Be the Monkey: A Conversation About the New World of Publishing

by Barry Eisler, J.A. Konrath, Jack Kilborn

Sure, the advent of digital books is the most significant development in publishing since Gutenberg. But what does digital mean really, for agents, publishers, and most of all, for authors? What will the industry look like tomorrow, and what should authors be doing to properly position themselves today?Examining the history and mechanics of the publishing industry as it exists today, the way the digital revolution reflects recent events in Egypt and the Maghreb, and a completely inappropriate YouTube video featuring a randy monkey and an unlucky frog, bestselling authors (and friends) J.A. Konrath and Barry Eisler show in this 35,000 word online discussion that digital isn't just the future, it's right now. Konrath, a pioneer in self-publishing, is now making over a half-million dollars a year through his self-published books, and Eisler just turned down a half-million dollar deal from one of the Big 6 NYC publishers to self-publish his latest novel. To find out why and what it all means for you, read on.Please feel free to repost all or any portion of this discussion with attribution and a link back to the authors. About the authorsJoe Konrath is the author of more than twenty novels and hundreds of short stories, written under the names J.A. Konrath (the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series), Jack Kilborn (Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, Draculas), and Joe Kimball (Timecaster.) Joe has a lot of names, apparently. He began self-publishing on Kindle in April, 2009. As of March, 2011, he's sold over 200,000 ebooks. On his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, he has chronicled his writing journey.Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA's Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan International Judo Center along the way. Eisler's bestselling thrillers have won the Barry Award and the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller of the Year, have been included in numerous "Best Of" lists, and have been translated into nearly twenty languages. The first book in Eisler's John Rain series, Rain Fall, is now a minor motion picture (kidding, it’s reasonably major) starring Gary Oldman. Eisler lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when he's not writing novels, blogs about torture, civil liberties, and the rule of law. You can find out more on his website, friend him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter. He was also in the movie Freakonomics, which he forgot to tell Joe.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Ebooks, How To, Business

145 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 18, 2011

About the author

Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan Judo Institute along the way. Eisler’s award-winning thrillers have been included in numerous “Best Of” lists, have been translated into nearly twenty languages, and include the #1 bestsellers Livia Lone, The Night Trade, and The Killer Collective. Eisler lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when he's not writing novels, blogs about national security and the media. www.barryeisler.com

Series:
* John Rain

Reviews

[Alain Burrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Be The Monkey" makes sense after you read this eBook, but "EBooks and Self-Publishing: A Conversation Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath" describes this eBook much better. When reading, you must remember that this is a conversation between two authors, who are also friends, so you find some kidding and joking around, a little self-promotion, and a lot of practical and motivating advice for anyone wanting to enter the world of self-publishing, especially self-publishing electronic books.

No, this won't teach you "how to" self-publish, you will need different resources for that. However, this book will tell you "why" you might want to go the self-published route, and provide some publishing knowledge, some facts and figures, and a healthy dose of motivation to go the indie route.

I actually talked with Barry last summer about a lot of the information covered here, and just now finally purchased an e-reader so I can more easily read electronic books. I liked what both Barry and Joe said here. Some reminded me of Barry an my conversation, and other stuff just motivated me more, and reassured me, that my choice to enter the indie self-publishing realm is the right choice.

There are three main parts to this eBook, each being a separate conversation. The first is a conversation about the rise of eBooks and self-publishing. The two of them make a lot of sense and have a grasp of the publishing industry. Part two addresses some questions that came up from the first conversation, and the third part discusses the deal Eisler made with Amazon's new imprint after turning down a deal with SMP and announcing he was going to self-publish his newest novel "The Detachment." While Eisler was accused of being hypocritical for making the deal, he explains how it was business and how the deal with amazon was not like the deal he walked away from with one of the big legacy publishers.

This book is for anyone interested in self-publishing vs traditional publishing, anyone who still holds the old notions about self-publishing, and anyone who is self-publishing and wants to know they are on the right track, or at least the right track for some, and most likely many more. Highly recommended for aspiring self-publishers.

[Byron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of guys who are making a mint writing what looks like the world's worst genre fiction in ebook sit around trading compliments. They can't decide which one is most brilliant between the two of them. One thing they can agree on is that "legacy publishers" are a buncha FN idiots. It's a wonder they don't get run over by a car or something on the way to their swanky offices! These guys may be right, but they don't do their argument any favor coming off as salty as they do.

[Barry Eisler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you want to know about the exciting new landscape of self- and hybrid-publishing. Just don't click on the monkey/frog links... some things cannot be unseen.

[Narmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 Stars

*Reviewed for NI Libraries Book Blog*

Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it. I also think the Upton Sinclair quote is appropriate. “It if difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Denial is a powerful opiate.”

2 self- published authors, Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath, who have had more success with their books in self-publishing than traditional publishing, have an honest yet blunt discussion on the shift of publishing from legacy to indie.

It's a bit off-putting how jaded, cynical and self-righteous they come across in some parts of their conversation, all though I do feel more informed than before on the subject matter at hand. As a consumer I may not agree with their opinion on eBooks gaining more popularity than paper, as I would rather pay for paperback than eBook any day, but I’m sure as an author or publisher money is a factor in their evaluation of what makes a good and a better sale. I am undecided as to which spectrum of the debate I fall under, am I an advocate for traditional publishers or a believer of more freedom and control as a manager of my own work? I read this book as part of my dissertation topic research and it has left me with much to think about.

A recommended read for those interested in taking a behind the scenes tour of the book publishing industry and for writers that are curious to know what the best route might be for publication of their work.

[Becca Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're an indie author, you likely know about Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath.

Eisler is famous (in the publishing world, anyway) for having turned down a half-million-dollar contract with St. Martin's in favor of self-publishing. Konrath is the granddaddy of self-publishing. Reading his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, from Day 1 to the present is highly recommended for anyone thinking of going indie. For such folks, hearing Eisler and Konrath chew the fat is not to be missed. And the book doesn't disappoint, so long as you go into it expecting it to be what it claims to be -- a "conversation," not a carefully structure, thesis-driven argument.

The book is a compilation of three conversations Eisler and Konrath carried on electronically using Google Docs. Each conversation covers wide ground. In general, the first treats the traditional-publishing vs. self-publishing issue broadly; the second takes on various counterarguments generated by the first; and the third focuses largely on Eisler's decision to publish a book with Thomas & Mercer, Amazon's thriller/mystery imprint.

Each conversation is interesting and enjoyable in its own right. Rather than trying to cover everything, I'll just mention a couple items I found particularly arresting.

The authors explain that although traditional publishers' contracts commonly offer authors a 25% royalty on ebooks, what the author actually gets is 14.9% of the retail price, after Amazon and the author's agent take their cut. In contrast, the publisher gets 52.5% after Amazon's cut. Why, Eisler and Konrath wonder, should the publisher get such a big cut when the cost of producing, shipping, and storing ebooks is so much lower? (Kindle Loc 155) In the end, it's not an attractive model for authors. "As bookstores close and digital readers proliferate," Eisler remarks later, "more and more authors will decide that what legacy publishers take from them in digital sales isn't worth what legacy publishers earn for them in paper sales" (Kindle Loc 712). (Incidentally, the term "legacy publisher" is Eisler's coinage, and Be the Monkey explains what it means [Kindle Loc 1585].)

Eisler and Konrath do a lot this sort of thing in the book -- rebutting counterarguments and tracking down fallacies. They're terrific at finding the problems in others' reasoning. For instance, a $500K advance sounds like a lot, but digital is forever, whereas many print books only get a few years on the shelves, then fall out of print. What if your ebook sells well for thirty years, and you make a 70% royalty on every sale? Does $500K sound like so much, in comparison? And why is it that the New York Times bestseller list didn't, at the time of their conversation, include indie books? And why do people think that piracy cuts into sales so much, as though every person who pirated a book would buy that same book if she weren't able to pirate it, rather than just stealing something else? Basically, the pro-traditional-publishing crowd puts a lot of waist-high fastballs over the center of the plate, and Eisler and Konrath have a great time stepping up for BP.

I'll mention one other point: Eisler and Konrath devote some time to the idea of agents becoming "estributors" (Kindle location 1880). There's a market, they point out, for someone who will charge a smallish percentage of a book's profits -- say, 15% -- in order to take care of editing, formatting, cover design, uploading, and so forth. And fielding those offers for film rights, right? For what it's worth, I think they're right, and I bet their prediction of how agents' roles will change is on target. Unlike the big publishing houses, agents aren't weighed down with the vast apparatus of paper-book production. Those who are flexible and far-sighted can adapt to an increasingly indie publishing world.

I have just one bone to pick with Eisler and Konrath. The two of them clearly have a great rapport, and they're really funny. But the book's title, Be the Monkey, actually strikes me as misleading.

The title's drawn from a series of YouTube videos that show monkeys knowing frogs in the biblical sense, which Eisler and Konrath find hilarious. Now, my sense of humor is, I believe, every bit as sophomoric as these guys', so I don't object to the frog-molestation jokes on moral grounds. But Eisler and Konrath's point (if someone has to be the frog and someone has to be the monkey, make damn sure you're the monkey) doesn't get at the genius of the indie-publishing movement, which is that no one has to be the frog, and no one has to be the monkey. Indie publishing is a win-win for readers and authors: readers pay less while authors make more and have greater control.

Admittedly, it's not a win for the big publishing houses, but as Eisler and Konrath point out, those companies are actively monkeying it up by overpricing ebooks to support the flagging paper market. That means they probably don't deserve to win.

This unsolicited review has been cross-posted, in edited form, from The Active Voice. I did not receive a free copy of this book.

[D F · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written about 15 years ago.
I wonder how things have changed since?

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The publishing world is going through, to use an overused cliché, a tectonic change. The advent of online and electronic publishing are changing the way that we consume and promote published words in the greatest such shift since Gutenberg.

“Be the Monkey” is a book-length conversation (or in fact a series of conversations) between the best-selling authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath on several topics relating to the current state of the publishing industry, and all the advantages of publishing your own works without the mediation of the large publishing houses. Konrath in particular has been writing and blogging on this topic for years, and Eisler has been “walking the walk” of self-publishing for quite some time as well. In fact, Eisler’s own testimony might be the most persuasive argument in favor of doing self-publishing: he has turned down a half a million dollar book deal from one of the six major publishing houses. He has figured out, and correctly it seems, that being hamstrung with a contract did not make much sense for him any longer, either financially, or in any other respect. The freedom to choose your own book cover, distribution channels, marketing initiatives, and the price of your own books are too powerful of considerations to be left to third parties. Eisler’s one big point, to which he returns repeatedly, is that historically the single biggest service that the publishing houses provided was the distribution networks for the physical books. With the demise of traditional bookstores, scaling back of libraries, the advent of Amazon, digital publishing, and printing-on-demand services this one big advantage for publishing houses is all but nonexistent. The publishing houses are still trying to leverage their historically dominant positions, but this is increasingly becoming a fragile and tenuous place to be.

Aside from being very informative and insightful, this was a very fun book to read. This is in large part due to its format – both Eisler and Konrath clearly enjoy this topic and bouncing ideas off of each other. If you’ve ever heard either of them speak live (as I have with Esiler) then their voice will clearly come through while reading this book. They also seem to share a very irreverent and edgy sense of humor, which was the source of the title of this book among other things. (Sorry, I won’t reveal it here – you’ll have to read the book to find out about it.)

This was definitely a fun and engaging read, and if you have any interest in the current state of books and publishing, then you will certainly find a lot of useful and intriguing information here.

[A.C. James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will preface this by saying I don’t typically write reviews. I simply click the yellow star to rate it but after reading this I feel compelled to say something. It’s not that I don’t believe in myself as a writer or that I’m not patient enough to wait for an agent to read my manuscript and get back to me. Well… maybe that’s not entirely true. I’ve been waiting for an agent to get back to me. They seemed enthusiastic to my premise when I met them at a conference. The self-proclaimed turnaround time the agency claims they take to respond to queries came and went last week. The dreaded silence that followed spoke volumes. J.A. Konrath and Barry Eisler’s collective wisdom and genius using monkey videos as comedy made absolute sense in theory but I’m still not entirely convinced. Except I want to be convinced that my voice can shout louder than the mass of people entering into the self-publishing and indie action late in the game. Better late than never, right? However, I don’t have their publishing street credit or an established readership. I’ve been working on my platform, the magical word that makes agents, editors, and publishers sit up and take notice but I’m not there yet. I look at the traffic to my website with red rimmed eyes from staying up writing and then attempting social media, blogging, and content that might tempt someone to subscribe or follow. The book is all dialogue and talks about writing being paramount, explaining that we should produce quality volume at bargain basement prices. A writer’s primary job function is after all to write. However, they also go on to talk about the need to become your own CEO, especially as a self-published author. I wonder if I am one of those individuals that can execute marketing on my own. I loved their idea of agents becoming estributors and I’d definitely pay fifteen percent to have someone take care of editing, formatting, cover art, uploading to the various self-pub platforms, and publicity. The money and time it would save me is priceless. As it stands, to do this properly, I would have to hire my own editor, artist, formatter, and publicist. That’s a lot of initial out-of-pocket expense. Artists and formatter are relatively cheap. You can find good ones that will do cover art for $200 to $500 and formatting is about the same. A good editor is harder to come by and depending what kind of editing you need this can cost a lot more. The real kicker is how much publicists charge… It makes me think of the monkey and frog video.

[A. Bowdoin Van Riper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Electronic publishing is still a new-enough enterprise that – as screenwriter William Goldman famously said of Hollywood – “nobody knows anything” about the how to reliably succeed. That said, Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath know more than most. Both are successful writers of electronically published novels, and Eisler – who began his career writing traditionally published thrillers – famously turned down a lucrative offer from St. Martins to write two more, because he saw electronic publishing as more profitable. The two are also close friends, and Be The Monkey collects three of their conversations about electronic self-publishing.

This is neither a “Self-Publishing is the Future!” manifesto nor a how-to guide to the process, though Konrath has written one of the latter. It’s more of “why-to” guide: Two pros telling an audience implicitly composed of other pros (or aspiring pros) about the ins and outs of a new business model. Konrath and Eisler are explicit about the fact that they write to make money, and Be the Monkey is structured by the tacit assumption that this is also the reader’s goal. The discussions range widely – contract terms, work flow, cover designs, promotional strategies – but they always loop back to the same central questions: “What are the costs? What are the returns? What is the bottom line?”

Whether that sounds invigorating or soul-killing is going to depend a lot on the role that writing plays in your life. For me – third-generation heir to a tradition of writing-as-craft, rather than writing-as-art – it was the former. Having written or edited ten traditionally published books, and contributed to a couple of dozen others, I’ve been skeptical of the apparent trade-offs involved electronic publishing. Eisler and Konrath’s case for it is compelling enough to make me rethink that position . . . and that’s saying something.

[W.E. Linde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and quite educational. This ebook is actually a series of conversations between Eisler and Konrath as they discuss the merits of self publishing and the problems of what they've dubbed "legacy publishing."

This is not so much a "how to" book as it a "why to" book. These two writers articulate exceedingly well the reasons for all authors, new and established, to consider self publishing. The fact that both are established (and commercially successful) authors gives them a great deal of credibility. I won't go into all of the points they make in here (and I especially won't reveal why the book is titled the way it is. Hint: it's gross). But essentially the authors make the case that the established publishing industry is clinging to an outmoded business model, one that exposes the monopoly mentality of they possess. Self publishing, particularly since 2009, has blown open the doors of accessibility and opportunity to writers.

The negatives I took away from this book are few, but they're there. I have to say that I still don't understand the animosity both Eisler and Konrath express toward DRM. In addition, I have to admit that I became annoyed at the occasional political commentary. A couple of chapters are spent discussing just what it is that Amazon offers through its publishing imprint. I felt this discussion went on much longer than it needed to.

Overall, a fantastic read. I think all writers should take some time and read this. Unless you're just dead set against the notion of self publishing, you can't help but be motivated by these two writers. Heck, even if you are dead set, you may just find yourself reconsidering.

[Susan Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t want to like this book. The authors are confident to the point of arrogance. The humor is sometimes crude. I don’t really read the kinds of books they write. But about a third of the way through the book, one fact kept asserting itself: these guys know the business. They know what it takes to make a decent living self publishing. And the more they talked about traditional publishing companies, or “legacy publishing” as they call it, the more I recognized my own experience. It’s frustrating to make less than a buck a book while getting almost no help with marketing. I’ve experienced that frustration with three of the four books I’ve published with traditional publishers. I’m not sure that self publishing is always the answer--the experience of two well-established genre authors is not the experience of all book writers. But I can say that Eisler and Konrath have made a valuable contribution to the pool of knowledge available to self-publishing authors. The publishing industry is changing rapidly. I thank Eisler and Konrath for sharing their unique perspective from the vanguard of that change.

[B.D. Crowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so wrong... and yet so right. It was a quick read, packed full of good content. This fine book follows the conversation between two authors who have found success in traditional and self-publishing. Through the conversation, we get to share their experiences, ideas, wisdom, and laugh-out-loud humor (if you're into that sort of dry, twisted humor). I'm grateful that these two very intelligent, successful writers have been generous enough to share with the rest of us what they're learned. This is an excellent companion piece to Konrath's The Newbie's Guide to Publishing (I'd recommend you read that one first as it lays the groundwork for this book). As long as you're okay with discussions (and video links!) of interspecies sodomy, then you should have no problems reading this.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book is a must-read for authors. It's a conversation between two best-selling legacy authors who decided to go the self-publishing route.

What was interesting to me is how little of the discussion had to do with money (Eisler turned down a $500K contract to self-publish) and how much of it had to do with control and keeping a back catalog available. This, to me, is a major advantage over going with an independent press or self-publishing by comparison to legacy publishers.

It was also a very entertaining read, with a lot of good humor thrown in amongst the outstanding advice.

This book is available for free download at http://www.barryeisler.com, and should definitely be picked up by all authors, published or aspiring, who wish to learn more about the publishing business.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised (though I shouldn't have been) at how enjoyable this book was to read. I expected to learn a lot, and I wasn't disappointed, but I did't expect to be so entertained while these guys were teaching. The discussion format works well, allowing the authors to clarify their own and each other's points as needed, or to disagree. the arguments are persuasive and backed up with facts and numbers. They're not the only opinions I'll listen to on the subject, but this was a very worthwhile read.

And no, I did not click on the links. There are some things that are probably best left to the imagination.

[Ann Busbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a recent entrant into the world of self-publishing, I am eager to learn as much as possible. This book, by two authors who have found success in both legacy and eBook publishing, offered insights that greatly benefit those of us who are just starting out. It is packed with information and resources to assist in making smart decisions as an aspiring author. I felt they belabored the negatives of the Big Six publishers just a bit, but overall, I think this is a must-read for the well-informed writer who wants to ride the wave of opportunity that is sweeping through the publishing world.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this as a free Kindle book and skimmed a fair amount of it. The section headlines are nice as they allowed me to pick and choose what was the most interesting. The conversational nature of the ebook was nice at first, but got a little tedious by the end.

However, I like it because it's a good snapshot of the state of book publishing from two authors who have published through Amazon, legacy publishers and on their own. If you want to know where the industry is heading, this isn't a bad place to start.

[Tasha Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Seeing where both authors came from and their changes in directions and why is helpful in understanding them and their blogs and followers better. I love the conversational back and forth as they tackle each topic. Their sense of humor can be a bit warped. The book is not full of tips on self-publishing but more on why they went from traditional to self-publishing to a mix of self-publishing/publishing under Amazon imprint.

[Christine Edison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book echoes much of what I've been hearing recently about the publishing industry and the shift to digital publishing. Konrath and Eisler have been at the forefront of the movement toward self-publishing online, and here they give lots of reasons why authors should consider doing the same. An essential resource for writers looking at the changing landscape of publishing.

[Wendy Bertsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dialogue between two successful authors is a must-read for any author trying to find their way in the current publishing chaos.

They have a businesslike, pragmatic approach to the options that make sense as the options available shift.

Their solutions make sense...for them. The rest of us have to make our own way...but the facts and opinions they present are compelling.

[Susan Visser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book for free and am enjoying it very much. I'm only 10% into the book so far but I am convinced that ebooks / self-publishing are the way to go, even for top tier authors.

I liked the book and the messages very much. It was done in a conversational manner, which made it fun, but very repetitive. I think anyone who is considering writing a book should read this.

[Mars Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good conversation between two bestselling authors who switched from traditional to self-publishing.
They talk about the advantages of indie publishing, why the traditional model is busted, and various price ideas, strategies and tips on thriving as a self-published author in the digital age.

Learned a lot !

[Adam Pepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can agree or disagree with their views and their career moves. You can call these two trailblazers with balls of steel, or blowhards with gargantuan egos. But if you’re in the industry, or circling its periphery, you must read this.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a writer I'd say definitely be the monkey. If you're in any way easily shocked/horrified/sickened...don't click the monkey video link! :)

A very entertaining look into indie publishing on the Kindle and other formats.

[Suzie Quint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this is a bit dated, everything in it is still valid. Some of what they talk about has even come to pass. (That's the dated part but it just gives veracity to everything else.) Absolutely worth reading by anyone who is considering how they want to be published.

[Devin Lind · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who's interested in writing, I've begun to look into various ways to reach potential readers. I picked this up, and found it to be an interesting, fun - and not to mention, educational - read.

[B.K. Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book poses a great argument of traditional publishing versus self-publishing. I hated the source of the title though. If the other content wasn't so applicable to my situation, I would have returned the book.

[Chris Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read and a great resource if you are a self-published writer, or if you are even considering self-publishing. Their industry experience and reasoning are refreshing, but the humor is probably my favorite part. I strongly recommend this book!

[John Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

That poor, poor frog...

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this certainly was an education for me about the world of self publishing! I am so glad that I came across this one! I feel like it is the harbinger of the world to come. :)

[James Tuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright. It was a good, frank discussion with a lot of good points. I came away with the feeling that I need to write more.

Worth reading if you are debating back and forth on your writing career.