The Midlist author Blues...

[fjtorres]

Dispatches from the traditional publishing front lines, circa twenty-teens.

Not much needs to be said, the anecdotes speak for themselves:
http://pulppusher.blogspot.co.uk/201...tt-hilton.html

Another author I’ve spoken with related a shocking story. Sadly it wasn’t the shops that ruined him, but the very people he relied on to establish him as an author. He told me that his first book came out on both sides of the Atlantic published by a major publishing house. It did well in sales and was even number 1 in the German paperback charts. When his second novel came out, his publisher messed up, and distribution barely occurred. Because book 2 didn’t sell, they decided not to publish his third book and pulled his contract. No fault of his, but his career went down the Swanny. Fighting back, said author then released a book through self-publishing means and it was a medium hit. It gained him enough notice that he was picked up by another agent who sold his next series to a major publisher in the USA for a substantial advance fee. Because the US bought publication rights, then so did Canada, and on the back of it the UK also took the series. Then the initial US editor left the company, and in what almost sounds like a fit of spite the publisher cancelled all the deals on books commissioned by that editor. But that wasn’t the end of it. Because the US was no longer publishing his books, the Canadian publisher decided they wouldn’t bother either, and, yes, the UK publisher soon made the same decision. This author had done absolutely nothing wrong, but was dumped on from a very great height. Bad enough luck for anyone to contend with, except now his name is dirt in the publishing world and nobody will touch him. I reiterate: this author did absolutely nothing wrong, it was bad decisions and bad practices that killed his career and he is now right back to the drawing board to try to resurrect his writing and his name. And there’s yet more woe to add to the heap. Because his agent felt totally deflated, the author was dropped and began to seek new representation. Guess what the agents checked to see if he was viable? His sales record. Because his sales were poor, they declined. So, a guy who had not only won one major contract, but two, who did absolutely nothing except deliver terrific books readers would have read given the opportunity was all but finished. I haven’t spoken to him in a few months now, and can only hope that his talent and viability as an author has now been recognised and he has a happier story to tell.

"Just write and trust the universe to take care of you" does seem to include a few bumps, these days. These are the people whose books are being displaced from bookstore chains chasing bestseller and "lifestyle product" sales.

Or, depending on your viewpoint, being left behind in the migration to ebooks and online sales.

I'm curious to see whether these folks will adapt to the new environment or just fall out of the business.

[BillPottle]

That sucks. Seems like self-publishing might be the best way for him. Either that or just make his own publishing house

[elemenoP]

Hasn't this kind of thing always happened in publishing? The difference is, today self-publishing is a much more viable option for this author.

eP

[DiapDealer]

Yes. While I agree that mid-listers are in for a bit of a rocky(er) road ahead, I don't think this particular sad story should be taken as some sort of Sign o' the Times harbinger. Far more prominent authors than Johnny-Did-Well-On-The-German-Paperback-Charts have "displacement" sob-stories where their careers/book-series were jeopardized by evil publishers, inept agents, fickle editors, and best-seller-pimping bookstores long before the ebook/online-bookstore revolution was ever dreamed of. The new publishing frontier didn't invent the "talented guy can't catch a break even when he does everything right" scenario. Dumbass Luck and I Got Screwed have always been players in the game of writing/publishing.

[fjtorres]

The story is so not-new the industry has a term for it: orphaned.
The difference is, in the past, nobody would talk about it, even without names. Now there are options to BOHICA. If the midlister in question is willing to try them.
Check the comments in the article; self-pub does come up. With a sobering counter.

[apbschmitz]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Check the comments in the article; self-pub does come up. With a sobering counter.

Among the sobering counters is that somehow people have to learn about your self-published book. Sort of like trying to point out a particular star in the Milky Way these days.

I wonder if the truth is that Amazon/etc. provide writers with a more effective way to sell books to their friends. Great if you've got thousands of close personal friends, not so great if you've got 20 or 30. I love the tantalizing stories about break-out self-publishing success. But most writers are literary versions of those kids endlessly bouncing basketballs in the rec center lot. Almost nobody ends up in the NBA. You can dream, but you ought to have some waking-life scenarios that allow you to define your likely outcomes as more-or-less successful.

[fjtorres]

That... is not what the authors in the comments were talking about.
Rather it was that not every author can self pub their backlist (or even new works). Some are bound by their traditional publishing contracts.

I was struck by the use of "bound" in that context.
(shrug)

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Rather it was that not every author can self pub their backlist (or even new works). Some are bound by their traditional publishing contracts.

I was struck by the use of "bound" in that context.
(shrug)

That is unfortunately true. The idea that authors can just "publish it themselves" isn't always as easy as it sounds. Especially when their current publisher owns the rights to their series—including future installments.

Fantasy author Paul Kearney ran into a situation where his planned four-book series "The Sea Beggars" was dropped in 2007 after two installments. Dropped, as in Bantam didn't want to publish it any more ... but neither would they release the rights to the author or even allow the rights to be sold. They just sat on it. The guy darn near quit writing because of it. But he stuck it out and is making a a bit of comeback with a new publisher and new books.

I'd still love to read the ending to that series, though. There's always talk that it might see the light of day, but nothing ever comes of it.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Fantasy author Paul Kearney ran into a situation where his planned four-book series "The Sea Beggars" was dropped in 2007 after two installments. Dropped, as in Bantam didn't want to publish it any more ... but neither would they release the rights to the author or even allow the rights to be sold. They just sat on it. The guy darn near quit writing because of it. But he stuck it out and is making a a bit of comeback with a new publisher and new books.

He need a better agent. Even first time authors can get "play or pay" provisions. And if they can't, then writing (and publishing through the big 6) is dead as a profession.

(And if he doesn't have anything else to write besides that one four book series, then, well, what's he going to do after those four books?)

[DiapDealer]

*sigh*

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

*sigh*

I hear ya.