Candice Hughes
author of thrillers
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Jan31
Amazon versus MacMillan
Filed under: publishing industry;Comments OffAmazon’s recent anti-author stance is distressing. What they are saying in effect is “we think every author’s book is worth the same low price no matter how good it is.”
Well, here’s how they actually phrase it: “…we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books. Amazon customers will at that point decide for themselves whether they believe it’s reasonable to pay $14.99 for a bestselling e-book”
Note the adjective bestselling. So for example if you want a “bestselling” or in other words desirable, luxury or similar descriptive, would you expect to pay the same as for an general, run of the mill car, diamond ring, etc. In other words, should a Tiffany diamond ring cost the same as a Zale’s diamond ring? Should a Mercedes cost the same as a Kia? Should a top brand author’s books be the same price as all other authors?
If Amazon wants to start selling all products for the same price regardless of brand, I’ll be the first one in line for the Apple MacBook Air at the same price as the Dell Inspiron. In fact, I’ll take three.
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Jan19
Apple: A New E-book Reader up Their Sleeve?
Filed under: publishing industry; Tagged as: candice hughes, e-book, e-reader, Kindle, publishing industry, publishing industry trendsNo CommentsThe one issue I have with the Kindle is that it’s limited to reading black and white text primarily. I’ve been waiting for something to come along that will allow a top-notch reading experience but also provide a thrilling multi-media experience as well. The hints surrounding Apple’s secretive meeting with publishing industry giants has me intrigued. Will we finally see a device where authors can reach out to their audience with every tool at hand?
Imagine the possibilities….(no, don’t burst my bubble yet with reality like slow internet connections or dodgy Wi-Fi or faded colors- for now I’ll just dream…)
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Jan15
WSJ for Writers: Death of a Slush Pile and More
Filed under: Selling Your Novel, Writer's Life, publishing industry; Tagged as: agent, candice hughes, publishing industry, publishing industry trends, slush pile, Wall Street Journal, Writer's LifeComments Off“It’s all right. I came back.”
Sorry wrong play. In this one, it’s Anne Writer, in a black shift, moaning and pulling her hair out (while rocking on the floor surrounded by fluttering pages thick with type). Anne Writer turns to her mother (in slinky gold gown with black lacquered cigarette holder causally dangling from her exquisite hand). “Why won’t any one read my 500,000 word epic poem on the atomic bomb?”
“The slush pile passed on in 1991, darling. Stop throwing paper into the coffin. It makes you look mentally deficient.”
“JK Rowling was rejected 12 times. I think I can…I think I can…publish.” Anne glares at her mother with a wild look in her eye.
“She had an agent, darling. Now rub the ink stains off your fingers, we’ve a nice young man coming for dinner.”
And there’s the crux of it…Thank you Wall Street Journal for telling us writers we need an agent. Many more thanks for the lovely interviews with Joshua Ferris and Joyce Carol Oates.
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Jan7
Newest Favorite: Stieg Larsson
Filed under: Book Review, How to Write a Novel; Tagged as: Book Review, candice hughes, character analysis, fiction, Stieg Larsson, writer, writing, writing female charactersComments OffRecently I read the first two Stieg Larsson detective novels. I had to wait weeks for each one at my local library because the waiting list was pretty long.
I believe one reason these novels are so popular is the female protagonist. Mr. Larsson created a very engaging and unusual female character, Lisbeth. I admit I liked her much better than the male protagonist. What makes her so interesting? I feel the whole constellation of traits, particularly her intelligence combined with her anti-social behavior (bordering on Asperger’s syndrome). Some people debate whether a man can create an accurate female character or a woman an accurate male character. I feel Larsson has done an excellent job with Lisbeth. Lisbeth may not be a “girly girl”, but she is believable as a female character. One aspect Larsson gets right is Lisbeth’s emotional involvement with people in her life. In contrast, his male protagonist (Blomkvist) often seems disconnected with people around him.
I am still waiting for the third book (another long long list of readers). Interest in reading these books is still amazingly strong. I was motivated to read the first book after observing a woman buying five copies of the first book at a large (to be unnamed) book store.
The saddest part of the story is that Stieg Larsson is no longer with us to keep the story going. I can only imagine what other fantastic books he’d had written if he’d had time.
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Dec22
Thrillers and Romance Themes Top Charts for 2009
Filed under: publishing industry; Tagged as: candice hughes, novels, publishing industry, publishing industry trends, romance, thrillerComments OffThe Wall Street Journal listed 2 thrillers among the top 5 novels for 2009. These were The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown) and The Associate (John Grisholm). The Lost Symbol was first place. Two of the top 5 have strong romance themes (The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows).
Both romance and thrillers can get you heart pounding and make you forget the dragging ecomony. Little wonder they’re popular!
Can’t wait to see what 2010 brings!
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Dec14
E-books: Gift Horse or Trojan Horse?
Filed under: publishing industry;Comments OffBookmarked: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
E-books are expected to represent $150 million of this year’s book market, rising to $201 million next year (according to Albert Greco, professor at Fordham University as quoted by the Wall St. Journal). Two major publishers announced e-book delays (Hachette Book Group and Simon & Shuster). Only a couple years ago, e-books seemed like harmless dalliances. A way to look hip, to crest the techie wave. Now the wave is threatening a whole business model.
Fundamentally, e-books and their so far rock bottom prices represent a basic struggle between consumers (readers) who would like to pay as little as possible for a product (books) and producers (publishers and authors) who would like to earn a reasonable profit from their products. How far the model can stretch under these pressures is uncertain. Already consumers have access via the Internet to very low cost, even free, “books”. Frustrated authors post books on their web sites or give podcasts of them. Google has indexed libraries full of free books. But, no one is checking the quality of all this free written entertainment. That’s where the current model benefits consumers. Only an infinitesimally small number of books pass the extremely high hurdle to publication by a major publisher. To pay all the people who ensure this high quality entertainment, create a beautiful package and give consumers easy access to it, publishers need to earn a certain income with profit to keep shareholder’s happy so they can stay in business. If consumers do their part by keeping volume high, prices can be lowered. But low volume and low profit is an unsustainable business model. Are consumers willing to pick through mountains of chaff for gems in “free” Internet entertainment? Or are they willing to pay for quality?
In other words, how low can prices of e-books go before publishers (and authors) call it quits? The e-book medium offers so many enticing opportunities for enhanced content and other benefits that are worth paying for. If the focus can be moved from bargain basement to luxury entertainment, e-books may turn from Trojan horse to gift horse.
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Nov20
Harlequin, Et Tu?
Filed under: publishing industry;Comments OffHarlequin…what can I say, but Hmmmm…
The whole situation is quite awkward for my romance writer friends. It just feels unpleasant.
For anyone not up on the situation. Harlequin, a gold standard romance publisher, has decided to open a self-publishing arm. Authors rejected for publication by Harlequin’s traditional lines will be “offered” the “opportunity” to pay to self-publish their novel.
Personally, I feel aspiring authors would be better served by spending their money on training classes or association dues.
I guess I’ll get off my soap-box. Harelquin is certainly entitled to open new divisions and increase profitablity. But, we authors don’t have to buy it.
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Nov17
Tweet with Me
Filed under: About Candice Hughes;Comments OffNow you can follow me on Twitter. Keep in mind that my tweets will cover both my thriller author life and my alternate identity as a pharmaceutical communications expert. I’ll try to hash tag so readers will know which is which but, being a woman who juggles many bowling pins at once, I may forget once in a while so apologies ahead of time. My twitter link is below:
http://twitter.com/candicemhughes
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Nov11
David Baldacci: Love My Library
Filed under: Writer's Conference, Writer's Life;No CommentsI love libraries. I love being surrounded by books. I especially love my local library. They hit a home run this week with a lecture by David Baldacci. I knew right away that other people felt the same way because there was not one single parking space left in the lot. I persevered. Parking in a local business parking lot, I trudged through the cold drizzle. Inside the gorgeous new auditorium, I squeezed into one of the few remaining seats.
David Baldacci came to the podium, looking exactly like the photo on his book jackets. (you might question my mental acutity with this statement, but try sometime matching real celebrities to their photos and see how easy it is). Within a few minutes, he had the audience rolling on the floor with amusing “life of an author” stories. One comment I found particularly memorable, although it was not one of his hilarious anecdotes. That statement was that every rejection of an author’s work is a badge of courage. I also learned that if he sees you reading one of his books, don’t expect him to walk up to you and say “Hi”. (You’ll have to learn the story of what happened when he actually did this one time from him.)
All in all, this lecture was worth the walk through a cold, dark, drizzle. I applaude our hard working librarians for bringing us a wonderful speaker. I also encourage everyone to support their local libraries because they’re the heart of every community.
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Nov1
Book Wars Continues
Filed under: publishing industry; Tagged as: Amazon, candice hughes, pub, publishing industry, Target, Wal-MartComments OffBook Wars continues unabated with Target joining Wal-Mart and Amazon. The low prices have attracted re-sellers including smaller bookstores. This has forced the big 3 to limit sales.
Looking at trends in Internet chatter, Book Wars has raised the profile of Wal-Mart books the most.
One outcome of Book Wars could likely be a greater volume of sales, which could boost the sagging seen earlier this fall. In early October, sales were estimated to be 4% lower than the previous year.
The real question is will readers become used to the below market sale price. If they do, will increased sales volume make up for lost per unit revenue?
