Referrals can be made for editing, illustrations, cover art or publishing by agent, who in turn receives a kickback. Avoid agents that require use of outside companies as a condition of representation.

Contests may be used to lure unsuspecting writers to an agent or vanity press. A new writer, eager for acceptance and validation, is especially vulnerable if their writing is favorably judged. This adds fuel to their belief that if only they had readers, their work would be appreciated. With this newfound confidence, a writer may decide to bypass traditional publishing to publish and distribute their own work. This is a viable alternative for some: however, there are plenty of con artists waiting to take your money.

Resources

Writers Beware, http://www.sfwa.org/beware/agents.html Unknown Author (2004) Writers Beware. Retrieved March 12, 2004 from www.SFWA.org

What of eBook sales? According to Jim McClellan (2004), “Open eBook Forum (OeBF) estimated overall sales for year (of eBooks) at around $10m.” This is a small but growing percentage of total market. “In third quarter of 2003, e-book sales were up 37% over same quarter in 2002, according to a new sales report from Open eBook Forum (OeBF)…In that quarter, 2,159 new titles were published by 30 largest publishing houses, and sales added up to $2,591,465. It was good enough to spur sales of millionth e-book for year by September.” (Fluckinger, 2003). Because eBook publishers incur less expense (no printing, distribution costs) royalty payments to authors is usually 40% of wholesale price versus 15% of traditional publishing. Readers also benefit from reduced production costs, saving 30%-40% per title. Therefore, previously unknown authors are more likely to be noticed.

Regardless of which path you travel, ultimately quality will count. The competition is staggering and it will take exhaustive self promotion to draw readers, but if it isn’t well written, no amount of marketing fluff will capture their attention for long. If you offer a quality product and meet or exceed your reader’s expectation, word of mouth could set you apart from pack.

Resources

Curtis, R. (1995). How to be Your Own Literary Agent. Houghton Mifflin Company, NY.

Fluckinger, D. (2003). E-book sales hit million mark for 2003. Retrieved March 10, 2004 from PDFzone.com