Hi, everyone.
Like many published authors, I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the business models of Big Publishing. In a nutshell, writer beware!
I’ll talk more about my early history with Berkley/Putnam, and my startup of a micro-press, in later blogs. Today my news is this: I’ve been accepted for membership in a cooperative publishing group of professional novelists, Book View Café.
Book View Cafe was founded about 5 years ago by Ursula K. LeGuin and other bestselling commercial fiction writers who wanted more control of their backlist titles, releasing them as eBooks. The publishing enterprise is now flourishing and expanding into new book releases as well as linked print-on-demand (POD) editions.
New members must be professionally-published authors and be approved by the existing membership. Now that I’ve been voted in and am learning the ropes, I’ve found the group incredibly supportive – a true cooperative in the best meaning of that term. Everyone takes on tasks such as editing, cover design, eBook formatting, and promotion for the titles being released.
And guess what? Members keep 95% of the profit generated by sales of their eBooks! You heard that correctly – 95%. Yes: authors actually profit fairly from their creative efforts.
Stayed tuned for more news as I’m preparing for my launch title on May 6, an eBook edition of my small-press novel Islands, which got strong reviews but limited distribution. After struggling against the tide, I’m now feeling the love as part of a vibrant writing and publishing community with an established following of readers. Onward and upward!