Writers in the Storm

From our earliest moments, most writers are avid readers. We devour books – for story, for Craft, for new worlds and new ideas.

We have To Be Read piles (TBR for short) that are taller than small children. Our favorite authors and characters become our friends.

I don’t know if we become students of the written word because we love to read or if we read because we were born to love the written word. All that chicken and egg Zen is well beyond me.

I just flat out love books and every writer I know does too. You might even describe us as “obsessed with the printed word.” It takes a lot of love to go through what we must do to yank our stories from our hearts onto the page.

If you are a writer, there are things that I know about you and your books:

1. I know you get uncomfortable when you are "bookless."
If you are stuck somewhere without a book, you will begin reading any words available – shampoo bottles, food labels, billboard signs. Whatever. Books and magazines are preferred, but in a pinch, any words will smooth your soul. (Do you keep a bag of books in your car trunk like I do?)

2. You read by flashlight in bed at night when you were a child.
When your person-in-charge confiscated it, you waited 5 minutes before pulling the back-up light from its crafty hidey-hole. If they were on to you and confiscated the back-up, you tilted the pages to try to read by the light from the hall.

3. When a book touches you, it is a safe bet that you will not only remember the details of that story, characters, etc…you will also remember where you were the first time you read it and what you were doing that day.

4. I am certain that if you named 10 best friends from the various periods of your life (and were being honest), at least half of them would be book characters or authors.

5. You have different books for different moods. These are your go-to books when you’re in the grip of overwhelming emotion. You keep reading through that stash of books until the feeling gets a little more manageable.

6. Piles of free books by your most cherished authors gives you that same zing of attraction that you felt the first time you saw your true love.

7. When you go to a conference or a book events attended by your favorite author(s), your tongue gets tied in knots and the idea of speaking to them gives you an extreme physical reaction. (I blush, nearly every time, which is a surprise to everyone who knows me.)

8. You have rituals associated with your books.
Whether it’s the way you clean them, sort them, store them or lend them, there is something particular you do with your books. And it makes you feel happy and peaceful when you look at your books after you’ve done it.

(For me, it’s the way I order them and which shelf or room they’re in. My husband knows: don’t be moving my books without telling me, or I will turn into Devil Wife.)

9. On the touchy subject of lending…writers are quite particular about loaning their books.

I know that when someone borrows a treasured book from you and doesn’t return it – or worse, passes it on to someone else without asking you first – your friendship with them changes. You’re probably  still their friend, but you’ll either “forget” to loan them books in the future or you buy a copy from the used bookstore as a back-up and loan them that.

There is an A-List of book-borrowers in your life and you love to have coffee with these people.

10. When a book touches your spirit and transports you to a place you’ve never been, it’s not uncommon for you to read the last page, turn the book over and start at Page 1 to figure out how the author did that.

There are more things that I know about writers and their reading habits but I want to hear from all of you. What are your book rituals? Do you non-writers have book rituals too? Which of the ten “habits” made you laugh?

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About Jenny Hansen

By day, Jenny provides training and social media marketing for an accounting firm. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction and short stories. After 18 years as a corporate software trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Twitter at JennyHansenCA or at Writers In The Storm.

Ella Joy Olsen

(The Psychology Behind Books Sold Cheap)

I started thinking about the pricing of books about four months before my debut novel was due to be published. It started with a conversation at a party when my friend’s father cornered me, so he could speak without others overhearing.

Him (in a conspiratorial whisper): So…you know…I pre-ordered your book.

Me (enthusiastically nodding): Great!

Him: Today I got an email telling me the price has been reduced so they returned the difference.

Me: That’s lucky!

Him (with a sympathetic hand on my shoulder): So I guess it’s not selling well?

Me (stuttering): I don’t know. It’s not even published yet. I think it’s just this game publishers play. I don’t think it means anything.

Him (disbelieving eyebrows and apologetic shrugged shoulders): Well, don’t worry. I’m still excited.

Me (wilting smile): So am I.

That same day at my computer, my Facebook feed was spinning like a slot machine. No less than three of my writer friends had posted a cute meme advertising that their book was on sale for $1.99 and they hoped for shares or likes so the world would know.

I shared the posts, honestly praising the ones I’d read and loved and letting my acquaintances know an awesome book sold at this price was a great opportunity. I’ll also admit that I bought a few more to add to my ever-expanding virtual stack. But the whole time, I was torn. I subscribe to BookBub and Riffle, and I’ve fallen prey to many a good deal (too many a good deal). I’ve purchased well beyond my ability to read. My Kindle is bloated with cheap books, most of them fantastic, many of which I’ll never begin.

It got me thinking about the psychology of sales pricing. I’m an admitted sales rack shopper. The picked-over sales rack at the back of my favorite store is the best place to find an awesome deal, and I always beeline it for that corner. But what if everything in the store is on sale, even before it becomes shelf-worn? Or what happens when I know full-priced items will go on sale almost immediately after being placed on the rack? Of course, I would never buy an item at full price. Think about Old Navy. I don’t buy anything full tag in that store, because I know that, in two short days, my desired item will be 40% off. By continually lowering their prices, Old Navy has diminished the value of everything they sell.

Is that what’s being done to our books?

Since there’s no scarcity of sale-priced books, especially with the ever expanding array of self-published titles dumped into the marketplace, there’s flagging demand for anything not on sale. To counteract the trend, publishing houses play with the pricing, bouncing it up and down. But will you ever pay full price for an e-book? Not if you’re a savvy reader.

I have to wonder, is there a point at which the price becomes so low, or the item goes on sale so quickly, that it sends poor signals to the customer? That this book is barely worth paying for? I’m going to say yes. Here’s an example from recent personal experience. There was this book, which shall remain nameless, because we’ve all seen it on Book Movement, in pop-culture magazines, everywhere. Let’s just say it was one of those books the publishers thought would fly. I took the bait. I wanted to read it. I put it on my Want to Read shelf so I wouldn’t forget it, but I also knew I wouldn’t buy it until I was ready to read. Then, not even a month after publication, I received a notice from Goodreads (aka Amazon) that the electronic copy was on a one-day sale. My eagerly anticipated read was only $4.99. My first thought was not, “Yahoo!” with my finger already pressing the Buy button. No, my immediate reaction was, “This is on sale already? Maybe it’s not as good as they’ve made it out to be.”

Here’s the real question: Did I buy it? No. Not even for $4.99. Because a book isn’t like a new shirt. There’s a time commitment involved when you buy a book. This price drop said to me, too cheap, too soon. Something is wrong. Even at $4.99 I wasn’t going to invest nine hours of my time.

In my post today I hope to spark a conversation. So please comment! I’m not telling you I know the right or the wrong, but I’m hoping the topic will make you think. I have my opinion and I’ve polled some of the savviest writers I know to get their take on this subject.

The question I want you all to ponder is this: In an effort to get our books into the hands of readers, are we diminishing our worth in their eyes?

I’m not even going to mention the mere pocketful of nickels earned by any author whose book is sold for $1.99, though it should not be forgotten. If the publisher lowers the price, the net royalty is much lower, which reduces the author’s ability to earn out their advance; or it further reduces their paycheck. But that’s a topic for another day.

Now let’s look at the pros column. There are some compelling reasons, some real benefits, to selling books cheap. I asked some of my fellow authors their take on the benefits of bouncing prices and here are some of their answers:

• Lower prices are a quick way to get onto a bestseller list, which is something you can continue to promote. Bestseller once, bestseller always, which says “This book is worthwhile.”
• Getting the book to as many humans as possible. Maybe not every person who buys your book will read it. Maybe it will be lost forever on their Kindle. But a percentage of them will. Then, if the book is good enough, they’ll recommend it to their book club, who will recommend it to their mom. And so on! Word of mouth is the only way to truly break out. Here’s a quick example – not about a price break, but I think it still applies – The Nightingale. Before publication, the publisher dumped well over 200 books into early readers’ hands (for free). Now if those readers didn’t like it, it would have sunk right there. But they did! They recommended it widely. And The Nightingale is still flying. These days, people are still buying it, despite the full price tag.
• Price drops are a legitimate way to talk about your own book. We authors spend a bunch of time self-promoting, to the point where we get a little sick of ourselves. But a price break (or a giveaway) is a reason to put the megaphone back to your lips and holler again. One more chance to get your cover in front of an audience. I liken this to election-year yard signs. You may know nothing about so-and-so running for School Board, but if his name rings a bell when you’re standing in the polling booth, aren’t you more likely to vote for him?
• If the book is priced so low the reader has nothing to lose and they buy it, and you wouldn’t have had those sales without the price drop, then it’s better than nothing.
• A price reduction for the first book in a series, or a book by an author you like, creates buzz for their newest title. Low pricing on the first book(s) may entice readers to buy the next on release date, for full price.

Pros aside, I still think we have a problem here. Because I like to work my way to the bottom of something that’s bothering me, to find a solution, I asked myself, “What can be done?” My first thought (don’t laugh): Unionize. Change the industry. Demand fair wages for hours worked and quality products delivered. In order to pay those wages, our work must be priced above $1.99. But that, obviously, is not a solution. Publishing is an open marketplace, full of self-pub platforms, and an overabundance of books. Every sales chain is up for grabs. The industry itself is still trying to come to terms with the upheaval. After much brainstorming, I must confess I still don’t know the answer. And most of the time I feel like I’m simply along for the ride.

So will I play the game? When my book goes on sale for $1.99, will I scream it from the mountaintops and hope for sales? Yes, I will. However, despite the darling meme I create and post on social media, I’m not actually psyched my hard work is being tossed about like it’s worth next to nothing – especially if the price break seems premature or not well-timed to promote my next book.

How do you feel? Is there a solution? Do we need a solution? Leave a comment and let me know!

 

About Ella

Ella Joy Olsen was born, raised, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah – a charming town tucked against the massive Rocky Mountains. Most at home in the world of the written word, Ella spent nearly a decade on the Board of Directors for the Salt Lake City Public Library System (and four decades browsing the stacks). She is the mom of three kids ranging from pre-teen to edge-of-the-nest teen, the mama of two dogs, and the wife of one patient husband.

Though she’s crazy about words, Ella is also practical, so she graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Finance. After years spent typing boring stuff, Ella eagerly gave up her corner cubicle and started writing fiction. She has also lived in Seattle, Washington & Savannah, Georgia.

She is a member of Tall Poppy Writers and Women’s Fiction Writers Association. You can find her at www.ellajoyolsen.com, Twitter @ellajoyolsen, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/ella.joy.olsen.author/

ROOT, PETAL, THORN (September 2016/Kensington) is her debut novel. And coming in September 2017 - WHERE THE SWEET BIRD SINGS.

James Preston

Once upon a time my wife and I were sitting up late at night, reading. She had a romance novel, I probably had something by Heinlein or Asimov or Andre Norton. Suddenly, she yelled, “Arrrrrgh!” Or maybe it was “Gaaaah!” And she threw the paperback across the room, bouncing it off the wall, scaring the cat, scaring me. I said something like, “Uh, honey, sweetie pie, is something wrong?” Meanwhile thinking, she’s between me and the kitchen with all the sharp instruments.

“At the end an atomic bomb went off and they were all killed.” Well, hell, I’d throw a book across the room for that, too. If it was genre fiction and failed to do what I expect it to. It's just wrong.

To prepare for writing this essay I watched two of my favorite movies: Independence Day (1996) and Godzilla (1998). See the sacrifices I make for you, gentle reader? I knew I wanted to write about popular literature and film and its relation to so-called serious lit and film, and how they both relate to what we do, but until I watched those two again, I wasn't sure exactly why I wanted to, and if I had anything to say.

We all have them. Books and movies — stories — we love that are not critically-acclaimed and which more highbrow types look down their patrician noses at.

We’ve all been there, right? “When asked, “What are you reading?” You say, “Oh, I’m re-reading a wonderful early Jayne Ann Krentz” and the English professor down the block says, “Frightfully nice, I’m sure. I’m just finishing Crime and Punishment.” 

The odds are if you are reading this essay you read and write genre fiction, stories that, like Rodney Dangerfield, often don’t get respect. (If, on the other hand, you are working on a free-form non-novel about existential suburban ennui I can’t help you. No one can help you.)

For most of us these old friends are books we read growing up, that spoke to us. For me it was Ian Fleming. I said, “I want to do that.”

I think when we revisit those old friends now, we can learn from them, if we watch or read as writers. And I think there are three tips that will help you to articulate what it is about the work that speaks to you. 

First, ask yourself why this work holds so much appeal to you. 

For me, in Godzilla (1998) it's the character of Nick Tatapoulous, the hero. Here’s a guy in the pouring rain outside Chernobyl, (yes, that Chernobyl) shoving metal rods into the mud so he can apply current and shock earthworms to the surface for capture — and he’s singing. He’s having a good time; this is his work and he’s been at it for three years. This is a guy I want to know more about. (For the rest of the movie the people on the team fighting Godzilla call him “the worm guy.”) He’s quirky and driven and interesting. 

Second, put yourself in the place of the author and try to see what elements they cared about. This is sort of the flip side of Tip Number One. Those elements may not be huge parts of the story, but if they mean something to the writer you will be able to spot them.

In Independence Day the father-son story between Randy Quaid and his son is not essential, you could take it out and still have a movie, yet it is the most emotionally-charged part of the film, just as you could take the comments about assisted living out of the Evanovich books and they’d still work as mysteries, but they’d lack some of the punch. That’s where Evanovich’s heart is. You need to remember that when you are writing, holding it as an example to encourage you to leave a part of yourself on the page.

So far we’ve talked about two tasks when you revisit an old friend, book or movie: you ask yourself why you like it, and you ask yourself what meant the most to the creator. There’s one more tip and it’s a little more difficult.

Third, look for evidence that the writer takes the work seriously.

That’s an absolute must for good stories. There’s a 1950’s science fiction movie called (I’m not making this up) The Hideous Sun Demon. It's about a scientist who is exposed to radiation and later finds that when he got out in the sun he turns into a big lizard and kills people. I think it's a documentary. Even adjusting for inflation, the budget for this film was probably less than the catering budget for one day of shooting on NCIS. In the notes that come with the DVD, the creator, who plays the scientist/lizard, talks about the monster costume they made out of a wetsuit and how hot it was during filming, how in some scenes if you look closely you can see sweat running down his, uh, pants. Did he have to go to all that trouble for a movie aimed at an audience of kids at the drive-in who were more interested in drinking beer and getting to know their dates? No, of course not, but he cared and it shows in a small, but well-crafted movie.

That works both ways. The Robert Aldrich 1955 film noir, Kiss Me Deadly is an example of a writer that didn’t take it seriously. He said in an interview, “I wrote it fast because I had contempt for it.” ⁽¹⁾ The film’s place in movie history is secure, but I think it sucks. The dialog is wooden, the characters some of the most unlikeable ever to slink across the screen, and it's untrue to the book. Mine is a minority opinion, but I stick to it. I hauled out the DVD and watched a good chunk of it to see if I still felt that way and I did.

So, why did I want to write about pop lit? Why, because I like it. Every time I see a new serious book and think I should be reading it, a new James Rollins or Caril Hiassen comes out and gets in the way. I write to entertain and I read for the same reason. That’s it. I can’t say I have no higher purpose, for me there is no higher purpose. How any of you remember the amazing, wonderful chapter in Stephen King’s it where the young writer struggling through a creative writing class suddenly blurts out, “Can’t a story just be a story?” Made me want to stand up and cheer.

Look, you may have a hard time explaining this to the woman who is finishing Crime and Punishment. She won’t get it because she reads for different reasons.

But you’ll know.

I’ve talked about a couple of movies and a few books that — thanks to you readers and to Fae who asked for another contribution — are my guilty pleasures. You know what? They’re not so guilty anymore, so thanks.

Now I’d like to hear yours. One of the coolest things about Writers in the Storm is the community, the sharing, so it’s time to fess up. Who knows? We all might find a new, unappreciated gem. What's your guilty reading pleasure?

 James R. Preston is the author of the award-winning Surf City Mysteries. The most recent is Sailor Home From Sea. He is finishing the second of a projected trilogy of novellas set at Cal State Long Beach in the 1960s. The next Surf City Mystery is called Remains To Be Seen and will be available in 2017. His work has been selected for the UC Berkeley Special Collection, California Detective Fiction. And when he needs inspiration for a great opening, he looks at a Jayne Ann Krentz.

(1)       Hiberman, J., The Thriller of Tomorrow, adapted from his book, An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War.