Robin Sanders Guest Post

Robin L Sanders is the author of An 8-Track to 81 Chapters--Experience Limited, a young adult, fantasy novel, available on eBook at Lulu.
 

Given unlimited resources, how would you change the publishing world?

I would totally make a couple changes to the publishing world.  Many traditional publishing industries are declining while self-publishing authors and eBook industries like Amazon, Lulu and iBooks are rising in profits by the minute.

Although I truly hate writing query letters to established publications that vomit rejection letters by the forest load, I do admire their skill in marketing.  Traditional publications can save an author a good amount of time by doing everything else for them, such as marketing, copywriting, purchasing ISBN numbers, printing, book covers and etc., while the author’s only job is to write.  An author may lose his or her freedom when it comes to writing and the royalties wouldn’t be all that worthwhile depending on how popular the book is.

As a solution I would definitely try to make printed hard copies a bit affordable. Prints are very, very expensive and I feel that the prices can be a bit unfair at most. Another thing I would change is the cost of an illustrator for a book. I definitely believe without a doubt that many industries under pay their artist while the author receives a large subtraction from an overpriced fee in their royalty check.

The royalty fees are definitely unfair which that of course should be raised to at least a fifty percent rate for the author and not fifteen to twenty five. If they want to give an advance, then they should lower the rate but nothing lower than thirty five percent.  Another thing I would definitely change is the mandatory need of literary agents in order to be accepted in the traditional publishing industry. Literary agents require a good percentage of your income as well as a great deal of ass kissing in order to get things done but in my opinion isn’t worth it. I know that agents are here to represent you and negotiate your contract but what’s the point if they only go to the same publications?

Self-published authors may have the freedom to do whatever they please but a ton of work would be necessary in order for them to stay alive. Not only do they have to find an editor, but purchase an ISBN, copyright protection, hire a professional editor, an illustrator for book cover if necessary, printing services, an agent and etc...sounds like a lot of work. On a positive side, depending on how hard they work, the profits in royalties would increase over time.

One solution that would help is to create a small business that would benefit self-publishers to copyright, create an ISBN and copy edit their work for an affordable price that range somewhere around $400USD. I think this would attract a lot of self-publishers and maybe some traditional ones as well. Virtual book promotions like Createspace and Lulu are indeed a bit too steep but there are other affordable and professional ones that could absolutely pin point the exact market the authors brand is catered to.

In conclusion I would absolutely make some changes in the publishing world.  In my opinion I think the industry definitely needs some improvement and adjustments.

An 8-track to 81 Chapters - Experience/Limited

When a Social Studies teacher assigns a special project to six high school students, (Richard, Shelly, Nathan, Charles, Morgan and Britt) they receive a lesson that may indeed change lives of many worlds. As they work on the problems set before them they come to realize that the typical real world issues that each student had been dealing with doesn’t look all that bad. As the unlikely group of misfits explores the project, they discover strengths that they were completely unaware they had. 

For seven whole days they stay in a mysterious book unlocking puzzles, fighting demon-possessed statues, creating bonds with a memorable cast of characters and fighting a villain who controls the powers of the heavens. Mr. Hutchenson, a professor of social studies at St. Cardinals, is a man who plays a large part within this story, but just as the kids have to discover that, so does the reader. These six kids work on finding that strength by not only fighting the enemy, but the enemy within.

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