tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post7463736346002008893..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: The Unexpectedly Long Life of an eBook by Catherine Czerkawska Katherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18661912246558930652014-11-18T21:45:01.832+00:002014-11-18T21:45:01.832+00:00I always used to wonder what 'too quiet' m...I always used to wonder what 'too quiet' meant - none of my agents ever seemed able to explain it satisfactorily. Then a writer friend said 'they're looking for a stonking great story.' I could see what she meant - and could understand why that was what publishers wanted since they are always on the hunt for the next blockbuster, even though they have no idea what that might be - but it struck me that I don't always want to read a stonking great story. Sometimes - quite often really - I want some Barbara Pym or similar. Or a quiet great story! The freedom is wonderful, isn't it Jenny?Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-24661648466474388502014-11-18T20:11:03.438+00:002014-11-18T20:11:03.438+00:00Oh I so relate to that experience of being 'to...Oh I so relate to that experience of being 'too quiet' and concluding that I'm born to be a mid-lister! I've just self-published for the first time and I'm going straight to self-publishing for my current wip. Loving the freedom of it.Jenny Alexanderhttp://www.jennyalexander.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91083721572476636372014-11-18T19:35:09.221+00:002014-11-18T19:35:09.221+00:00I've had a similar experience in children'...I've had a similar experience in children's fiction. With younger books, however, readers grow up and so there isn't the same fan base waiting for the next book - you need to start all over again with a new generation. But I am anticipating a rush of sales in about ten years time, when the young readers who loved my books ten years ago have become parents themselves and their children are the right age...Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-90181366546505332912014-11-18T15:43:07.894+00:002014-11-18T15:43:07.894+00:00I'm sure this post resonates with scores of ot...I'm sure this post resonates with scores of other writers. If Amazon had been around all those many years ago, when my trad pubbing career took a dive, I'd have passed on Amazon...and, of course, lived to regret it. My journey to Direct Publishing--the term that I prefer--needed time and mental adjustment. About 4 years ago, when Brad Strickland, suggested I try Amazon, I still resisted--after 20-plus years in The Desert! But I came around. And, like you, I'm open to the right trad pubbing opportunity--but I relish the freedom of being able to write what I want and need to write...without being told by some buttoned-down brain that it will never sell. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-52961270932985527602014-11-18T11:59:06.358+00:002014-11-18T11:59:06.358+00:00Chris, I know you had the same experience - and fo...Chris, I know you had the same experience - and for many people, I think it was the kiss of death, but we have proved him wrong, so good for us! Ian was one of the judges the year I was shortlisted so he knew what he was talking about and I think it made him sad. Another writer, also a previous judge, said much the same thing to me. The experience has left me with a deep suspicion of competitions and a strong desire to control my own destiny! I think if I hadn't had a parallel and reasonably flourishing career as a playwright, the disappointment would have been even greater. Part of the problem, as an agent told me, was that back then if you had been dropped by a publisher it was seen as a black mark against you when it came to submitting elsewhere. Can that have been such a short time ago? How submissive and anxious we all were! As it is, every time I see sales of TCC spiking again it gives me a lot of satisfaction and the admittedly childish desire to make rude gestures in a certain direction! Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-67007924799286095752014-11-18T11:36:12.235+00:002014-11-18T11:36:12.235+00:00My experience is similar as well. I did win the Du...My experience is similar as well. I did win the Dundee International Book Prize in 2009, and like you, Catherine, the publisher wasn't interested in anything else (same publisher). I think it might have had something to do with the fact that publication of the Dundee Prize was part funded by Dundee University! Ian Rankin once said to me that the Dundee Book Prize was the 'kiss of death', but both you and I have proved him wrong. All power to us!Chris Longmuirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02488093821886798927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-14673822832400307542014-11-18T11:11:10.389+00:002014-11-18T11:11:10.389+00:00Catherine, your career and mine seem to have simil...Catherine, your career and mine seem to have similarities, although I did have thirty years if not exactly in the sun than at least out of the shade. I did have, post being dropped but pre-Kindle, a pleasant half-life having uploads of old books put on Print on Demand by Back-to-Front, the junior arm of the much lamented Solidus Press. But now the old process once so familiar of book accepted, contract signed, cheque for advance plopping through the letterbox seems a custom of a foreign country where they do things differently. But, do you know? - against all the odds I feel happier.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-35479070342280862832014-11-18T10:22:43.733+00:002014-11-18T10:22:43.733+00:00A saga in itself, the story of the book! and a won...A saga in itself, the story of the book! and a wonderful book it is, no wonder people are still buying it - Barbara Pym was also 'quiet' and a midlister, suffering the same wilderness for years,but is now recognised as the brilliant novelist she was/is. The whole 'new books are all that counts' attitude of publishers and agents (and some festivals) is daft. Books should have a long life. Very pleased to hear TCC is doing so well on amazon!Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.com