Breaking News!

Herself, my redoubtable editor, has emailed to say that  the team at Bantam Dell will be publishing Under the Skin as a trade paperback, * rather than a mass-market original,*        * and that it will be out October 18 -- a week earlier than the date they'd set previously!

Well.  I'm pretty thrilled by this, for several reasons. As I think I've mentioned before, it was never up to me in what format my books would be released.  I was perfectly thrilled to be published by a big New York publisher  and, I reasoned, the mass market paperback was cheap enough that perhaps more folks would take a chance on an unknown writer. 

But as time went on, and I begin to hear readers complaining about the small size of the print in my books and, as I learned that many of the top reviewers simply exclude mass market paperbacks from consideration, I began to feel a tad wistful.

I'm seeing this as a step up -- and a token of Herself''s confidence in me. I hope that those of you who read my books won't be deterred by the price hike. Plenty of time to begin saving those extra pennies.

The change hasn't shown up on Amazon yet. I don't know what the price will be -- nor what they'll do about those dear souls who've pre-ordered the cheaper version.

AND, it'll be out a week earlier. Good news after this very, very long wait for Elizabeth to find out about that peculiar message on the answering machine. . .

* Trade Paperback: A trade paperback book is a product between a mass market paperback and hardback. It uses the better quality paper of hardback, but the soft cover of mass market. The size is usually 6" x 9". Nowadays, these are priced around $15.


* Mass market: Literally, it means books of wide appeal that are directed toward a large, national audience. By application, it’s the size and construction of a book which is generally 6-3/4" x 4-1/4" and contains pulp paper in a perfect binding. Mass market Original or  Paperback Original simply means that the book was not first published in Trade or Hardcover. Price about $8.

 

FAQ - Odds and Ends

I did an interview yesterday and was reminded of lots more little Q I'm F A.  

Q: Why aren't your books in hardcover?

A: That was the publisher's decision, not mine. I suspect they felt that I'd have better luck building an audience with seven dollar paperbacks than with twenty-five dollar hardcovers. And let's face it, many folks see mysteries as quick, rather disposable reading -- not something they intend to read again and again.


Q: Are your books on Kindle and other Ebook formats? 


A: Yes, they are. Again, that's up to the publisher -- I have nothing to do with it.


Q: What about audio books? 

A:  Sorry, no.  I'd love it if they were -- especially if it was a good reader who did the dialect well.  Maybe someday . . . but again, this is in the hands of the publisher and, like everything to do with publishing, it's driven by the bottom line. 

Q: What advice would you give writers hoping to get a book contract with a traditional publisher?

A:  1. Don't quit your day job in hopes of selling a book and watching the money roll in. That happens in only a very, very, VERY few instances.

        2. Your first priority should be to finish writing your book --before you get your author's website (I said, website, not blog) and before you get that author's photo taken in the tweed jacket with suede elbow patches. Finish the book and start the next one. 

        3. There's an overwhelming amount of writing and publishing information out there. Don't try to read it all. Don't attend every conference and take every workshop. If you did, when would you have time to write your book?

 

The two photos were taken at sunset on Jupiter Road as I drove home from the interview.