tidwell « Robin Writes

Some of you may have heard, via social media, that RHP is expanding. Yay, us! We just brought out two new imprints, and added staff!

First, we will now be listing all of our literary fiction under the imprint Equidae. Oh, it’s still Rocking Horse Publishing, never fear, but we’re at the point now where we can specialize a bit. The release of The Fires of Waterland gives us two lit-fic titles, as Danny’s Grace will be moved to Equidae as well.

What the heck does that even mean? Glad you asked. “Equidae” is the Latin term, as in taxonomy, for “a family of perissodactyl ungulate mammals including the horses, asses, zebras, and various extinct related mammals,” as per Webster’s.

Second, since we have had such success with Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories, we’ve opened up a new division/imprint for anthologies.

Our intent is to publish four books per year, beginning in 2015, under Harness Anthologies. Shannon Yarbrough, author extraordinaire, will be the director.

Here are the details:

Harness Anthologies 2015 Season 1

Publication Date: January 2015

Payment: Two Copies

Solstice: A Winter Anthology

Winter vacation, snow cream, snow days from school, building snowmen, snowball fights, snow storms, the first time you or your child saw snow. Give us your best white memory! All things winter and snow related. Fiction or nonfiction accepted. Also accepting original winter poems and winter recipes.

Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.

Poems and recipes should be limited to one page.

Open to Submissions: September 2014

Publication Date: April 2015

Payment: Two Copies

Empty Nests: Parents, Old and New

Springtime is the time of year when birds start building nests and laying their eggs. It’s a time of rebirth, now that winter is over. The snow has melted and flowers are sprouting. Life is anew. Empty Nests is an anthology for parents and about parents. Whether you are building your nest for your newborn baby, or you are finding yourself in an empty nest now that your teens have gone off to college or moved out.

Stories can be fiction or nonfiction, but should focus on adults either preparing to be parents or finding their own children turning into adults and moving out. What makes your nest, now full or empty, a home? Inspire the parents around you.

Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.

Open to Submissions: January 2015

Publication Date: July 2015

Payment: Two Copies

The American Dream: Then and Now

Seeking short nonfiction essays from teens to baby boomers. Teens: What is your American dream? For the older generation, what was your American dream?

It is said that society has killed the American dream just in the last decade. If that is true, what killed your American dream? Tell us in 500 words or less about what your American dream is now or what it was for you when you were growing up. Include your real age.

Real names and ages will be published unless you wish to remain anonymous.

Essays should be 25 to 500 words.

Open to Submissions: April 2015

Publication Date: October 2015

Payment: Two Copies

Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories Volume II

Rocking Horse Publishing is proud to present Volume II of its bestselling anthology. The paranormal has deep-rooted history on the banks of the Mississippi, and Missouri is well known for its haunted past. In this volume, we focus just on St. Louis ghost stories. Under the Arch, on the Delmar Loop, in the Central West End, near the Soulard district, around every corner you turn there might just be a ghost waiting. Stories can be fiction or nonfiction.

Stories should be 750 to 2500 words.

Open to Submissions: July 2015

Okay, fine, I’ll write about the latest from Amazon. So there.

The great dispute between Amazon and Hachette seems to be over E-book pricing, right? Here’s my opinion:

Who cares?

Oh, I’m sure Hachette authors care—it’s their livelihood, after all. And Hachette cares, because they also make money off E-book sales. And Amazon cares because . . . why?

I’m guessing because there are SO MANY lower-priced books on the Amazon site. But surely, you ask, aren’t people buying books from Hachette authors, even at those high prices? Yes, yes they are.

Let’s look at this from the perspective of indie authors and even small press:

We’ll start with a typical fiction E-book, roughly 80K words or so. A Hachette book (and I’m using them because, really, that’s who this is about) is priced at $14.99—that same book, in paperback, is roughly the same price. Should it be? Probably not. An electronic book is not a physical object, but in this day and age, well, maybe. Blood, sweat, tears have gone into its production, its writing, regardless of the medium a reader chooses.

Now look at an indie book, same size, same blood, sweat, and tears. That book is priced at, on average, $3.99. Why? Because that’s a price point at which it will sell. Look up the statistics. Again, why? Because that seems to be what readers are willing to pay for a book by Joe Blow, versus one written by a nationally known bestselling author.

Come on, don’t you go to the dollar store sometimes for certain products? Don’t you comparison shop? Don’t you sometimes get suspicious because something is priced too cheaply, and you think, therefore, that it might be crap? Be honest.

Now, you can find all over the web where someone quotes figures as to how many MORE Hachette books would sell at a lower price, and I stink at math so I’m not going to get into all that. Doesn’t matter. In fact, I’m almost tempted to raise my E-book prices, just to see what would happen. Hmm. Not a bad idea.

Times are tough for everyone, even people who read for entertainment. The fact remains that, for every Hachette E-book purchased, a reader could buy 3-4 indie books, right?

So why does Amazon care?

Beats me.

Look at your average physical bookstore. They sometimes have sales, discounts, specials, etc. They are under no obligation to do so, they can usually set their own price for the books they sell. If a book retails for 14.95, the store can sell it for as little as they want, technically. It depends on how much money they’ll make off each sale—that’s what effects their decisions.

Amazon is an online bookstore, right? (Yes, yes, among other things.) So why can’t they sell at whatever price they want? They don’t discount RHP E-books, but they DO discount our paperbacks.

I think the dispute comes down to royalties and contracts.

Many E-book publishers pay 40-50% royalties on E-books—on the retail price. Does Hachette do that? I don’t know. Maybe they pay on net. See, as indie authors know, you have to price your E-book above a certain rate in order to collect that 70% royalty, minus, of course, the cost of delivery. Amazon earns 30% of each book, without any costs. So, to make it simple, if your book is priced at $4.00, you earn $2.80 on a sale, minus a few cents. Amazon earns $1.20, for giving you the means in which to sell your book.

If you have a small press handling your book, or an E-publisher, same figures, you would earn $1.60 to $2.00 per E-book sold.

Now a Hachette book, priced at $15.00, would earn $10.50 for the publisher; Amazon’s cut is $4.50. The author would earn $6.00 or $7.50, depending on royalty percentage. That’s a big difference: on average, $2.20 versus $6.00 or $2.40 compared to $7.50. No wonder Hachette authors want a higher-priced book—don’t you?

But what is Amazon’s deal? They could make $1.20 or they could bring in $4.50 per book. Seems like a no-brainer. Why penalize a big money-maker?

And then. Gee, says Amazon, let’s take it to the readers. And authors. OF COURSE readers want cheaper books. Duh.

And you know what? Authors want more money. Another duh. So now, I’m thinking, a lot of indies are saying, “Hey, maybe our books should cost MORE!” What’s Amazon going to do then? Refuse to carry E-books at all? Aren’t they cutting their own throats over this whole thing? If Hachette lowers prices, Amazon makes a lot less.

What’s their game, anyway?