The Selfish Giant...

I thought Nathan Bransford's post on the Goodreads acquirement by Amazon was interesting. He might be a little optimistic about Amazon and it's intentions but he seems more rational than some other folk who believe this signals the end of the world as we know it. We are all selfish creatures at heart and if Amazon's ownership of Goodreads might affect your business bottom line then I guess you might spit the dummy somewhat. Those people however who suggest that readers and/or authors are somehow stupid, responsible or likely to suffer horribly as a result aren't necessarily thinking about the interests or welfare of authors or readers at all. Hugh Howey of Wool fame had this to say. He's biased I guess but I don't think any commentator isn't, one way or another.   Either way you see it, fighting against it seems futile. Authors have been finding ways to work within systems not of their making for years (centuries even) - and we will keep doing so. As writing is not a choice but a compulsion, being able to adapt seems wise.

I had another nice review for A Winter's Day in 1939 here which made me happy. And there was this one in the Magpies Magazine a few weeks back which was also rather nice.

And in less than two weeks I will be launching the book in Wellington at The Children's Bookshop Saturday April 13th at 3pm. I'm feeling pretty excited about this. Love Wellington. Love the Wellington Children's Book crowd. Love The Children's Bookshop.

Grate expectations...

So Amazon bought Goodreads. Of course that big shopping trolley should have been the clue. Kindle Content VP, Russ Grandinetti said, "Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike." Delight wasn't my first reaction. Knopf's Paul Bogaards tweeted, "That's what all you morons get for sharing your books online" - I bet that delighted readers as well. I'm wondering if his next sentence was reminding those moron's to still keep buying Knopf books? 


So what do I think? Usually I think that the delight of authors and readers aren't uppermost in the business folks minds. It's about the market and the product and the profit. These new book leviathans are somewhat like Star Trek's Borg - resistance is futile. I prefer to be like a germ or pathogen - adapting to a new environs to ensure survival and growth and hopefully when the conditions are moist and warm, going viral. Persistence is, as it has always been, an essential requirement for any author. I am the cork on the ocean - still bob, bob, bobbing along.

NZ Book Month is nearly at an end. We went to dismantle the 'What Lies Beneath' exhibits at the National Library in Parnell on Thursday and I was chuffed that the National Library decided to retain the Auckland authors' and illustrators' work for the upcoming school holiday period in April. I thought the exhibition was a great idea (thank you to author Maria Gill for this) and a real asset for not only NZ Book Month but as something that should continue throughout the year providing insight in to the creative work of NZers and hopefully promoting their work to teachers, librarians and young readers.  Our gala opening was enjoyed by a good crowd and my library event at Blockhouse Bay with students from the local Primary school also went well I think. 

Sadly I don't think NZ Book Month's reach has been as wide as we would hope. Apart from the $5 token to be used at booksellers, most mainstream media didn't seem to cover it. The emphasis wasn't on NZ authors and illustrators. National Radio did review New Zealand titles which was terrific but the air of celebration seemed to be confined to existing fans. Am I expecting too much or is New Zealand literature for young and old being generally ignored and neglected? Should we expect the general population to know who we are? What can we do about it? I'm proud to be a New Zealand Children's author but is New Zealand proud to have me as one of theirs?   

Keep being the kind of writer you want to be...

Borders on Queen Street in Auckland City is gasping its last. My daughter and I had a little time to kill before going to see Tintin at the movies on my birthday on Boxing Day so we wandered in and took a look. I stared at the children's novel by someone I know marked down to $2.00 a copy. I felt relief that only one of my books was in the sale and the price wasn't too hideously low. Then I went and bought a YA novel by another NZ author marked down to half price. I am a lowly paid author and a reader too and I guess I'm not apologising for buying a book at reduced prices. I can't and wouldn't stop folk buying my books at reduced prices. I would be a fool to think this might never happen to my books, and there always remains the chance that I find a new fan this way. When I can, I buy books from my local booksellers. Sometimes I buy from Amazon for my kindle or from Mighty Ape (they offered me a discount for my birthday and they had one of the books I couldn't find elsewhere - it was a no-brainer), today I downloaded a free e-book off Amazon which I didn't feel too bad about - I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his estate have done well out of me over the years, and done exceedingly will in general. I try to spread the love around, and sometimes I am the recipient.

The Boxing Day Sales in general saw a positive increase in spending - a good day for retailers. But I couldn't help thinking how tight their margins might have been to lure customers in. Once all their bills are paid I hope they have enough to keep going. As has been said recently in the blogo-sphere (e.g. via Beattie's Blog) bookshops (and other retailers) can survive if they are smart/innovative about how they sell books (and other products) compared with the Amazons of this world. I'm rooting for them. Amazon has its place but it doesn't do everything a customer might want.

What can you do? Keep being the kind of writer you want to be. If your manuscript is rejected, it didn't fit with the publisher's programme or didn't quite make it through every hoop they needed it to jump through. If your book tanks, is remaindered or goes swiftly out of print, that's business. Sometimes business sucks. Perhaps you might be a bestseller or sell overseas, be reprinted or win an award. Yay!!! If you have written the stories that matter to you, in a way you feel proud of, then whatever 'life' your story has, you know you wrote the stories you wanted to write. Trends, fads, and publishers might come and go but your stories will always have your name on them.