Interview: Publishing a collection (part 2 of 3)

(Krista Ball continues her three-part interview with me on my experiences in publishing my two collections and working with small presses. Part 2 is below or you can also read it on Krista's blog. Part 1 is here.)

Question: Did you go the agent route? Why or why not.

For a collection? Nope. No need to and no advantage in doing so. Since I wasn't targeting the big NYC houses, an agent wouldn't have done me any good. I could research the small presses as well as they could, and could submit to those directly myself. Even if I had foolishly tried to target the big publishers, an agent wouldn't have been interested in trying to market a collection. They know collections don't sell, and a collection would get an incredibly small advance compared to a novel, even a first novel. So from an agent's point of view, that translates into a lot of work with no chance of success and for very little pay even if they could sell it. From my point of view, an agent was not going to do anything for me with a small press that I couldn't do better myself.

Question: What are the top 3 best things about a small press?

Well, for the two presses I worked with, I could list more than three. But most of my points would come down to retaining an involvement and degree of control over your book. With both collections, I had input on who should write the introduction, the stories to include, the order of their appearance, editing and copy-editing, promotion, etc..

And on the cover, which is just not heard of in big publishing. For PS, Pete had Fernando Molinari do the cover, and he asked me what I wanted. Because it was a collection with only three stories (albeit novelettes), I told him that I'd like to incorporate something from each story: a wolf in a dark forest, the particular van Gogh painting, and a carnival. I didn’t think that (a) he'd listen, or (b) could pull off such a list as an integrated piece of art, but he did an amazing job. There's also a very creepy carnival seen through the trees on the back cover that you can't see here).

Prior to that, PS had actually communicated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC to try to get the rights to use a copy of Van Gogh's "Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase" painting for the cover (since it was the lead story in the collection). PS's discussion with the museum went on for some time, but finally fell through when the MMoA would only agree provided there was nothing else on the cover but the painting—i.e., no title, no author's name, nothing!! So that's when we turned to Fernando. But can you imagine any big publisher going to those lengths to work with an author on a cover? Nope. With big publishing, you take what you're given (check out this recent blog by Kristine Kathryn Rusch to see a horrible cover that a big publisher gave one of her books, and the cover she put on when she recently reissued and self-published the book. It's about halfway down the blog, but the blog is a good read as well, as are all her blog entries).

With ChiZine for Chimerascope, Erik Mohr did the cover. Erik does all the CZP covers, and they are all uniformly amazing. He's like CZP's secret weapon. Erik's up for an Aurora this year for best artist for his CZP work, and if anyone votes in the Auroras, you should give Erik your vote. He has also done almost all of my ebook covers for me. With Chimerascope, Erik did an initial cover for me, which was gorgeous, but which to me said "SF." Since my collection is a mix of fantasy, SF, and horror--and since my first two novels will be urban fantasy--I wanted something that didn't look purely science fiction. So he promptly came back with another design, which we went with as the final cover for Chimerascope.

Secondly, I'd list quality and attention. In both cases, both PS and CZP produce beautiful books and take great pride in doing so. This is more than just a business to them--it's something they love doing. And because they're small, you get more personal attention. They like and respect their authors, and it shows.

Thirdly, especially for CZP, I'd list promotion and profile that the book received. Chimerascope was reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Quill and Quire, and ever so many more, all without effort on my part. I added some review sources based on my own list, but I'd never been reviewed in all of those places before. In addition, thanks in part to CZP promotion, Chimerascope made the final ballot for the 2011 CBC Bookies Award for best collection. It is also on the 2011 Aurora Award final ballot and (much to my surprise) is one of the five finalists for the 2011 Sunburst Award, Canada's juried speculative fiction award.

I'd also mention that all of the good things I've listed about PS and CZP were often what was missing when I talked to other authors about their bad experiences with small presses. So, basically, do your homework before selecting a small press.

I'd add a fourth item for CZP, which I mentioned earlier. Their business model includes trade paperbacks, not just limited run hardcovers, and most importantly, that they have distribution deals in Canada, the US, and the UK.

Small presses have also, generally, been quicker to both embrace and establish ebook editions. CZP added ebook editions early on, and thanks to urging by myself and another author, PS recently added ebooks too (which I think is a great idea and supplements their business model, without competing with their print books. A collector will still want the numbered print version, but ebooks open up the market for PS to capture other readers who just want to read the stories.)

Interview: Publishing a collection (part 1 of 3)

Fellow author Krista D. Ball interviewed me recently on my experiences with selling my two collections and with working with small genre presses for both of the books. The discussion went longer than we expected so Krista is posting the interview in three parts on her blog. I've posted part 1 below, or you can check out "Publishing a Short Story Collection" on Krista's blog as well.

Krista's first question: In Chimerascope, most of the stories were at least nominated for Aurora Awards and one was a winner. With a strong list of credits like that, why did you choose to go with a small Canadian press like ChiZine?

True, the stories in Chimerascope have a lot of award credentials. "Scream Angel" won the Aurora, while another nine of the sixteen stories were Aurora finalists. "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" was also a Best New Horror selection, and several more received honourable mentions in the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror. I could talk similar numbers for my first collection, Impossibilia, which had another Aurora winner ("Spirit Dance") and an Aurora finalist in its three-novelette line-up.

But if I pick up any collection, I'd expect to see award credits for the stories. A collection is supposed to represent an author's best work. But unfortunately, regardless of awards, a "big" publisher will simply not be interested in publishing a collection, unless you are a Name (which I'm not). The strategy for how an author should market a collection changed from when I started writing to when I was ready to market Impossibilia in 2008. And it's changed again since I published Chimerascope just last year, thanks to eBooks and indie publishing options.

Podcast interview up

Friend and fellow writer, John Mierau, recently interviewed me via Skype for another of his continuing series of podcast interviews with writers. We chatted about a bunch of writerly topics, including short stories, ebooks, the state of NYC publishing, indie publishing options for writers these days, and more. You can check out the podcast on John's site if you're interested.

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Cool! "Going Harvey in the Big House" is recommended reading

Multi-award winning and multi-genre writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch recently posted her 2011 Recommended Reading List, and I was delighted to see that she included one of my short stories, "Going Harvey in the Big House," on her list. Here's what Kris had to say about that story:

"I first read this story in a workshop nearly a decade ago. Since then, Doug sold it to a number of different markets and it was a finalist for Canada’s prestigious Aurora Award. Now it’s out in e-book format. I read a lot, as you can tell, and I don’t remember most stories the next day, let alone decades later. The images and the power of the story have stayed with me all this time. That’s one of the strongest recommendations I can give."

Thanks, Kris! This means a lot to me. It's great to be on a list with names like Neil Gaiman, Bruce Stirling, and Geoff Landis. And if any of you are writers, you really, really need to be following both Kris's and Dean Wesley Smith's blogs on a regular basis. I can think of no better source than these two to understand and stay abreast of the rapidly evolving world of publishing.

Please vote for Chimerascope for the Aurora Award

The voting ballot is now available for the 2011 Aurora Awards, the official awards of the Canadian SF and Fantasy Association. I am thrilled that this year my first full collection, Chimerascope, is one of five finalists under the category "Related Work." Your vote would be truly appreciated.

Why Does Chimerascope Deserve Your Vote?

Fair question. I'm a little biased, but here are some reasons:

  • It is currently also a finalist for the Sunburst Awards, Canada's only juried award for speculative fiction, sharing the ballot with the likes of Guy Gavriel Kay, Robert J. Sawyer, and Charles de Lint.
  • Earlier this year, Chimerascope was on the final ballot for the national CBC "Bookies" awards, sharing the ballot with the likes of Stieg Larsson, Suzanne Collins, William Gibson, and Robert J. Sawyer.
  • It has consistently received rave reviews in Canada and around the world.
  • It contains 16 of my best stories, including an Aurora Award winner, a Best New Horror selection, nine Aurora Award finalists, and three Year's Best Fantasy & Horror honourable mentions
  • Still not convinced? Why not download a free ebook of any story in Chimerascope? Just grab your free coupon code and make your selection in my bookstore

How to Vote

The voting process this year involves two steps (but two simple steps, honest):

Step 1: Go to the Aurora Membership page If you didn't participate in nominating for the Aurora's earlier this year, then you need to click on the "Register" link at the bottom of the above page. Registration is free and is a one-time process only. In future years, you will not need to register again, and it saves the Aurora volunteers the work each year to validate that you're eligible to nominate and vote. It also allows you to receive updates and info on the Auroras if you wish. All registration information is solely for the use of Aurora voting and will never be shared with other groups. If you did nominate anything for the Auroras earlier this year, then you're already a registered member. Just enter your email address that you used in that process and your society number that you were assigned at registration in the boxes on this page. This will log you in and take you to your membership page, where you can vote. If you've forgotten or lost your society number, then click on the link "Forgot your Society Number?", and it will be emailed to you.

Step 2: Vote At the bottom of your membership page, you will see either a "Buy now" or a "Vote now" link. If you're registered for SFContario, the convention that is hosting the Aurora Awards, your voting fee is already included in your membership, and you'll see the "Vote Now" link at the bottom. If you're not attending SFContario, you'll see a "Buy Now" link. Click on that to pay the $5.50 voting fee via PayPal or credit card. Either way is both quick and secure. You will then be taken to the actual voting ballot page. Follow the instructions (remember this is a preferential ballot -- your first pick is #1, second #2, etc.). You don't need to vote in all categories, and you don't need to enter a vote for all entries in the categories that you do vote in. To vote for Chimerascope, page down to the category "RELATED WORKS" and enter your vote. Any Canadian citizen (not necessarily living in Canada) or permanent resident may vote.

The voting period closes October 15, 2011.

About the Auroras

This will be the 31st year that the "Auroras" will be presented. On a per-capita basis, the Aurora Awards have the largest voter turnout of any national SF award in the world, exceeding that of the American-dominated Hugos, the Japanese Seiuns, the British Arthur C. Clarke Awards, and the Australian Ditmars. Each year, a different convention or group hosts the awards ceremony.

"By Her Hand..." movie at another film festival

The indie film based on my short story "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down" will be screening at the film festival program at the 2011 Cyphan convention in Chicago, July 29-31.

Great to see that this movie still has some legs. It's won 11 awards so far for Anthony and the crew, so let's hope it picks up some more. You can read all about the movie, the awards its won, how it came about, plus see the trailer and more right here.

The official Movie Companion Book is also now available as an ebook or a signed personalized print book.

"Radio Nowhere" to appear on Escape Pod as audio story

My weird / SF / time travel / love story, "Radio Nowhere" will be published as an audio book in an upcoming issue of Escape Pod, the excellent SF podcast magazine.

"Radio Nowhere" first appeared in the horror anthology, Campus Chills, and was a finalist for the Aurora Award in 2010.

If you'd like to read the story and didn't get a copy of the anthology, you can buy the ebook version of "Radio Nowhere" from any retailer for just $0.99. I'll post here and tweet when the story is up on the Escape Pod site.

Dazed and Amazed: CHIMERASCOPE selected for 2011 Sunburst Award short list

I am thrilled to announce that my short fiction collection, Chimerascope, has been selected by the jury for the 2011 Sunburst Award short list. In making the selection, the Sunburst jury had this to say about Chimerascope:

"This collection contains a beautifully diverse selection of short tales that runs the full spectrum of the speculative genres. The tales are well-crafted, easily digestible; several of the stories are incredibly moving and stick with the reader long after. The wide range of stylistic approaches works well together."

From the press release:

SHORT-LISTS FOR TENTH ANNUAL SUNBURST AWARD ANNOUNCED TORONTO, ONTARIO (June 28, 2011) The jury for the tenth annual Sunburst Awards has announced the short-lists for 2011. The short-listed works in the adult category:

  • Guy Gavriel Kay, Under Heaven: (Penguin Group Canada, ISBN - 10:0670068098)
  • Robert J. Sawyer, Wake: (Penguin Group Canada, ISBN - 10:0143056301)
  • Douglas Smith, Chimerascope: (ChiZine Publications, ISBN - 10:0981297854)
  • S.M. Stirling, A Taint in the Blood: (New American Library, ISBN - 10:0451463412)
  • Hayden Trenholm, Stealing Home: (Bundoran Press, ISBN - 10:0978205251)

The short-listed works in the young adult category:

  • Holly Bennett, Shapeshifter: (Orca Book Publishers, ISBN - 10:1554691583)
  • Erin Bow, Plain Kate: (Scholastic, ISBN - 10:0545166640)
  • Charles De Lint, The Painted Boy: (Penguin Young Reader Group, ISBN - 10:0670011916)
  • Paul Glennon, Bookweirder: (Doubleday Canada, ISBN - 10:0385665482)
  • Robert Paul Weston, Dust City: (Penguin Group Canada, ISBN - 10:0670063967)

The awards will be presented on September 14, 2011 at the Harbourfront Reading Series following brief readings from each of the short-listed works. The jurors for the 2011 award are: Kate Freiman, Mark Leslie, Christopher Roden, and Alison Sinclair.

The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award celebrating the excellence of writing in Canadian fantastic literature published during the previous calendar year. A jury first selects a short list of five works in two categories: Adult and Young Adult. A winner is then chosen from each category. Winners receive a cash prize of $1,000 and a hand-crafted medallion which incorporates the "Sunburst" logo, designed by Marcel Gagné.

The Sunburst Award takes its name from the debut novel of the late Phyllis Gotlieb, one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian speculative fiction. For more information on the Sunburst Awards, please visit the Sunburst website.

You can view the full short list here with the jury's comments on each, along with all the spiffy covers and ordering information for each of the short listed works. It is an absolute honour to be selected to this short list and to appear with such an astoundingly talented group of writers, many of whom are friends, mentors, and personal writing gods of mine. It is also very special because the Sunburst commemorates Phyllis, an epic talent in our field and a wonderful, warm, funny, intelligent human being, and one that I wish that I could have known longer and better. We miss you, Phyllis.

Workshop on marketing short fiction in Guelph, Sept 21

I'll be appearing at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library on September 21 at 7pm, to repeat the workshop on marketing short fiction that I gave with On Spec's Diane Walton this past May out in Edmonton. This workshop will be the first in a new series that Kevin Nunn has added to the Sound of Writing reading series. Readings and workshops will alternate on a monthly basis going forward, if all works out as Kevin hopes. Here's a link to the public Facebook event page. I'm planning to cover the same topics as in the Edmonton workshop, but this time, unfortunately without the editor's perspective that Diane provided. Here's the outline:

  • Did you know that you never actually "sell" a story?: Licensing rights to fiction – what you need to know
  • So you've written a story. Now what?: How to market short fiction. How to choose markets. How an editor chooses a story.
  • So you've sold a story. What happens next?: Contracts, editing requests, copy edits, getting it noticed, etc.
  • Your story's been published. Is that all there is?: Selling reprints and other rights. Awards. Best of Anthologies. Collections.
  • Ebooks and self-publishing: What this means for the short fiction writer.
  • Question and Answer session
  • Reading

Hope to see you there!

Branding for indie publishers

Friend and fellow writer Karen Abrahamson blogged recently on how indie authors who are going the ebook route (and print POD as well) need to consider developing a "brand" when they do cover design.

Karen was kind enough to use my new short story ebooks, with covers designed by Erik Mohr (a finalist for the Aurora Award this year as best artist), as one of her examples of how to do this. Check out her blog post here.

And you can check out all of my ebook covers at any of the major ebook retailer sites. I'll also be making these available for purchase directly via this website in the very near future. Stay tuned.

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