Taking baby steps

Another of my letters for the BAIPA News (June 2008)

In my email yesterday, I got the Writers Digest newsletter and the subject line read “Push Past Writer’s Block” – it made me think about how we begin to move, how we begin after a fallow time, how we are able to act when it all seems so hard.

Taking these steps, these positive steps – I call them baby steps — is important. And it’s equally important to acknowledge taking these steps, whatever they are, to move you onward.

Beyond the money. Living in the book world.

I have been writing articles for the BAIPA News — and thought I’d post some of them here. I hope they are helpful to you. (May 2008)

I have been working on projects recently where I’m dealing with the business realities of publishing – how to make enough money to pay for all the things needed to build the books and generate the sales. At times it seems difficult, if not impossible, to make it all work, especially because I personally don’t like selling and don’t want to be doing the things it often takes to sell a lot of books. I like writing books. I like designing books. I like managing book projects. I like helping others with their books. That’s where my heart lies.   

Find what works for you

There is no one right way to write or to create a book or to be published. There are so many choices today. Find the path that’s right for you.

Some books are written from the inside out. The book shapes itself. The book and the characters take over and tell you what is happening. You may not even know what kind of book you are writing until you are deep into it. Trust this process. Trust your instincts. I heard a writer, I think it was Isabelle Allende… anyway, she said her job was just to get out of the way; that the book used her to get written.

Pocket books no longer fit in my pocket

This is a rant. Many new mass market paperback books are being issued in a larger size. These books are taller and often wider than the old mass market paper backs I usually buy. They also cost about $2 more, bringing the cost of a paperback to almost $10.

On some of these books there is a sticker that says this design is for more comfortable reading. I have spoken with employees of Borders and written to Simon & Schuster. I have been told that these books have been designed for easier reading. I suspect they mean the baby boomers are getting older and finding it more difficult to read small print. Okay, I get that.

But, I am a baby boomer. I carry books around with me in my shoulder bag (I use public transportation and walk), so I’m literally carrying books with me every day. I am a voracious reader. I also read in bed. One reason I resist buying hardbacks is because they are heavy. I can’t easily carry them around with me. My hands are small and they are heavy, making them uncomfortable for me to read, especially at night in bed.

I am pissed. I am angry. Some of my favorite authors like James Lee Burke now have new paperbacks out only in the new size and I refuse to buy them. I can read the small print okay, but I do not want to add any weight to my shoulder bag and I want to continue to read in bed. What’s a girl to do.

I suspect this is also about money. The new size books are priced higher. I’m sure the publishing industry is looking at ways to increase income. So, greed is involved here, too. I returned the first book in the new size I bought by mistake and I refuse t buy new ones. I am searching for authors who publish in my size.

I mean they already had the trade paperback size. It is bigger than the mass market size and cost more than $13 or $14. Some books I see now are available in several sizes: hardback; trade paperback size; this new size; and some in mass market size. That’s what I recommend. Don’t take away something I am happy with and replace it with something I can’t use. I buy new books. I buy a lot of new books. I want my books. Give them back to me.

Who said, “Make it easy for your customers to do business with you?” I’m offering them money, but I want my books. My smaller, mass market paperbacks. Give them to me.