YA Author Anna Banks discusses the publishing world of tomorrow

Recently, TWFT asked Anna Banks, author of the recently-released OF POSEIDON, to write about how she envisions the publishing world of tomorrow. Here’s what she said.

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To get a good idea of where the future of publishing is going, let’s examine some facts:

Fact #1 Ebooks are here to stay. (Until the zombie apocalypse, that is. Then we’ll all have to read print books, because our e-readers will eventually run out of juice).

Fact#2 Ebooks have hurt the sales of print books. (Though to what extent we can’t be sure because perhaps you’ve noticed we’re also in the belly button of a crappy economy).

Fact#3 It is relatively easy to self publish an Ebook. Hence, there are a lot—a lot—of self published Ebooks out there. (Insert your opinion about that here).

Now, you might think you know where I’m going with this, but you’re probably wrong. If you think I’m against Ebooks or self publishing or the zombie apocalypse, you’re so very adorably mistaken.
Repeat after me: Ebooks are not the devil. Not even self published ones.
Before I got an agent and a book contract, I was a snob about self publishing. I told myself that I would never do it, that if my work wasn’t good enough to get picked up by a traditional house, then it simply was not good enough.

The truth is, I would self publish. Please note that my debut novel, OF POSEIDON, has been picked up by one of the “big six” publishing houses, Macmillan. They’re even sending me on book tour this summer. I have a rock star agent. A publicist, even. All the doors appear to be open to me, right?  So why would I, an author who has already “made it”, consider self publishing?

After going through the publishing process, I’ve changed my mind. Here’s why:

Let’s say I have an idea for a book that I lurve (right now, this is hypothetical, but it could very well happen at some point), or that I’ve already written this book that I lurve. Let’s say my editor doesn’t like it. OR let’s say a bunch of editors like it, but they want changes I’m not willing to make. (This happens all the time, BTW. Usually the author and editor will compromise, but sometimes their vision for the book is too far apart to come to an agreement.) Do I drop the book, this idea that I love and work on something we can all agree on?

Not necessarily. That is, not unless I absolutely want to earn an advance and have the marketing handled for me and the cover designed for me and a book trailer made for me and a tea party with lemon crumpets in my honor (ßI made this last part up). And just for the record, I *do* want all these things. These things are ideal. These things are nice. These things are fancerous.

But what if I still feel very strongly about my own vision for the book? Will I format it and slap it on Amazon first chance I get, then tweet the snot out of it until I’ve irritated all my followers?

Some might. Some do. Okay, a lot do. That’s where the Ebook gets its horns and pitchfork, I’m afraid. But not me. Nope, I’m hiring a freelance editor who will clean it up, critique it, and send it back to me all purdy. Then I get to worry about marketing and covers and book trailers and tea parties with lemon crumpets. Is it worth the trouble and money to do all this? That of course, depends on how you feel about your book. If I loved it enough though, I would do it.

Does that mean I’ve declared the traditional publishing industry an enemy? Am I a traitor? Does it mean I’ll stop writing books for my agent to submit to editors? Does it mean I’m no longer a legitimate writer?
Heck to the no. It means I love a story enough to breathe life into it at my own expense. And what’s wrong with that? I’m investing in myself. Period. Plenty of traditionally published authors are open to self pubbing. Plenty are opposed. All have fans.

Here is my question to you: As a reader, would you refuse to read a self published work by your favorite author? Why or why not? Would you take a chance on an unknown self published author?
Because your answers, my friends, are precisely what determine where the future of the publishing industry is heading.

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Thanks, Anna! If you want to read more of her writing, you can visit her blog. You can also buy her book here.

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Linda

Interview with Upcoming YA Author Erin Jade Lange

TWFT has had the pleasure of talking to Erin Jade Lange, author of the upcoming Bloomsbury YA novel BUTTER, about an overweight boy who plans on eating himself to death in front of millions of online viewers. In the following interview, Erin dishes on writing, publishing, and the whole learning process. Enjoy!

TWFT: Where were you when you found out BUTTER sold?

ERIN: I can’t remember the exact moment when we accepted, and it was a “done deal,” because there was a bit of a process leading up to that.
But the moment that stands out for me is when I first learned an offer was incoming. I had just stepped off a plane in my home town for a visit. As soon as I turned on my cell phone, it started blowing up with messages from my agent, who had been trying to reach me while I was in flight. There was a lot of frantic texting, and then I just remember standing in the airport parking lot and looking up at my parents in shock and saying something along the lines of, “I think someone’s going to publish my book.”

TWFT: Why YA?

ERIN: The first novel I ever attempted to write was for adults. Looking back at it now, it has the pace and voice of YA and even a fairly “young” adult narrator, but I wasn’t even thinking about what I was writing at the time. I was just getting my feet wet. Then the Harry Potter craze came along, and I rediscovered YA and MG books.
Over the next few years, I shopped mostly in the teen section and rediscovered everything I had loved about young adult books growing up. I could see they not only influenced my writing style but also shaped who I was as a person at a critical time in my life. Those were the kind of books I wanted to write.
Also, it helps that my inner voices are mostly angsty teenagers.

TWFT: Assuming that you are a writer of the social kind (critiquing other work, networking), you’ve run across your fair share of people who’ve made it and people who are still struggling to earn recognition. What sets apart these successes from the not-so-successful?

ERIN: This is a really tough question to answer, because it depends on how you define success. I know people at every stage of the publishing process, from writing a first book to hitting a bestseller list. I think of them all as successful because to me, success is just about setting a goal, achieving it, setting the next goal, rinse and repeat.
But I do think all authors who have achieved any amount of success have one thing in common – commitment. They’ve survived rejections or bad reviews. They’ve trunked beloved stories and moved on to the next project. They keep reaching. Most authors who seem successful have a NEVER QUIT attitude.

Coming out September 18 to a bookstore near you!

TWFT: A lot of writers, myself included, have various trunked novels buried deep without their closets. When do you know your work is ready?

ERIN: I’m better at knowing when it’s NOT ready. I often abandon projects or never get around to editing the first draft, because I’ve lost passion for them… which is just my fancy way of saying I get bored. And if I’m bored, the reader will definitely be bored.
When I do like something enough to send it to my crit partners, I tend to rely on feedback from that point on. Several rounds of revisions later, when my beta audience is happy with it, and I’m sick of looking at it, it’s probably ready.

TWFT: How do you deal with jealousy–say, when you’ve been struggling for a while and everyone else is getting published?

ERIN: This goes back to setting personal goals and defining your own success. If I see someone achieving something I’d like to achieve, instead of feeling jealous, I tend to see an opportunity. I’ll find out what I can about how the author managed to reach the goal and take notes. Literally. I take notes. I attended an event recently for an author who has successfully booked school visits and been invited to speak on panels. Those are things I would like to do, so when I got home, I jotted down a few notes about the structure of his presentation, then I checked out his website to see how he advertises his availability for events. His approach may or may not work for me, but I learned something.
I was the same way before I sold BUTTER – always watching other writers online to see how they landed their deals – what they put in their queries, what websites they used to research agents, etc… That pang of jealousy is usually an opportunity to learn.

TWFT: How do you find the time to write—and to write well? (I can sit down at my desk, scribble for a few hours, read the words the next morning, and find nothing I’m particularly proud of.)

ERIN: I’m always saying it’s impossible to FIND time to write. You have to MAKE time to write. Writers make a lot of sacrifices to carve out the time it takes to put a book down on paper, so it’s disappointing when a few hours of writing turn up nothing usable. A lot of people say “give yourself permission to write garbage,” in order to just power through. I agree with that, in theory, but honestly? Time is precious and I’m busy! If I’ve spent an hour writing something I know is going nowhere, I give myself permission to walk away and do something else.
On the flip side, if I’m having a sudden moment of inspiration, I also give myself permission to drop everything else on the to-do list for an entire day – even an entire week – and do nothing but write. Be flexible, so you can seize those moments of inspiration. That’s when you’ll do your best work.

TWFT: What’s one thing you learned now that you wish you should have learned before the whole process?

ERIN: Patience. I haven’t actually learned that yet, but I’m getting better. You’ll need patience for this biz. Publishing is slooooow!  ;)
Erin’s a super-sweet person, so I’m sure she’d love it if you went by her website and dropped her a line about how much you love BUTTER/the interview! If you’re in the Twitterverse, remember to follow her as well.

-Linda

Tangible Markers in the Road

The surest way to failure is adopting an “all-or-nothing” approach (this doesn’t just pertain to writing–it pertains to life as well).
“Oh, I didn’t get an agent this year because nobody appreciates my work–well, I’ll stop writing! That’ll show them!” the stubborn rookie writer says. And with that, he or she descends into a sullen drought of creativity which is, for the most part, self-imposed. And yes, we think, with an air of amusement, you sure told us! You sure taught us a lesson!
Another metaphor that high-school seniors might appreciate: “I didn’t get into MIT, Harvard, or Stanford so I might as well go to community college and man the deep-fryer at KFC.”
Listen, writers. If you turn around from that locked door you’re trying to bang down, you might be able to see other ways to get where you want to go. I know you have wonderful dreams, but so do a lot, a lot, a lot of other people, who might not deserve it as much as you do, but who have waited in line longer than you have. Sure, there are some who spend hardly any time paying their dues, but you hear about them all the time because these cases are rare.
I’ve heard peers discount famous people who write books: “It’s a bunch of drivel. You don’t need talent. You just have to be famous.” But these celebrities spent time and energy cultivating their reputations, if you think about it.
If this manuscript doesn’t get picked up, do other things–poetry, short stories, essays, et cetera. Enter competitions. Submit to literary magazines. Obtain some tangible fruits of your labor that will prepare you to be as good, if not better, than the others.
Yes, it’s going to be frustrating. Yes, you’re going to feel unappreciated and unloved. But persevere. If you really have what it takes, if you really want to have your story told, then you’ll do everything in your power to make it happen.
Just don’t quit. Even a snail will get there eventually.