A Different Way to Pay Writers

[cgronlund]

So to hear it from some, publishing is on its knees and it's only a matter of time before it dies (and no, goth_poser_guy, this isn't directed at you).

There's no doubt that it's been a rough year for publishing houses, but readership has steadily been increasing for years, and things aren't as horrible as they may seem. mfelps and I agree that it's a good time to be

Comments

[korperschwache]

The publishing industry as it stands right now has two major problems: 1) their policy on returns is a willful act of financial stupidity; 2) the cost of books has become prohibitively expensive. Case in point regarding the second item -- William Gibson's SPOOK COUNTRY just came out in paperback, a book I have been dying to read for quite a while now, but I have yet to buy it because it costs ten bucks. I flatly refuse to pay ten bucks for a mass-market paperback that's going to fall apart the third time I read it, and instead I'm going to buy it used at Half Price Books. And hardbacks? Yee! At this point there are only two authors I'm willing to pay hardback prices for, Andrew Vachss and Stephen King... and it's worth noting that I passed on buying CELL entirely, and read a library copy instead. (A good thing, too, because that book is a horrid piece of shit

[cgronlund]

Yes, eBooks are coming

[curtishart]

I would think this is how it used to me. No money up front. The advanced evolved form a marketing scheme I'd wager to get X writer to sign on with them and it sort of morphed into the standard.

The advanced thing sounds a lot like musicians, not not nearly as bad. I hear about bands and singers signing onto a label with a HUGE advance their initial album could never pay back, which then traps them with that company. And that's why you hear people say they can only really make money by touring as the company gets almost all of the money from album sales.

But back to publishing. Is there a way to pitch your book with that stipulation? No advance/$4 a sale? It might make a difference if you can stack the deck more so in their favor.

There's a local comic writer for a comic called PvP who's trying to do something different in the syndication field - letting companies run his comic in print for free. The only stipulation is allow his URL posted with the comic. He feels he can make his money getting people to buy his collections

[curtishart]

I would think this is how it used to me

I would think this is how it used to be

[cgronlund]

You can always try pitching things in different ways. I haven't read anything about how agents feel about this, but more agents and publishers have been open to things like offering free electronic copies of stuff and other things to generate buzz.

Coming out and saying, "I don't want an advance...I only want to be paid on the back end," shows you're in it for the love. (Actually, writing a novel with no promise of publication shows that.)

It's something I'd definitely chat with an agent about down the line.

And yeah, the way PVP is done...it's a good move.

I'd rather have more of my stuff out there and the possibility to make more money than fewer copies and money.

It's why I'm considering offering all my short stories for free, or to online sites with larger readerships, instead of going the magazine route.

A writer SHOULD be paid for what they do, but the reality is short stories don't really pay.

The thing, then, is how to make them get people interested in your writing and maybe make some money in different ways.