Andrew Sutherland's Blog
September 8, 2015
Been a while...
A friend just "liked" my last blog. I realized it has been a very long time. My fault. Mea Cilpa.
I had my right shoulder rebuilt after years of abuse in the weight room. I'm a month into healing and it is coming along...slowly. Pain in the shoulder and the behind.
I'm about two weeks away from finishing the next novel in my Al McNair series. I was selling the first novel broken into three parts. The choice was driven by marketing but in retrospect, I should have just busted out with the whole novel as was written. Live and learn. The next novel, Bridge City, will be released as it was written. Damn the marketing ploys.
I am gaining a rudimentary understanding of the publishing business as it stands now and as it has been in the past. It's in the same state the recording industry was in a few years back. What was once a solid industry, lined with oak paneling and sealed with iron gates, a private club where none but the invited dare tread has been torn asunder by the resentful and starving proletariat writers. Now, here we sit wondering where the cake is that we were told to eat. You used to need permission to get published. Now you need an internet connection.
The downside to access is...well...access. Everyone and anyone is huckstering a book. Shameless huckstering is the move of the day. You can't get on twitter without being asked to advertise by someone who will get your book out to people (for some money, of course), being offered advice from failed writer on how to not be a failed writer, or from another person with the next great novel- American or otherwise.
I'm afraid the industry is rather rudderless at this point. There are still 6 major houses (now five major houses since the Penguin/ Random House merger http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/09/... ). In a market that tight, it is hard to get noticed without a war chest for publicity.
And here is the part of the situation that makes me a little angry. Publishing is becoming yet another area where the financially privileged have an edge. You want to be an author? Great. You have a super great book? Better. You have any money to advertise? If the answer is no, your sales will be dismal, and the road long. However, if you want to be an author, have an OK book, but have enough dough to choke a horse, more people will buy your book. You will drive sales because of your slick ads.
Getting back to the big 5, the end game, like it or not, is to be picked up by one of those 5. Sell 1,000,000 books; collect 1 dollar each. Do. The. Math. It's a no-brainer. The big 5 don't want to go out on a limb because the market is a perilous place to make guesses nowadays. So they look to books that have a good track record- i.e books that have a sales history.
And why should you, constant reader, care? Because the system is encouraging (and being encouraged to propagate) marginal writing. Not that rich people can’t write, or that poor people CAN. It just means the playing field is tilted.
Should this concern you? Only if you want good writing to flourish. Writing is on the precipice. Thank all the powers of the universe people still read. The e-reader seems to have bridged the gap so far from literacy to LOL. But the industry would love to have us reading books that are akin to humming tunes from GLEE.
You have the power. If a book is great, review it, tell your friends, tweet it, and encourage people to buy, buy, buy. If a book sucks, pan it. Sound rough? Yup. But you know what? Sitting at the big table and making the hard decisions has always been tough.
There’s room at the table. It’s in the middle of a big room that smells of old cigars. The oak paneling is gouged and the table needs refinishing. Take control of the world- all worlds. I can write 1000 horrible novels and dump thousands of dollars into advertising them, but if you say no, I have no power to degrade this beautiful art form.
It’s late and my soap box is tired. Time to ice my shoulder and sleep.
Oh, one more thing. I put my three books together and put them on Amazon. The Girl That Care Forgot- Books One, Two, and Three.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014...
Read it. If you love it or you loathe it, REVIEW IT. Just remember, when all you can find to read is the literary equivalent of listening to Hansen, you have no one to blame but yourself.
I had my right shoulder rebuilt after years of abuse in the weight room. I'm a month into healing and it is coming along...slowly. Pain in the shoulder and the behind.
I'm about two weeks away from finishing the next novel in my Al McNair series. I was selling the first novel broken into three parts. The choice was driven by marketing but in retrospect, I should have just busted out with the whole novel as was written. Live and learn. The next novel, Bridge City, will be released as it was written. Damn the marketing ploys.
I am gaining a rudimentary understanding of the publishing business as it stands now and as it has been in the past. It's in the same state the recording industry was in a few years back. What was once a solid industry, lined with oak paneling and sealed with iron gates, a private club where none but the invited dare tread has been torn asunder by the resentful and starving proletariat writers. Now, here we sit wondering where the cake is that we were told to eat. You used to need permission to get published. Now you need an internet connection.
The downside to access is...well...access. Everyone and anyone is huckstering a book. Shameless huckstering is the move of the day. You can't get on twitter without being asked to advertise by someone who will get your book out to people (for some money, of course), being offered advice from failed writer on how to not be a failed writer, or from another person with the next great novel- American or otherwise.
I'm afraid the industry is rather rudderless at this point. There are still 6 major houses (now five major houses since the Penguin/ Random House merger http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/09/... ). In a market that tight, it is hard to get noticed without a war chest for publicity.
And here is the part of the situation that makes me a little angry. Publishing is becoming yet another area where the financially privileged have an edge. You want to be an author? Great. You have a super great book? Better. You have any money to advertise? If the answer is no, your sales will be dismal, and the road long. However, if you want to be an author, have an OK book, but have enough dough to choke a horse, more people will buy your book. You will drive sales because of your slick ads.
Getting back to the big 5, the end game, like it or not, is to be picked up by one of those 5. Sell 1,000,000 books; collect 1 dollar each. Do. The. Math. It's a no-brainer. The big 5 don't want to go out on a limb because the market is a perilous place to make guesses nowadays. So they look to books that have a good track record- i.e books that have a sales history.
And why should you, constant reader, care? Because the system is encouraging (and being encouraged to propagate) marginal writing. Not that rich people can’t write, or that poor people CAN. It just means the playing field is tilted.
Should this concern you? Only if you want good writing to flourish. Writing is on the precipice. Thank all the powers of the universe people still read. The e-reader seems to have bridged the gap so far from literacy to LOL. But the industry would love to have us reading books that are akin to humming tunes from GLEE.
You have the power. If a book is great, review it, tell your friends, tweet it, and encourage people to buy, buy, buy. If a book sucks, pan it. Sound rough? Yup. But you know what? Sitting at the big table and making the hard decisions has always been tough.
There’s room at the table. It’s in the middle of a big room that smells of old cigars. The oak paneling is gouged and the table needs refinishing. Take control of the world- all worlds. I can write 1000 horrible novels and dump thousands of dollars into advertising them, but if you say no, I have no power to degrade this beautiful art form.
It’s late and my soap box is tired. Time to ice my shoulder and sleep.
Oh, one more thing. I put my three books together and put them on Amazon. The Girl That Care Forgot- Books One, Two, and Three.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014...
Read it. If you love it or you loathe it, REVIEW IT. Just remember, when all you can find to read is the literary equivalent of listening to Hansen, you have no one to blame but yourself.
June 23, 2015
Little more of a hello...
I'm new to writing but I am not new to writing. I have written all of my life. It's been mostly academic writing- I was a professor of Theatre Performance for 17 years.
Now, before you all get your judgement knickers in a big old hitch, I am not your typical theatre guy....I'm not your typical anything guy.
The stereotype of an actor is either A) Rugged and Ruggedly Handsome or B) Gay. Sometimes all of the above.
I guess I'm rugged. I've been dragged under enough busses to give me some interesting scars. I've been married. I've been...well just about everything.
I ended up in North Philadelphia- Killadelphia as many call it and finally decided to write a book. So I did and here I am. I'll add to my list of stuff I've read because I have read A LOT during my 49 years on the planet. If you wanna know something about me, ask. I'll shoot straight. If you don't want to know, best not to ask.
My books are good. I read them after I wrote them like I would read anything else. They stand well for themselves. I hope you'll give them a try.
My friend and I started a lit company (YAR Literary- website is coming for now it's facebook https://www.facebook.com/YARLiterary) like us and learn about the free book giveawary we are doing.
My business partner (Sean Sullivan) has written some great and enjoyable books as well- the LUCKY books. It's gangster Erotica. Not Thug gangster but mafioso types.
If you are on Goodreads and have gotten this far, just like us on FB and we'll go from there. In for a penny, in for a pound. If you don't like us, we'll go away.
You'll like our writing because we love writing- not OUR writing- all writing.
Eat Paper. Drink Ink. Read voraciously. Love deeply.
Drew (My name is Andrew Sutherland but I go by Drew)
Now, before you all get your judgement knickers in a big old hitch, I am not your typical theatre guy....I'm not your typical anything guy.
The stereotype of an actor is either A) Rugged and Ruggedly Handsome or B) Gay. Sometimes all of the above.
I guess I'm rugged. I've been dragged under enough busses to give me some interesting scars. I've been married. I've been...well just about everything.
I ended up in North Philadelphia- Killadelphia as many call it and finally decided to write a book. So I did and here I am. I'll add to my list of stuff I've read because I have read A LOT during my 49 years on the planet. If you wanna know something about me, ask. I'll shoot straight. If you don't want to know, best not to ask.
My books are good. I read them after I wrote them like I would read anything else. They stand well for themselves. I hope you'll give them a try.
My friend and I started a lit company (YAR Literary- website is coming for now it's facebook https://www.facebook.com/YARLiterary) like us and learn about the free book giveawary we are doing.
My business partner (Sean Sullivan) has written some great and enjoyable books as well- the LUCKY books. It's gangster Erotica. Not Thug gangster but mafioso types.
If you are on Goodreads and have gotten this far, just like us on FB and we'll go from there. In for a penny, in for a pound. If you don't like us, we'll go away.
You'll like our writing because we love writing- not OUR writing- all writing.
Eat Paper. Drink Ink. Read voraciously. Love deeply.
Drew (My name is Andrew Sutherland but I go by Drew)
June 22, 2015
Hiya!
Please write me questions and I'll start to blog as I can...different forum for me. Mostly...go to FB and add YARLiterary to get free copies of The Girl That Care Forgot (there are 3 books in the series BTW) as well as the "Lucky" series. Mild erotica that is smart and...well...erotic. More soon. READ!!!!
