What I Learned in Orlando, by guest Sophie Oak
I asked my fellow Siren author, Sophie Oak, to replay her timely post here:
I got back yesterday afternoon from my first RWA (Romance Writers of America) convention. It was really neat because I got to go in as a published author. I was surprised at the amount of wide-eyed enthusiasm in the air. The majority of the attendees are either people interested in writing or those actively pursuing but not yet published. I got to listen to Nora Roberts. She’s awesomely funny and has a potty mouth. I had lunch with Jayne Anne Krentz. (So did 2,000 other people.) I took a class from Angela Knight. And I got a hug from Linda Howard. I hung out with some really great authors and got some much needed advice. (Thanks, Shayla Black. You’re the best!) And then I got my ass kicked.
I should have stayed a PRO
I went to my first PAN retreat where an industry professional was speaking. To set this up for you, the PRO retreat was next door it filled two ballrooms and had lots of door prizes and games. The PAN retreat was one half a ballroom (given there are fewer of us) and we should have been given an anti-depressant as we walked in. While the PROs hooted and hollered, we were hit with reality. The publishing industry is at a crossroads. Sales are down and the iPad is changing the world. The industry is slow to change, but that’s okay because there are a bunch of people in e-publishing who are happy to make up the ground they lose. The days of big advances are fading. Some formerly surefire sellers are tanking. Everything looks bleak, except…e-book sales are exploding. The market isn’t going away, but it is changing.
A bigger pie, smaller slices?
I can see the future. We are moving from a world where publishers and bookstores told you what to read. This new market is almost entirely consumer driven. You wanna read a vampire D/s book set in the apocalyptic future? There’s a book for you. Want a romance with cowboys who share? There are entire publishers willing to slake your thirst. The pie is bigger than ever before, but the slices maybe not so much. And that might not be a bad thing. It’s a bad time to be a bestseller, but it might be the golden age of the writer and the reader. More is out there than ever before. As the talk ended I realized I was both depressed and invigorated. I’m never going to be Nora Roberts. But I can write what I want and more than likely, I will find a home for it. I can be the writer I want to be, follow my passion, find my bliss. I just have to search and find the readers willing to take that journey with me. Hopefully some of you enjoy my slice of pie. It’s small, but it’s all mine.
Author Bio – Sophie Oak
A lifetime devotee to the written word, Sophie published her first novel this year. Prior to becoming a novelist, she worked in theater and comic books. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her husband and three precocious children. Sophie believes in happy endings for everyone, no matter how extreme the story. Her stories may feature some of the fringe elements of sexuality, but at heart they are always about love. Small Town Siren is available now from Siren Publishing. Siren in the City and Three to Ride are coming this fall from Siren Publishing.
http://www.bookstrand.com/small-town-siren
Note from Julia: Thanks Sophie! Damn, I love Linda Howard!
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August 10th, 2010 at 3:32 am
Scary to realize just how much the publishing world has changed and is changing every day. Thanks for sharing your experience Sophie.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:13 am
I know there is a smaller piece of the pie to be had but at least I can sell a slice, LOL! As much as I like and admire the bestsellers, I also love the quirky stories about people you might not get to see in mainstream publications.
August 10th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Amber - I can only imagine how the large publishers feel, but I’m not afraid of the changes, I welcome them.
Paris - yup - we can get a slice. It may be tiny, but it’s ours! I love reading marvelous, creative, well-crafted stories that would never have made it to the big pubs.
August 10th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Amber, it feels like it changes on a minute by minute basis. With Dorchester going digital and the advent of ipad, who knows how long it will be before paper books go the way of the 8 track tape. One of the things that was said in our talk was that it might be a scary time to be a writer, but it is also an awesome time to be a writer. The freedom we have is unprecedented. As Paris said, I can sell my pie. The thing we have to remember is that the future is in our hands.
August 10th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hi Sophie, thanks for sharing your invaluable insights.
I, and others [especially on the Passionate Ink, RWA chapter forum], have attempted to warn authors/aspiring authors this day and time were inevitable, since traditional publishing is no longer a viable business model for many reasons.
The beauty is, as you, Paris and Julia have said ~ is we do have the freedom to write the stories we really want to tell. Readers now have a new freedom few of them realize yet. When they do, that could benefit all of us even more. I’d rather have my own slice of the pie, and share the pie, than be relegated to no pie at all, regardless of how good my mss may be.