Category: ebooks

Christina Hollis author, ebookpartnership, ebooks, Epublishing, John Seely, Lady Rascal

Epublishing: DIY or Bespoke…

Christina Hollis
White Mask with feather by Mark J Sebastian
This week I went to a session on ebooks and epublishing, organised by my local branch of the Society of Authors. The talk was given by author John Seely, and it was well worth my cross-county drive. You can find more details of John and his work at http://www.epublish10.com and his book ePublish! comes out on 31st October. John’s background in educational publishing means it’s an easy read, packed with information and all writers – whether working in non-fiction or fiction – will find it invaluable. 
As a total technophobe, I used a turnkey epublishing package from eBookpartnership  to produce and distribute my first ebook release, Lady Rascal. It was easy and trouble-free, but John Seely’s step-by-step approach made me consider producing some of my non-fiction work straight to ebook myself. The only problem is something that plagues all writers. I would have to buy and accustom myself to using some new software packages. That would take time and money, while distracting me from my main task of writing. 
It’s a decision everyone has to make for themselves. If you love learning new computer skills, DIY publishing is an exciting way forward. On the other hand, if you’re happier typing than typesetting, it’s a relief to know there are people who will do everything for you – although at a price.
What’s your own experience of epublishing?

Christina Hollis author, ebooks, Harlequin Mills and Boon Limited, Historical Fiction, Lady Rascal, self-publishing

Self Publishing – The Story So Far…

Christina Hollis
Back on 4th August, I wrote a blog called “Smashwords – the future of Ebook Publishing at RWA 2012”. This created such a lot of comment both here on my blog and via my mailbox (christinahollis@hotmail.co.uk), I did some more research. Much as I love browsing in bookshops and handling real books, I couldn’t resist trying it out myself. The process was really easy, and led to the release of Lady Rascal, an historical romance set in Paris and the English countryside during the French Revolution. Over the next few months I’ll be reporting regularly on what happens. If there’s interest in a conventional version, I’ll release it as a paperback title, too. Lady Rascal was originally published as part of the Harlequin Mills and Boon “Masquerade” line, so I’ve already had a lot of feedback from readers of the original hardback and paperback versions.
The new ebook version is now widely available on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo and elsewhere. And remember – if you like Lady Rascal, please don’t keep it to yourself! Word of mouth recommendations and on-line reviews are great ways to let other people in on the secret.  They give a writer a real boost, and I’ll be delighted to hear what you think.
Christina Hollis, ebooks, Elise Sax, Epublishing, Huffington Post, Mark Coker

Epublishing – Fix or Flash?

Christina Hollis
My blog on Smashword founder Mark Coker’s speech at RWA2012 got a lot of interest. Thanks to everyone who commented, both here on the blog and direct to me by email. There’s obviously such a lot of interest in ebooks, I’m running another link. This piece by Elise Sax in the Huffington Post gives a view from the floor, rather than the podium: http://huff.to/OLZ4Yw
There are millions of people who love to write. It used to be said that if you had a story to tell and the skill to tell it well, you would find a publisher. Only the best and brightest (and luckiest?) got through their rigorous weeding-out process. The hope of becoming one of the chosen few kept writers sending typed manuscripts to  publishing houses by the thousand.  As the death toll of office juniors killed by collapsing towers of accumulated scripts rose,  many of the big firms closed their lists to unsolicited work. Literary agents then became the gatekeepers. To get a shot a publication, books no longer had to be merely well-written and entertaining. They had to  promise huge sales, as well. Did this extra hurdle put authors off? No. The manuscripts carried on accumulating to the point where agents, too, could pick and choose which writers they took on. Employing an editor before approaching an agent became the way to progress – another step in the ziggurat between writing a book and seeing it appear in print. Is it any wonder that faced with this increasingly long drawn out route to publication, vanity publishers made a fortune from the unwary?
Then came the Internet revolution. Now anyone who wants to put their work out into the public domain can do so, by blogging or publishing an ebook. The author’s plaintiff cry of  “Who will buy my story?” has now become “Here’s my work – pass it on.”
As Elise Sax’s article says, being published by a big, respectable firm still has a lot of cachet. Representation by an agent means you’ve got a knowledgeable person on your side to help you fight your way through contracts, clauses and obligations –  but do readers care how a book gets into their hands, as long as the story is good? Is this the best way to bring more books to more people, or will the explosion in ebooks be just that – up like a rocket, down like a stick?