The Sacred Amazon
It's happened. That landmark moment in any book's life these days. The Sacred Band is up on Amazon! I'm not sure when it appeared, but it looks like some kind folks have already bought a copy or two. Thank you. Much appreciated. There's more where those came from!
Although... well, you should remember that the pub date is officially October 4th. So, it's not really a purchase at this point. It's more a good faith indication that a purchase will happen nine months from now. Still, I'm pleased.
Now, if I could just get those editorial comments back from my editor I could make sure there will be a finished book to published that day...
Although... well, you should remember that the pub date is officially October 4th. So, it's not really a purchase at this point. It's more a good faith indication that a purchase will happen nine months from now. Still, I'm pleased.
Now, if I could just get those editorial comments back from my editor I could make sure there will be a finished book to published that day...
Labels: The Biz, The Sacred Band
posted by David Anthony Durham at
2:49 PM
6 Comments:
This is great news--I just pre-ordered my copy. 2011 is looking to be a great year for big trilogies. Patrick Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear comes out on March 12, and then The Sacred Band on October 4.
Definitely Jamey...and Scott Lynch's next Gentleman Bastard comes out this year too. Speaking of Amazon...
David, does buying a book on the Kindle hurt an author's...erm...earnings? I don't mean to be rude, I simply wondered. I've picked up a few older books on the Kindle, but I've refrained from newer books, as I wasn't sure if authors were getting ripped off by Amazon or other ebook dealers.
Dan,
A reader that's looking out for the welfare of the author? Yikes - how wonderful!
Thanks for the question. There's a short game and a long game answer from my perspective. The short game is that I haven't seen ebook sales be that big a part of my royalty statements yet, but publishers are amazingly slow with giving out royalties. We're talking six to nine months can pass between when a book was sold and when the author gets a royalty for it. That's pretty standard. So new trends take a while to show up.
I know that my contracts are pretty standard in relation to ebooks, but that's not always the case. Some authors may have been robbed a bit by the contractual details of ebooks, and some publishers have made a grab for the e-rights to older books that didn't account for ebooks at all - sort of saying, "I know that wasn't in the contract, but if we'd known how big ebooks were going to be we would have put it in the contract... and you would have signed it, so let's all agree that we did put it in the contract and you did sign it" - that sort of thing.
But that will get resolved over time as well. Anyone signing a book contract these days should be making sure their e-rights are secured. So, to answer your question in terms of the long game...
Sales of ebooks are sales for the author. The percentage that goes to the author may vary, but it still counts. Frankly, I look to ebooks with hope and enthusiasm, as a way to take written books into the future. Publishers may have been behind the curve with realizing how quickly the change was going to happen. Amazon - in my opinion - made a grab to control ebooks and pricing for reasons that benefited themselves - not writers and not really readers. But that's all part of the powerplay/shuffling that adapting to the new medium entails.
So, bottom line... It's been a bit rocky making the transition, but ebooks are good for authors too. Buy them with a clear conscience!
i just finished up the first 2 books, and can't wait for #3!!! hurry up Oct 4th!
I love this series, and pre-ordered my e-copy on Amazon. Thank you for the wonderful writing!
Wonderful. Thanks for being great readers. There's nothing better!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home