Terry Goodkind goes self-pub

[fjtorres]

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...ext-novel.html

He still has an agent and still has an open contract with MacMillan for at least one more novel.

A few years back this would have been really big news. Now, it's mildly newsworthy but not unexpected; he is pretty much the kind of author who *should* be looking at self-publishing since his Brand is bigger than his (recent) sales. Even with the TV series gone his name recognition is high enough that just getting the word out should generate good sales and revenues.

THE FIRST CONFESSOR. It sounds like a prequel and maybe the start of a new and different narrative from the Sword of Truth arc.

He seems to be something of an acquired taste but if you're a follower of his works...

(My mother is a big fan so I'll likely pick it up for her Kindle when it comes out, July 2nd.)

[Barcey]

This is good news. I really enjoyed the first 3 or 4 Sword of Truth books but found they got repetitive after that. If this is a new series I'll pick it up.

[jbcohen]

Depends on what he charges for the book, $6 and above forget it no one is worth that.

[stonetools]

Mr. Goodkind is cashing in on marketing investments his publisher made. Good for him, I guess.

The comments there aren't 100 per cent favorable for him.

[DiapDealer]

The comments there aren't 100 per cent favorable for him.

Comments concerning Goodkind in general are never going to be 100 percent favorable; regardless of the topic. He's not really a people-person, and as such, tends to generate a love/hate following. God may actually have a Goodkind complex.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Comments concerning Goodkind in general are never going to be 100 percent favorable; regardless of the topic.

And the PW crowd doesn't exactly have a reputation for being self-pub friendly.

We really don't know what motivated this move, do we? Given that it's not a sequel to his existing books, but rather a spinoff/prequel with, presumably, entirely different characters; it may be that MacMillan chose to pass on the book to start with and he felt strongly enough to take it self-pub.

Or maybe he decided, for one reason or another, that it was time somebody did unto a BPH as the BPHs do unto others.

If it leads to a war of words between him and Sargent I'll be sitting front and center with a tub of popcorn.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Depends on what he charges for the book, $6 and above forget it no one is worth that.

You should never make sweeping statements. lol

[plib]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Mr. Goodkind is cashing in on marketing investments his publisher made. Good for him, I guess.

The comments there aren't 100 per cent favorable for him.

Or maybe he decided, for one reason or another, that it was time somebody did unto a BPH as the BPHs do unto others.

Biter bit! Meeow!

[Jyster]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Mr. Goodkind is cashing in on marketing investments his publisher made. Good for him, I guess.

The comments there aren't 100 per cent favorable for him.

He still wrote the book that created the buzz.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by plib

Biter bit! Meeow!

You *have* heard the stories of authors dumped because one book "underperforms", right?

I have no personal experience, not being one, but the stories and names abound. Even around here.
The word is that today the BPHs have been ditching mid-list authors left and right and raising the bar on what they consider successful. (Authors with books selling 30,000 a year are no longer worth keeping, for example.)

In a one-strike-and-you're-out environment like that there is no loyalty given or expected, regardless of what BPH apologists think. It is strictly business at the BPHs, these days.

Which makes *this* recent piece relevant, I suppose:
http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/13/the...hurry-up-wait/
Quote:

Traditional publishers, with their high overhead, can’t afford to continually publish a writer who underperforms. What is an underperformance? That varies from company to company (and often genre to genre), so I can’t tell you. But your editor will when it comes time to buy the next book. Either she can buy it or she can’t. Then you’ll know that year’s magic threshold of sales. Next year’s might be higher or, as we learned in the Great Recession, lower. But whatever that arbitrary in-house number is, you need to meet it, or you won’t sell that company another book under that name for years to come.

It is primarily about the difference in processes and attitudes for traditional and self-publishing but in passing it does explicitly describe the state of traditional publishing and what a mid-lister can expect. The comments are interesting, too.

Again, I've seen nothing as to why Goodkind is venturing into self pub but I'm not surprised; he is neither the first nor will he be the last. In the modern publishing business (BPH style) there is no room for loyalty on either side, if there ever was.

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Mr. Goodkind is cashing in on marketing investments his publisher made. Good for him, I guess.

The comments there aren't 100 per cent favorable for him.

Silly me; I thought he was cashing in on selling 200 bazillion books that he had spent years of his life writing.

I had no idea that the selfless publishers, out of the kindness of their hearts, and with absolutely no profit for themselves, had spilled their lifeblood for Mr. Goodkind.

I'm not particularly a fan of his; I think he writes at about a 7th grade level (don't get me wrong; I like fantasy, just not his fantasy), but I think we should acknowledge that he may have had a teeny little part in his own success.

[piper28]

I have to admit, one thing that I'm a little leary about with the move to self publishing for authors, is whether the editing is going to suffer. Having a book go through an editing process is generally a good thing, and I wonder how well that process is going to work for a self published author, even a big name. (Admittedly, I've seen books that were published through traditional means, both with smaller and larger publishing houses that seemed pretty inadequately edited too, so who know how things will turn out.)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by piper28

I have to admit, one thing that I'm a little leary about with the move to self publishing for authors, is whether the editing is going to suffer. Having a book go through an editing process is generally a good thing, and I wonder how well that process is going to work for a self published author, even a big name. (Admittedly, I've seen books that were published through traditional means, both with smaller and larger publishing houses that seemed pretty inadequately edited too, so who know how things will turn out.)

Self-publishing doesn't mean skipping proofing, editing, etc; all it means is the author has it done himself, usually out of their own pocket.
Like this lady:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=181437
She spent $1500 out of pocket to get the book ready for market.

There are plenty of experienced editors and cover artists, etc working freelance that an author can tap to provide the services the Traditional Publishers offer. Some are good, some less so. It is up to the Author to decide who and what he feels comfortable with. And it is up to the author to ensure he is putting out a quality product worth carrying his "brand".

One way to look at it is that self-publishing is about having the courage of your convictions: being willing to bet your *own* money on your own story.

Look at the various stories of writers with traditionally published books try self-pub and the one thing you hear over and over is the "freedom to do things *their* way".

Their story, their investment, *their* success or failure.
You own the book, you own the outcome; good, bad, or indifferent.

With established authors like Goodkind, this should be an easy bet to make.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Self-publishing doesn't mean skipping proofing, editing, etc; all it means is the author has it done himself, usually out of their own pocket.

It does have to mean those things have been skipped, but equally it doesn't always mean that they have been included. There is certainly a lot of self-pub work out there where proofing and editing have been skipped.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

It does have to mean those things have been skipped, but equally it doesn't always mean that they have been included. There is certainly a lot of self-pub work out there where proofing and editing have been skipped.

If I parsed that correctly, I think you're saying it *doesn't* mean they have been skipped or, for that matter, included or done right?
No guarantees either way, right?

Agreed.

But having run into my share of poorly proofed and clearly unedited trad-pub titles I expect no guarantees there either.

In both cases, quality is on a case by case basis.
(Free first ebook chapters and look-inside come in handy there.)