Self-Publishing Thoughts ...

I just furtled about in Lulu - a good self-publishing place with links to Bowker's Books in Print and Nielsen Book Data, and it gets listed for sale at Amazon.com. This service used to cost $99 but is now free. I've got 2 other books on it - TOAD IN THE SHADOWLANDS and DREAMWEAVER - and they should be up on amazon and available in US (maybe UK?) bookstores soon, like about a month-6 wks I think. See Lulu Marketing Packages.

Lulu put my novel, OWL WOMAN, into their Amazon Marketplace Pilot. The pilot program doesn't cost anything, as yet, but Lulu say that once the service fully defined, an end date will be chosen for the pilot and Lulu will communicate in advance any changes to the service so I can decide whether to continue to list the title on Amazon's Marketplace or not. I feel this is a good idea.

Amazon have got their own self--publishing POD companty together too - booksurge - but this one costs you something over $1000 to set up! Ha! Not the way for most of us penniless, garret-living, starving authors.

I'm becoming quite a Lulu fan. There's some well-known authors using it as well us still scrambling at the bottom rung of the ladder. The rpoduct is nice, good paper, nice rpinting, nice feel to the book. And they do download to.

Not sure if t goes to Kindle but I would have thought it might as they're a US firm. we still can't rally do Kindle well in the UK - it being stuck in one network service provider like the iPod. europe doesn't really go for that kind of monopoly *g*. and Nokia is now pushing hard at iPod for both music and phone stuff, with free downloads for all music while you're on contract. I wonder if they'll get something similar for books? Shall keep my eyes open :-).

I'm slogging away at the Lulu "cook-book" style for the Biodynamic Gardening book - This may be the answer to get what I want but I'm still not sure! It may end up as several small booklets of 20 pages each, depending on cost but also on readabitlity. I need to go see Heather Gorringe at Wiggly wigglers and aske what she thinks. That woman has her head very frimly screwed on with regard to what sells ... AND she's relaly committed to organic and environmental. And she's fun *g*.

Watch this space ...

I've signed on to a site called Authonomy - Google it - and after a brief 24 hours I'm still finding it both useful and fun. Give it whirl yourselves and see how you find it.

Mainstream Publishing Difficulties

Just been on a friend’s blog to learn that she’s having real trouble with Macmillan (who she’s been with for 10 yrs) over her latest book which is due out in paperback in autumn 09.The paperback edition is all on hold while they see how the sales go on the hardback – WINTERSTRIKE, by Liz Williams, her writing really is good. Not so long ago I heard even Ursula LeGuin was having troubles !!! If it’s hitting hard at that kind of writing level publishing is in a bad way. Another writer-friend thinks it’s very much about the credit-crunch and I feel she’s right too but she also says that the publishing industry seems to be in melt-down and probably needs to find a new direction to go in.

Some mainstream writers I know who have had a lot of trouble with their publishers have gone into alternative – one of P K Morrison's new detective series for instance has gone out with Lulu. What do you think about all this?