Ethical Roulette

Let's play a game.

There has been a lot of talk about ethics and morals around the Internets lately. A lot of name calling. A lot of shaming. A lot of sanctimony. 

Writers are quick to proclaim they'd never pay for reviews, or use sock puppets to promote their own work, or to denounce someone else's work.

This has generated a lot of discussion within my peer network. It's a nice excuse to test our morals, fine tune our sense of right and wrong, and work harder to understand human behavior.

But I don't see a lot of level-headed discussion on the web. I see hysterics, mob behavior, and action motivated by fear or righteous indignation.

I get angry when groups begin acting badly. The AAR. The Authors Guild. Harlequin. The Big 6. When I see this happening, I take them to task for it, using logic and facts and arguments to show how they are wrong.

I recently did this with the NSPHP petition. A petition that named and accused three writers of "damaging publishing", using "underhanded tactics", and stating other authors are doing it as well.

The NSPHP built a carefully constructed case showing how these writers damaged publishing.

Oh, wait. No they didn't. They simply accused and denounced.

But at least they clearly defined "underhanded tactics" and explained in detail how they are illegal and immoral.

Oh, wait. What the trio did wasn't illegal. And there was no posted debate, no public discussion whatsoever of their actions (in fact, discussion in the comments is discouraged and comments encouraging debate have been removed).

But surely they have proof that many other authors are doing this as well. I mean, you don't suddenly post a call to arms unless this is a deeply rooted, widespread problem, right?

Oh, wait. There is no proof. Only assumptions.

Welcome to the wonderful world of moral panic.

So the NSPHP judged three authors, convicted them without any trial or allowing the authors any defense, and then took the moral high ground by shaming them publicly, denouncing their acts without any attempt to dissect or understand those acts, and then shamelessly begged readers for reviews.

Fail.

In fact, if anyone reading this edits Wikipedia, they need to add the NSPHP petition to the moral panic examples. Feel free to use my blog as a citation.

I much prefer debate to name calling. And when someone is accused of something, I try to put myself in their shoes, and wonder if I'd act the same way. If I don't think I'd do those same things, does that make me morally superior? Or am I just lying to myself? 

Has anyone, while witnessing all the vitriol going on right now, asked themselves, "There but for luck go I?"

I have.

We all have morals. Having morals doesn't mean we're always able to follow our own moral code. We're human. We make mistakes. We have moments of weakness. We're also uncannily good at justifying our actions.

I'd never kill another human being. 

But what if your family is being threatened?

I'd never steal. 

But what if you're starving?

I'd never pay for reviews or use sock puppets online. 

Really? Are you sure?

Unless I missed some link or secret page on their website, no one signing the NSPHP petition has proven that what the three accused have done are crimes, or how they are even morally wrong. No one has clearly demonstrated how other writers or readers have been hurt. No one has tried to explain or discuss motive.

There has been no talking about the issues whatsoever. Only assumption, finger pointing, condemnation, and a growing list of author signatures that methinks is growing so fast because innocent writers don't want the mob to turn on them.

Isn't it more productive to have a discussion about the ethics of reviewing than rushing to a snap judgement and joining a mob?

I think these things should be discussed. I think the accused should be considered innocent before proven guilty.

Hence this blog post.

I like John Locke. I've spoken with him at length in the past. I believe he's done a great deal of good for the indie movement. I've found him to be personable, gracious, and good-natured.

I like Stephen Leather. I've only traded emails with him, but I've found him to be personable, gracious, and good-natured. Last year we discussed collaborating on a horror novel together; something I still plan on doing. What kind of man would I be to back out of working with someone because they're currently controversial?

Do I agree or disagree with what they've admitted to doing? Would I do those same things? Have I done similar things?

Ask yourself those same questions. But before you answer, try to open your mind and be honest with yourself.

That won't be easy. It's much easier to express moral outrage. It feels good to see the mighty fall, an unfortunate trait of human nature called Schadenfreude. It feels especially good when people more successful than we are get publicly thrashed. If we can convince ourselves Locke and Leather sold so many books because they are cheaters, we can point to that as the reason why they outsold us, and boldly state, "They sold more than me because they cheated, while I would never stoop so low!"

Actually, they sold more than us because they write books people like, are savvy marketers, and got lucky.

Hard to admit that to ourselves, though. Knee-jerk condemnation and public chastisement is much more pleasurable.

So let's take a little morality test. You can post your answers in the comments, or keep them to yourself. I'm not writing this post to make you feel ashamed, or make you feel morally superior. If you feel the need to post your answers and take the moral high ground on every question I'm about to ask, that doesn't mean much. Being asked something on a blog is not the same as actually being confronted with the issue in real life.

We can all be pious in our minds, and we can proclaim our piety in public. But actions are the real indicator of morals.

So let's begin.

1. Would you accept a glowing blurb from Stephen King (or insert your author of choice) even if he only read 3/4 of your book? 

How about only half of your book? 

Just the first chapter?

What if he didn't read it at all?

2. Would you give someone a free book to review it?

What if instead of a book, you gave them the cash to buy the book with?

Would you hire a publicist to send out books you paid for to reviewers?

Is it ethical to have your book reviewed in a periodical that you write articles for? One that you buy ads in?

3. If your mother wrote a book and wanted you to honestly review it on Amazon, would you? 

Would you give Mom one star if it were bad?

If Mom asked you specifically for a five star review, would you do it?

4. Would you ever review or blurb a book you haven't read? 

What if it was for someone you were friends with? 

What if it was a family member?

What if you were paid $5000 for it? How about $50,000?

5. If your book was getting one star reviews from a fellow writer, would you give their book one star in retaliation?

If that competitor used sock puppets to trash your book, and Amazon didn't remove the phony reviews, would you ask for reviews from family and friends to counter the damage?

Would you post phony five star reviews of your book to counter the damage? 

Would you use sock puppets to trash your competitor's books in retaliation?

6. If spending $5000 on paid reviews guaranteed you'd sell 2 million ebooks, would you do it? 

Would it matter if you publicly disclosed it or not?

What if the reviews were honest reactions from people who read the whole book? 

What if they were written by spambots who automatically gave you five stars? Is their a difference?

Would you pay $1000 to guarantee a front page review of your book in a major periodical? How about $500? Or $50? What if it also guaranteed a place on the periodical's Bestseller list? Does that make it more or less appealing?

7. Would you ever review a book for money? 

Would you ever take a job as a reviewer for Kirkus and PW (two periodicals who charge authors for reviews)?

Would you review books on Amazon for $50 per book?  What if you swore to yourself you'd be impartial?

Would you do so without disclosing the review was paid for? Would you do it and not read the book?

8. Would you ever trade reviews with your fellow authors?

Would you ever ask friends for reviews? Family? Fans? Strangers?

9. Would you ever promote your books on forums, blogs, or social networks?

If you were being trashed on forums, blogs, or social networks, would you defend yourself? And if defending yourself just brought more vitriol, would you consider defending yourself anonymously?

How about under a fake identity? Would you ever use a sock puppet to defend yourself from mob behavior?

Would you use a sock puppet to praise your own work? Denounce the work of others?

10. Would you ever give a one star review to a book you haven't read?

Would you give a one star review to a book because you disapprove of something the author did?

I've seen lots of recent one star reviews for Locke's How I Sold a Million Ebooks in Five Months, and lots of people chiming on on the Locke Hate Parade, and I really have to wonder how these people think they're any better than what they're accusing Locke of.

11. Would you ever trash someone on the Internet? 

What's the minimum a person must have done in order to deserve your trashing them? Must they have done something specifically to you or someone you care about? Or simply something you don't agree with?

Would you do this anonymously?

Is there a difference between criticizing someone on the Internet, and criticizing their books on the Internet? If so, why is one okay and the other not?

And finally...

12. Would you ever sign a petition denouncing authors for buying reviews without closely examining the issue, and in the same breath begging readers to give you reviews?

Here are my answers. As I said, I don't expect people to post their answers in the comments. And some that do, no doubt will be lying to the world and to themselves. I don't think I'm any more honest than anyone else, but I'm going to try my best to answer these as truthfully as I can. I'm sure if I fall short, there will be plenty of people eager to pounce on me.

1. Years ago, I would have loved for Stephen King to blurb me, even if he didn't read the book. I agreed with my publishers that blurbs were an important and essential marketing tool.

Today, I don't feel the need for anyone to blurb me.

Blurbs have always had an element of corruption to them. I blogged about this years ago. So did Barry Eisler. I was more comfortable with it than he was, but I believe we both had sound arguments, and we both agreed there was some shadiness going on.

2. I've never paid for reviews, or a publicist. But I've given out hundreds of my books, both paper and ebooks, in order to get reviews. I've always been upfront that I wanted honest reviews, and have gotten my share of negative reviews from people I've sent books to. 

I still solicit reviews. On my blog. Through my website and newsletter. Whenever I get fan mail, I thank them and ask them to post it as a review.

But I don't read my reviews anymore. Except for a close circle of friends and family, I'm not interested in the opinions of others, either about me or about my work. If I ever become so jaded or self-important that I start writing crap, I expect my support network to bring me back down to earth, just as I'd do for them.

3. Mom would get five stars from me, even if her book was terrible, and I'd help her promote it any way I could. If that reflects badly on me, so be it.

4. Every book I've ever reviewed or blurbed I have read, and I did my best to review it honestly, though I focused on the good and downplayed or ignored the bad.

However, in some rare circumstances, I would review or blurb a book I haven't read for someone I liked. I wouldn't do it for money, because I'm not motivated by money. (I'm serious, I just turned down a speaking gig for $20k) But if an author I respected needed a blurb right away, and I didn't have time to read his book, I'd do something generic such as, "Author X is one of my all time favorites, and he never disappoints."

Actually, it's wrong of me to say I'd blurb a book I haven't read, because I'd actually be reviewing the author instead the book.

So I'd have to say no, I wouldn't review a specific book I haven't read, but I would endorse an author via review or blurb if I'd read them before.

5. I've got lots of one star reviews, lots of haters, and I don't care. I don't give out one star reviews, under my name or via sock puppets. Not because I love everything, but because I don't feel right trashing other people's hard work.

I don't use sock puppets, or post anonymously. But would I ever?

I don't know. My ego is healthy. I don't care if people trash me, so I don't feel the need to defend myself, anonymously or otherwise.


The right to anonymous free speech is protected under the First Amendment. As for sock puppets, check out how Benjamin Franklin used them.

I remember an incident years back, where a comment thread about Stephen Leather was deleted by Amazon.uk, or comments were deleted, or something similar. I'm not bringing this up to dredge up old controversies, but because I remember reading the thread.

Commenters were absolutely viscous toward Leather. I remember being surprised at how nasty it got. I also remember Leather's attitude as bemused more than anything.

Would I create sock puppets to defend myself in a situation like that? I don't think so, because I really don't care. But I also can't condemn someone who does. While deceptive, that doesn't mean it is illegal or immoral.

Publishing is full of deceptive practices. Bestseller lists. Coop. Reviewing. Blurbing. Is a celebrity endorsing a product deceptive? I believe it is, to a degree.

We place a lot of value on honesty and integrity. I think that's good. But judging people who fail to live up to your ideals? That's a problem with the judge, not with the judged.

In other words, it isn't my fault I don't live up to your standards. And there's only one reason you would feel the need to judge me: moral masturbation.

6. If spending $5k on reviews guaranteed I'd sell two million books, hell yeah I'd do it. And I wouldn't care if those reviews were honest or not. I would admit to doing it, and probably encourage others to as well, if selling books were as simple as that. 

But selling books isn't as simple as that.

There's a lot of bad logic floating around about buying reviews. Namely:

a) There is no real guarantee buying reviews, even a lot of them, will lead to sales. It's a risk, and a potentially expense one, both in terms of money and in terms of the disapproval of peers.

b) I don't believe reviews influence buyers very much. I've bought books with one star reviews, and passed on books with hundreds of five star reviews.

c) A paid for review doesn't automatically mean it is disingenuous. I was a judge, several times, for the Writer's Digest short story contest. I was essentially a paid reviewer. And I worked my ass off to be as good a judge as possible. I believe that many paid reviewers have integrity and follow a code of ethics, no matter who pays them.

I've yet to see a single decent argument that explains how buying reviews hurts other authors. Some include:

It isn't fair to game the system!

Joe sez: All systems are gamed, and none are fair. Amazon didn't institute a user review system to make sure all authors had a fair and balanced playfield. They did it to encourage user participation and sell more books. Someone else doing well doesn't hurt you in the slightest.

Lots of reviews lead to higher Amazon ranks! 

Joe sez: Someone prove this. 

If someone has more reviews than me, customers might buy their book over mine! 

Joe sez: Ebooks aren't zero sum. No author makes money at the expense of another author. 

Reviews lead to bestseller lists, which pushes off the honest books and makes them less visable!

Joe sez: There is no proof a lot of good reviews leads to increased sales. In fact, I have ebooks with a few reviews that outsell ebooks with a lot of reviews. Also, ebooks are forever. If you feel you missed a shot at the Top 100 because someone else bought reviews, you can always have another shot later. My ebook The List has been in the Top 100 on four different occasions spanning three years.

Bad reviews hurt authors!

Joe sez: My ebook SERIAL has 156 one star reviews. People have been absolutely virulent in their hatred of that story. Sales remain steady.

All books eventually get one star reviews. Bestsellers. Beloved classics. Award winners. It's one of the hazards of being an artist. I talk more about one star reviews, and why I don't leave them or care about them, in my controversial post Be Deliberate.

I would not pay $1000, or any amount, for a front page review in a periodical, for the same reason I wouldn't pay any amount of money for any reviews. I don't believe reviews are worth paying for. I have more than enough fans who are eager to review me for free.

But if I were a new author, just starting out?

I once used a service called Book Rooster, which connected authors with reviewers. The reviewers weren't paid--they were avid readers who agreed to do reviews in exchange for free copies, and disclosed in their reviews that the copies were free. The website running the service charged $49. I didn't pay--I was given a chance to try it for free. Details on my blog here. The comments are also worth reading, because they discuss ethics.

I wouldn't use the service John Locke did. I also refuse to condemn him for using that service, especially since he is on record as saying he asked for honest reviews.

So why wouldn't I do it?

I'm really trying to be honest when I answer this. Bear with me.

I wouldn't go into a store and steal something because I don't feel it is fair to the shop owner, because they would lose inventory and money.

But I have used file sharing, mostly to get things that are no longer available to buy, such as old TV shows never released on DVD, or out of print music. In that case, no one is losing money, because no one is selling it.

I consider buying reviews to be victimless. Any reader who felt duped because they bought a book based on phony five star reviews could return the book for a full refund, then leave their own one star review.

I have seen ZERO compelling arguments that false reviews or bad reviews hurt other authors. As I've said many times, ebooks are not a zero sum game.

So why wouldn't I buy reviews?

Because I think it would eventually be discovered, and people would judge me and attack me, just as Locke is being attacked right now.

I don't feel the amount of anger leveled against him is worth the benefit he received from paying for those reviews. In fact, I don't think he received much benefit from paying for reviews at all.

I'm not morally superior to Locke. What he did just isn't worth it to me.

7. I would review for money, if I needed money. As I said, I've been a paid judge for writing contests, and I feel it is the same principle. 

But I have little respect for paid critics, and there are many things I'd rather do than be a paid reviewer. Such as clean sewers.

Seriously. Judge a writing contest. It's hell. 

I wouldn't work for Kirkus or PW, because I don't like either publication. I think their programs charging self-pubbed authors for reviews are sleazy.

Not because paid reviews are bad. Not because paid reviews besmirch the integrity of unpaid reviews. But because Kirkus and PW charge a lot of money, and the author won't get their money's worth because Kirkus and PW reviews aren't important or necessary. They just seem important and necessary to newbie authors just starting out.

8. I don't trade reviews with authors. But I do review friends' books, because I truly like their writing.

Anyone looking at the Amazon reviews I've written (I'm also a Vine Reviewer, which I'll get to in a moment) will see I've reviewed almost every one of Robert W. Walker's books with the same review.

I was a big fan of Rob growing up, and meeting him for the first time in person was a rare and memorable treat. A few years ago, Rob hit a patch of very bad luck and was broke. I was just getting started with self-pubbing ebooks, and I predicted this would be a boon for writers. So I paid Book Leaf to scan every one of Rob's books (about 40) and then went through each one to correct typos (book scanning produces lots of errors) and then formatted each one for Kindle and uploaded them with product descriptions. Then I posted the same 5 star review under each of his books, because it applied to all of them, as I'd read all of them.

It was a labor of love for a dear friend whose writing I enjoy. I'm thrilled Rob is doing well with these ebooks. I'd do it again.

I'm not posting this story so the world sees what a swell guy I am. I'm posting it because there are pinheads on the Internet looking for dirt on me, and I don't want Rob or I to get accused of sock-puppetry or shilling or trading favors.

I help my friends. That's part of who I am.

As for Vine Reviews, I'm part of the Amazon Vine Program, which means Amazon regularly sends me free stuff in exchange for a review. In the program I received a free $600 espresso maker. I did my best to review it honestly, and 25 out of 25 people found my review helpful.

That said, aren't I essentially a paid reviewer? The machine costs $600, and I got it for free. It was like the ultimate bribe, especially for a coffee lover like me. But I still wrote what I believe is an honest review, and I stand by that review.

In a discussion of ethics and deception and buying reviews, I'm not comfortable using black and white terminology. I think there are lots of shades of gray. Condemning behavior without discussing it or analyzing it or even asking the offending parties for their side of the story is, in my humble opinion, bullshit.

9. This one baffles me. There are authors who are chastising other authors for buying reviews or using sock puppets by leaving one star reviews on those offending author's books.

How can anyone leave a one star review for a book they haven't read? How can they use reviews as a platform to attack the author? Especially when they're trying to take the moral high ground?

I'm especially baffled because one of the authors doing this had once emailed me, and others, asking us to leave positive reviews of his books.

Notice I'm not naming names, publicly shaming, or preaching sanctimoniously. That's because:

10. I don't trash people on the Internet. I think it's cheap, and petty, and cowardly. Every so often, some pinhead gets chastised in my blog comments, after fair warning. But I don't go on Twitter calling other writers names, I don't dedicate blog posts to their stupidity, and I don't hurl insults that might be read by their family, or their fans, because I think that sucks.

I speak my mind when I see groups of people behaving badly. The Big 6. The Authors Guild. The AAR. Harlequin. The latest group to have a circle-jerk Konrath hatefest on Twitter are some authors who didn't like my opinion of the NSPHP petition. Which brings us to...

11. I would not sign a petition denouncing authors for paying for reviews, while at the same time pleading for readers to review them.

I haven't ever paid for a review. But I think I've shown in this blog post how slippery ethics can be, and I'm not going to jump on the hate wagon to denounce others.

Plus, I'd never ask readers to review me with a line like: Will you use your voice to help us clean up this mess? It makes me wince just reading it. It smacks of hypocrisy and neediness, and is beneath them.

Four hundred plus authors needed to band together to urge readers to review them to "drown out the phoney voices, and the underhanded tactics will be marginalized to the point of irrelevance." 

Seriously? 

Those "phoney voices" are three people! Three people have harmed those four hundred plus so heinously that only readers can step in and correct this terrible injustice?! Three people have caused so much mayhem they must be drowned out?!

Much as I weep for those poor four hundred authors and how they were irrevocably damaged (hint: they weren't)--especially those mega bestsellers whose get full page New York Times ads (hint: that their publishers paid for)--and much as I'm swayed by their persuasive arguments explaining how three people harmed them and the entire system (hint: they have no arguments, persuasive or otherwise), I'm going to have to say a petition that denounces unseemly reviewing methods that ends with an unseemly plea for reviews is very, very, very silly. And I'm being very, very, very kind.

The world doesn't  know, or care, about the problems in the publishing industry. The average reader doesn't care about the DOJ suit, or the AAR and Authors Guild selling us out, or Harlequin screwing writers, or authors behaving badly.

They simply want good books to read.

Those books won't get written if we're all on Twitter 24/7 condemning on another, or blogging incessantly, or spending all of our time pouring over Amazon reviews trying to uncover which are legit and which aren't (seriously, how fucking pathetic is that?)

Now I'm going to unplug for a bit and get some writing done. Which is what we all should be doing.

Peace.

Guest Post by Summer Daniels

Joe sez: Summer Daniels is the pen name of an erotica author who hosts a Facebook page called What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey.

The page is a terrific example of what Bob Mayer calls the Discoverability Wars. To quote Bob:

"In the past the competition was for an agent, a book deal, distribution, placement, etc. Now it's all for Discoverability. And there's only so much of it to go around."

I agree that Discoverability (I love that term) is the newest challenge for authors. I disagree a bit with Bob in that there is only so much to go around. As we enter a global market place (someday I'll have readers in China who haven't even been born yet) I think there will be more than enough of the pie available for all authors to share, especially since publishing isn't a zero sum game.

Authors will still require Discoverability, but that is only limited by our imaginations. Summer imagined a spot on the web where fans of Fifty Shades could recommend similar books to each other. A smart idea. But is is a successful one?

Here's Summer to talk about it...

Summer: Joe has been kind enough to allow me to do a guest blog about my journey as an author and why I started the WTRAFSOG (What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey) reader recommendation / author promotion page.

It is fitting that Joe will post this here, because my journey as an author begins with this blog.  The countless hours I spent reading through old blog posts and thousands of comments was absolutely riveting for someone that was eager to learn about the new publishing world.  The blog was the impetus for me to stop procrastinating and actually start writing.  Joe is very modest about accepting praise, but in this case (unless he heavily edits my blog post) he will have to accept my thanks.

My journey as an author really parallels my real life journey so it is hard to discuss one without the other.  Quick background: Almost 20 years of marriage dissolves suddenly, and I was lonely.  Come to think of it - I was pretty lonely for much of my marriage as well.  That's about it for the background.  I never intended to write erotica, I had all these other stories in my head (and I still do), but the intriguing nature of what was going on in my personal life led me to create my Summer's Journey series.  I call it "True Romance / Erotica" because it is based very closely on my real life, I only changed enough details to protect the guilty.  I figured exposing my personal life in public might be a bit rough on my family and my career.

So I wrote about what was going on in my life, finished Summer's Journey: Volume One - Losing Control (FREE now on Kindle) which is the first of my series, and after about forty-seven rounds of editing, decided to publish it.  I was one of those new authors who knew just enough to know that they knew nothing.  I cannot speak warmly enough about the indie author community and how it embraced me as a new fledgling author.  Many authors, bloggers and readers took valuable time to share insights, show me how to do certain things, offer advice, etc.

Of course I eschewed some of that advice from the very beginning and published the first volume of a new erotic series without any SEX in it.  Volume One is all character development and back story about how I met Mark and his unusual method of courtship.  Authors of erotica that I spoke to were united in their advice that this was not a good idea.  Surprisingly however, it worked.  The series found readers right away that were eager to see what was going to happen next, after that little black dress hit the hotel room floor in Volume One.  That was back in August of 2011 and it has been a very interesting ride since then.

I wish I could speak of having encountered the same level of success as many of the authors who have been guests here, but my sales have been fairly slow, despite some really great reviews.  It was not until quite recently that I really started to take to heart Joe's advice about the best marketing you can do for your current book - is to write your next one.  For a long time I was having entirely too much fun utilizing social media to introduce myself and my story to readers, authors, bloggers, etc.  What I was not doing was writing the next book.  For a series that lends itself to short volumes, I was taking much too long to produce the next one.

It is about this time that I came across this particular nugget of wisdom on Joe's blog:

"One hand should always be reaching up for your next goal. The other should be reaching down to help others get where you're at. We're all in the same boat. Start passing out oars."

Given how I was embraced as a new author, this one really resonated with me.  I began to be more active in the community, taking what I had learned through others or by my own trial and error, and passing it along.  I helped by being a beta reader, doing reviews of books I had read and enjoyed, sharing others promotional efforts to get the word out about new releases, etc.

Then at the end of April this year, I had an idea.  I think Melinda DuChamp recently said in her first guest post here that she was "not above riding on coattails."  The same can be said of myself, although I had another ulterior motive as well.  My intent in setting up the What To Read After Fifty Shades of Grey page was to take advantage of the influx of new readers to the erotica genre and point them towards other talented authors (including myself).  Call it a matter of inspiration (or should that be sin-spiration?), good timing, good luck, etc. - whatever it was - the page has taken off.

I set up the page 4 months ago.  132 days to be exact.  As of this morning, the page has resulted in over 16,250 book sales from the links and averaged over 200 books sold a day during August.  The number of fans of the page just topped 10,800 yesterday and continues to grow at the rate of 100 or so a day.  The number of authors who have messaged me about the uptick in their sales across all platforms after being mentioned on the page is truly unbelievable.  As an author who knows just how hard it can be (pun intended) to market erotica, this warms my heart to be able to give back in some small way to the very community that has supported me from the beginning.

I welcome all authors to post their works on the page.  I will throw out the caveat that the vast majority of books being sold as a result of the WTRAFSOG page are indeed erotic in nature, but if you write a good blurb and grab the reader's attention, you never know.

As a side note, I find it interesting that so many authors speak poorly of the Fifty Shades of Grey series and bemoan her success.  I know that E.L. James herself has admitted that the books are not very well-written, but for the sheer fact that they have gotten so immensely popular, other erotica authors should be grateful.  In a lot of ways, Fifty Shades has peeled back the curtain and exposed erotica to more mainstream attention.  The number of erotica (or erotic romance) authors now making a very good living and being offered traditional publishing deals is increasing daily.  Awhile back on my blog I compared this effect to Tiger Woods.  At the height of his popularity, Tiger brought so many new fans to the game of golf that no matter what you think of him as a competitor, a person or a husband - you cannot deny the positive influence he has had on the sport.  The same is true of Fifty Shades of Grey.  I cannot begin to tell you how many new fans of the Facebook page have introduced themselves starting out with the words, "I am a new reader."   Many authors I have spoken to lately have started to realize that anything that gets people reading again is truly a wonderful thing, because once these readers are done with the Fifty Shades trilogy, they are looking for something else to read.  And they are voracious readers.

As for my Summer's Journey series, I just released Summer's Journey: Volume Four - Corporal Coupling two weeks ago.  After a six month hiatus between volumes, I have my work cut out for me in terms of reestablishing some of the momentum from earlier books.  Balancing time between my full time job, the Facebook promotion page and my own writing has been difficult, but as with all the other tasks involved in self-publishing, I welcome the challenge.

Joe sez: When Summer posted in my comments section a few weeks ago, I was intrigued. Not only by her Facebook page (which I discovered via Ruth Cardello) but by the premise of her series. So I went to Amazon, read Volume One, and then immediately purchased her Summer's Journey: Collection One which compiles volumes 1 -3.

Erotica isn't my thing, but I found the books to be well written, fun, and sexy. As did Mrs. Konrath. I also think the main idea behind them is smart--two divorced people embark on a kinky sexual journey together that is new for both of them--and that releasing them as chapbooks is a clever way to go about it. As Summer hoped, after reading the first 3 parts, I also bought part 4 to see what happens next. That it may actually be true adds to the fun.

Right now, Summer's Journey Volume One: Losing Control  is free in the US and UK, and I recommend people pick it up and help to spread the word. If you can stop reading after the first installment, you have more self-control than I do.

I have some unsolicited advice for Summer, which is par for the course whenever I have a guest.

1. While her chapbooks are fun and make me want to find out what happens next, I'd like them to have a bit more conflict. Summer assured me that future volumes will indeed address this, and told me about some terrific ideas she had.

Conflict is something that a lot of authors tend to downplay, when it should be ratcheted up.

2. I'm not sure Summer is pricing these correctly. I'd recommend Volume One be perma-free (a neat term to describe the act of making it free on Smashwords and waiting for Amazon to price match. That's what Barry Eisler and I have done with Be the Monkey.) Then, because the volumes are short (around 20 pages), I'd charge 99 cents for each. As more and more volumes are added, and the page length goes up, they can be combined and Summer can charge more. 

Maybe Summer has already experimented with price and has proven me wrong, but I do think she'd sell more ebooks, and widen her fanbase, with lower prices.

3. I haven't seen any authors use the chapbook format successfully. Summer is doing what Sue Grafton did (not dissing indies, she's titling her books by following the alphabet) so there will be at least 26 volumes to this series, which should result in a 500 page book when finished. But more than that, it will result in 26 volumes for 99 cents each, and many compilations for $2.99 or more.

I'm intrigued by this idea, to the point where I'm considering doing something similar. Readers may dislike having to wait for installments, but the more Summer writes, the less this becomes a concern. Which leads to...

4. Summer needs to write faster. She should be putting out a new volume every two weeks, at least. I understand that real life intrudes, and that she's doing a lot with her Facebook page, but I think her series has potential, and she should prioritize her writing.

5. If Summer's blog is doing so well, why not turn it into an ebook? There is a perma-free ebook on Amazon called Ten Shades of Sexy which features sex scenes from ten different novels. It has been on the Top 100 Free List for many weeks, and I can't help but assume that readers who read it and like one of the excerpts go on to buy that author's ebook. Not that I advocate Summer take time away from her writing to to make an ebook compendium of books she has featured on her blog, but this is thinking outside the Discoverability box, and could lead to sales. I'm sure many authors would happily donate a sex scene to a compilation called What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey: Kinky Excerpts from Fifty Top Erotica Authors.

Summer could put one of her own scenes in there (first chapter, naturally) and then ask authors who have appeared on her Facebook page if they'd like to participate, gratis.

I believe erotica is perfectly suited to this type of collection, since the sex scenes are the main reason people read these books.

6. I like the woman on Summer's covers with the lace blindfold, but I'm not keen on the font or the layout.

I realize professional covers are often costly (though right now my cover artist Carl Graves is having another $200 sale on some premade covers that are fabulous) but I think, with minor tweaks, Summer's covers could look more professional and less indie.

7. While my advice is for Summer, it applies to everyone. So does her advice. Summer encouraged user-aggregated content to create a billboard. Where there was once nothing, there is now something, and people are visiting and helping her make it larger while also spreading the word. She's using Facebook much more effectively than a simple author or fan page, and she's gotten good results.

That's all I've got. I wish Summer success, and look forward to Volume Five, which is letter D. I hope it has to do with domination and discipline, and not dirty diapers. :)

Writers' Code of Ethics

Lots of controversy on the internet concerning writers lately. It's time for...

THE WRITERS' CODE OF ETHICS

1. I will never pay people to write positive reviews of my books.

2. I will never use a false account (aka a sock puppet or anonymous account) to leave negative reviews of any of my peers.

3. I will never use a false account to review my own books.

4. I will never send reviewers copies of my books if they review in a periodical where my publisher buys advertising.

5. I will never ask friends, family, peers, or anyone who knows me to write reviews of my books, since they are biased toward me.

6. I will never ask fans to write reviews of my books, since they are biased toward me.

7. I will never pay a publicist to send out books of mine to be reviewed, since I am essentially paying someone for reviews.

8. I will never allow a publicist working for a publisher to send out books of mine to be reviewed, since they are being paid to do so.

9. I will never allow anyone to send out copies of my books to be reviewed, because if they were doing that they must know me, and if they know me it is impossible to get an unbiased review.

10. I will never allow any review from anyone I've ever met. Every review must be from someone who has never met me, heard of me, or read me before, and must come with a signed affidavit proclaiming such.

11. Every review must be from a professional reviewer who has true integrity. But this professional reviewer cannot accept money in any way, shape or form, because getting paid for reviewing could compromise their ethics.

12. I will personally interview every reviewer to make sure they are unbiased, and then ask them to remove their review because upon meeting them (The Konrath Uncertainty Principle) I may have affected their review, which renders it biased.

13. I will never blurb a book by an author I know.

14. I will never accept a blurb from an author I know.

15. I will never blurb a book from any author, because I may know them some day.

16. I will never review anything, or blurb anything, or allow any of my books to be reviewed of blurbed.

17. I will never allow anyone I have ever known, or ever might know, to blurb or review anything.

18. I will never use a sock puppet or post anonymously online about anything at all, because I should stand by my own words.

19. I will never post anything at all online, ever again, because it might impinge upon someone else's ethical standards.

20. I will publicly chastise, denigrate, ridicule, mock, and lynch anyone who has breached any of the above.

21. I will tattoo this code of ethics permanently upon my back to show all how ethical and moral I am.

22. Those who don't ask about my ethics will still be forced by me to memorize the tattoo on my back, in public, as many times as I demand.

23. All who do not comply will never be allowed to write again, and will broken on the wheel, their intestines forced down their own lying, cheating, dishonest, unethical throats while they beg for mercy, then they'll burned at the stake, drawn and quartered, their charred, smoking, crispy body parts placed on spires for all to view. This punishment will be meted out to any person, living or dead, who has ever had contact with, or has heard of, the offending party.

Joe sez: If you haven't figured it out yet, this isn't about dishonesty. It's about degrees of dishonesty. And everyone, to a degree, is dishonest. Glass houses and throwing stones, folks.

The only way to make the system pure is to never allow anyone to do anything, ever. But that's impossible. So instead we have people pointing fingers and masturbating to their own smug sense of superiority because they haven't been caught in the "ethical lapse du jour" yet.

I say "yet" because I'm working on a law to install cameras in every shower in the world. No secrets anymore. We'll catch your shameful masturbation, you knee-jerk finger-pointing self-pleasuring holier-than-thou folks. EVERYONE does things they aren't proud of. I shall now make it my mission in life to discover your secrets and broadcast them to the world so I can feel better about myself and show everyone how righteous I am.

For the pinheads among you, this is satire. I have never bought a review, or used a sock puppet for any reason, let alone to positively review my own books or negatively review a peer's books. Morals and ethics are slippery slope, and I think muck-rakers are on par with sock-puppeteers as far as scum-suckers go.

The current level of sanctimonious bullshit on the Internet that makes me feel I'm required to publicly proclaim my innocence is repulsive. When honest people get defense, there is something wrong with the world. It's a witch hunt. It's the HUAC.

All of you pointing your fingers and proclaiming your piety? Get back to working on your books, not judging your peers.

To my knowledge, I've publicly signaled out one writer in all my years of controversially bitching about the system, and that writer was spouting bullshit as President of the Authors Guild. He was truly hurting other authors. Not by buying reviews to sell more books. Not by cowardly denigrating a peer because of envy or jealousy. He was SELLING ALL OF US OUT and needed to be publicly spanked.

Plus, I spanked him for his arguments, not his business behavior. He took public positions which demanded a public response.

Those guys in the crosshairs right now, accused of buying reviews and using sock puppets? I may not agree with what they've done. But I won't get off rubbing their noses in their mistakes, and I don't have to sign a code of ethics to separate me from them.

When we start turning on our own, ask yourself why. Is it really to correct their behavior? Is it to join the mob so they don't come after you next? Is it to feel superior?

In all my years of blogging, of tweeting, of social networking, I can say this with honesty and candor:

NONE OF YOU IS SUPERIOR.

That includes me. We're all human beings with fragile egos, trying to be the heroes of our own movies. Sometimes we fail. That's human.

Pouncing on those who fail with torches and lynch ropes? That's also human, but a lot uglier.

Siding with the mob because you fear they'll attack you next? That's cowardly.

Recognizing that certain behavior is wrong, and making a silent pledge to not do the same?

That's what strong, self-confident people do.

You all fail.

So do I.

Shame on us.

Addendum: Hey! All you whistle-blowing muck-rakers out there who want to humiliate people!

How about humiliating businesses instead?

The NYT just ran an article on buying reviews. I'd love for some investigative journalist to:

1. Count every publisher ad in the NYT for the last ten years and guestimate their worth.

2. Count every NYT book review of the last ten years and note the publishers.

3. Compare the top advertisers with how many books they've had reviewed. Compare that to reviews received by those who never advertised. Might also check if the review was favorable or not, but let's be serious--we all know even bad reviews sell books. No such thing as bad publicity, right?

If you like that one, you might try investigating how the NYT Bestseller List works. Hint: it's based on pre-printed write-in ballots, which bookstores fill in without any verification of actual sales. Hint #2: Every publisher knows which bookstores are reporting stores.

Or maybe you'd like to investigate how the Authors Guild and the Association of Authors Representatives are publicly supporting agency pricing, even though authors earn less under agency.

Or perhaps you'd like to take up the torch to support libraries, who are getting screwed by publishers with ebook acquisitions.

Or how about an article supporting the DOJ suit? I can't recall anyone in the mainstream media that has done so, even though collusive price-fixing has already been settled in three of the six complaints.

I really believe that investigative journalism is an important part of a democracy, and freedom. But there's a difference between Wikileaks exposing government cover-ups where people are tortured and killed, and a tabloid posting pictures of a drunken celebrity without her underwear on.

Reread my Code of Ethics above.

My guess is everyone will agree with some of them, but eventually there comes a point when it becomes silly.

That point differs for everyone.

Pick your arguments. Because when you argue ethics, it's very easy to be proven wrong.

Pick your targets. It's cowardly for a mob to attack one person. It's a lot harder, and more worthwhile, to attack organizations, whether they be government or big business.

Pick your battles. It ain't a battle if you join the majority. Your righteous indignation could be better spent on more productive debates.

There's a lot wrong with the world. A lot of people doing stupid things.

Just because you have a mob on your side doesn't mean you aren't being stupid.

For a more balanced look at this issue, check out Barry Eisler's thoughts. He manages to make points without any hysteria and without two minutes hate, which is the vibe I get from the NSPHP.

You know what you should have done, Society of Authors, if you really wanted change?

You should have forgiven the trio you named, and invited them to sign your petition.

But instead you signaled them out for more derision, so you could feel smug and superior. You're using that blog like a chastity ring, proclaiming your purity to the world because it isn't enough keeping it to yourself.

I don't need to join a mob, or excoriate my peers, or proclaim to the world how righteous I am. I can do the right thing in spite of that.

So come, oh ye witch hunters. Come hunt me.

Update: In the comments, I mention one of my truisms: people would rather fight to the death for their beliefs instead of honestly questioning that they may be wrong.

I value my ability to change my mind as more information comes in, and this blog has documented me reversing my opinion on several things over the years. Sometimes I need to be hit over the head with contrary evidence or logic a few times before it sinks in, but I try my best to constantly question my actions and motivations.

Barry Eisler does that as well. He just removed his support of the NSPHP.

I recommend that those behind that petition read Barry's blog carefully. When reasonable people opt out of what is supposed to be a good cause, something is amiss.

Ebooks For Libraries

Joe sez: I recently got an interesting email from a library in Texas.

In short, they're setting up their own internal check-out system for ebooks, and are seeking to buy ebooks directly from authors and publishers.

I asked if they wouldn't mind doing a guest blog discussing some of the issues libraries are now facing with the rising popularity of ebooks. They graciously replied, and here it is...


Mike and Linda: Thanks to Joe for giving us a chance to talk to you about libraries and eBooks!  We’re Michael Saperstein and Linda Stevens, librarians from Harris County Public Library, a large public library system in Houston, Texas.  Please grab the beverage of your choice and find a comfy chair, because we’ve tried to summarize, but this might take a minute.

First, if you haven’t been to the public library in a while, it has changed quite a bit.  Rather than being on shush patrol, you’ll find librarians teaching eReader classes, performing storytimes and early literacy activities, helping jobseekers, playing video games with teens…you get the picture.  Then there’s the books – paper, audio or electronic, we buy them, we promote them, and we connect them with readers, in person and online.

Now for the issues:


Accessibility

Libraries are not able to purchase all of the eBooks we would like to purchase due to publisher and author concerns about copyright protection in the digital format.  Only two of the big six publishers will sell eBooks to libraries, and those pricing models either limit us to a low number of checkouts or charge us more than twice the retail price for a book.  Very few picture books are available for us to purchase, even though small children are a large part of our customer base and we often use digital books in storytimes.  With adult fiction titles, we can’t always offer complete series because of format availability or publisher restrictions.  Some publishers would even like to implement a plan that would force people to come to the library to check out eBooks, rather than being able to do it online, which kind of defeats the purpose.  Librarians are also making the adjustment to focus on providing access for our customers through leasing or subscription, rather than only owning items to be a permanent part of a collection.


Better Public Experience 

Because of the way we have to purchase electronic content, our customers often have to jump back and forth online through multiple access points, instead of simply finding a book and clicking to check it out.  This can make the borrowing experience quite confusing and complex.  Then add the confusion about which formats match which devices.  We’re not just providing materials for one type of device, our customers use Kindles and Nooks and iPads and cell phones and devices we probably haven’t heard of yet.  We are constantly learning about all of these devices because we are now free tech support for the public.  Our customers show up with their new eReader in a box, and we teach them how to use it.


Collection Decisions

Public libraries have always selected print books based on professional reviews and public demand.  This doesn’t always work with eBooks.  With eBooks, we have to focus on availability and public interest.  We are also rethinking our relationship with self-publishing.  Many libraries, such as ours, are now looking for ways to purchase eBooks directly from authors and independent publishers.  Keep in mind that this is all in a time of reduced funding and we’re trying to build a huge, new, popular digital collection while maintaining a popular and relevant print collection.


Library Benefits 

So what does the library have to offer?  Book borrowing habits are changing, mainly because of eBooks.  People are more open to impulse browsing and discovery of new authors and titles and the library provides the collection and staff to aid them in this discovery.  Once they’ve discovered a new favorite, the quest for reading gratification leads to backlist purchases.  (We speak from personal experience on this.)  Libraries can never afford to purchase in sufficient quantities to discourage sales.  We don’t just house a collection in our buildings or on our websites; we actively promote reading and books, no matter the format.
We’ve probably told you more than you ever wanted to know about libraries and eBooks, but please feel free to contact either of us for more information. We can be reached at http://www.hcpl.net/.


Joe sez: I like libraries. I like librarians. I like innovation.

So I sat down and had a think, and then called up my frequent collaborator Blake Crouch and bounced some ideas off of him.

This is what we came up with.

Blake and I are willing to sell our entire ebook catalog to the Harris County Public Library, and to any other libraries that are interested, under these terms:


1. Ebooks are $3.99

2. No DRM.

3. The library only needs to buy one ebook of a title, and then they can make as many copies as they need for all of their patrons and all of their branches.

4. The library owns the rights to use that ebook forever.

5. The library can use it an any format they need; mobi, epub, pdf, lit, etc. And when new formats arise, they're’re free to convert it to the new format.

In short, the library buys one copy, and never has to buy it again.

Now I'll take questions. I'm sure they'll be a few.

Q: Joe, that's insane! You're only charging $3.99 an ebook? That ebook can be read thousands of times!

A: Good. I hope it is.

Q: And they can make copies!? Shouldn't you at least make them buy multiple copies of each ebook?

A: Why? Ebooks cost nothing to copy and distribute. Once a library purchases a copy, it should be able to make as many copies as its branches and partons need. How cool would it be if you never had to wait for a book at the library because had already been checked out? My ebooks will always be available, all the time.

Q: But you're losing sales!

A: No I'm not. They bought a copy. They can do what they want with it. And my hope is because I don't have restrictions, and keep my costs low, the library will continue to buy my new ebooks as I release them. There are a lot of libraries in the US, and a lot more globally. If I sell every library one of my ebooks for $3.99, that's a nice amount of money.

Q: Don't you think your sales will suffer if readers can get all of your ebooks at the library, for free?

A: No. Readers can already get my paper books at the library, and that hasn't seemed to hurt my paper sales.

Q: But ebooks are different! People can check-out one of your ebooks online! They don't even have to visit the library to do it!

A: Though there is overlap, it's my guess that library patrons and people browsing Amazon for ebooks are two different types of readers. In a global marketplace, I don't expect to ever run out of readers. In fact, if a lot of libraries purchase my ebooks, I may become more well-known with readers, which could increase sales.

Q: But what about piracy!

A: As I've said many times, I'm okay with file sharing. That's why none of my self-pubbed ebooks have DRM. There's no fighting piracy. But you can still make a nice living by making your work easily available and affordable.

Q: But what happens when some new ebook device comes out with a new format? You're missing your chance to sell your books to the same library.

A: If they already bought one of my ebooks, they should be able to do what they want with it, including converting it to new formats.

Personally, I find it reprehensible that publishers put restrictions on ebooks, especially for libraries.

Q: But no one else is doing this! If you do this, you'll drag everyone else down with you! You'll ruin the library market for publishers and their authors!

A: Actually, what I'm doing is forcing publishers to be competitive. Why should libraries be punished with high prices and restrictions? Why should people who can't afford books be punished?

I like libraries. I like librarians. They deserve a break.

Q: I'm a librarian, and we want to do something similar. How do we get started?

A: It is my understanding that Harris County is one of the first libraries doing this. Get in touch with them, and  I'm sure they can offer advice.

Then email me for instructions on how to buy my ebooks and Blake's. We're working on creating a simple contract and purchase order.

Also, please spread the word and tell other libraries what we're doing. The more libraries that do this, the more authors who will join in and do the same thing Blake and I are doing.

I'd love to be the first author to sell directly to libraries. And I have a feeling I won't be the last.

Independence

Joe sez: Before I begin a major rant about why I'm quitting the legacy publishing industry, I'm handing the blog over to my friend, Melinda DuChamp, who has something interesting to say. Here's Melinda...

Melinda: I've written more than fifty novels in my career, most of them romances, and have been published by just about every major publisher. While I'm not a bestselling author, I have several million books in print, and I've had multi-book deals where I've gotten six figure advances.

Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland was the first erotic book I've written. While I've done graphic love scenes many times, they were always there to provide characterization and further the plot. In Fifty Shades of Alice, the love scenes were the plot. To be honest, I didn't know if I could pull it off. But, like many of my peers who have watched the sales of EL James with awe and more than a little envy, I thought I'd give it a try.

Joe suggested this guest blog when I told him how much I've earned on this book, because he thinks his readers might benefit from the knowledge. I've benefited often from the things Joe has disclosed on this blog (Joe is the reason I began self-publishing) so who am I to say no?

On July 23rd, I self-pubbed Alice on Amazon KDP, and enrolled it in the Select program. After two days, I'd only sold two copies, one to me (to check to see if it downloaded okay) and one to some stranger. Then I made it free for five days, from the 25th to the 30th of July.

The only promotion I did was the interview on Joe's blog. NYT bestseller Ruth Cardello was also kind enough to include Alice in a contest for her fans. Joe also was sweet enough to mention it on the Facebook page "What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey" because I'm not on Facebook yet (I know! I know! I need to get on Facebook. I'm trying to become more like Joe and Ruth and get into social media, but I'm a Luddite and I was on a deadline for another book.)

Other than that, I didn't do anything to promote Alice. I figured it would sink or swim on its own merit.

So how did it do?

During the free period, I gave away 22,740 copies in the US and 10,255 in the UK and hit the Top 10 free list in each. That surprised me, because I'd done free promotions before but had never given away that many.

Did that translate to sales?

Alice has sold 3560 copies in the UK, and 2540 in the US (plus 1275 loans in the Kindle Owner's Lending Library) priced at $2.99.

Assuming the loans are $2 each, Alice has made close to $15,000 in the last 20 days. That's more than many of my advances. How did this happen? Was it Joe's blog? Ruth's contest? The Kindle Select free program? Carl Graves's amazing cover art? Piggybacking on EL James? All the good reviews it has gotten? All or some of the above?

Alice peaked at #194 in the US, and #56 in the UK. It is currently #643 and #208. At its peak, it was earning over $1,000 a day. Things have slowed down, but it is still outselling all of my other novels on Amazon.

So, naturally, I did what any smart writer would do. I wrote a sequel.

Fifty Shades of Alice Through the Looking Glass is now available in the US and the UK for $2.99.

At the height of Alice's sales, I was fantasizing about money. What if I had twenty ebooks doing well instead of just one? Making $20,000 a day is almost impossible to comprehend. But is it really impossible?

I'm working on the third book in the Alice trilogy. When finished, I'll release it as a stand alone, and also package the trilogy as a set. So I'll have four ebooks (each individual title, and the combined collection.)  If I did this four more times with four more trilogies, I'd have twenty ebooks for sale. With twenty for sale, I could have one ebook always free on KDP Select. Twenty ebooks at five days per free promo is one hundred days of free promo. KDP Select resets every three months, and then you can use the free promo again.

Writing twenty ebooks might seem like a daunting task. But remember, five of those are box sets, and each ebook is only around 30,000 words.

So in order to have 20 erotica ebooks, and one title always free, I only need to write 450,000 words. That's less than five full length-novels. Writing 2500 words per day, that's only six months of writing.

Half a year to write twenty ebooks? It sounds crazy, but it is entirely possible, even though I really believe $20k a day is a fantasy that can never happen. It's just too big a number. And who knows when the mommy porn bubble will burst?

Anyhoo, thank you everyone who has read the first Alice, and I hope you give the sequel a try! Also, thanks to Joe for the blog, and to Ruth Cardello for her unprecedented kindness to a complete stranger. BTW, Ruth is self-published, and recently hit the NYT Bestseller List with Bedding the Billionaire. Pick it up, it's fantastic!

Joe sez: First of all, congrats to Melinda on her success. I know how she's had some tough knocks during her long, legacy publishing career, and it's nice to see her make money.

(Also, congrats to Ruth Cardello, who just turned down a seven figure offer to stay indie. I'm sure that decision didn't come lightly. It took a lot of guts, and a lot of smarts, and Ruth has my highest respect. If my blog readers haven't bought her ebooks yet, they should.)

While I don't agree with Melinda that the mommy porn bubble will burst (because ebooks aren't a bubble) I do think it is unrealistic to plan on any ebook earning $1000 a day for an extended period of time. But I have made many times that amount per day, as has Ruth and many others, so I think Melinda might be onto something.

If she wrote 20 ebooks (15 titles and 5 collections) and each one earns only $150 a day, that's a million dollars a year. That's just 75 ebook sales and loans a day per title, and I've hit that number many times and for extended periods.

What I haven't done is hit that number on an ebook that is only 30k words long. My bestselling ebooks are full length novels. Readers don't buy my novellas nearly as frequently. But after studying erotica on Amazon (reviews, rankings, prices) for a few hours, I'm shocked by how many of these titles ebooks are doing well while still being short.

If I switched to erotica, I could put out four ebooks in the same time it would take me to write one thriller novel. I could do one 90k word thriller novel, priced at $2.99, which takes two months to write. Or in that same two months, I could write three 30k word erotica novellas, priced at $2.99 each, and price the collection at $7.99.

It seems like a no brainer, doesn't it? Same time to write, but I could more than quadruple my profits by writing mommy porn.

Now, I'm not suggesting everyone chase the erotica trend and start writing smut, especially since it isn't easy. I say this as a man who wrote sex scenes in many of my books, but those don't come close to what Melinda did. Chasing trends doesn't usually work, because readers can tell when the writer's heart isn't in it.

But if you think you can write erotica, now seems to be the time to give it a shot. I've written in many different genres, and each time I try something new it's a learning experience. It's always worthwhile to experiment, even if it is just to learn your limitations.

Something else seems to be happening in this business that I find interesting. In the recent past, no legacy publisher would ever touch a self-published book, claiming it had already burned through its audience. But more and more indie authors are getting legacy offers. In the past, writers would spend months querying agents and publishers, hoping to get a book picked up. These days, agents and publishers are trolling the bestseller lists, looking for indie books to buy.

While it is tempting to take a seven figure deal a legacy publisher might offer, think long and hard about what your goals are before taking the money and running. A million bucks seems nice, but if it is for three books, and your agent gets 15%, you're only taking home $283k per title. Sure, that's a lot of money. But then that legacy publisher owns those books forever, while only giving you 14.9% royalties. Instead you could own those books, forever, making 70%.

If you  average selling 57 copies of an ebook, per day, you'll make $250k in six years. In a global market, that's entirely possible. And if you somehow managed to get on the bestseller lists as an indie, a hot title can make $50k a month.

Let's break it down another way. To make $250k on your own, you need to sell 125k ebooks at $2.99. To make $250k as a legacy pubbed author, you need to sell 500k ebooks at $6.99 (that's making 14.9% royalties, or 17.5% of the list price minus agent's commission.) Guess which is easier to do?

But Joe! Legacy publishers also print books!

Yes, they do. But print sales continue to fall each year, while ebook sales rise. Legacy publishers have begun "ebook only" publishing lines. As more bookstores close, fewer and fewer print books will sell, both the number of titles and number of copies per title. If Barnes & Noble goes under in the next 5 years, do you want your book held hostage by a legacy deal that will never earn out?

For that nice advance, you're giving up control over your title, your cover, and your price, forever. And it will be much more difficult to earn out that advance when you're making 1/4 of what you would self-publishing, especially when your ebook is priced too high.

Know your goals, know the risks, and act appropriately. I've been turning down foreign deals because I realize I'll lose money in the long run. It makes more sense for me to translate those titles myself.

So would I ever take a legacy deal? Let me put it this way. If a legacy publisher made me a giant offer, it would only be because I had a huge hit self-pubbing. There is no way in hell I'd ever sign over the rights of a hit book to a publisher. I've worked with three legacy publishers. I'd rather get my teeth drilled out than work with those folks again, because that would be less painful, even with a million dollar check.

Bullshit Joe! You'd take the money and run!

No, I wouldn't. In fact, if I haven't burned all of those potential bridges already, allow me to do so right now:

When in the Course of publishing events, it becomes necessary for writers to sever their ties with the industry that is supposed to have "nurtured" them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that we should declare the causes which impel those writers to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all writers should have an equal chance to find readers. That their successes or failures should be dependent upon their own actions and their own choices. That they should be paid fairly for their work. That they should have control over the works they produce. That they should have immediate and accurate access to their sales data. That they should be paid promptly. That they should not be restricted from reaching those who may enjoy their work. That whenever a publisher becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of Authors to abolish all connections with the offending parties.

The history of the legacy publishing industry is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over writers. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

They have given us take-it-or-leave-it, one-sided, unconscionable contracts.
They have failed to adequately market works they have acquired.
They have artificially inflated the price of ebooks.
They have refused to negotiate better ebook royalties for authors.
They have forced unnecessary editing changes on authors.
They have forced unnecessary title changes on authors.
They have forced crappy covers on authors.
They have refused to exploit rights they own.
They have refused to return rights they aren't properly exploiting.
They take far too long to bring acquired works to market.
They take far too long to pay writers advances and royalties.
Their royalty statements are opaque, out-of-date, and inaccurate.
They orphan authors.
They orphan books.
They refuse to treat authors as equals, let alone with a reasonable measure of fairness.
They make mistakes and take no responsibility for those mistakes.
For every hope they nurture, they unnecessarily neglect and destroy countless others.
They have made accessories of the authors' ostensible representative organization, the quisling Authors Guild, and are served, too, by the misleadingly named Association of Authors' Representatives.
They have failed to honor promises made.
They have failed to honor their own onerous contract terms.
They've failed the vast majority of authors, period.

This blog has documented nearly every stage of these Oppressions, and in many cases offered solutions to publishers, and has been answered with only silence and derision.

But that's okay. Because now authors have a choice.

I don't need legacy publishing, and I will never be taken advantage of again. I declare myself independent of the entire archaic, broken, corrupt system.

And I won't be the last to do so.

Harlequin Fail Revisit

Two weeks ago I blogged about the class action suit writers have brought against Harlequin.

Harlequin should be afraid. They should be very afraid. 

Why should a big corporation with the money to hire a squad of lawyers be afraid?

As always, the devil is in the details. To get a better understanding of what the suit means, you need to look at the seven claims in the suit. It also helps to be a lawyer.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I claim understanding of legalese. But I spoke with someone who seems to have some idea what the claims mean, and can translate them into readily understandable English. Feel free to follow along by reading the complaint at http://www.harlequinlawsuit.com/The_Complaint.php.

Let's start with the pronouncement that the Swiss entity of Harlequin Enterprises (let's call them Harlequin Swiss) is the actual Publisher. In actuality, they're not. Harlequin Enterprises, Ltd. is. But the contracts list Harlequin Swiss as the Publisher. Now look at the claims, which start on Paragraph 52 of the Complaint.

Claim 1: Assignment. It means that rather than licensing the rights from the Swiss entity, Harlequin Enterprises was in actual fact assigned the rights. And I believe various earlier Paragraphs of the Complaint give factual information supporting this.

Assignment means transferring the rights held by one party to another. If you recall the problem here, Harlequin Swiss avoided paying authors 50% for licensing ebooks by licensing the rights to Harlequin Enterprises Limited for 6%, giving the authors 3%. But this claim states that Harlequin Swiss assigned the rights. Meaning Harlequin Swiss essentially let Harlequin Enterprises do everything involved in the publishing process. 

In other words, Harlequin Swiss gave Harlequin Enterprises full authority over the book rights. If the rights were assigned, then Harlequin Enterprises licensed those rights, for instance to Amazon, the authors should have been paid in those amounts. Harlequin Swiss "assigned" the rights to Harlequin Enterprises, making Harlequin Enterprises the Publisher. Whatever Harlequin Enterprises received, the authors should have gotten 50% of that, not 50% of the artificial license

Claim 2: Agent. Harlequin Swiss is the agent of Harlequin Enterprises. So Harlequin Enterprises is actually the one in control.

Claim 3: Harlequin Enterprises Limited (hereafter called "HEL") acted as the Publisher, assuming all of its obligations, and therefore must also assume the liabilities. Meaning this lawsuit.

Claim 4: Estoppel. From what I gather, this means that because HEL is acting as if it were the Publisher it can't continue to deny it is the Publisher. It can't represent itself as the Publisher on one hand, but when it becomes legally convenient, suddenly deny it's the actual Publisher on the other. So it gets “estopped” from denying the truth. It is the Publisher.

Claim 5: Alter Ego. Harlequin Swiss is under the control of HEL. Usually the courts keep separate corporate identities distinct or discrete. You can't blame the wrongs of one on the wrongs of the other, even if they're related entities. But when one is directing the other to commit a wrong, the courts may permit the two identities to be treated as one. That's the best I can explain it given these particular circumstances.  There are many factors in piercing the veil; there is no definitive set of rules. Basically, it's in the judge's hands to determine whether this meets the level of alter ego or not.

Those first five are all Breach of Contract issues that assert that HEL is the actual Publisher. It's sort of a giant step back from the narrower focus of the All Other Rights (AOR) clause itself.

Claim 6:  Narrows the focus to a specific clause, the AOR clause. It's the one I focused on in Harlequin Fail Part 2, namely that 6% isn't equivalent to the amount reasonably attainable by an unrelated third party. In fact, it is 50%, which is what authors should have gotten. 

Claim 7: Unjust Enrichment. If the AOR clause only covers the licensing of the right to sell ebooks (as HQ contends) and not the right to sell the individual ebooks, then HQ can only license the right to others, not sell the ebooks themselves. The Complaint actually says it clearer in Paragraph 88.

But guess what Harlequin is doing on its own website? That's right! It's selling ebooks!

So on top of everything, Harlequin may not even have the rights to sell ebooks under these contract terms. Can you say copyright violation?

Recap in layman's terms: Harlequin assigned rights to itself, which I'm pretty sure is a no-no legally, and it licensed those rights below fair market value, which is another no-no, and then it sold ebooks on its website without having the rights to them, yet another no-no.

Ouch.

So here are my questions for Donna Hayes, CEO of Harlequin, assuming she understands the claims as I have laid them out. (If you don't understand them, Donna, I plan on doing an update soon with crayon drawings and smaller words.)

Donna, do you still believe Harlequin authors have been recompensed fairly and properly?

Do you deny Harlequin Enterprises Limited acted as the Publisher? That Harlequin Swiss is an agent of HEL and under its control? That HEL was assigned the rights in question?

Did you know about this all along? If so, how were you able to sleep at night?

Have you brushed up your resume? If so, maybe you don't want to include the part about screwing hundreds of authors and boldly leading your company into a high-profile class action suit.

I don't expect answers, Donna. But maybe discovery will get those answers, and then the rest of us will know the truth.

And, as I said before, shame on you. And shame on Harlequin.

But guess what? You can make this right. You can pay what you owe, and by doing so lead the whole publishing industry into a future where authors are treated fairly. You can be a symbol of reform, and restructure so that those who have made your company rich and powerful--the writers you have exploited--are given their due and just rewards.

And then, after you do that and can finally sleep soundly knowing your wrongs have been righted, if there is any money left over you can hire a good accountant and file Chapter 11, just like the Big 6 are going to wind up doing.

Screwing authors isn't a smart way to conduct your business when the only reason you have a business in the first place is because of authors.

That's a lesson you're going to learn the hard way.

Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland

Today I'm interviewing Melinda DuChamp, writer of the recently released ebook Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland, currently free on Amazon.com.

It has, without a doubt, the best ebook cover I've ever seen. Besides being funny as hell, the cover art instantly announces the subject matter: a light-hearted erotic parody of a famous classic fairy tale.

Where did you get this cover?

Melinda: I'm a regular reader your blog, and I contacted Carl Graves at Extended Imagery, listed in your sidebar. The mushroom is actually real. There are a whole group of mushrooms with phallus in their names. Carl did a great job making it look fairytale-like. Rob Siders at 52 Novels did the formatting. I was very pleased with his professionalism as well. 

Joe: I've read the book. It is very funny, and also pretty hot. 

Melinda: Thank you so much! The original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was very funny for its time, and the story is a true classic; a girl goes into a magical world and meets talking animals and strange characters. But I'm not sure if all of the humor holds up today. Some of the jokes and the puns are no longer relevant. I tried to keep the same tone, albeit more adult-oriented. So there are some amusing rhymes, and lots of silliness in action and dialog, in my version.

Joe: But this is for adults...

Melinda: This is definitely for adults only. While I kept the clinical terms used to describe anatomy and physical relations work-friendly PG-13, the action is a lot more explicit than that.

Joe: Reading this at work would be... uncomfortable.

Melinda: Thank you! You're sweet.

Joe: I never read Fifty Shades of Grey, but I take it there are a lot of the same types of kinks described.

Melinda: Yes. Some bondage and spanking and toys and four-ways and other fun things. I followed the structure of Carroll's novel, and had Alice run into many of the same characters, but with a modern, erotic spin on them.

Joe: Melinda DuChamp is a pen name. What else have you written?

Melinda: I have over twenty years of experience writing professionally, in many different genres. Name a publisher, I've probably done something with them. 

Joe: How many novels?

Melinda: Over fifty.

Joe: Is this your first self-pubbed ebook?

Melinda: Under this pseudonym, yes. 

Joe: I assume you have some sort of following with that many books under your belt. Why use a pseudonym?

Melinda: My mother reads all of my books, and I decided this one was a bit too spicy for her.

Joe: I haven't read a lot of erotica, but I do have some old, dog-eared copies of Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy, which she wrote under the name A.N. Roquelaure. I found some of it arousing, and some of it extreme to the point of being a turn off. It went too far with the pain, in my opinion. You've got some BDSM stuff in Alice, but it is more playful than painful.

Melinda: Those are pretty raunchy books, and by the end of the trilogy Beauty had been beaten so many times I felt she needed to be taken to the ER! I wanted Alice to have an edge, and to be arousing, without the intense subjugation and pain that often occurs in many similarly themed erotica novels. Subjugation between consenting adults is fine, but I was never turned-on by being beaten or humiliated to tears. Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland has a lot of kinky sex in it, but I find the path to arousal and release more erotic than graphic descriptions of men and women being caned or whipped. But that's just one gal's opinion. Different readers have different tastes, and no one is right or wrong when it comes to their fantasies. 

Joe: Why did you start self-publishing?

Melinda: I've had shelf novels that never sold for various reasons, and it seemed like an obvious way to supplement my income. Now they have become my main source of income.

Joe: Would you go back to legacy publishing?

Melinda: I go where the money is. When my agent gets an offer, I listen. But the offer has to be serious to make me consider it.

Joe: So why call it Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland?

Melinda: I'm not above riding on coattails, and I don't believe Ms. James will mind, considering the inspiration for her trilogy. 

Joe: The tagline on the cover says "Inspired by true events." Care to elaborate?

Melinda: A lady doesn't kiss and tell. But I encourage readers to read Alice and pick out which scenes are based on fact, and which are completely made up.

Joe: Will there be a sequel?

Melinda: It depends how well it does. I've done many love scenes in my books, but never a full book of erotica. Alice was fun to write, and I do have some ideas for a follow-up, but this is a business, and I try to pay attention to what readers want. Only time will tell if they want more Alice...

Joe sez: This book really is hot, and it is currently free, so download it and support Melinda in her quest to keep secrets from her mother.

You can get in in the US and the UK.

Also worth noting is this ebook was only released a few days ago, and is already on the Top 100 free list in the UK, and close to the Top 100 in the US. It got there without any name recognition, publicity, promotion, marketing, or advertising. I tweeted about it earlier today, and got in touch with Melinda to request this interview after I'd read the book (my cover artist showed me the cover last week) but it was already at its current rankings before I did so.

It is apparently possible to make a splash and get noticed while being a complete unknown. All you need is a good cover, good book description, good book, and a good price ($2.99 normally, free until Monday.)

We'll see if these freebies lead to future sales. If they do, I may soon be writing Fifty Shades of Snow White...