Jared Sandman

The most important publishing guideline is to put out a professional product.  That entails several factors, starting with the book itself.  This should go without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway:  the writing must be solid.  The story has to be engaging, the characters believable.  I highly caution against publishing one’s first novel.  Write it, set it aside and move onto the next.  This point should be a separate post, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Another part of having a good book is making sure your manuscript has been proofed.  Inexpensive proofreaders have sprung up in the last year or so, a new cottage industry aimed at helping writers.  I’ve used two proofers in the past, Diana Cox at Novel Proofreading and Neal Hock at Hock’s Editing Services.  Both are affordable, a pleasure to work with and each has a sharp eye toward detail.

It’s also essential to have interior formatting that’s pleasing to the eye.  Too many publishers, especially in the small press — I’m looking at you, Deadite — cut costs by slashing page counts.  Because of this, each page has too many lines and font that’s so small it’s headache inducing.  Aesthetics are key, whether in print or the digital realm.  Formatting an e-book is vastly different than page layout for a print book.  Download the free Smashwords Style Guide to get an idea of the unique pitfalls associated with e-books.  Don’t be intimidated; it’s easier than it sounds.

The third main component of putting out a professional product is fantastic cover art.  You need an eye-catching cover because readers will judge your book by it.  Ornate, detailed covers are great when you’re holding a physical copy in your hands, but simplicity is better otherwise.  Most people will first see your book cover as a thumbnail.  At that size, complexity in cover art is not an asset.  It’s best to have a single striking image that entices readers to click on your link, plus standard information like title and author name.

The cover doesn’t necessarily need to transmit the exact details of the plot so long as it conveys the overall feel of the novel.  The Shadow Wolves is a prime example.  The book takes place in the Sonoran Desert, yet the cover shows a line of pine trees in the background.  The minor details don’t matter as much as the snarling, bloodthirsty werewolf in the foreground, which does accurately express what’s in the story.  It’s easier to find a perfect match if you commission a piece of artwork for the cover, just keep in mind that will cost more.  I’m happy with all my covers, and readers often remark that my books look like they belong together.  That’s very purposeful on my end, part of the Jared Sandman “brand” I want them to share.  Ruth Taylor drew the cover for Leviathan, Noah Bradley illustrated The Wild Hunt and Paul Mudie did The Shadow Wolves.  Consummate artists, all.

To summarize, your final product should be a well-written novel, thoroughly edited, with a dazzling cover and aesthetic interior design.  If you follow these guidelines, you’ll have a professional book with which you’re proud to be associated.  Tune in next week for Part II.

This weekend the World Horror Convention is in Salt Lake City.  I couldn’t make it this year, though here’s what I had to say about last year’s in Austin.  The Bram Stoker Awards are being held in tandem, including special festivities celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Horror Writers Association.  You can peruse the shortlist of nominees here.  Tomorrow night the award ceremony will be livestreamed.  Tune in at 9PM MST to watch.

Two lifetime achievement awards will be bestowed on Rick Hautala and Joe R. Lansdale, both of whom are fantastic picks.  Sometimes the selection of the lifetime recipient leaves me scratching my head.  (Christopher Lee?  Really?  For horror writing?)  Both Joe and Rick, however, are well deserving of the accolade.  Congrats to the two of them, as well as all the nominees.  I’ll post the winners after they’re announced.

The annual conference of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts is going on right now in Orlando.  Alas, I couldn’t make it this year.  Looking over the program and panelists, I see a lot of names and faces I recognize.  My favorite topic pun:  “Machen a Mess:  Deliquescent Monsters in Fiction by Stephen King, Arthur Machen and Peter Straub.”

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There’s a lot of discussion these days about e-book prices.  Writers worry about digital piracy and ever-cheaper e-books glutting the market.  The piracy issue is of less concern to me because authors cannot control it.  The best way (likely the only way) to combat piracy is to set reasonable prices people are willing to pay.  While piracy is out of our hands, how much we sell our work for is not.  You can put your book on sale for $.99, $9.99, $99.99 or any price in between.

To decide which price is best, you must consider the value of your work.  Books give readers the best bang for their buck, the most entertainment for the least amount of financial investment.

Let’s say you have eight dollars in disposable income.  You could choose to see a two-hour movie, which means your hourly entertainment cost is four bucks.

You could also opt to spend that same amount on dinner (no doubt a form of entertainment for some).  Get a Triple Bacon Bypass Burger with fries and a Coke then scarf it down in fifteen minutes.  Hourly entertainment cost?  Closer to thirty-two dollars.

Now, for example, I decide to purchase the latest paperback from my favorite writer.  At an average length of 300 pages, it’ll take me about five hours to read the whole book.  I might read the entire novel cover to cover during a rainy afternoon, or I could read an hour before bed throughout the course of a workweek.  That means the hourly value placed on it is about $1.60.  Even a $15 trade paperback has a value of three dollars per hour of enjoyment, still less than that movie.

My novels, priced between $2.99 and $3.99, provide a value of $.80 per hour.  That’s a steal of a deal compared to other forms of entertainment.  (I’ll later address authors who devalue their work by selling it too cheaply or simply give it away for free.)

See, books are already affordable, overpriced hardcovers notwithstanding.  Consumers recognize if a publisher’s selling a mass market paperback for eight bucks, the e-book should be less than that.  They know there’s no good reason for Stephen King’s new e-book to be priced at $14.99.  Do you know how much it costs Amazon or B&N to download that story onto your e-reader?  Realistically, a nickel.  King’s books tend to be hernia-inducing doorstops, so maybe a dime for his.

There’s no excuse why an e-book should cost more than five dollars.  Exceptions include those that are graphics heavy:  color textbooks or comics, for instance. 

I believe the MMPB will go away in the future.  I think hardcovers too will be abandoned — living on in specialty and secondhand markets — for all but the top bestsellers.  Most novels will transition to a trade paperback format, dependent on whether e-book sales warrant such a print release.

During the next couple of weeks I’ll go over the three tenets of 21^st century publishing.  If writers follow just three guiding principles, they will be able to compete with the largest media conglomerates in the world.

So what are they?  Tune in next week to find out.

I’m halfway through the second round of proofs for Blackstone, which I should finish up this weekend.  In the meantime here’s a couple writing tidbits from the past week, one from Ray Garton and the other from Mike Oliveri.

Read what Ray has to say about paying authors what they’re worth.  Then make sure to tell your friends about your favorite writers.

Ray’s post reminded me a lot of what Harlan Ellison said in his documentary Dreams with Sharp Teeth, which is also available on Netflix.  Track down a copy; it’s worth your time.

One month ago I placed a hit counter at the bottom of this page.  I’ve been blogging on and off for the better part of two years, and during that time I never knew how many people (if any) were dropping by my cyber sandbox.  At times it’s felt like I’m howling in a void.  Is anyone even listening?

Turns out, yes, you are — and there are more of you than I expected.

In this blog I talk about whatever strikes my fancy, and I try to bring you interesting odds and ends that I come across online.  What do you want to hear about?  Are you a horror fan?  A writer?  A publishing insider?  One of my readers?  Do you want to see more posts about literature in general, or my books in particular?  Did you link over from Twitter or some other website, stumble upon this blog by accident or read about it in one my novels?

Feel free to introduce yourself.  Don’t be shy.  I’m curious who’s reading this blog and what you get out of it. 

You’ve spent the last two years listening to me; now I want to hear from you.

I’ve never done a book trailer before.  Until a couple of days ago, I didn’t know my laptop had a film editing program installed on it.  I whipped this together as a lark, just to see how it worked.  I’m looking for feedback, so feel free to comment.  Does this make you more or less inclined to learn about Leviathan, let alone purchase the novel? 

Amazon seems to be softening its stance on exclusivity, which I commend.  What’s best for retailers is to have all books available in all formats to all people; anything less than that isn’t fair to the consumer and may very well eat into the bottom line.

A few months back Amazon had a four-month exclusive deal with DC Comics.  Only Amazon would be able to sell digital versions of 100 topselling DC titles.  In protest to this move, Barnes & Noble removed from sale the physical copies of those same titles in their stores.

Fast forward a few months, and now Amazon’s publishing its own line of books in conjunction with Houghton Mifflin.  E-book versions can only be sold through Amazon, however, so again B&N protests and refuses to stock print copies if they can’t sell digital copies as well.  This is a reasonable move; moreover, Books-A-Million joined the boycott and also won’t carry Amazon titles.

Their ploy appears to be working.  A few upcoming Amazon titles will have wider e-book distribution outside the Kindle marketplace.  I expect to hear an announcement from B&N in the near future reversing their initial decision and allowing Amazon titles to be sold in their brick-and-mortar stores.

The only thing that doesn’t make sense to me is why Amazon partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to print their titles.  Amazon has its own printing operations (see Createspace), not to mention editors and everything else needed to bring a book to market.  What value does Houghton Mifflin add?  I could see if Amazon were trying to piggyback on Houghton to get print copies in bookstores.  But since B&N shot down that notion, I see no reason why Houghton should be part of the equation.  They’re unnecessary, a middleman who merely siphons off money — which will no doubt result in higher book prices.

Author and editor Stanley Wiater hosted a Canadian television series a few years back; unfortunately, the show never aired here in America.  Interviews from the show occasionally surface on Youtube, however.  Here’s one with Harlan Ellison (don’t forget to check out the first two parts).

Dark Dreamers was originally a book of interviews published over twenty years ago.  I have an old dog-eared copy that I read and re-read in junior high.  It contained a ton of great information about horror writers, not to mention in-depth coverage of their books, habits and work schedules.  Everyone from Stephen King to Richard Laymon to Charles L. Grant was represented.  Download the e-book today.

About ten years ago Cemetery Dance published a companion book of Beth Gwinn’s photographs that went with many of those interviews.  I have a copy of that as well, with signatures from about two dozen of the contributors I’ve met over the years.  I wish Stanley would put together another volume — More Dark Dreamers? — showcasing some of the writers he missed the first time around (like Ray Bradbury), as well as authors who’ve risen to prominence during the past generation. 

On another note, I bring your attention to the sidebar where new links to all my novels have been posted.  Feel free to clicky-click and snag a copy (in both digital and trade paperback) of any that strike your fancy.  Thankee.

Libraries, schools and bookstores across the country today are celebrating Read Across America in honor of what would’ve been Dr. Seuss’ 108th birthday.  The Lorax is being released in conjunction as a movie.  It’s my favorite of his books and this film strikes me as a corporate cash grab at low-hanging Truffula fruit.  Stephen Colbert put it best earlier this week, and in rhyme no less (starts at 1:10). 

A lot of other writers share a birthday on March 2, such as John Irving, Tom Wolfe and Peter Straub.  And mine is today as well, number twenty-seven.

It’s Leap Day at last, the one day every four years when Leap Day William emerges from the Mariana Trench to trade children’s tears for candy.  Or not.

I’m a big fan of 30 Rock, the smartest comedy on TV since Arrested Development.  Can’t wait till 2013 when Netflix starts streaming new episodes again.