Re: a question
Gigi, thank you for that post, and best to you in moving onward and upward!
An e-mail I just sent to someone who asked me to remove a post from here:
I'd like to make a few comments to you because it seems a few PAers have entirely the wrong impression of Absolute Write and our members. I would welcome you to post this to your group, the private board, or wherever else you like.
First: None of us are trying to hurt PA authors or book sales. We're trying to do the exact opposite: help you get fair treatment from PA and force PA to clean up its act so it will become possible for authors to have real bookstore sales.
I don't know you/your background with PA, but I will assume a few things--
I assume you know by now that most bookstores will not stock PA books. I assume you know that that's not what PA says, and that when an author questions this on the boards, the posts get removed. I think it's terribly unfair and misleading that authors are led to believe their books will be available on store shelves, only to find later that all "available" means is that someone can walk in and specifically go to the counter and place an order for the book (MAYBE).
There is also a rumor going around PA that books don't wind up on bookstore shelves unless they're published by a big house and receive a big promotional campaign. I can prove to you that this isn't so. I've had several books published by small presses, no major promo campaigns, and my books are on shelves across the country. The lines that PA feeds its authors to make it seem like there's this huge gap between "regular writers" and celebrity authors is just untrue.
You also know, I'm sure, how difficult it is to get reviews of PA books. There are many reasons for this, among them that PA does not substantively edit their books. I have read several PA books and I'm sure you also know that many have gotten through the "spelling and grammar check" with many errors remaining. So not only are the books not edited for substance, but even the spelling and grammar checks are not thorough. Few reviewers will bother with books that are unedited. Further, few reviewers will bother reviewing books that won't be available to the general public on store shelves.
The cover prices for PA books are unrealistic. If you had a choice between going to the store and picking up a novel by an author you already know and love for $9, or picking up a novel by an unknown author for $25, which would you choose? The pricing is not attractive to consumers, therefore not attractive to bookstores, libraries, etc. PA says the pricing is "what the market will bear." That's only true if the market is defined as "authors' friends and family." Friends and family will pay inflated prices out of love and loyalty; the general public will not.
The "no returns" policy that PA pretends is a great thing for authors is, of course, a terrible thing for authors. It's yet another reason for bookstores to ignore PA books. No matter what PA tells you, the industry standard is that books are sold on consignment to stores; any that remain unsold are either returned in whole, or covers are stripped and returned, and the store gets full credit for their unsold stock. PA makes it impossible for stores to take a risk-- and they even expect payment in advance, when it's standard for stores to have a few months to pay for the books it orders.
I could go on and on, but my point is this:
The authors who are fighting right now are not doing so to harm your book sales. We're fighting to get PA to be honest about what it offers so others won't be misled into believing that they're signing with a "traditional publisher" (no one in the legitimate book industry sees PA as a traditional publisher) who will help them get real distribution and marketing.
When you go to a bookstore, do you pay any attention to the name of the publisher on a book? Please think about this honestly before you worry about individuals who would be dissuaded from buying PA books because of a TV report... do you really think any of them would pick up a book, then turn to the copyright page and see it's published by PA, then say, "Well, I was going to buy this book, but now I see it's published by PA, and I saw a consumer report saying that publisher treats its authors unfairly, so I won't buy it now!"
Honestly, it won't happen, especially because PA books are almost never on bookstore shelves anyway.
My heart gets broken every time I see a PA author come into this with such high hopes and optimism that they're dealing with a publisher who will come through on their word. I can't stand it when authors get discouraged from writing because they find out the whole PA system is set up to DISCOURAGE the general public from ever seeing its books. There are some real gems in there, and I'm heartbroken to know that they will never make more than a few hundred sales (if the author pushes like crazy), when they deserve to make tens of thousands of sales.
I hope some of this will make sense to you and that you will see that we're not trying to be your enemies. I welcome you to come over to Absolute Write and talk about this with us.
Regards,
Jenna Glatzer
