This is a live Google Docs discussion. It examines the history and

156 Pages·2011·1.17 MB·English

by  Barry Eisler

This is a live Google Docs discussion. It examines the history and
mechanics of the publishing industry as it exists today, analyzes the
way the digital revolution reflects recent events in Egypt and the
Maghreb, and considers a completely inappropriate YouTube video
featuring a randy monkey and an unlucky frog. It clocks in at about
26,000 words, and reveals some pretty startling things.

We encourage everyone reading this conversation to tweet about it,
mention it on Facebook or your blog, and post a review. Our goal
is to get this information out there, because it benefits authors and
could theoretically make legacy publishers smarter (the only reason
we’re charging 99 cents rather than offering it for free is because
online retailers don’t let self-pubbed authors post things for free).
Help us spread the word—thanks.
Copyright © 2011 by Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, without permission in from the author or publisher.
Edition: June 2011
Table of Contents
Part One
The Rise of eBooks and Self-publishing……11
The Future of Paper……14
What Do These Changes Mean for Writers?……17
The Virtual Bookshelf and Dynamic Pricing……20
Readers: the People Who Buy the Eggs……24
The Revolution is Here……27
The NYT Bestseller List and Authors With Stockholm
Syndrome……32
Digital Royalties and “Lookback” Provisions……36
Publisher Reaction and Counterarguments……38
The Tipping Point……41
Similar Risks, Different Context……43
The Long Tail: Long-term Benefits of Self-Publishing……45
Promotion and Marketing: Legacy vs. Indie……49
Legacy Publishers: Adding Value? ……55
Paper vs. Digital Sales: A Zero-sum Game?……57
The Future: the “Self” in “Self-Publishing,” E-stributors, and Indie
Publishing……60
Part Two
Another Conversation? But Why? Answers to This and Other
Questions……67
Bestselling Indie Author Amanda Hocking Just Signed with a
Legacy Publisher. Doesn’t That Mean You’re Wrong?……68
What About the Glut of Self-Published Books? How Will Anyone
Know Which Are Good?……76
But Don’t You Need an Editor?……79
Isn’t Piracy Scary for Indies?……81
Your Negro Baseball League Analogy Was Outrageous……85
Aren’t You Guys Forgetting How Much You Give Up On The
Paper Side When You Go Indie?……87
Which Leads to The “Shame on Publishers Marketplace” Heading,
to Make This Section Easier for Publishers Marketplace to
Find……91
Go Indie, or Go Legacy? Here’s the Math……94
Who Will Be the New Players in Digital, and How Should Authors
Pay Them?……101
A Few Misconceptions……107
Part Three
Is It Hypocritical for An Author to Self-publish and Also Publish
with An Amazon Imprint? And What’s in That
Contract, Anyway?……113
Is Exclusivity Bad for the Industry?……118
A Working Definition of “Legacy Publishing”……120
Is Amazon a Legacy Publisher?……123
It Has to Be Either/Or. And Other Examples of Erroneous
Thinking……128
Briefly Returning to the Question of: If The Big Six Are Legacy
Publishers, What Do We Call Amazon?……134
And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Erroneous Thinking
Topic……136
How Do Brick and Mortar Bookstores Succeed in the New Pub-
lishing Landscape?……138
And How Do Literary Agents Succeed?……141
Next Steps in the Evolution of Ebooks……146
Be the Monkey……149

About the Authors……151
Also by Barry Eisler……153
Also by Joe Konrath……155
Part One