room for anyone else. His major venture into a marketing tsunami began a few years ago when he partnered with other writers to mass produce his own novels, creating a virtual novel-writing factory. Co-writers do get second billing, so to speak.

Now, book factory foreman/ master writer/master marketer Patterson is pushing his new imprint called BookShots. These are low-priced, skinny thrillers longer than a short story and shorter than a novel (150 pages or less). They are designed to be read at one sitting.  The new venture is backed and promoted by Hatchette, one of the Big 5” publishers that dominate the book industry. Publicity for the new imprint likened BookShots to the old pulp paperbacks you’d find on wire racks in the drugstore a few decades ago. It’s a great idea, but, despite the hype, it isn’t a new idea. Also, it’s not the only product of its kind in the marketplace.  A few years ago Penguin tried to capitalize on what hey saw as a retro trend by reviving a Dutton imprint called Guilt Edged Mysteries. They hoped to get in on the Kindle craze, offering the work only in the inexpensively produced electronic format. They published a few books, including my short novel Death in The Haight, before the imprint faded to black.

There are independent presses out there publishing pulp-inspired as well as short crime fiction in print and in electronic formats. One of the best is Hard Case Crime (their Fade To Blonde by Max Phillips is one of my all-time favorites). While publishers like Hard Case are devoted to a concept, they aren’t bound by a single vision and a formula. I don’t mean to be mean to James Patterson, but I grow tired of highly branded products overpowering individual voices.  Starbucks, Bank of America, Wal-Mart, Nestle, etc. And I am reminded once again how years ago how moneyed corporations like Barnes & Noble and Borders wiped out independent bookstores and now that they have pretty much dissolved, we are left with nearly none of either.

Fortunately the spirit isn’t dead.  There is still real innovation despite not having the mammoth blunt edge of an unlimited publicity budget to get interesting work to the market place. In a slightly different way, Canada’s Orca Books has created a novel (pardon me) approach.  Their Rapid Reads program, as part of their Raven Books Imprint, not only publishes short reads, but books that are both fun and easy to read, encouraging the reluctant reader to get his or her feet wet. Unlike the Bookshots brand, these are quick reads by several different talented authors, writing at a length perfect for that flight from New York to Chicago. And they have been doing this for a few years now. Among Rapid Reads’ choices are works by such proven authors as Reed Farrel Coleman, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, William Kowalski, Rick Blechta. Vicki Delany, and Gail Bowen.

I am shamelessly including a review of my first Rapid Reads contribution, The Blue Dragon, because the reviewer’s words also cast an appropriately glowing light on the Rapid Reads series and the concept itself.

"What an incredible beginning to a new mystery series by Ronald Tierney...This cover art also provides a capsule view of the multi-dimensions of the novella and becomes more meaningful as the reader progresses through each chapter... [This was] my first introduction to “Rapid Reads” and I am enthralled not only by the individual title selection experience but also for the incredible discovery of this reading series.” (Library Thing Early Reviewer 2015-08-23)

I have nothing against James Patterson.  He is a dedicated advocate of literacy, generously supports bookstores, is by all accounts, a genuinely good guy and judging by his popularity, also very good at what he does.

My point  (though sometimes I wonder if I’m doing anything more than lighting a single match in a very big, very dark cave) is that to find something that isn’t market driven, isn’t formulaic, and to find books that are independent works from diverse creative minds, one has to look beyond the overpowering searchlight of the big 5 machine and the brands of their celebrity authors.  There are many good reads — short and long — for those willing to dig a little deeper. We might have to look beyond the “impulsive buy” rack at the check-out counter of our local super market.

I hope you’ll consider some of the crime fiction available on the links above. Talk to your bookstore about stocking books from quality independent presses.  Here is a list of mystery bookstores:  And here is a list of independent bookstores in general.

On Writing — With A Not So Subtle Self-Promotion

The Last Deets Shanahan

My desk is set into a bay window.  Nothing to see though. The windows stare at a three-story apartment building 20 feet away.  I keep my blinds drawn so that those who live across the way don’t see this old man seemingly to look in their direction hours on end, day and night as I sit at my computer. I suspect that to an extent writers are natural voyeurs, and the activities of strangers a seductive curiosity, but I don’t wish to make others uncomfortable.

For a view beyond the walls of my small apartment, I have a comfortable chair in my small living room, where I can look out over a big chunk of the San Francisco peninsula, greenery, houses on hills and lots of sky. Clouds shape shift all day long. I can watch the fog roll in if it chooses. Birds — parrots, crows, blue jays, hawks, and seagulls  — zip, swoop and rise by.  Occasionally a humming bird will hover near my window, peeking in. The rain used to come. On a clear, sunny day, I can see a bright silver line in the distance. It is the glint of the Bay on the horizon.

That’s my world, except for what goes on inside my head. What goes on there makes up most of my conscious life.  And it is almost all fiction.

All the composition work on my last book, Killing Frost is over now.  Frozen in print.  If I have second thoughts, it is too late. The book is out.  Especially in this case — the book being the last in a series that’s gone on for 25 years, the last sentence is the last sentence in these characters’ lives.

The First Peter Strand

This fall, the first in a new series of shorter books (novellas or novelettes) will roll out. The first is The Blue Dragon. A second in the series is under way. Though I have a little fiddling to do, it’s on the publisher’s list. I’ve just begun the third.

Inside my head, I am a voyeur without fear of discovery  — at least to the extent I understand how the world works. I am a peeping Tom, peeping only into my own open window. I am watching these new characters form, hearing them talk, learning what they think of each other. One of them will die, I suspect, but I am not quite sure of the circumstances yet. 

I am busy inside my head. There is a whole other group of people embroiled in a serious life or death drama. The folks in this unfinished novel have been in this turmoil for years now, an entire story hovering near the end, but still without resolution, much like many of our lives.

Finally, I have my own recollections to make sense of, making sense of the time I was more actively engaged, but less reflective. Perhaps such a book will be of little interest to the world outside my head. But maybe it will settle things when the book is in print and neither the words nor the scenes can no longer be altered by self-interest or failing memory.

Observations— Mystery Novellas, Revisited

There’s been a lot of talk about the emergence of the mystery novella, especially now, when the immediacy of the electronic reader and the shorter book format of the novella create a perfect marriage for those readers pressed for time and find a 400-page book too much of a commitment.  Seems to me that a 100-page novella by a quality writer for under $3.00 is perfect in-flight length and quite a bargain. 

While e-book mystery novellas are out there, roadblocks exist for readers and writers alike.  It is difficult for readers to locate quality work. Part of that is due to a huge explosion in self-publishing. Quality differentiation is nearly impossible.  For writers, it is difficult to find a publisher because novellas are not built into most corporate publishing business models or into the review process.

There have been attempts.  Amazon, through Kindle Singles, for example, pushed for both shorter works of fiction and nonfiction, in which they take an active role in publishing, editing and promoting/  But for the average reader, it is hard to see the distinction among all Amazon offerings. I’ve published my own novella through Amazon.  Penguin’s Dutton attempted to relaunch an old imprint — Guilt-Edged Mysteries — revitalized for new short, tough stories in the e-book format.  But I saw no roll-out, no advertising. They haven’t yet reached any kind of critical mass and the web site appears idle. Not long ago, Top Suspense Group gathered a dozen highly respected, some legendary crime writers to offer their wares, including novellas with the notion that readers wouldn’t have to risk getting a 99-cent dud off the Internet. The writers are vetted. This is a good idea. It also seems like the times are ripe for greater or at least more innovation with regard to getting novellas, specifically novellas, to the marketplace.  Maybe there is.

Yesterday, I received a news release from the Stark Raving Group:

Brand New eBook platform offers 1, 2, 3 Year Subscriptions, Introducing Readers to Thriller, Pulp, Action-Adventure Mystery, and Crime Fiction Novellas by Best Selling Authors

Publishing company Stark Raving Group has launched its Bookxy platform in time for the 2013 holiday shopping season. Bookxy offers users the opportunity to read genres of mystery, crime fiction, action-adventure and thriller novellas written by some of today’s most popular authors including Eric Van Lustbader (the Bourne series), Robert Ward, Stephen Hunter, Gary Phillips, Eric Beetner and Harley Jane Kozak. Moreover, each novella’s cover will be illustrated by renowned graphic novel, comic book, and film artists, including William Stout, Marc Sasso, Roger Huyssen, Derek Riggs, Adam Shaw, Tony Washington and Mark Maddox. 

Currently more than 35 authors have contracted to publish work through Stark Raving Group. In the spring, Bookxy’s novellas will be available through traditional eBook retailers including Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, eBooks.com, Ingram, Kobo, and ReadHowYouWant. The books will also be available through additional eBook wholesalers and social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.

Bookxy differs from other eBook platforms, according to Grammy-winning founder of Stark Raving Group, Jeffrey Weber. “These are full novellas, not short stories. They are designed to capture the imagination of the reader and provide several hours of compelling reading. They are written by some of the best authors in the world. We guarantee that our books will never be more than $2.99, and we will continue to introduce readers of the world to new works each month. Our contracted list of authors is growing rapidly, and we look forward to introducing Bookxy to avid readers as well as new readers who enjoy time online in this digital age.”

 

“Bookxy is a clean portal,” Weber continued. “There are no book reviews, nor any distractions that would take away from a user-friendly experience. Bookxy allows users to quickly, easily and inexpensively read terrific works from the convenience of their computer, Smartphone, tablet, or other eReader devices.”

Bookxy will offer readers the opportunity to buy individual novellas for $2.99. Their books are also available via a subscriptions service, which reduces the price of each book to $2.70, totaling $32.40/year. Two-year subscriptions are also offered, further decreasing the price of each novella to $2.50 per book.

“We believe the future of digital publishing lies firmly in the realm of subscription services, and we are thrilled to be one of the first eBook publishers to offer this valuable service,” Weber says.

About Stark Raving Group: Stark Raving Group is a publishing group with an emphasis in eBooks. As creator of the Bookxy sales and distribution platform, Stark Raving Group brings novellas by renowned writers to market for readers. With a focus on taut, terse, plot-driven stories of roughly 70-120 pages, Stark Raving Group publishes crime, mystery, action-adventure and thriller, through the Bookxy platform. Its unique subscription service provides readers with additional savings, through one, two, and three year subscriptions. For more information visit http://www.bookxy.com

On Writing — Creating Characters, A Grand Scheme Gone Wrong

I thought I had a brilliant idea.  And maybe it was, but I couldn’t make it work.  Skeptics though you may be, bear with me for a few sentences.  The Asian Zodiac is thousands of years old. And is far more complex and subtle than finding your sign on the paper placemat at your local Chinese restaurant. Not quite as old is the Western Zodiac, which, like its predecessor has been debunked by almost all contemporary scientists.  Even so, much critical thought has been given to the subject over the centuries and the subject is far more complex than most might imagine.  And while it may be appropriate to dismiss it, if we take it literarily rather than literally, it has value.

That is the fascination for me. Both systems, valid or not, have created incredibly sharp and detailed descriptions of various character types.  Though each sign of each system has sub characteristics based on more specific time and place of birth that would further refine them, just taking the 12 Asian principal signs and their descriptions and adding to them the 12 western signs (an Aries monkey, for example), we have 144 clearly delineated personality profiles from which to draw. It is an interesting resource.  It doesn’t matter if they are true in this case.  We are writing fiction.

Happy Year of The Water Snake

So even though I’d only be skimming the surface, I set out to write 12 mystery novellas that, when concluded, would use all the primary personalities.  With the help of charts and Suzanne White’s The New Astrology I began.  There would be three quartets before the project was completed.  I wrote the first three novellas, nearly completing the first to be called The Yellow Road To The Sun Quartet — Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird and Blue Dragon. Unfortunately, it didn’t go well. The first two were horrible.  Only Blue Dragon had any promise.  I dumped the whole idea, but kept the one story that nearly worked. This confirmed what I suspected.  I couldn’t write characters according to a blueprint, even one of my own making. For me, even vague outlines are stifling.  But it remains an interesting challenge for some writer whose mind is more structured and whose nature is more patient.

However, I believe there are worthwhile remains. If anyone is interested, the novella, Blue Dragon, rewritten and renamed The Deadly Secrets of Ted Zheng is available free here.

Meanwhile, however you feel about astrology, Chinese New Year begins this month on the 10th.  Enjoy “The Year of the Snake.”

  

Book Notes — A Poor Player Who Struts And Frets His Hours Off The Stage

I have committed a crime.  I have purchased a book on the remainder stack.  As a writer, I am aware that the author will get none of the few dollars I paid for his book.  I can only suggest that Philip Roth is no doubt far wealthier than I am.  Certainly, his sales and public esteem are far, far greater than I can ever hope for. I toss off the guilt.

Though he is regarded by many as one of the greatest living novelists — and I recall seeing his name on the best seller lists many times — I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never read Philip Roth before. Correcting that oversight and the fact that The Humbling is a novella — a form I’m obsessed with at the moment — appealed to me. It is fiction, but unlike most books on my blog, it isn’t really crime fiction.  A murder is committed during the course of the story, so I squeeze by here on a technicality.

But about the book? The Humbling is obscene.  I wasn’t offended so much as put off.  That, in itself, caused more than a little introspection.  Simon Axler, the main character and through whose eyes the story is told, is old (about my age).  He is a celebrated actor who has suddenly and shockingly, to him, lost his ability to act. After enduring the pride-shattering period in a mental hospital, he moves away from civilization to suffer his humiliation out of the public eye.

A younger woman (the daughter of a fellow actor of Axler’s vintage) moves nearby. She contacts the old friend of the family and the two begin an affair, explicitly described for the reader’s pleasure or discomfort.  I won’t divulge the end and I have neglected many nuances that add to the rich and unpleasant nature of the book.  In fact, though I didn’t know it at the time of purchase, many respected reviewers were harshly critical of the work.  Some reviewers seemed angry with the author, I suspect for the same reasons I found the book to be a depressing read.  However, like most well told stories, The Humbling asks questions.  The answers are your responsibility.  When I was done I tried to toss it off as an appropriate exposure to a highly regarded talent even though it was, for me, a waste of time.  The book had a mind of its own, it seems.  It stayed with me.  Maybe it’s not the story that was so unpleasant, but the questions it forced me to consider.

One of those questions, less specifically personal than the others that I still think about, had to do with identity.  At some point in a long and dedicated actor’s career does the assumption of fictional roles become real and the real person become fictional, or worse, non-existent?  If something then renders the actor unable to act, what is left? 

Various reports suggest that Al Pacino has bought rights for the book and is planning a film with an expected release in 2014.