As my mom would say, the publishing industry is changing faster and more often than most people change underwear. How’s a writer to know how to choose the right career path amid so much upheaval? I don’t recommend reinventing the wheel, but rather learning from others who’ve walked your path. Today, Edie Ramer is here to talk with us about her career choices and path to publication. Welcome, Edie!
First, thanks to Adrienne and Kelsey and the Romance University crew for having me here. I’ve been a fan of RU since I first heard about it, and I’m so pleased to talk about my new project here. I’m doing something that a year ago I would never have dreamed I’d do. I’m going to be an indie writer, putting my paranormal romance, CATTITUDE, on Smashwords and Kindle.
My 
original dream was to hold my book in my hands, not to look at it on my e-reader screen. Six years ago when I got an agent for CATTITUDE, I thought I was on my way. She sent it to all the big houses, but it didn’t sell. My agent quit the business, and I was on my own. I kept writing, getting contest finals and wins, including an American Title V final. My books were requested and considered by editors, and I had close calls that ended with requests to submit my next book.
This process was frustrating and heart-breaking, yet I never stopped believing in my books and I never lost faith in myself. What I lost faith in was the publishing business. Not for everyone. Many of my friends publish and love their editors and agents. And they do well; some of them very well. But these friends write books for established genres. A local book fest had a romance panel, and one of the authors said she had no say in the covers. Her very big publisher looked at what worked in the past and they used that as the model for their present covers.
That goes for the majority of their books, too. They look at what sold yesterday, and that’s what they buy now. Every once in a while a new genre will break out, the numbers too big to ignore, and then all the publishers want books in this genre.
My books don’t seem to fall into any genre. They have romance, but it’s not just about the romance. They have humor, but sardonic humor, not belly laughs. They have paranormal elements, mystery and angst, but not enough to be a full-blown paranormal, mystery or suspense. If there are cracks, my books fall through every single one. But this is what comes out of me when I write. If I try to write for the market, I fail every time.
Though I’ve put aside my old dream, it’s not because I’ve given up. It’s because I’ve found a new dream that excites me, makes me eager to see what will happen next. I have writer friends who are making more money from their digital books than some of my NY published writer friends have made with theirs. Many writers are joining me in this new dream, these new possibilities. Others have told me they’re watching to see how I’ll do.
But I also know a writer who didn’t do well in digital. So, I have to make it the best book I can, the reason it’s taking me so long to put up. (Soon! It will be up soon!) I’m confident I’ll do okay and perhaps better than that. I love my cover, plus I have the cat angle. I’m hoping people who like cats will read the blurb, then the sample chapters, and then they’ll want to buy the book. I also have four other books that I’ll put up, probably one every month or so.
I don’t expect success to happen overnight, but that’s a great thing about digital books. It doesn’t have to happen overnight. My digital books will stay on Smashwords and Kindle. They’re not going to be cleared from the shelves to make way for next month’s books. I have the luxury of time to build a readership.
It’s all win-win to me. You can find out more about CATTITUDE here. I’d love it if you sign up for my newsletter so I can let you know when my books will be out.
***
Do any of you have books that fall between the cracks? Or a book you love and your CPs love and you know there are other people who will love it, too? Do you think digital publishing might be in your future?
Stop by tomorrow when Laurie London will continue her Debut Author’s Journey series with tips on dealing with the time between The Call and revisions.
Edie’s Bio:
Edie lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her husband, two dogs, and the original Belle the cat. She started writing in the 1990’s, selling short stories in the mystery genre to National magazines and two Women Sleuth books. In addition to non-fiction articles, she wrote verses for greeting cards, and she possesses a drawer filled with cards for any occasion. She’s co-founder of Write Attitude, an inspirational website for writers. For more about Edie, visit http://edieramer.com/, http://twitter.com/edieramer, or http://magicalmusings.com.
Kelsey's serving up bite-sized morsels for your noggin on her new 
Hi Edie,
Congrats on following your dream. There are many roads to publishing and, as writers, we have to find the one that best suits our individual needs.
I love your cover, and your write-up made me smile. Sounds like a fun read.
Good luck!
Tracey
Posted by Tracey Devlyn | August 23, 2010, 5:36 amMorning Edie!
Anything with cats and I’m there! =) Sounds like a fun book! Best of luck in your book selling endeavors – we wish you well!
=)
carrie
Posted by Carrie Spencer | August 23, 2010, 7:00 amThanks, Tracey and Carrie! As of late last night, Cattitude is on Smashwords. It will be on Kindle today or tomorrow. So, I’m really excited. I had a hard time sleeping last night. lol
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 7:16 amEdie -
Welcome to RU! I’m curious who decides on the price point for Kindle and Smashwords – the author or the distributor?
Congratulations on the realization of your dream!
Kelsey
Posted by Kelsey Browning | August 23, 2010, 8:10 amHi Edie. Welcome to RU! Good for you on taking this step. I recently submitted two of my single titles to e-pubs, which I never thought I’d do. I think things are changing rapidly and with the explosion of e-readers, this might be the way to go for me. Not sure yet. I’ll let you know when I get responses to my queries!
Great post, Edie. Good luck with the book!
Posted by Adrienne Giordano | August 23, 2010, 8:11 amKelsey, the author decides. I’ve been following J.A. Konrath and Zoe Winters on their blogs. If you set the price at $2.99 or higher (as of July) on Kindle, the authors get 70% of the cost from Kindle. I believe when the price is lower than 2.99, the author gets only 40% from Kindle (though I could be wrong). Smashwords charges 85% or less of the net, no matter what the price.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 8:35 amAdrienne, there are some great e-pubs out there. Good luck on your submissions!
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 8:37 amHi Edie!
I LOVE Write Attitude and visit often. I’ve referred quite a few writer friends there when they were discouraged.
Good luck with your book. I think the most important part of your story is that it’s important to reevaluate goals, and, when needed, adjust them to make them achievable.
Posted by Wendy Marcus | August 23, 2010, 8:37 amI just visited Write Attitude myself – talk about some great resources! I’m bookmarking that one!!
carrie
=)
Posted by Carrie Spencer | August 23, 2010, 3:55 pmWendy, I’m so glad Write Attitude helped you! I go once in a while myself. lol
Thanks for your good wishes. Adjusting our goals is very important, especially in publishing, considering all the changes. My choice to go indie has empowered me.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 8:41 amEdie, I think I’m as excited as you are about the release. I have followed your journey most of the way and I can verify, you’ve been so close so many times. I’ve always said it takes more than just a great book…it takes a whole lotta luck. Books that don’t fit into a specific genre are hard to sell, so they say. I think it’s safe to say that all of us with books like that will be watching to see how you do and rooting for you to do well. I’ll wait until tomorrow to download Cattitude to my Kindle.
Thanks for sharing your story. Fingers crossed.
Posted by Liz Lipperman | August 23, 2010, 9:26 amLiz, thanks! I’ll let you know when it’s available on Kindle. And I’m eager to read your first casserole mystery! When it’s out, I’ll be one of the first to buy it.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 9:35 amHey Edie, love your blog!
I’m so excited for those future possibilites just waiting for you. We’ve all seen and shared so many changes going on behind the scenes, and paths do change with the times. I know you’ll do great with your stories. And I love that you never give up; dreams change and we have to follow.
So many of us are cheering you on…to Victory!
Posted by LaDonna | August 23, 2010, 10:59 amHi Edie–thanks for this timely topic and I wish you all the best. I’m very close to making this decision myself and am eager to learn all I can. I have a question–when you Indie publish on Smashwords and Kindle–can you describe the whole getting the ISBN number process?
Posted by Ginger Duran | August 23, 2010, 11:42 amLaD, thanks! I can hear your cheers all the way from Tennessee.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 11:59 amGinger, Smashwords makes it easy, though you have to qualify to make sure your formatting will fit into Barnes & Noble and the ibookstore. You can read about your options here.
I’m going for the Premium ISBN, which is only $9.95. It might take a couple weeks for Catitude me to be approved. When it is, I’ll get the ISBN and it will show up on all the Smashwords books. You can put your book up on Smashbooks and Kindle without it.
Let me know when if you decide to go indie. Good luck!
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 11:59 amThanks, Edie–this was most helpful!
Posted by Ginger Duran | August 23, 2010, 12:43 pmGinger, anytime. Feel free to email me with any questions.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 1:19 pmEdie, I didn’t realize it was possible to indie publish across multiple platforms. Is that how I should view Kindle, Smashwords and others like them, as platforms rather than as publishers? Are there other platforms like this available?
Posted by PatriciaW | August 23, 2010, 2:51 pmPatricia, when you go indie, you’re the publisher. That’s why I feel empowered. Smashwords reaches the biggest e-stores, which is why most indie writers go with them.
I’m actually fairly new at this. Follow J.A. Konrath’s blogs. His blogs convinced me that this would be a good thing.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 3:34 pmMe popping back in again! =) What legalese (and forgive me if I’m clueless about this) do you need to know to go this route? Do you still need an agent to read through contracts? Or is it entirely not contracted?
Thanks again!
carrie
Posted by Carrie Spencer | August 23, 2010, 3:52 pmCarrie, you can read the directions on Smashwords. It’s pretty straightforward. You can read more here. And on Kindle, you own the rights. You own the rights. The one thing you can’t control is if another ebook store, like Barnes & Noble, would price your book lower than $2.99, then Kindle wouldn’t give you 70% while the other sale lasts. But that’s something I’m not worried about.
The only part where I hesitated was with the premium distribution Smashwords lists themselves as the publisher (that’s where they get the ISBN for you and sends your book to the ibookstore and B&N, which are 2 big ones). But Smashwords only charges $9.95 for that, no more. And they say you are still your publisher and you put it where you want it.
I checked out a couple of other writers to see if they used Smashwords premium distribution, and they did. That included J.A. Konrath. A friend on Smashwords and Kindle is talking about selling her own foreign rights.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 4:13 pmHey Edie,
I remember when I first went indie, you were one of the people who said it wasn’t for you, but you would support me and watch what I do. You turned out to be one of my biggest cheerleaders!
Still, I was pleasantly surprised when you decided to go indie with Cattitude. And very thrilled, since you know from early on I wanted to read it!
Welcome to the dark side!
Posted by Zoe Winters | August 23, 2010, 4:23 pmEdie, what a wonderful post, and congratulations on Cattitude! I have to say that your cover is one of the most professional I’ve seen and your passion for this book shines through. Also, it’s got to be one of the books that skates genre. I know this problem well, and I think many people will be following your example. Congratulations on being fearless. I’m off to buy your book on Smashwords!
Posted by Donnell | August 23, 2010, 4:31 pmHello Edie!
What a great discussion! This makes me wonder why we feel the need to categorize things in our lives whether it’s books, music, people, food, etc.
I started reading Joe Konrath’s blog last year and his recent post, “The Beginning of the End”, was a real eye opener.
Best of luck to you and thank you for sharing your experience.
Cheers!
Jen
Posted by Jennifer Tanner | August 23, 2010, 4:43 pm
Posted by Pam Beason | August 23, 2010, 5:02 pmZoe, you’re a cat lady. lol Of all my book summaries that I had on my old site, Cattitude was the one that the most people told me they wanted to read.
And I’m all for cheering other writers on. I’m happy that you’ve done so well.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 6:37 pmDonnell, thanks! You know Laura from our GIAM group put the cover together. She did an amazing job! And I’m eager to read your Walk Away Joe. Either in indie or another form, people are waiting to read it.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 6:40 pmJen, I love most kinds of music, too. If I wrote music, I’d probably straddle there, too. lol
Joe has probably convinced more writers to go indie than anyone else. If you go indie, let me know. We should stick together.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 6:43 pmPam, Konrath writes horror, and that’s doing well. I think sharing is a great idea.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 6:45 pmGreat blog, Edie, and more power to you! I have a book that falls between the cracks, but I think it can be mainstreamed a bit with a few changes. I’ll try that when I finish the book I’m working on now.
It’s definitely a brave new world in publishing, and it’s hard to keep up with all the changes!
Posted by Becke Martin/Davis | August 23, 2010, 9:03 pmEdie,
What an exciting adventure! I love that you didn’t give up, that you considered the other options out there. It’s an exciting time to be a writer, that’s for sure.
I just bought a Nook and I can’t wait till Cattitude is available for download. Soon, I hope!
Posted by Laurie London | August 23, 2010, 9:17 pmBecke, thanks! Yes, I’d try the traditional genres first. Good luck!
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 23, 2010, 9:34 pmEdie, so excited for you and your trailblazing journey. You deserve every success.
Posted by Michelle Diener | August 24, 2010, 12:31 amMichelle, I’ve been lucky to have you with me on my journey. Cattitude was the first book you critiqued for me!
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 24, 2010, 6:54 amEdie -
Thanks so much for the great post today. The gals at RU are wishing you the very best with Cattitude!
K-
Posted by Kelsey Browning | August 24, 2010, 7:45 amLaurie, thanks! I thought I’d replied to your comment last night, but it mustn’t have gone through. Yes, I love all the options writers have now. It’s as if anything is possible.
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 24, 2010, 8:06 amKelsey, thanks to RU for inviting me. It’s a great send-off for Cattitude!
Posted by Edie Ramer | August 24, 2010, 8:07 am