If you missed Part 1 of this post, you can see it HERE or HERE.
Hey Folks,
To continue briefly with the discussion I started re traditional publishers, I have two motivating factors:
One is the possibility that lightning will strike in the form of a large paycheck. Yeah, that would be nice.
Two, at the moment I’m not wanting to expend the effort to publish my own paperback version of my books. Nor do I get around well enough to sell them at personal appearances, etc. Those days are in the past for me.
If I can land a contract that will add the print aspect (and maybe audio), it will be a new revenue stream (or two) at the minimum.
And it’s all about negotiation, giving a little to get a little. I always have the option to just say “No” and walk away.
Ideally I’ll find a tradpub who will buy only paper (and/or audio) rights even with a low or non-existant advance). If so, I’ll be miles ahead of where I am now in both discoverability and revenue streams.
But if the publisher requires ebook rights as well, will I “trade” some percentage of my ebook royalties to get mass-market paperbacks out there? Yes. Of course.
But again, that would depend on the percentage of ebook royalties I would have to give up. And again, I always have the option of saying “No” and continuing my search elsewhere.
And finally, if lightning does strike and I have to trade one (of five) series for a large, life-changing advance, I will do that too.
The paperback run with a tradpub with that one series will enhance name recognition (discoverability) and the sales of my books that are not included in the contract.
Of course, I would never sign a contract that includes a “no-compete” clause or anything else that would impede my ability to continue writing in other series or writing other stand-alone titles.
Ideally too, I’ll find a publisher who can keep up with me, with or without pen names, given that I’m turning out a novel per month at the longest. (grin)
Of course, very rarely do we find ideal situations, and that’s fine too. But I’ve never been timid. In fact, I’ve always been one who, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that taking a particular path might turn out to be a bad idea, I weigh the cost vs. the possible benefit, then venture forth to find out for myself.
At the worst, I’ll screw up the negotiations and “lose” one book or even one series. But when you’re a prolific professional writer, there are plenty more where that one came from. (grin)
Either way, it should be a learning experience. And all learning experiences, positive or otherwise, turn to the good. For one thing, if you sign up for a subscription to my free Daily Journal, you will benefit from what I learn, mistake or otherwise. And that alone makes it worthwhile to me.
‘Til next time, happy writing!
Harvey
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