Amazon Gets Rights to

Bond Backlist

When Curtis Brown UK managing director Jonny Geller announced that Jonathan Cape had acquired a ten-year license to republish Ian Fleming's James Bond backlist in the UK, he intimated there would be a new North American publisher in the works as well. As was announced Tuesday afternoon, that publisher is Amazon, through its Thomas & Mercer imprint, which will reissue the 14 Bond novels, as well as two non-fiction titles by Fleming, The Diamond Smugglers (1957) and Thrilling Cities (1963), in ebook and print formats starting this summer. (Penguin previously held world English rights to the Bond novels, but their 10-year license expired in March.)

In a release sent jointly by Curtis Brown UK and Amazon, Geller said: "This deal heralds a new phase in Ian Fleming's publishing story. We are excited to be working with Amazon in North America to bring a new generation of readers to Ian Fleming's classic novels."

Less than two years ago Ian Fleming Publications experimented with publishing ebook editions of the Bond novels on their own, but now they have sold those rights packaged with the print licenses, first to Random House UK and now Amazon. "We are excited to be using the opportunity of this re-license to introduce Ian Fleming's books to a broader audience in the USA, and we believe that Amazon Publishing has the ability to place the books back at the heart of the Bond brand, balancing traditional publishing routes with new technologies and new ways of reaching our readers," managing director Corinne Turner said in the release.

The key phrase to remember comes by way of Amazon Publishing director of rights and licensing Philip Patrick, who said "Amazon Publishing offers signature authors a new life for great backlist titles. Fleming is the perfect fit." Indeed, as an agent we spoke to said to us Tuesday, acquiring a well-known fiction backlist means "this venture is here to stay. They are buying a brand for ten years. They are sticking around. This thing is happening and I just have to suck it up and sell them stuff." By many reports, Amazon has courted--and bid on--other well-known fiction backlists, and have published nearly 50 Ed McBain titles to date as well.

The Bond news also brings attention again for Barnes & Noble, and whether they will carry the print editions. Since Amazon says the ebooks will be Kindle exclusives at the outset, and BN has already declined to carry titles from Amazon Publishing in their physical stores, the policy is unlikely to change. A BN spokesperson declined to comment until "we know further information," while HMH clarified to us that New Harvest editions are only for Amazon New York titles. While recent print sales for the Bond titles have been very modest, each on average selling a few hundred copies according to Bookscan, the next Bond movie, Skyfall, is due to release in November.

Authors Pulling

Double Duty

For years, it was a schedule as predictable as a calendar: novelists who specialized in mysteries, thrillers and romance would write one book a year, output that was considered not only sufficient, but productive.

The author Lisa Scottoline, who writes thrillers, has increased her yearly output from one book to two because, she said, “the culture is a great big hungry maw, and you have to feed it.”

But the e-book age has accelerated the metabolism of book publishing. Authors are now pulling the literary equivalent of a double shift, churning out short stories, novellas or even an extra full-length book each year.

They are trying to satisfy impatient readers who have become used to downloading any e-book they want at the touch of a button, and the publishers who are nudging them toward greater productivity in the belief that the more their authors’ names are out in public, the bigger stars they will become.

“It used to be that once a year was a big deal,” said Lisa Scottoline, a best-selling author of thrillers. “You could saturate the market. But today the culture is a great big hungry maw, and you have to feed it.”

The push for more material comes as publishers and booksellers are desperately looking for ways to hold onto readers being lured by other forms of entertainment, much of it available nonstop and almost instantaneously. Television shows are rushed online only hours after they are originally broadcast, and some movies are offered on demand at home before they have left theaters. In this environment, publishers say, producing one a book a year, and nothing else, is just not enough.

At the same time, the Internet has allowed readers to enjoy a more intimate relationship with their favorite authors, whom they now expect to be accessible online via blogs, Q. and A.’s on Twitter and updates on Facebook.

Some of the extra work is being pushed by authors themselves, who are easing their own fears that if they stay out of the fickle book market too long, they might be forgotten.

Ms. Scottoline has increased her output from one book a year to two, which she accomplishes with a brutal writing schedule: 2,000 words a day, seven days a week, usually “starting at 9 a.m. and going until Colbert,” she said.

NYT

Amanda Hocking

Conventional Publishing Update

As I was self-publishing, I was always very transparent about what was happening, and I've tried to maintain that even with going with traditional publishing. I don't want to talk about more industry stuff all the time, because I think it can get boring and redundant and readers don't necessarily care about sales.

But it's been awhile since I talked about things, and I've had time to work with my publisher and see how things are and get an idea of how things are going. So I thought I'd give you an update.

Before I say that, I want to clarify one thing that some people still get confused on: I have two separate deals with St. Martin's. The one that happened first was for a brand new four-book deal (the Watersong series), and the deal that came a little bit later was a three-book deal to re-publish the previously self-published Trylle Trilogy. (To read older blogs about the Watersong deal: read here, and the Trylle deal, please read: here and here.)

As part of the deal with St. Martin's, I unpublished all three Trylle books last summer. That gave them time to be edited and build up proper steam for the re-release starting in January 2012. But by the time I un-published them, I'd already sold nearly a million copies of the trilogy.

So, when going forward with the deal, both my publisher and I knew that we'd already sold to a large part of our readers. Many people who would want to read the books already had, and while some of them might re-buy, a lot of them wouldn't. We both know that, and we both understood.

Still, we geared up for the release like they would any other books. In terms of the actual book, I've had input on every aspect of design - from the cover to editing to pricing to marketing. I've loved working with my editor, publicists, and every member of the team I've been in contact with St. Martin's. I've never accepted part of the process that I didn't like. I've still been able to be hands-on when I want to and need to, but without all the stress I've had before.

Amanda Hocking Blog

Self-Pub Romance

Authors Unite

by Joyce Lamb

Several romance authors have gotten together to launch a brand designed to help readers find "high-quality self-published works." This brand is called Rock*It Reads, and you'll be able to identify Rock*It Reads books by the logo on the cover. You can see it on Mia Marlowe's cover at right, in the upper right corner. In addition, the authors are launching a column, Love Rocks, at the B&N website (it starts Monday!) that will highlight great romances and initiate conversation about self-pubbed romances as well as traditionally published. I managed to corner some of the Rock*It Reads authors to find out more about their endeavor and what readers can expect. (And, hey, if you stick around until the end of the interview and leave a comment, you could win a book.)

Joyce: What is Rock*It Reads and who's involved?

A: Rock*It Reads is an authors' collective of New York-published authors who are also self-publishing romances. We're committed to producing only high-quality self-published works, which match or exceed the standards set by traditional publishing houses. Our Rock*It Reads logo, appearing on the cover of our self-published works, will signal to the reader our steadfast commitment to quality.

The R*IR authors are: Monica Burns, Pamela Clare (HEA contributor, who in no way contributed to or influenced this post!), Lila DiPasqua, Cheryl Holt, Vanessa Kelly, Kris Kennedy, Margo Maguire, Mia Marlowe, Elisabeth Naughton, Sharon Page and Joan Swan.

Joyce: Why did all of these authors form this group/brand?

A: The e-book market place is exploding, offering readers an astounding number of books to choose from. But it's too easy for readers to get "search fatigue" from wading through the options, trying to find the gems.

By establishing Rock*It Reads, we're giving readers an effective, streamlined way to find really great books. Our beautiful new website is a one-stop portal for finding our books and for keeping up to date on latest news and upcoming releases. And our clearly recognizable logo is a signal to readers that they're getting a story that's been tended with the same level of attention and professionalism as our New York works. The logo is our "seal of quality," telling readers we care as much about writing great stories as they do about reading them!

And to make sure it's clear: Rock*It Reads is not a publisher. All the books are 100% self-published works, done by each author on her own time. We've simply banded together to form Rock*It Reads to help our readers find other high-quality self-published works. We're hoping the logo will be like a beacon or guide though the vast world of self-published romances.

USA Today

"Page Turner"

A New Yorker Debut

Walking the halls of The New Yorker, one hears conversations about books trailing out of office doors. Just the other day, two colleagues argued—cordially, but with some heat in their voices—about the merits of a certain series starring a girl with a bow and arrow. Another editor could be heard observing that Lena Dunham’s “Girls” has many novelistic antecedents—on average, about one every ten years—and wondering how the four-girl, post-collegiate formula has evolved. Yet another talked about how, after first reading “David Copperfield,” as a teen-ager, she opened it again when she was pregnant, and found that it was a different book. Sometimes, it seems, it can be hard to get a cup of coffee without proffering an opinion on a much talked-about début, or even an obscure one, hot off a Brooklyn letterpress.

Page-Turner is an elaboration of this ongoing conversation (look for some of the arguments and enthusiasms reported above in the coming weeks), building on the work of the Book Bench blog, and expanding on it. We’ll debate about books under-noticed or too much noticed, and celebrate writers we’ve returned to again and again. We’ll look to works in translation and at the politics of literary scenes beyond the English-speaking world. We’ll think about technology and the reading life. We’ll recommend and we’ll theorize. Daily essays will be the blog’s mainstay, with books as an anchor for wide-ranging cultural comment.

New Yorker

Potter Free

On Kindle Library

After teasing customers on its website yesterday that Harry Potter "Wizardry was on the Way," Amazon announced Wednesday morning that all seven Harry Potter ebooks by J.K. Rowling will be available in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as part of an "exclusive" license, starting June 19. Amazon tells PL the license runs "until at least 2014" and says the exclusivity means "this is the only licensing agreement of its kind for any retailer."The French, Italian, German and Spanish editions will all be available for borrowing in KOLL.

"We're absolutely delighted to have reached this agreement with Pottermore. This is the kind of significant investment in the Kindle ecosystem that we'll continue to make on behalf of Kindle owners,” said Amazon ceo Jeff Bezos in the release. Bezos also added: "Over a year, borrowing the Harry Potter books, plus a handful of additional titles, can alone be worth more than the $79 cost of Prime or a Kindle."

Separately, Pottermore executive Charlie Redmayne told the Guardian it was Rowling's decision to offer the Harry Potter ebooks DRM-free, because she "personally believes that if someone's bought an ebook they ought to be able to read it on their Sony Reader, their Kindle, their iPad, their PC." He adds are still "having conversations with Apple" about an affiliate sales relationship for the Potter ebooks, "but there is no date, no agreement."

Pottermore is driving truly impressive page view statistics--over a billion page views in the first two weeks after the full launch (that's what Huffington Post did for the whole quarter), but we still don't buy the claim that over 3 million pounds in HP ebook sales over the first month is way ahead ahead of plan. Redmayne insists he "didn't anticipate reaching [that figure] until the autumn." (That would mean they planned on selling only about 100,000 units, or less than 15,000 units per title, per month.)

Working with

Self-Published Authors

by Karen Schechner, ABA

In response to the growing number of self-published authors seeking shelf space at indie bookstores, savvy booksellers are establishing programs that clearly define their requirements and streamline the consignment process. Profitable programs range from a no-questions-asked spot in a store’s consignment section to an elaborate, tiered event option, including signings, readings, and publicity.

Establishing a program for self-published authors has made the experience smoother for everyone and has increased sales, said Sarah Bagby, owner of Watermark Books and Cafe in Wichita, Kansas. “Having a system in place relieves us of assessing all of the books, and it relieves us of the responsibility of having to respond to every single self-published author,” she explained.

One of Watermark’s programs simply offers a little coveted shelf space. “No questions asked, we’ll take five copies of a book on consignment,” said Bagby. The terms are 60/40, and the store keeps the books on the shelves for 90 days. “If they sell, we’ll get back to the author right away and reorder. If they don’t, the author needs to pick up their books.” Staff reconciles the section every month.  Contracts for the authors are kept at the cash wrap, and staff is trained on the programs that Watermark offers.

A second Watermark program offers tiered event options, which can cost from $50 to $500. Elements include a signing, newsletter inclusion, and front-of-store title placement, or a reading and signing, 100-postcard mailing to the author’s list, a four-color 11" x 17" poster hung in the store, and more.

Bagby finds that presenting the options as an event kit gives authors an understanding of the work that’s involved to host, promote, and staff an appearance at the store. “It basically puts a price on all of our marketing efforts,” she said. “It also gives us something to help promote their books. And the best thing about it is that we don’t have to turn anybody away.”  The event kit is also available to small presses that don’t have a co-op program.

Big sellers tend to be local history, Bagby said. “If a book is regional, interesting, and well researched, we’ll put it in the regional section rather than consignment. People want to read about where they live, and to contextualize their history. A book on jazz and vice in Wichita sold hundreds of copies.”

Would she recommend other booksellers establish similar programs? “Absolutely,” Bagby said. “Make sure the staff is trained and knows how to make the author feel comfortable, so that it’s a good exchange for everyone. It’s really helped our public relations in terms of how we work with self-published authors.”

At Denver’s Tattered Cover Book Store, authors and small local publishers can sell their books on consignment via the Rocky Mountain Authors program. The benefits and requirements of the program as well as answers to frequently asked questions are provided on the store’s website.

A book must be professionally bound and approved by staff. Once it’s approved, a $30 administrative fee is charged, which allows Tattered Cover staff “to continue providing individualized service to the hundreds of authors and publishers [the store] supports through the program each year.” The first consignment term lasts 90 days.

ABA

Publishers Going

DRM-Free

Macmillan division Tom Doherty Associates--comprising the Tor, Forge, Orb, Starscape, and Tor Teen imprints--announced on their blog that their entire list of ebooks will be available DRM-free "by early July." In a separate, following notice, Tor UK said that it will do the same. They added that "we are consulting with our authors at the moment and we will announce our plans in more detail in due course."

President and publisher Tom Doherty writes: "Our authors and readers have been asking for this for a long time. They're a technically sophisticated bunch, and DRM is a constant annoyance to them. It prevents them from using legitimately-purchased e-books in perfectly legal ways, like moving them from one kind of e-reader to another." The company says that as part of the move, they "expect to begin selling titles through retailers that sell only DRM-free books."

Executive editor Beth Meacham notes in the comments section that they continue to work on expanding their ebook list as well: "We've been working for more than a year to get our backlist converted to ebook format, which is more complicated than just file conversion. Sometimes we need to acquire rights, often we need to create files from archived hard copies. But it's happening. It's just that there are a lot of books."

Author John Scalzi asks Tor editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden "what going DRM-free will mean for the publisher's efforts regarding online misappropriation of author copyrights, because I know that this is a very real concern for many writers." Hayden writes back, "Just in case anyone is worried: I can tell you with complete confidence that Macmillan and Tor/Forge have no intention of scaling back our anti-piracy efforts in the e-book realm. We expect to continue working to minimize this problem with all the tools at our disposal."

Forsaking DRM, and/or experimenting with "lighter" DRM schemes that allow more customer freedom, has been under discussion at a number of houses recently, intensified in the wake of the agency pricing lawsuits and settlements. Tor/Forge are the first "Big Six" imprints to make this move, though Pottermore's recent release of DRM-free Harry Potter ebooks (watermarked in some versions; still encrypted if purchased for the Kindle or Nook platforms) remains the most prominent. The Tor move raises the likelihood that other big publishers will head in the same direction, and also increases the chance that they may do so by division or imprint rather than companywide.

Among other DRM-free programs are Harlequin's Carina Press and other genre publishers such as Samhain, Ellora's Cave, Baen, Angry Robot and eReads. O'Reilly and F+W Media are among other publishers who are DRM-free. Sourcebooks is among those experimenting with DRM-free books, through their recently-launched Discover A New Love ebook subscription club. (The company has invited other publishers to participate, while acknowledging that the DRM-free might prevent some publishers from joining them.)

There has been debate online about whether lifting DRM will expand the retail marketplace for ebooks or actually strengthens the hand of the largest ebookstores and platforms (and those willing or able to discount the most on non-agency books). For readers with large ebook collections on one particular platform, lifting DRM on new titles without liberating their already-purchased books may have little or no effect (and it will produce some grousing in comments fields, as well)--plus it's hard to imagine significant market effects unless and until the change is adopted by a wide swath of publishers. It's certainly customer-friendly, and enhances the value of ebook purchases for some customers. And it makes business-model experimentation and direct selling by publishers much easier to execute.

Bits & Bytes

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FICTION

Debut

Amy Gail Hansen's debut, THE BUTTERFLY SISTER, a work of suspense about twenty-two-year-old college dropout who is haunted by memories of her senior year at the all-girl Tarble College after a missing classmate's suitcase arrives with tags bearing her name and returns to her alma mater to not only solve a mystery but confront the ghosts of her past, to Carrie Feron at William Morrow, by Elisabeth Weed at Weed Literary (NA).

Italian rights to Garzanti, in a pre-empt, by Jenny Meyer at Meyer Literary.

Inspirational

Terry Brennan's THE BROTHERHOOD CONSPIRACY, a sequel to SACRED CIPHER, out of the smoking ruin of the Temple Mount and a short-lived Middle East peace, the forces of ancient hate and sectarian conflict collide in a global game of blood betrayal and political brinksmanship and explode amid the violence and anarchy of the Arab Spring to expose the real forces behind the revolution and secret plans for world domination, to Stephen Barclift at Kregel, in a nice deal, for publication in 2013, by Barbara Scott at WordServe Literary Group (World).

barbara@wordserveliterary.com 

Mystery/Crime

Todd Ritter's DEVIL'S NIGHT, the third book of the Perry Hollow series following a detective, again to Kelley Ragland at Minotaur, by Michelle Brower at Folio Literary Management.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Sir Julius Vogel award recipient and a nominee for the British Science Fiction Association, British Fantasy Society, and Parsec awards Adam Christopher's SHADOW'S CALL, a dark space opera featuring a distant outpost, bathed in toxic radiation from a nearby star, where a washed-up Fleet commander must battle a sentient mechanical spider race and its sinister allies with the help of a long-dead Cosmonaut and a sexy but troubled celebrity asteroid-miner, to Paul Stevens at Tor, by Stacia Decker at the Donald Maass Literary Agency (NA).

Film: Luke Sandler at Gotham Group

Women's/Romance

USA TODAY bestselling author Marie Ferrarella's FOREVER VALENTINE, three books in her ongoing American Romance miniseries, FOREVER, TEXAS, which features the characters and romances within a small Texas town, to Patience Bloom at Harlequin, in a nice deal, for publication in 2013, by Patricia Teal at the Patricia Teal Literary Agency.

Children's: Middle grade

Author of the 2003 Orange Prize-winning PROPERTY, Valerie Martin and Lisa Martin's ANTON AND CECIL: CATS AT SEA, about two animal heroes whose curiosity about the world and passion for adventure takes them on a journey beyond their wildest expectations, pitched as in the tradition of The Wind and the Willows, Stuart Little, and Poppy, to Elise Howard at Algonquin, by Molly Friedrich at the Friedrich Agency (world).

NONFICTION

Advice/Relationships

Tim Shoemaker's 52 WAYS TO BE A HERO, packed with practical advice to help men become heroes - and better husbands and dads as a result, to Kathleen Kerr at Harvest House, in a nice deal, by Terry Burns at Hartline Literary Agency.

Cooking

Chef, restaurateur, and TV personality Gale Gand's newest cookbook, GALE GAND'S LUNCH!, in which she shares fun and creative ideas, tips, and tricks for all kinds of lunches, to Justin Schwartz at Wiley, by Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World).

Health

Running coach and creator of the POSE method Dr. Nicholas Romanov and author of THE BOOK OF ABS Kurt Brungardt's THE RUNNING REVOLUTION, which translates for the first time the new mechanics of running explored in BORN TO RUN into an easy-to-follow prescriptive method, to Kevin Doughten at Penguin, by Dan Strone at Trident Media Group (World).

How-To

NYT bestselling author Jen Lancaster's THE TAO OF MARTHA: One Neophyte Homemaker's Year of Cooking, Crafting, Decorating, Organizing, Gardening, Celebrating, and Generally Attempting to Emulate the Zen of the Ultimate Domestic Goddess; Or, Why I'm Never, Ever Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog, to Tracy Bernstein at NAL, in a major deal, by Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

Memoir

Author of the controversial NYT bestselling memoir UNORTHODOX, Deborah Feldman's untitled follow-up, which finds Feldman embarking on independence as a single woman and mother, forging a new kind of Jewish life for herself, and discovering the far-flung yet familiar community of many like-minded "religious refugees" of all faiths around the world, moving to David Rosenthal and Sarah Hochman at Blue Rider Press, for publication in Fall 2013, by Patricia van der Leun at Patricia van der Leun Literary (world).

Reference

Novelist and screenwriter, John Robert Marlow's MAKE YOUR BOOK A MOVIE: ADAPTING YOUR BOOK OR IDEA FOR HOLLYWOOD, explaining through interviews with Hollywood dealmakers the process by which books get adapted to film, to Daniela Rapp at St. Martin's, for publication in December 2012, by Andy Ross at the Andy Ross Agency (world).

andyrossagency@hotmail.com 

Religion/Spirituality

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist, NY Times and Washington Post religion blogger, former presidential speechwriter, EWTN TV host, and author of THE NEW FAITHFUL Colleen Carroll Campbell's MY SISTERS THE SAINTS, whose spiritual memoir blends her struggles with infertility, her father's Alzheimer's, and tensions between her feminist impulses and Catholic faith with the stories of six women saints who guided her on her way, to Gary Jansen at Image Books, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2012, by Cathy Hemming, in association with McCormick & Williams Literary Agency (World).

General/Other

POPULATION: 485 author and Wisconsin pig farmer Michael Perry's untitled book on Montaigne, a not entirely tongue-in-cheek argument that the life wisdom imparted by an iconic thinker over 450 years ago is still wholly applicable today, to Jennifer Barth at Harper, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).

Translation: helen@curtisbrown.co.uk 

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