#publishing stuff

[literaticat]

 If your book earns out (eventually)that's good for the author and publisher, right? Why is there a big stress on preorders, first week sales and what a book does right out of the gate? Shouldn't publishers wait a year before they make a final determination to a books success? Especially with things like TikTok that can help bolster sales out of nowhere. It seems like there's so much pressure on authors for success straight away. Do publishers just want their investment back ASAP?

I don't know how you got your question to be in bold? ANYway, since there are like 30 questions in here I'm just going to take them bird by bird.

If your book earns out (eventually) that's good for the author and publisher, right? Yes, of course.

Why is there a big stress on preorders, first week sales and what a book does right out of the gate? Well, for several reasons:

-- A book with a ton of pre-orders feels "exciting" -- if you owned a bookstore, and you had ordered two copies of GREATBOOK initially to come in -- but then 30 people pre-ordered it from you -- you'd probably strongly consider ordering EXTRA copies, right? That seems like an indication that people really are interested in this book, you should have a pile of them, not just two! You should put it on display!

-- A book with a ton of pre-orders and first-week sales has a much better chance to hit a bestseller list (specifically, the NYT bestseller list). Why? Let's say your author started asking people to pre-order six months ago and those orders have been stacking up in dribs and drabs. But that book doesn't go on sale until January 15th. ALL SIX MONTHS of pre-orders are going to get rung up on release day. The NYT is based on books sold during one week's time compared to all other books sold during that one week. Obviously, a book with a ton of pre-orders will get a big boost that week!

-- Books that hit the list get more visibility, they get people hooting about them on social media, they get to be called "NYT Bestselling" which seems fancy, ALL of that can very much help sales going forward. Is it the be-all-end-all? No, of course not. But there's no doubt that it's NICE!

-- The majority of publisher-led publicity and marketing efforts are focused on before or soon after release date -- getting gatekeepers like booksellers, librarians, etc whatever interested in ordering the book into their stores and libraries, getting reviews, pitching the book to media outlets, etc -- so IF those efforts are going to help a book, you're more likely to get that boost when the book is new. After several months have gone by, a thousand newer books have come out, focus has shifted to those books.

Shouldn't publishers wait a year before they make a final determination to a books success?

I mean - I think they do? These things are not mutually exclusive. Of course they'd like to have a lot of success right out of the gate. Obviously, they'd be delighted to have a lot of success later, as well. Plenty of books grow in sales as time goes on, etc -- I don't think anyone is deeming a book a failure if the book doesn't hit it out of the park immediately. I can't speak for adult books, but on the kid's side, we don't really know what kind of longevity a book might have for probably at least a year, because there needs to be time for books to make their way onto state lists, into curriculum, and stuff like that -- for teachers to read it to classrooms, for kids to get hooked and tell friends, etc etc. Once a book is out in paperback and really getting imbedded into schools, we might see BONKERS sales that could never have been predicted from a sluggish start in bookstores a year or two earlier. Publishers are well aware of this -- books are not going out of print in the first year after release.

Especially with things like TikTok that can help bolster sales out of nowhere. It seems like there's so much pressure on authors for success straight away.

Yep, there are plenty of examples of books that have surprising late-in-life success bc of TikTok (or whatever) -- HOWEVER, the difference is, the publisher and author have little to no control over a book suddenly going viral "outta nowhere"! IT'S AMAZING AND GREAT when that happens, we can all wish for it and hope for it -- but it feels kind of out of our hands -- whereas things like pre-orders, getting blurbs, yadda yadda, are at least things that the publisher and author have a MODICUM of control over. They can't MAKE people pre-order, but they can TRY at least!

Do publishers just want their investment back ASAP?

That would be great, sure. But profit margins are slim, and many books never earn out. Publishers know that they are probably going to just break even on a lot of books, and lose money on some, and have big hits with a few. I don't think anyone is expecting every book to have massive pre-orders or huge initial sales or whatever else.

Further: Most of this "pressure" is coming from the authors themselves. Like, the call is coming from inside the house. I've NEVER heard a publisher insist that an author do some enormous pre-order campaign or hit social media relentlessly for months -- actually it's more likely that a publisher in the year of our lord 2024 will say that they don't really think a massive pre-order campaign is worth the effort. I've NEVER heard a publisher say that anything in particular rides on first week sales, or insist that a book must hit a bestseller list. Of course they are hoping for it, it would be great! But it would be foolish for them to say that it WILL or MUST happen, and if it doesn't, it doesn't diminish the author or their efforts in any way. Obviously when award-time comes, publishers AND authors are likely crossing their fingers that a book will get a big shiny medal, and they might be a little disappointed if their book doesn't get one (especially if armchair experts online were predicting that it might) -- but I've NEVER heard a publisher put pressure on an author about that kind of thing, either, if anything, the opposite.

Publishers are, in fact, much more likely to be trying to temper outsize author expectations, rather than stoking them. There might be a few outliers -- huge-name authors where everyone really does expect instant NYT success and glory, so if it doesn't happen for some reason, there's some disappointment all around - but truly? That level of expectation is quite rare, and if you happen to be in that echelon, you probably aren't asking questions like this on Tumblr, you're busy swanning around the Isle of Capri or something. And actually you probably don't feel PRESSURE to hit the list in that case anyway -- you just expect you will as that is normal for you. Bless.

Regular authors? Which is 99% of the authors reading this post? You can go ahead and calm down. We love you regardless of your pre-orders or initial sales. If you feel "enormous pressure" for "instant success" -- really take a look at where that pressure is coming from. Because it's probably not from agents or publishers, who know from long experience that almost no success is "instant" by any stretch of the imagination.

[sweetfirebird]

2012 is just smashwords

my first thing accepted by a publisher (ugh yes and it was That One) was Let There Be Light, which was in 2010 but I think published later? (It was also first rejected by Samhain... who then went under which is tragic but my inner Selina Kyle is like... *smirk*)

Some Kind of Magic was like 2011

[voxmyriad]

You designed the interiors for the Saga Press Elric omnibii? Idk what that entails exactly but that's very cool, I'm working my way thru volume 1 and it's a very pretty book!!

I sure did! I chose the fonts, font size & leading, the layout, the margins, the spacing, the ornaments, and laid out the inserts and interior art too. It's tricky to design an omnibus, since the goal is The Most Words, but I was hoping my design ended up readable. Thank you so much, I'm really glad you like it!

[performativezippers]

What does it mean to write a young adult novel as opposed to an adult novel?

Young Adult (YA) is geared towards teen readers. This means:

Main characters are 14-18

Often set in high school (college is a no-no)

Themes are usually things like first love, discovering yourself, finding a place outside of your family

Can be dark and include sex, violence, drugs, etc but the sex is mostly likely "off the page" or "fade to black" and violence/drug use may be done with a lighter touch or more "off the page" than in an adult novel

LOVE TRIANGLES

Basically HS AU's

Many YA books are very much enjoyed by adults, but they are "geared towards" teens and pretty much must be about teens. They'll be marketed to teens and say things like "With adult crossover appeal" if they want the growns to read it.

The Hunger Games is YA because:

Katniss is 16

The whole thing is it's kids in the arena, kids fighting the wards

Lord knows it's violent and bloody as fuck, but that's fine

She and Peeta don't like graphically fuck each other

The intended audience are teens who are interested in dystopia, fighting the man, LOVE TRIANGLES

Whereas Sally Rooney's Normal People is adult because:

The characters are teens and in college, not just teens

They are F U C K I N G on the page

The themes are very adult

The writing is more literary

The intended audience is adult and well-read

If that's not clear, it's because (a) every rule has many exceptions, (b) YA is still figuring itself out, (c) New Adult doesn't really exist (protagonists are college aged) so there's a very blurry line, (d) everyone seems cool with teens murdering each other but not cool with them sucking each other off, (e) I didn't answer your specific question.

But keep the questions coming!

[thebibliosphere]

I was already on a hair trigger today trying not to snap at a mutual for reblogging a "fuck authors who use Amazon" post, but, like, this shit is why some authors can only afford to use Amazon.

They don't have the $75+ to distribute through Ingram Spark. They don't have the $25 it takes to change your files if you need to update them after they've been accepted. They can't afford to take the cost of printing hit to their sales. They can't afford to lose an additional 40% of their income to retailer discounts.

And just so we're clear, Ingram isn't a vanity publisher. They're one of the largest print monopolies in the world. They're used by most mainstream traditional publishers and indie and self-pub authors alike. Amazon uses them when their print demand is too high.

My friend, whose work is published by Gollancz, is printed through Ingram, the same as mine. The difference is their publisher takes the hit for them. In theory. We won't get into dwindling advances here or how publishers are increasingly putting the onus of marketing and sales onto their authors or the fact that their editors can't afford rent or food while the executives get richer and richer.

So what do you do when the mainstream doesn't want you? What do you do when you're told if you can't keep up with the rat race, that you don't deserve to have your work published? What do you do if all you have is the ability to tell stories for a living, and no one wants you?

Well, you could die of starvation. I'm sure there are several people on here who'd be happy if that happened to me. (I know. Because they tell me. Often.) Or, you can shake hands with the devil, knowing it's a bum deal, knowing everything is fucked, but also knowing that every other aspect of this fucking industry is just as fucking bad.

There's no escape. It's relentless.

And you've got people out there posting things like, "Actually, I think authors who charge for their books are part of the problem."

And yeah, in an ideal world, I'd be making art for art's sake.

But we're not in that world. We're in the bad place, and you're actively making it worse. You're encouraging people to steal from people who are struggling just like you and calling it activism against billionaires or putting them in the same moral category as said billionaires as though we're not trapped in this system, same as you. Some of you are fellow fucking authors. And, like, my mind boggles at what it would take to stab a fellow creative in the back like that, but here we are.

Hell world.

[lesbianshepard]

latest book twitter drama is insane. an author (marve michael anson) posted an excerpt from one of her books, which featured a superhero with sun powers. another author (lauren m davis) then dmed her and accused her of copyright infringement and "stealing" her ideas because one of her characters is also sun-themed. she literally thinks she owns the copyright to the sun 😭

[emilyjunk]

Mean Girls 2024 + Reductress Headlines

[vanhelsingapologist]

Publishing has always been a fucking nightmare, but now it’s a layer of hell. It’s not enough that writers be good at what they do. Writers have to maintain an active social media presence and cultivate a following. Be available.

They have to be conventionally attractive enough to look good enough to see on a screen, aesthetically pleasing, kind, funny, up-to-date on trends, socially aware but not so controversial that they turn off a brand from California from slapping their discount code on a video promoting a book.

They have to do all of this with no media training, with little help from the companies that are supposed to be doing this for them.

Of course, a lot of this isn't possible for say, the 40-something mother of two who teaches English at a school and writes on the side. She’s boxed out of an already complex industry that already has enough walls.

On some level, I think authors have always marketed themselves a little, but we’ve reached such a crazy point where we’re demanding the author become the influencer. Accessibility in publishing has narrowed from an inch to a sliver. And that inch was hard enough to get in as is.

[reasonsforhope]

Interior Department Announces New Guidance to Honor and Elevate Hawaiian Language

"In commemoration of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or Hawaiian Language Month, and in recognition of its unique relationship with the Native Hawaiian Community, the Department of the Interior today announced new guidance on the use of the Hawaiian language.  

A comprehensive new Departmental Manual chapter underscores the Department’s commitment to further integrating Indigenous Knowledge and cultural practices into conservation stewardship.  

“Prioritizing the preservation of the Hawaiian language and culture and elevating Indigenous Knowledge is central to the Biden-Harris administration's work to meet the unique needs of the Native Hawaiian Community,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “As we deploy historic resources to Hawaiʻi from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Interior Department is committed to ensuring our internal policies and communications use accurate language and data."  

Department bureaus and offices that engage in communication with the Native Hawaiian Community or produce documentation addressing places, resources, actions or interests in Hawaiʻi will use the new guidance on ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) for various identifications and references, including flora and fauna, cultural sites, geographic place names, and government units within the state.  The guidance recognizes the evolving nature of ‘ōlelo Hawaiʻi and acknowledges the absence of a single authoritative source. While the Hawaiian Dictionary (Pukui & Elbert 2003) is designated as the baseline standard for non-geographic words and place names, Department bureaus and offices are encouraged to consult other standard works, as well as the Board on Geographic Names database.  

Developed collaboratively and informed by ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi practitioners, instructors and advocates, the new guidance emerged from virtual consultation sessions and public comment in 2023 with the Native Hawaiian Community. 

The new guidance aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening relationships with the Native Hawaiian Community through efforts such as the Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program and Hawaiian Forest Bird Keystone Initiative. During her trip to Hawaiʻi in June, Secretary Haaland emphasized recognizing and including Indigenous Knowledge, promoting co-stewardship, protecting sacred sites, and recommitting to meaningful and robust consultation with the Native Hawaiian Community."

-via US Department of the Interior press release, February 1, 2024

--

Note: I'm an editor so I have no idea whether this comes off like as big a deal as it potentially is. But it is potentially going to establish and massively accelerate the adoption of correctly written Native Hawaiian language, as determined by Native Hawaiians.

Basically US government communications, documentations, and "style guides" (sets of rules to follow about how to write/format/publish something, etc.) can be incredibly influential, especially for topics where there isn't much other official guidance. This rule means that all government documents that mention Hawai'i, places in Hawai'i, Hawaiian plants and animals, etc. will have to be written the way Native Hawaiians say it should be written, and the correct way of writing Hawaiian conveys a lot more information about how the words are pronounced, too, which could spread correct pronunciations more widely.

It also means that, as far as the US government is concerned, this is The Correct Way to Write the Hawaiian Language. Which, as an editor who just read the guidance document, is super important. That's because you need the 'okina (' in words) and kahakō in order to tell apart sizeable sets of different words, because Hawaiian uses so many fewer consonants, they need more of other types of different sounds.

And the US government official policy on how to write Hawaiian is exactly what editors, publishers, newspapers, and magazines are going to look at, sooner or later, because it's what style guides are looking at. Style guides are the official various sets of rules that books/publications follow; they're also incredibly detailed - the one used for almost all book publishing, for example, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS), is over a thousand pages long.

One of the things that CMoS does is tell you the basic rules of and what specialist further sources they think you should use for writing different languages. They have a whole chapter dedicated to this. It's not that impressive on non-European languages yet, but we're due for a new edition (the 18th) of CMoS in the next oh two to four years, probably? Actually numbering wise they'd be due for one this year, except presumably they would've announced it by now if that was the case.

I'm expecting one of the biggest revisions to the 18th edition to add much more comprehensive guidance on non-Western languages. Considering how far we've come since 2017, when the last one was released, I'll be judging the shit out of them if they do otherwise. (And CMoS actually keep with the times decently enough.)

Which means, as long as there's at least a year or two for these new rules/spellings/orthographies to establish themselves before the next edition comes out, it's likely that just about every (legit) publisher will start using the new rules/spellings/orthographies.

And of course, it would expand much further from there.

[literaticat]

Good morning, Jenn! Do you have any insights on why some (amazing) books get selected for the Junior Library Guild gold sticker while other equally wonderful and amazing books don't? I'm trying to find a pattern among the books selected, but I remain a bit baffled. Many thanks!

So for those who don't know, the Junior Library Guild is, basically, a library subscription company focusing on Pre-K-12th grade. They read forthcoming books and select what they consider to be the "Gold Standard" books, "must-haves" if you will -- those books get a (virtual) nifty golden seal and they buy a certain number of them from the publishers and subscribing libraries get them as part of their subscription.

This, I imagine, saves the participating libraries, a good deal of work -- of course, they can always buy ANY book they want, and I'm pretty sure few libraries would rely ONLY on the JLG box, but they do tend to choose Very Good Books, so at least if they got that, they'd know they were "covered" for the books that are likely to come up as Must-Haves. (Though as I understand it, every library doesn't get every book, the boxes they get are tailored to THAT libraries needs/age range/whatever -- not being a member myself, I don't know exactly how that works, but I assume that members can ask for specific books from the collection, or opt in or out of certain categories according to their needs and budget.)

But HOW do they choose? Well, I googled it, and found this article from a few years ago. If you don't feel like clicking, basically, they read A LOT of books (5000+ per year according to this article) -- this is BEFORE reviews are out and awards are given, so it's basically their best judgement of Books That Are Likely To Get Great Reviews and/or Win Awards, Books That Feel Important, and Books That Fit Certain Categories. They do have to PURCHASE the books in order for their members to receive them, so they can't willy-nilly order every book in creation -- and the point is that they are curating, right? So... it's books they like the best, and books they think librarians will like the best. At the end of the day, it's as simple as that: They can only select X number of books, they make a judgement call. If they already have 12 new terrific picture book biographies, for example, they might not be able to add a 13th or 14th, even if they are also great.

Being a JLG selection FEELS very fancy, because hey, you get the nifty gold thing, and "GOLD STANDARD SELECTION" sounds important as heck -- but really, it doesn't mean that your book is ACTUALLY better than any other book, nor does it mean that books that don't get that are any "worse" -- it's just a subjective thing. And "regular" readers have zero idea what things are chosen or what that means, at all.

(This would potentially make a really interesting podcast episode actually -- I'm going to ask around and see if I know anyone who knows anyone there and if they'll talk to me. If a Junior Library Guild person is reading this and wants to be a guest, email me!)

[kiisaes]

therefore you and me (bkdk animatic)

(also on youtube)

[heroesriseandfall]

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003) — Roy leaving voicemails for Dick after Donna Troy’s death

Identity Crisis (2004) #7 — Dick leaving voicemails for Tim after Jack Drake’s death

[bahrmp3]

[ID: 7 gifs from season 2, episode 20 “the maquis, part 1” from the tv series “star trek: deep space nine”, the gifs show benjamin sisko and gul dukat in runabout with sisko piloting it.

1st gif: benjamin comments idly while piloting the runabout, "i've heard they put cardassian children in intense mind training programs when they're four years old." he turns his head to face dukat, "is that true?

2nd gif: "the cardassian educational system is unparalleled in the quadrant." dukat brags. benjamin looks straight ahead.

3rd gif: "if you don't mind taking the joy out of growing up." benjamin replies.

4th gif: "education is power. joy is vulnerability." dukat preaches, shocking sisko, who instantly replies, "what?"

5th, 6th gif: dukat turns a bit to face sisko, "your reaction surprises me, commander. i thought you would understand. of all the humans i've met, you strike me as the most joyless and the least vulnerable."

7th gif: "i am when i'm with you." sisko replies, much to dukat's amusements who laughs upon hearing this. /end ID]

[inkskinned]

i. about 2 weeks ago, i was told there's a good chance that in 5 or so years, i'll need a wheelchair.

ii. okay. i loved harry potter as a kid. i have a hypothesis about this to be honest - why people still kind of like it. it's that she got very lucky. she managed to make a cross-generational hit. it was something shared for both parents and kids. it was right at the start of a huge cultural shift from pre to post-internet. i genuinely think many people were just seeking community; not her writing. it was a nice shorthand to create connection. which is a long way of saying - she didn't build this legacy, we built it for her. she got lucky, just once. that's all.

iii. to be real with you, i still struggle with identifying as someone with a disability, which is wild, especially given the ways my life has changed. i always come up against internalized ableism and shame - convinced even right now that i'm faking it for attention. i passed out in a grocery store recently. i hit my head on the shelves while i went down.

iv. he raises his eyebrows while he sends me a look. her most recent new book has POTS featured in it. okay, i say. i already don't like where this is going. we both take another bite of ramen. it is a trait of the villain, he says. we both roll our eyes about it.

v. so one of the things about being nonbinary but previously super into harry potter is that i super hate jk rowling. but it is also not good for my mental health to regret any form of joy i engaged with as a kid. i can't punish my young self for being so into the books - it was a passion, and it was how i made most of my friends. everyone knew about it. i felt like everyone had my same joy, my same fixation. as a "weird kid", this sense of belonging resonated with me so loudly that i would have done anything to protect it.

vi. as a present, my parents once took me out of school to go see the second movie. it is an incredibly precious memory: my mom straight-up lying about a dentist appointment. us snickering and sneaking into the weekday matinee. within seven years of this experience, the internet would be a necessity to get my homework finished. the world had permanently changed. harry potter was a relic, a way any of us could hold onto something of the analog.

vii. by sheer luck, the year that i started figuring out the whole gender fluid thing was also the first year people started to point out that she might have some internalized biases. i remember tumblr before that; how often her name was treated as godhood. how harry potter was kind of a word synonymous for "nerdy but cool." i would walk out of that year tasting he/him and they/them; she would walk out snarling and snapping about it.

viii. when i teach older kids creative writing, i usually tell them - so, she did change the face of young adult fiction, there's no denying that. she had a lot more opportunities than many of us will - there were more publishing houses, less push for "virally" popular content creators. but beyond reading another book, we need to write more books. we need to uplift the voices of those who remain unrepresented. we need to push for an exposure to the bigotry baked into the publishing system. and i promise you: you can write better than she ever did. nothing she did was what was magical - it was the way that the community responded to it.

ix. i get home from ramen. three other people have screenshotted the POTS thing and sent it to me. can you fucking believe we're still hearing this shit from her when it's almost twenty-fucking-twenty-three. the villain is notably also popular on tumblr. i just think that's funny. this woman is a billionaire and she's mad that she can't control the opinions of some people on a dying blue site that makes no money. lady, and i mean this - get a fucking life.

x. i am sorry to the kid i was. maybe the kid you were too. none of us deserved to see something like this ruined. that thing used to be precious to me. and now - all those good times; measured into dust.

/// 9.6.2022 // FUCKING AGAIN, JK? Are you fucking kidding me?

[spiders-in-the-valley]

um... he just remembered he missed a step in his hair care routine, that's all!

[splatnews]

This just in!

we've got leaks of some new junk coming this chill season! these could also count as spoilers,so be sure not to look if you dont want any! not alot of gear this time but there IS alot of christmas-y themed stuff!

next salmon run gear

new wandercrust gear

new locker decor

new banners

new emotes!

here's all of them separated

datamined by DiamCreeper24

footage of the new king salmanoid,Megalodontia(joe). it seems to act like a really really REALLY big maws (view the video here!)

we'll also be getting a randomized king meter aswell

all these things will be added once the chill season is here!