Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Preditors and Editors

It's time once again for the Preditors and Editors Reader ChoiceAwards!Tales of the Talisman has beennominated once again for best science fiction and fantasy magazine. There are nominations for the magazine in several other categories as well, along with nominations for many other wonderful books, stories, authors and artwork.

Check out the poll at: http://www.critters.org/predpoll and vote for your favorites. The poll is only going on until January 14, so vote soon!

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2007-01-10 16:45:03

Friday, December 8, 2006
Odds and ends

The last couple of months have been very busy and generally very good. Here are a few updates and highlights:

My short story, "An Asteroidby Any Other Name" has been nominated for the James B. Baker Award from Sam's Dot Publishing.

My novel, Vampires of the Scarlet Order was approved for shelf-stocking at Barnes and Noble. Some stores already have them on order, so keep an eye out.

The SciFi Traveling Roadshow has a poll for your favorite author who has appeared on the podcast. You can vote at www.scifitravelingroadshow.com

For people in the Phoenix, Arizona area, I will be doing a presentation on solar sails at Bent Cover Books from 1-3pm tomorrow (that's Saturday, December 9). Hope you'll stop in and say "hi." You can find the store location at: www.bentcoverbooks.com

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2006-12-08 12:28:47

Thursday, October 19, 2006
Podiobooks crosses a million!

Just heardthat as of yesterday, Podiobooks.com --presenter of manyfine science fiction and fantasy podcasts -- has had over one million downloads. That's pretty amazing. Congratulations to Evo, Chris and Tee, the gang at Podiobooks for creating a great way to listen to audiobooks.

My science fiction novel, The Pirates of Sufiro, is available at Podiobooks.com along with many other fine novels. Drop by the site and check it out.

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2006-10-19 12:41:02

Sunday, October 8, 2006
Online Poetry Reading

I spent much of September revising my novelThe Solar Sea for submission. I hope to complete my reflections on big press and small press soon. In the meantime, I wanted to mention that there's a very cool on-line Halloween Poetry Reading at: http://www.sfpoetry.com/halloween.html

Visit the site to hear (yes, hear!) Halloween-themed poems by Karen A. Romanko, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Michael A. Arnzen, C.A. Gardner and yours truly.

If you like what you hear and are interested in science fiction poetry, look around the site and learn about the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Dave

Posted by David Summers 2006-10-08 11:32:02

Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Small Press vs. Big Press I - Writer's POV

Writing is one of the toughest, most competitive careers anyone could choose. All you have to do to see the truth of that statement is step into your favorite local bookstore and look at the bookshelves. Each of those books represents three distinct phases of competition. First, the books had to be selected by an editor for publication. Second, the books had to be selected by the bookstore for stocking. Finally, readers must choose to buy the book.

As a writer seeking publication, you are faced with a daunting task. You want to select a publisher who will give you the best odds of getting through all three steps and into the hands of as many readers as possible. Being a writer choosing a publisher is like being a miner during the California Gold Rush choosing a wife -- there are fewer of them than you and the good ones are going to be very picky. Continuing this metaphor, vanity or subsidy publishers are like prostitutes; all they care about is the money and once you've paid them, they don't care about you anymore. They are not a viable choice if you want to be successful. Enough said about them.

Like a good marriage, you want a publisher that will help and support you on your way to success. You can find numerous lists of good publishers in your local library or on the web including Writer's Market, The Writer's Handbook, and Ralan.com. I would define a "good" publisher as one that's picky enough at the outset to select the best books; will professionally edit the book; will work to get the book to its audience; and will pay the author his/her fair share of the book's income. Within this definition, there are lots of publishers from big to small that are "good."

Big presses are the ones you see in every bookstore. They became big presses because they are good at deciding which books will make them the most money in the least amount of time with the least investment. As a result, an author who has proven to have a good sales record will have a better chance with a big press than an unknown author and an author who needs little editing will have a better chance than an author who needs lots of editing. The advantages of going with a big press are that you are likely to get an advance on your royalties and you're very likely to have your book stocked by lots of bookstores. (Note: Reputable publishers, big or small, will not make you pay any of your advance back whether you earn it out or not.) However, if your book doesn't find its way into the hands of lots of readers, you will likely be dropped very quickly.

Small presses are often newer and have less money available. As a result, if they pay an advance at all, it will be small. Their staffs are often smaller than big publishers, which can present numerous challenges. Bookstores are less likely to stock books from a smaller press because they don't have the proven sales track record of the bigger presses. That said, a business-savvy small press will see each book they accept as an investment: they will invest in good quality editing and book packaging and they will stick with a book as long as they can to assure success. Where a writer might be a statistic in the eyes of a big press, they are more likely to be nurtured by a small press.

One thing I have heard in the small press vs. big press debate is that small press books are not well edited. Editing is a crucial step. It makes all the difference in how reviewers, bookstores, and readers ultimately perceive a book. Because small presses do have less money than big presses, many make the mistake of skimping on this step. However, not all do. The best small presses will devote as much time as necessary to polish their books to a shine. Remember, big presses spend as little money and time on a book as they possibly can. Though the editors are professional and highly competent, this can lead to rather embarrasing mistakes. For example, one big press book I read recently had its climax during the new moon, then two days later (book time) it was full moon. In another book, the heroine "upholsters" a gun. I'm not going to catalog the plethora of typos and similar gaffes I've seen in books from reputable presses ranging from Ace to Tor. Smaller presses goof, too. My point here is that this isn't a big press/small press problem at all. Everyone makes mistakes. Good presses, big or small, edit their books and do their best. Bad presses don't care.

As you can see, it's easy for a writer to get caught up in the big press/small press debate. However, I would argue that a good, determined small press that goes to bat for the author is every bit as good for the author -- and possibly better -- than a big press that's more intersted in fostering its bestsellers over its midlist. Ultimately, the decision to go with a big press or a small press is something of a courtship. You send your manuscript out and it's rejected multiple times until finally someone likes it enough to accept it. When that happens, you need to ask yourself whether the company that accepted it is right for you: Are they offering enough money? Will they edit the manuscript? Is the distribution potential strong enough? Will they respect you in the morning? If the answer to these questions is "yes," then you've probably got a winner whether the press has a big name or a small one.

Next time: Looking at the big press/small press debate from the reader's point of view.

For another point of view on big press/small press, take a look at B.T. Robertson's blog at: http://www.btrobertson.com

Posted by David Summers 2006-08-23 15:31:44