The Fine Print of Online Publishing

I go through phases every time I encounter yet another false statement on the internet about publishing. First, anger. How dare you say something so ignorant! Second, bargaining. Please, Look at these links of important articles that prove what you said is wrong! Last, sadness. I find it unfortunate you must insist on this false statement, I guess there isn't a choice.

I usually keep the first two phases in my head. After all, I'm not god. I'm not some kind of supreme expert on everything and don't have the right to verbally dump on anyone. More often than not, I grit my teeth while counting to five, then move on to the last phase. Of course, if you catch me at the wrong moment you will see my wrath.

I've thought about writing an article about the history of publishing many times, with the perspective of online publishing, in hopes of getting online authors to understand. Each time I thought about it, I would change my mind. What's the point? I would ask myself. Some people get it, and some just don't. Book spammers will spam, trolls will be trolls, haters will hate. Why bother?

Well, today, I've decided to post an article. I don't expect to revolutionize the world. At the very least, all facts are compiled in one article. It's the least I can do.

I realize this is a long article (three pages) but I hope you'll read everything.

History of Printing and Publishing Houses

The first movable type European printer was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439. Americans and the Brittish were the only ones who had any interest in profiting from printed books. Publishing houses popped up in the very early 20th century, after the industrial revolution changed the face of printing. Authors paid printers themselves for over 400 years before the first publishing house existed.

Self-publishing gave birth to publishing houses. Traditional publishing would not exist today if it weren't for 400 years' worth of self-published authors.

If an author who had paid a printer found they couldn't sell any copies, mainly because it was a bad book that no one wanted to read, then they didn't pay for another print-run, because they didn't make a profit. That bad book was forgotten and lost in history.

Traditional Publishing

Penguin Books was the first traditional publisher to do a print-run of paperback books in 1935 and revolutionized the concept of publishing for commercial profit. Traditional publishing, in the course of printing history, is brand-new. Some publishers are older, and many are very young. Either way, it's traditional publishing that's new.

Traditional publishing is based on a specific model, or formula if you will, that became commercial fiction. While I have read, and continue to read, many good commercial fiction books, I also see the disadvantage of using commercial fiction as a business model. It's been too long, using the same formulas over and over. Stuck in rut. Each book utterly predictable. Readers just aren't buying it anymore. Unable to change because they don't know how to make money using any other business model. Authors losing money and support.

In many ways, I feel sorry for those involved in traditional publishing. Things will have to change, but there's no way change can happen, at this point in time, without a massive financial loss. Of course, the ideal saving grace would be to start accepting totally different books that already have an established fanbase guaranteed to buy millions of copies.

Traditional publishing has been making the effort. Fifty Shades of Grey is traditionally published and it initially started with a massive fanbase. A brave attempt and a big gamble. The whole thing could have easily backfired and everyone involved would have been left with eggs on their faces. But that didn't happen. Instead, it worked and a lot of money was had.

It's not the first book. Traditional publishers have been “buying” fanfiction authors with an established fanbase for over five years now. I won't name anyone and I won't provide any links. That's up to the authors and it's none of my business. I'm only mentioning this fact in case anyone wondered where the influx of low quality traditional books came from. It's just marketing, designed to feed the fans. If the fans don't have standards, neither will the book. That influence has negatively affected many aspects of traditional publishing, and the readers see it.

I will, however, state for the record that just because an author starts out writing fanfiction does not automatically make them a bad writer.

To be honest, I don't believe for one second that accepting derivative fiction inspired by fanfiction will save traditional publishing. I honestly feel that some of the supposed success stories we're seeing now are nothing more than the dying end of an era. Too many people scrambling around and throwing all eggs in one basket. It's guaranteed to implode, if it hasn't already, but perhaps it will last just barely long enough for people to enjoy it within their lifetime. Like watching a dying sunset.

I know that traditional publishing will always exist. There will always be people who try to make money from fictional stories on a commercial level. It's not an either/or situation. The idea of choosing this side over that side is false. An illusion created by those who know nothing about the history of publishing. Traditional publishing just hasn't figured out a new model yet that would guarantee a specific long-lasting revenue in order to survive this century. Maybe 400 years from now things will be better.

Gatekeepers

A myth. There are no gatekeepers and there never were any gatekeepers. If your book doesn't fit that century old commercial fiction model, if you don't have connections or a fanbase, you will be rejected. Is this a bad thing? No. Traditional publishing has never been the only way to get a book out there and make money. It's just one way. It simply means the model isn't for your writing. Proceed to the next possible way of getting your book out there. There's always another way and always has been, ever since the first European printer was invented in 1439.

I cringe every time I see people moaning online about the mythical gatekeepers. I'm going to be brutally honest. The only gatekeepers I see are authors determined to sabotage themselves.

Print on Demand

Or POD, as many people call it. POD is the only thing that's new in publishing, for the first time in centuries. It's a good business model and it makes a lot of sense. Instead of paying a printer directly for a print-run of 5000 books, the cost of printing is deducted from the sale of each book. A fantastic business model. However...

Print on Demand is not self-publishing.

It's a tool, just like a printer is only a tool. How that tool is used is the sole responsibility of the author. Many vanity presses also use POD,  America Star Books formerly PublishAmerica being the prime example. Of course, that's a scam and no one deserves to be victimized by a vanity press. Regardless, POD will never do everything for an author. It's a tool to enable authors to share their work in a cost effective manner, in the exact same way a kitchen knife is a tool when preparing a dinner. But a kitchen knife will never cook a whole meal for you. POD is an aid, but it's by no means a substitute.

In early 2000, POD companies popped up online and authors started using these companies to publish their work. Lulu Press Inc. was one of the first. It was a difficult time. Uncommon and it wasn't taken seriously apart from authors' friends and family. Too new for school. Almost fifteen years later, it's not only become the norm, it's been completely misconstrued. I miss the time when authors would say, “I decided to publish my own book using this print on demand service.” Just like paying a printer. Self-publishing.

Contracts weren't involved back then. The author had full control over everything, ranging from cover design to prices. But they didn't have control over the online retailers. It was embarrassing for many and made it very obvious this is a self-published book. It made it look like it wasn't a real book. And of course, only friends and family would even consider buying a book that had nothing more than a grey background and a silhouette of a human head as a cover.

That problem doesn't seem to exist anymore. I couldn't even find an example. Things move really fast on the internet. It wasn't that long ago that google blogger didn't have a spellcheck.

The relationship between PODs and retailers remained tentative until Amazon and B&N started offering their own POD service. During this between time, those who had published with a POD company had to price their books very high to see any kind of royalty, after retail mark-up, taxes, cost of distribution, etc, etc. It wasn't until the Kindle was introduced in 2007, providing a means for retail distribution so the POD books could be read, that this relationship began to work. Not that long ago, all the things you can now get for free via CreateSpace, you had to pay for indiviually.

POD never saved publishing. It saved the online retailers.

Print on Demand is wonderful, but it has one fundamental flaw. There's no longer a deciding factor for bad books, indie or traditional, it doesn't matter, and they can't be forgotten anymore. The proof is in the pixel.

All Hope isn't Lost

Things are still changing. We all just have the unfortunate luck of existing right at that time, where we can watch the changes as it happen right this second.

Get informed. Learn the full history. Don't take anything for granted. Don't fall for online unsubstantiated rumors and misinformation. POD will continue to be a viable tool to publish a book and so will traditional publishing. Be smart. Get second opinions. Take full responsibility for yourself and your work, as an author.

Always read the fine print.

The Sordid Tale of Damnation Books

While this will be a long post, I hope everyone sees it a warning message to other online authors. Bear with me, there is a happy ending.

I first met Kim Richards Gilchrist, currently the CEO of Damnation Books, in an group called Dark Fiction Guild back in 2009. The DFG has since moved to Facebook and it's no longer the active discussion group it once was. It happens, the internet moves fast. Kim had made an announcement in DFG that she and her husband William are starting a new ebook company called Damnation Books. She invited authors in the DFG to submit. I spoke with her directly, asked if a story like Eden Fell would be of interest. She said she might be interested so I sent it along.

I always did find it weird to get an acceptance within two weeks of submission. I wrote the story in 2002 and honestly expected a rejection. But I figured, okay, I guess it's ready. So, I made a full commitment to editing and preparing for publication, whatever I had to do, I was willing. I loved the idea of supporting a mom and pop shop right at the beginning then watching them grow. Then... shit hit fan.

There's been problems with Damnation Books from day one. I'm not the only author. I wouldn't wish this publisher on my worse enemy. A few authors have since made their woes public. Tim Marquitz, Mark Edward Hall, Terri Bruce, Alex Smith. There might be others, but they haven't made it public, and I respect their privacy. Yet it's my hope that more authors will come out and stand up for themselves.

The following is my personal experience dealing with Kim. I never met William, he doesn't seem to really be there. It's not so much what Kim does, it's the way she does things. Kim doesn't communicate. Ever.

The first thing I told Kim, would you prefer the story rewritten in American English? It's loosely set in an unnamed Canadian city and you are based in California. She said, “No, the Canadian English doesn't distract from the story.” Odd thing to say, I thought. That wouldn't have occurred to me. I was thinking more so consistency and marketing, but whatever, less work for me. So I shrugged it off.

When I received the first round of edits, I was given two weeks, and what was the first thing I saw? Corrections of the Canadian English. I sighed and thought, fine, she does want it in American English after all. But when I reached the half-way point with the first round of edits, I reached my boiling point. So much had been inserted into the manuscript. The ignorance of these mistakes was offensive. I thought, this is ridiculous, I have to say something.

I sent an email to Kim, expressing my frustrations. She lectured me and said, “You signed a contact! You have to do the edits!” Also, she attempted to convince me I was just gripping because the story was cut to ribbons. One, I never said I wouldn't do the edits. I just had a serious problem with inserting another person's obvious mistakes. Two, not even a two letter word had been cut. No editing whatsoever. So, I offered a compromise since at least one of us had to be an adult, and said, I'll finish the edits and put in notes showing why and how the mistakes are wrong. In essence, two rounds of edits in one, in a measly two weeks, despite the fact my contract says a max of two rounds of edits, I ended up doing a total of three. Kim saw what I had done and said she'll pass it on to another editor, as if she was doing a big favor to me.

In the second round of edits, I was given a week. Kim ignored each one of my notes and had them all removed. In this second round I was sent a form to fill out, numbering each correction that was needed. I found over 180 grammar, spelling, punctuation, and inconsistency errors that Kim had inserted into the manuscript. I found only two of my own tiny typos that I hadn't caught before. Seeing the story shredded to ribbons would have been easier to deal with than that. I let go of a lot of little things and just kinda... lost heart. I never received the chance to improve the story. At least the other editor agreed with all of my corrections and the majority of mistakes were removed.

Still, I soldiered on, hoping to sell at least a few copies. I meticulously went through the list of reviewers Kim had provided. 75% of the links were dead. One reviewer responded, said in no uncertain terms that he ever reviews ebooks, then weirdly asked me to send the PDF ARC. A couple of weeks later he destroyed me in a review, using me as an example to show that ebooks are oh so bad. Humiliated, I shared the review in the Damnation Authors Yahoo group Kim had created. She mocked me for the review and didn't take any responsibility for the fact she had provided that list of reviewers in the first place. I gritted my teeth and ignored. I kept trying to get reviews... or something... without any support from the publisher.

Through the internet grapevine I heard about Bitten by Books, a popular and well-respected reviewer of paranormal books. I submitted and crossed my fingers. They accepted! I received a wonderful 4 star review that was very fair. The reviewer mentioned the grammar and punctuation errors, and I'm glad she did. I wish more reviewers were that honest. Excited, I shared it with the authors group. I thanked the reviewer for her honesty on the webpage for the review. A little while later, Kim showed up and also posted on that webpage, stating that she thought the story is suppose to be this way. She... trolls... reviews.

I stopped all promotions. Hell-bent on sabotaging her own authors? Screw it. I'm not playing that game. In the five years Eden Fell was published by Damnation Books, I've earned maybe $30 in royalties. The book died before it had a chance.

There's a rather long list of other problems. Lies about the print version, lies and arguments about distribution, horrible formatting, refusal to fix any problems, all kinds of useless drama, and overall a lot of unprofessional childish behavior. Working with Kim is like working with a petulant child. Then word came that Kim and William had decided to buy two ePublishers that had gone bankrupt. One of them is still alive, Eternal Press. Shortly after, Damnation Books was registered as a corporation. That mom and pop shop I wanted to support? It became a vanity press, complete with kill fees of up to $1000. And it's all fake.

I needed to share the full history in order to explain my next statements. Those who have read Eden Fell, for the most part, liked the story. Not long after Damnation Books started, the popularity of online self-published books exploded. Also, this weird idea that everyone has to support indies under penalty of death. Well, while I'm grateful for nice reviewers, the truth is, every nice review made it that much harder for me. And I couldn't say anything until my contract expired. I got full blame for all the mistakes. I was patted on the head and given a patronizing, good job! Not everyone, but enough. And Damnation Books has yet to take responsibility for their own screw-ups. Why should they? Authors get the blame and Kim can keep trolling along as a vanity press, making money from charging authors unjustified fees instead of book sales.

Over-indulgent reviews can hurt authors far more than the worse one star review.

I decided to wait until my contact expired. Since I was part of the first batch of authors, there aren't any kill fees in my contract. I had other things to work on, other projects, and, you know, a life. I was never dependent on Eden Fell to be some kind of launchpad for my writing career, nor did I ever think the story would become a best-seller. It's dead weight, so I waited. As of Sept 9^th, 2014, last Tuesday, my contract has expired. I am no longer connected with Damnation Books and will never deal with them again. Eden Fell is now out of print, any new copies sold are illegal. If anyone wants a copy I suggest searching for used copies or contact me and arrangements will be made.

And now for the good news! *trumpets blare* The essence of the story will be republished on my website as.... wait for it... a graphic novel! The new title is The Ash Garden. I've set a tentative date of October 1^st. Full issues with be self-published with comixology, hopefully all will go smoothly. Stay tuned, big things are happening very soon.

Meanwhile, enjoy the mock up of the new cover for The Ash Garden!

Fanfiction Confusion

I received a message through my Facebook author's page, asking me to participate in a university study with the goal of proving it's okay to make a profit from selling fanfiction. I declined and wished them the best of luck.

I'm disturbed by this message for several reasons. One, it's a highly unscientific study, more of a “popular opinion” poll. Might as well poll a bunch of high school cheerleaders for all the difference it would make. Two, seeking a profit from fanfiction is illegal. It's called plagiarism and copyright infringement for a very good reasons.

There's been a huge growing trend to publish fanction, especially online “self-publishing,” which are nothing more than vanity presses. Mainly because legit publisher won't touch fanfiction with a ten foot pole. So, I'm dedicating this article to clearing up confusion and defining terms, both legally and from the perspective of an author of original fiction.

Fanfiction – Fiction that's based on favorite characters/stories, because the writer is a fan. Hence, Fan Fiction. Once anyone attempts to put a price tag on fanfiction, it becomes plagiarism and copyright infringement. However, sharing is not illegal. If a writer seeks to simply share their fanction and breaks even only, it's not illegal. The second a writer seeks to make a profit from fanfiction, it's illegal.

Original Fiction – Fiction that's inspired by books/movies/music/life itself, or just imagination, in which the writer created their own original fiction based on their own talent and skill. 100% legal, no matter where the writer got their inspiration.

Derivative Fiction – A legal gray area, fiction that's inspired by favorite characters/stories but still has the writer's own original perspective. Borderline legal. The difference is inspiration versus fan.

Now, looking at these common sense definitions, it can be easily seen what legit publishers see. Fanfiction will never make you a published author of original fiction. EVER. And that is why publishers refuse to touch fanfiction. It could be the most brilliant, stellar fanfiction written in all of writing history, but it still isn't original fiction. It's not discrimination. Publishers/agents are not rejecting fanfiction because they're stupid, etc. They're rejecting because it's not original or legal. And that's the bottom line.

Yeah, I'm well aware there are plenty on the internet who get away with it. But so what? It means nothing, and certainly doesn't mean the rest of us who actually know what we're doing have to become criminals in order to get published. Ignore them and be true to your own writing. Those who get away with it, never achieve success.

From strictly an author's perspective, in terms of a writer's development, attempting to use fanfiction as a stepping stone towards publication and profit, is cheating. That's something I personally find rather sad. There are so many talented and skilled authors out there, especially all over the internet, who are directly denying themselves the opportunity to bring out and use their own talent. I can see how writing fanfiction, or even derivative fiction, could be a beneficial exercise for anyone, but that's the most of it – a writing exercise, nothing more. Time and again, I've found the real underlying cause of the whole problem with publishing fanfiction is lack of confidence.

Believe me, it took me years to develop that confidence in my own writing abilities. I still second-guess myself on a regular basis. It's taken a lot of constant practice. You can look through this blog and see a major difference with the early posts. I honestly didn't know what I was doing back then.

The internet is fast and easy. So much can be attained by just a click of a button online. But the internet is only a communication tool, not a substitute for anything. Don't cheat yourself, believe in your talent, and allow it to take as long as it takes. Being an author of original fiction is a lifetime commitment. It will never be fast, easy, or make you millions overnight. I don't know about you, but I'm in this for the long-haul.

"It took me 20 years to achieve this overnight success." - Old saying in business.