New Spinetingler

The new issue of Spinetingler is up. You can follow this link for the PDF download and table of contents.

Or take the direct links below for the stories, interviews, reviews, website features, a sampler of Harrogate 2007 and a very special article.

I asked blogger and author Sela Carsen to give us some insight on the romance genre. Crime fiction readers and authors regularly toss out the ‘we’re discriminated against’ mantra when snubbed for literary fiction by reviewers and major awards. But are we any better, or do we, in turn, snub our noses at romance? Great article.

The links:

Blue Diamond Pool by Kris Ashton
Final Level by BJ Bourg
Bloodlines by Peggy Ehrhart
A Study in Curiosity by Karen Hall
And Then There Was One by Lauri Kubuitsile
The Man in the Mirror by Russel D. McLean
Dream House by Christa M. Miller
Memorandum by Stephen D. Rogers

Anthony Bidulka interviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Anthony Bidulka: STAIN OF THE BERRY reviewed by Sandra Ruttan

Allan Guthrie interviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Allan Guthrie: HARD MAN reviewed by Sandra Ruttan

Profile: Beth Groundwater, by JB Thompson
Beth Groundwater: A REAL BASKETCASE reviewed by JB Thompson

Profile: Tim Maleeny, by Angie Johnson-Schmit
Tim Maleeny: STEALING THE DRAGON reviewed by Angie Johnson-Schmit

Profile: Phil Hawley, by JB Thompson
Phil Hawley JR: STIGMA reviewed by K. Robert Einarson

Profile: Marc Lecard, by CJ Lyons

Ken Bruen interviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Ken Bruen: LONDON BOULEVARD reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Ken Bruen: AMERICAN SKIN reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Ken Bruen & Jason Starr: BUST reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Ken Bruen: THE HACKMAN BLUES reviewed by Sandra Ruttan


 Gillian Flynn: SHARP OBJECTS reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Victor Gischler: SHOTGUN OPERA reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Adrian McKinty: THE BLOOMSBURY DEAD reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
 Amanda Stevens: THE DOLLMAKER reviewed by Tracy Sharp
John Rickards: THE DARKNESS INSIDE reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
James Sallis: DRIVE reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Carol Anne Davis: SOB STORY reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
 Patrick Hyde: THE ONLY PURE THING reviewed by Tracy Sharp
 Allison Brennan: SEE NO EVIL reviewed by Toni McGee Causey
Alain Mabanckou: AFRICAN PSYCHO reviewed by Sandra Ruttan
Charlie Huston: SIX BAD THINGS reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Gregg Olsen: A WICKED SNOW reviewed by K. Robert Einarson
Sean Doolittle: THE CLEANUP reviewed by K. Robert Einarson

Martin Amis: NIGHT TRAIN reviewed by Claire McManus
Steve Rigolosi: CIRCLE OF ASSASSINS reviewed by Claire McManus
I.J. Parker: BLACK ARROW reviewed by Wayne Sears
DVD Review: A CHRISTMAS FAMILY TRAGEDY reviewed by K. Robert Einarson

Harrogate 2007: A Quick Chat With Program Chair Natasha Cooper, by Sandra Ruttan

Website Profile: CRIMESPACE by Daniel Hatadi

Article: PERCEPTIONS OF ROMANCE by Sela Carsen

British Book Award Winners

The British Book Award Winners were announced yesterday and the winners are as follows:


Reader's Digest author of the year: Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Biography of the year: Peter Kay, The Sound of Laughter

Children's book of the year: Ricky Gervais, Flanimals of the Deep

Book of the year: Conn & Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys

Crime thriller of the year: Ian Rankin, The Naming of the Dead

Sports book of the year: Steven Gerrard, Gerrard: My Autobiography

Newcomer of the year: Victoria Hislop, The Island

Popular fiction award: Marian Keyes, Anybody Out There

Decibel writer of the year: Jackie Kay, Wish I Was Here

The Richard & Judy best read of the year: Jed Benfeld, The Interpretation of Murder

Television and film book of the year: Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada

Lifetime achievement award: John Grisham

This article in the Independent has a complete list of the nominees.

POD and What It Needs

Like it or not, POD is here to stay.

For those who don’t know about this phenomenon, POD stands for Print On Demand. It’s a method of producing books as they are ordered, one at a time, instead of using the print runs most commercial and small press publishers rely on for book sales. Print runs cost thousands of dollars up front, but with POD technology, a publisher can save on production cost by paying for each book with the money from the sale. The trade-off is the per unit cost, which makes POD cover prices higher than the average trade paperback.

Many people still use the term “POD publisher” to describe a self-publisher or vanity press that uses the technology. In reality, POD refers only to the technology, and a number of small, legitimate presses that employ a selective submissions process and don’t charge authors for publication use this method to produce books. This can be a good thing, since publishing isn’t exactly a million-dollar industry for small presses. The technology allows them to cut costs on storage, production, and returns.

Unfortunately, the proportion of good versus bad publishers that employ POD technology to produce books is far worse than the same in commercial publishers -- there are more bad than good. I believe publishers using POD and selling books primarily online can be successful, thanks in large part to the popularity of Amazon and BN.com. However, there has to be a shift in the way many of these publishers work.

It seems I'm not the only one who believes this. The POD Critic is hard at work to raise awareness of publishers like this. The blog is run by a lead editor at a small commercial publishing house in New York, and features (very honest) reviews of POD titles along with industry news and insights.

The POD Critic's aim is to help both authors and publishers. S/he (who is anonymous, of course) writes detailed and critical reviews for books submitted to the blog by the authors. Of the four titles thus far reviewed, only one has received a relatively high rating... it almost makes the grade of A Worthy Read. See? Honesty! The best thing about the reviews is the detail. S/he actually makes excellent suggestions for improvement -- getting a bad review from the POD Critic is like getting a detailed rejection from an agent or editor instead of a form letter. Any writer interested in improving their work would do well to listen to the advice.

For publishers, The POD Critic offers suggestions that will help make the POD publishing model viable and successful. One of the posts talks about the importance of an in-house editing style. Though small publishers using POD may not have the channels and the clout of larger publishers, if they put out professional quality titles, they can develop a loyal reader base and increase sales.

The most recent post on The POD Critic mentions that word is spreading, and other industry blogs, authors, and publishers are sitting up and taking notice. Here's hoping more POD publishers take the advice to heart, and start working harder on the quality of their titles. We'll all benefit from an industry-wide raising of the bar.

New Site on the Web

One of the things I hoped we'd be able to do on In For Questioning was regular updates about ezines. I have found that my time for tracking releases down has been limited the last few months, and I could bore you with excuses (my debut book was published, I had some promotional travel, I got strep throat, I signed with an agent, finished a new manuscript) but ultimately, the point is that it's been hard to stay on top of things.

This is an invitation to ezine publishers.

In conjunction with Crimespace, a new blog has been launched: Crime Zine. This is intended to be a group blog where publishers of ezines that contain crime fiction content can post about new issues, contests and news. An RSS feed will be linking Crimespace and Crime Zine so that crime fiction readers and authors will see updates there as well. It's intended as a way to get the news out.

Where does that leave other ezines that don't include crime fiction? Here, for now anyway. In For Questioning was always intended to be a collaborative effort. Unfortunately, the transition from blogger 1 to blogger 2 caused some problems. I specifically stated that there would be no rigid expectations for weekly publishing, because we're all very busy and sometimes touring and unable to handle blogs.

If there are ezine editors out there who would like to join IFQ, please email me. If there are small press publishers or ebook publishers who'd like to get involved the door is open. This is meant to be a news conduit.

If you know of review sites or ezines I should be keeping an eye on, I'd love to hear from you as well.

All suggestions welcome, and there will be more from us next week.

RWA recognizes Epublisher

Samhain Publishing has achieved the recognition that very few ebook publishers receive: they have achieved RWA status.

Thanks to Samhain author Sela Carsen for sharing the good news, and congratulations Samhain.

Awards

The clock is ticking: Editors have until midnight March 16 to nominate stories for the SMFS Derringer Awards which recognize excellence in crime fiction.

And the storySouth 2007 Awards are now open for nominations.

Please spread the word about these awards to those eligible so that they can nominate themselves or others.

Deadly Pleasures, Bruen, and Free Books

The Deadly Pleasures website has been revamped, and this issue is free for pdf download for those interested in checking out the magazine.

Meanwhile, you can listen to Ken Bruen read his short story, PUNK which is part of a collection titled THESE GUNS FOR HIRE, from Bleak House Books.

Lesa Holstine is giving away free books. Be sure to check out the post and enter to win a copy of Died In the Wool by Rett MacPherson. or Lights Out by Jason Starr.

Crimespace and the Ezine Update

by Daniel Hatadi

You've all heard of Myspace, seeing as you're all probably already on it. You may not have heard of Ning, though. Ning is like the new daddy, the mothership of Myspace. It allows you to create 'mini-spaces' within it, much like whole Myspaces themselves, with whatever theme or group of people you can think of. Obviously I'm interested in crime fiction, as are all of you, so I've gone ahead and created 'crimespace'.

Crimespace. It has a certain ring to it.

Since the Mystery Circus closed down (some of you will remember it fondly), the internet hasn't had any sort of central hub for readers and writers of crime fiction. Yes, there are various forums and places like Crimespot, but there's nowhere that can be a substitute for the bar at Bouchercon or Harrogate or Thrillerfest.

I'm hoping Crimespace can be that bar.

"Crimespace: A place for crime fiction writers, readers and lovers to schmooze, booze and draw up plans for the heist to end all heists. Find new authors to delve into, make friends and plan that heist, discuss the latest in crime fiction and make the place your home. Join up and enter the forums, add photos, videos and make some friends. Pull up a chair at the bar and share your poison."

http://crimespace.ning.com/

***
Ezine Report by Sandra Ruttan

I've been remiss in posting here for a while, and there are several lame excuses I can offer. I had a book come out. I was traveling out of province and out of the country. I got strep throat. Then I had a deadline.

And in the midst of all that, blogger made me upgrade and I'm still sorting out my support team of bloggers for this project.

So, I have been remiss in mentioning the new issue of Demolition, with fiction by the likes of Anthony Rainone, James McGowan, Ed Lynksey and John Stickney.

And the new issue of ThugLit, with contributions by Anthony Neil Smith, Daniel Hatadi, and others.

And the new issue of Hardluck Stories is also up, with stories by Patricia Abbott, Stephen D. Rogers and more.

Really, there's no shortage of great stuff to read online right now, but there's more. Yes, more.

Mouth Full of Bullets has published Play To Win by Kevin R. Einarson, What Every Guy Wants by me, and a feature interview with me.

Plus, they have interviews with other authors and short fiction by a number of other writers... and book reviews.

Thwarted By Blogger

Unfortunately, this blog launched just before the release of the new blogger.

One thing that I didn't realize was that those on the new blogger wouldn't be able to post here. In juggling various group blog responsibilities I had to sort out whether to convert to the new blogger.

Blogger has now given me no choice.

What this means is that some of the team planning to contribute here couldn't. And now that I've been forced to switch over, I'm not certain if that means some participants have been left behind.

Hopefully by the end of February we'll have it all sorted out and the regular team in place. If I'd realized what a headache this would be I would have waited for this launch - unfortunately, I didn't.

Anyone interested in participating is welcome to email us and let us know. I hope to build a list of semi-regular contributors who jump in when they have something relevant to contribute.

Let's just hope that this month, they don't launch the third version of blogger...

Votes Wanted

Scroll down to January 5 to find the details about Crimespree's nominations for best crime fiction of 2006. This is your chance to have your say.

You can vote for best ezine editor here.

And don't forget: if you see anything interesting on the blogs about the publishing world, send us a note. We're still looking for a few more contributors to talk over publishing issues here. If you have something you want to say, let us know.

Winners, Competitions and New Fiction on the Web

Congratulations to the winners of the winners of the 21st Annual City Paper Writing Competition run by the Philadelphia City Paper.

Winner: April Dobbins, Greetings from Lesotho
Runner-Up: M. G. Tarquini, Hindsight
Runner-Up: Chad Willenborg, Suit of Lights

Exceprts of their entries can be read online, following the link above.


The Silent Grey short fiction contest closes Wednesday January 10. Be sure to check it out and get your entry in. This is the first contest Jason Evans has run since he teamed up with Anne Frasier in the summer.

Ezine fans can enjoy a new issue of Thuglit as well as the new Thrilling Detective (which is going up in stages, but should be up any day now). This Thrilling Detective features work by Stephen D. Rogers, Jack Bludis, Duane Swierczynski, Karl Koweski.

Crimespree Magazine seeking Best of 2006 Nominations

Lovers of crime fiction should prepare their shortlists and send them off to Crimespree Magazine. Categories this year include favourite book, best in a continuing series, and favourite Ken Bruen book of 2006.

The Allbook Awards have been announced. Winners are:

Editor’s Choice

Business: The Art of Original Thinking by Jan Philips
Childrens: Do You Know Where Sea Turtles Go? By Paul Lowery
Inspirational: Dancing in the Eye of Transformation by S. Brallier
Non-fiction: Exposed by D. Dimokopoulos
Fiction: Dancing in the Void by R.E. Levin
Mystery: Of Blood and Blackwater by T Heffernan
Sci Fi/Fantasy: Cappawhite by G. Tate
Historical: The I Tetralogy by Mathia B. Freese
Poetry: Unscrambled Eggs by N. Brown

Reviewer’s Choice

Children: John Audubon, Young Naturalist by Mirian E. Mason
Inspirational: Your Daily Walk With The Great Minds of the Past and Present by Richard A Singer Jr.
Fiction: The Butterflys Dance by Christyna Hunter
Non-Fiction: America’s Controversies: The Death Penalty, Clinton’s Presidency & Export of Democracy To Nicaragua by Ksenija Arsic
Mystery: 47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers by Troy Cool
Sci Fi/Fantasy: The Return of Innocence by D. Simolke

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

The IPPY Awards

Independent Publisher Magazine is the voice of the independent publisher. Since 1996, the publication has sponsored the IPPY Awards -- which for some reason stands for “Independent Publisher Book Awards.” Possibly because IPPY rolls off the tongue more smoothly than IPBA, which sounds like a Latin undergrad about to sneeze.

It isn’t difficult to figure out what the IPPYs are: awards for the best independent books published each year. There are 90 winners in 60 regional and national categories ranging from genre fiction to titles any author would be proud to announce, like “Storyteller of the Year” and “Most Likely to Save the Planet.” What may not be apparent is the incredible effect winning an IPPY has on a book’s sales.

Sure, you get money if you win. You also gain recognition. For example, one of 1997’s winning IPPY titles, The Millionaire Next Door, went on to sell 2.5 million copies. The Sleeping Father by Matthew Sharpe, a 2004 IPPY winner, was chosen as a TODAY Show Book Club selection. Jack Fritscher’s debut novel What They Did to the Kid: Confessions of an Altar Boy sold out in hardcover after winning the IPPY, and the proceeds of the award funded a substantial paperback print run.

Both independent and self-published titles are eligible for the IPPY awards, and authors can enter their titles themselves. You’ll find rules, regulations, and an online application here. Entries for the 2007 IPPY Awards, for which all books published or reissued in 2006 are eligible, will be accepted through April 1, 2007, and the entry fee is $75 per title. Happy contesting!

The Long Tail of POD

By Stephen Blackmoore

First, my credentials. I am nothing more than an asshat with opinions and a bullhorn. So take all this with a block of salt.

Last week, Sandra post about the Espresso, a print on demand kiosk that belts out a complete bound copy of a book in 7 minutes. It's an intriguing idea, and one that's been in the works for years. I'm sure it needs improvement, and there will be bugs. But whether it works or not, it's the future. It's the Long Tail.

The Long Tail is a business model where the cumulative volume of individual small sellers can overrun the cumulative volume of high sellers. In short, John Grisham and Clive Cussler do great, the thousands of other book titles taken collectively do even better. The name comes from the way the distribution graph is laid out, a small area of high volume and a long tail of low volume that stretches much further away. The catch is that they're all online.

From Wikipedia (what does it say about our current electronic society that I can even cite Wikipedia in the first place?): "Anderson argued that products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough. Examples of such mega-stores include the online retailer Amazon.com and the online video rental service Netflix. The Long Tail is a potential market and, as the examples illustrate, the distribution and sales channel opportunities created by the Internet often enable businesses to tap into that market successfully."

The Espresso, and POD technology in general, plays into this business model, as do those ebook sites selling online, such as Liquid Silver, Samhain Books, etc..

This kind of model really only works so long as low volume product can still be allowed to move, which is why it works so well with digital distribution. Digital files are easy to store and cost very little, relatively speaking, to maintain. Throw in something like the Espresso, a more on demand print on demand machine than previous entries, and it opens the doors even wider.

The effect for a Long Tail distribution/publishing model is that more product can be kept "on the shelves" as it were for next to no cost, allowing those titles to still sell, even though their individual demand may be low. More possible revenue makers. And if demand suddenly appears for a title after a long fallow period (take the spurious success of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" after the DaVinci Code came out) it's no big deal.

The positive effect for an individual creator is that their books, music, art, what have you, can potentially always be available, and they can potentially continue to make money off them. Hooked on an obscure Appalachian bluegrass artist? You can find her on Amazon. A 1942 third edition detective novel from an obscure pulp writer? EBay. That documentary about lichens in the Antarctic? Netflix.

There are also some publishers who are designed from inception to handle the long tail. I'm a fan of Liquid Silver, Samhain Publishing and Ellora's Cave. Oh, don't look at me that way. Porn's a 4 BILLION industry and no one's buying it? Please.

I'm actually a fan of their business model. Some of the writing is hit or miss and the cover art? It's gotten infinitely better, but there's only so much rictus faced Poser models a reader can handle.

Anyway, they're all digital distributors. They are publisher as bookseller. They cut out the middle man and depend on a volume of diverse titles (I use the word "diverse" loosely") and an internet connection. These are not blockbusters by any stretch of the imagination. I haven't seen their numbers, but I would be surprised if they're not doing fairly well. They have relatively low overhead with no need for physical storage space beyond a server farm at their hosting company. They don't pay advances, instead paying their authors a percentage of each sale.

From the few I've talked to, the authors seem pretty happy with the arrangement, though I'd be willing to bet none of them would have a problem with getting an advance. I suspect we'll see more small presses heading in that direction.

So what are the downsides to the long tail?

Well, most existing business models don't work with it.

Booksellers

Friend of mine made a point a while back about independent bookstores. Loves them. Thinks they're great. But when B&N carries his books and they don't, the luster kind of peels off. They just aren't able to carry the load and so, as an author, he feels that he can't support them.

Most, if not all, independent booksellers don't have the ability to maintain the volume that is needed to operate in a long tail environment. Overhead is too high with rent, shelf space, etc. They depend on those titles that they can move a lot of.

Niche booksellers, like sci/fi and mystery, probably have it the hardest, because their pool of regulars is much smaller than a general bookseller. At the same time, since they cater to that smaller niche, they're more likely to have a regular clientele. But with rising costs and more competition, that pool is rapidly dwindling.

We all hear about indies going under because they can't compete. Some indie bookstores' bread and butter ends up being the collectors, those who want vintage mysteries, or first run hardcovers. In some cases, that's the only thing that keeps them in business.

In order to function in a long tail environment, they either need a large volume available to them and the ability to get it to the customer in a hurry. They can't beat the large chains on either of those fronts.

Some booksellers have reshaped / invented themselves to work this way with various degrees of success. Look at the number of low volume booksellers riding off Amazon's coattails in the new/used categories. Mom and pop shops that handle a few books at a time, or work with low cost remainders. They don't have to have volume because they only move a handful of things to begin with and they're fine with that. Plus they run off of Amazon's long tail infrastructure, which keeps their costs even lower. The low cost justifies the low volume.

And then you have the publisher as seller, which I mentioned above, though right now that appears to only be in digital formats, like .PDF files. As that segment grows and the technology improves that's going to cut into the bookseller's cashflow, too. Especially when a technology like the Espresso takes off.

In the long run, the indie as it exists today is going to disappear. It's no longer a sustainable model.

Publishers

For the most part, they're not equipped to handle it, either. Forget the editors and typesetters, they have an enormous infrastructure devoted to nothing but manufacturing and distribution. All very tightly joined together. They have created worldwide supply chains and deals within deals that move books like arteries move blood.

POD technology like the Espresso undercuts most of that business model. I suspect that a large portion of people in the distribution industry have been soiling their collective britches over this. You don't need a truck or a warehouse to move and store books when a T1 line will do the work for you.

So far the retailers have taken the hit, figuring out the details. No incentive for the publishers to, yet. Why change your model when someone else can do all the heavy lifting for you? As the saying goes, settlers get the land, pioneers get the indians.

At some point, though, the publishers are going to look at the numbers, and I'm sure they already have up, down and sideways, and see that it just costs too goddamn much money to print and ship these things. Then, when Wal-Mart and B&N look at it and see that they can move more product and reduce shelf space for underperforming titles, both in their stores and in their warehouse and distribution centers for online sales, they're going to push it, too.

Five years and I see whole sections of Borders taken up by a bank of kiosks that will belt out your favorite thriller in 2 minutes flat. Maybe.

When Apple created iTunes, it succeeded because it created partnerships with several music labels. A technology like the Espresso is going to have to do the same thing in order to survive. If it doesn't get some high profile titles in its catalog it's going to die on the vine and be resurrected in 5 years as something faster and better. Or slower and cheaper but with better deals with the publishing houses. Regardless, it's going to happen.

Authors

As of the last time I looked, which admittedly was a few years ago, many contracts stipulated that the rights to the book reverted back to the author after the book had been out of print for X period of time.

What happens to those rights when X is potentially forever? On the one hand this can be good. It never goes away. But what if, for some reason, and there are a lot of them, the author wants his or her book back? Is this still being written into contracts as part of a boilerplate? You tell me. I've got no data on that. I suspect it's beginning to change as authors realize more how this is going to work.

I mentioned advances back... uh, way back, actually. I sure can run on, can't I? Anyway, on the one hand, they're good, because the author gets some money to actually spend the time to write the books. Beats having to juggle a day job, a home life AND two to four novels a year. Many authors depend on this in order to live. It takes time to write a book and during that time they need cash. Beats blowing sailors for candy bars and small change. Unless you're into that sort of thing.

From the publisher's point of view, though, an advance is akin to betting on black. They've got nothing saying that the book will be successful. A smarter model is to pay for what's being sold, rather than take a gamble. I'm amazed they make any money. The authors sure as hell don't.

I think we're going to be saying good-bye to the advance. I can see a model where either the author is going to get a flat fee for their work or they're going to get royalties. And how is that going to affect agents?

When you don't have to produce a thousand books to sell 300 and the money flows in faster because your time to market is shorter, the incentive to pay that much up front fades. At that point it's just another line item for cost control.

I don't want to sound bleak, and for some I'm sure I do. But that's not what I'm trying to get at.

Yes, there are a lot of downsides, but they're only downsides because we look at them through the filter of the way it works today. It's not bad, just different.

This is a change that everyone's going to have to adapt to. Maybe not now. Maybe the tech and the public aren't ready for it. But in time it will be. There are just too many savings to be had for the money people.

I think this is potentially a good thing for small presses that can take advantage of it and authors who can shift to accommodate. Not all can. Not all will want to. But give it five years, ten, and things will be different.

The Future of Book Production and Selling

There has been much talk on listservs, blogs and forums about the announcement of the closure of Mystery Ink in NYC and Aliens and Alibis. I am sad to hear about these stores shutting down, but find myself wondering if we’re not on the threshold of the demise of the bookstore, but potentially beginning the journey to rebirth.

Enter a development Stephen Blackmoore alerted me to: “An ATM For Books” - Buying a book could become as easy as buying a pack of gum. After several years in development, the Espresso - a $50,000 vending machine with a conceivably infinite library - is nearly consumer-ready and will debut in ten to 25 libraries and bookstores in 2007. The New York Public Library is scheduled to receive its machine in February…. The machine can print, align, mill, glue and bind two books simultaneously in less than seven minutes, including full-color laminated covers. It prints in any language and will even accommodate right-to-left texts by putting the spine on the right. The upper page limit is 550 pages…

Now, at this moment admittedly we don’t know enough about the quality of the technology and how it will be received, but I’m going to indulge in a bit of wishful thinking. It is my feeling that part of the reason some (certainly not all) independents aren’t surviving has less to do with fewer sales of books and more to do with convenience. We live in an on-demand society, where people want dinner in under five minutes, drive-thru banking and one-stop-shopping. As a result we have seen the rise of online companies allowing us to shop from the convenience of our own homes.

Right now, my book is winding its way through the final stages of production. It will soon (if it isn’t already) be listed with Ingram. Listings on amazon will follow. Theoretically, in a matter of weeks any person will be able to go to any store in North American and order the book in if it isn’t on the shelves.

Gee, what a pain. Order it in? Have to wait? But I want it, and I want it now.

That’s what we tend to think. Despite the distance and inconvenience I’ll drive to three bookstores (and sometimes more) looking for a book I want. If I’ve set my mind on getting something it feels like defeat to go home without it, even if I’ve ordered it in.

There are good reasons to order books into the bookstores. It brings the title to the attention of the staff and shows that there is demand for that book. I went through this months ago, trying to track down one of Steve Mosby’s titles. I finally ordered it in, through a bookstore. It was an enormous headache and ended up costing me more money than if I had just ordered it through amazon.

However, within weeks as I went store to store in the city, I discovered the local chain stores had started carrying his books. For me, the frustration had the payoff of seeing work by a friend make it to the local shelves. I hope when Steve’s new book comes out this spring I don’t have to order it in, but can walk into any store in the city and find it on display.

As an author I can appreciate the merit of ordering through the bookstore. Even if it costs me more money it helps a fellow author.

But as an author I don’t find it so easy to ask readers to do this for me. I feel incredibly conflicted. I want to ask everyone to order the book through their local independent, selfishly, but it doesn’t feel right to ask them to do this when I know that it might cost them more money than ordering through amazon.

Although I live 77 kilometres away from the nearest independent (that would be one way) and it takes an hour to drive there because it’s downtown Calgary, and I don’t shop downtown or do any business downtown at all so I rarely have reason to go there, I do try to make a point of taking business to McNally Robinson whenever I can. The reason is simple: This bookstore does a lot to support author events locally, which is something the chain bookstores don’t do.

Now, let’s think back to this new piece of technology, the Espresso.

I suspect a big part of the reason that independents struggle is that they don’t have the infrastructure and capital to keep as much stock on hand as the chain bookstores. An invention like the Espresso could level the playing field, as far as books are concerned. Imagine eliminating shipping costs, not to mention delays. You go to your local bookstore and they don’t have the book you’re after on hand already. Not to worry: with the press of a few buttons and seven minutes of browsing you can pick up the exact book you’re after and leave the store satisfied.

This means titles never have to go out of print. It means stores never have to lose sales because customers can’t get what they want.

But it also doesn’t mean the end of hand selling.

In my idealistic vision, I imagine going to a store where the staff actually know the books. A certain amount of stock would be printed and kept on hand to entice readers with. Any title could be made on the spot. Perhaps what we’d see is more sample books on shelves for customers to browse through, with less bulk stock devoted to a few titles. A staff person could come in early every day and assess previous sales and know how many of the latest Rankin, Connelly, Billingham titles should be printed. If it doesn’t eliminate the need for store rooms it reduces that need.

All businesses have gone through changes over time. We’ve seen the decline of the general store, which has returned in a fashion as supermarkets that sell clothes, food, shoes, prescription drugs and automotive supplies. It used to be that all restaurants actually cooked their own food from scratch. Now they order in things pre-made. When I worked as a bakery assistant I used to produce the muffins for all the Second Cup stores in the city, but I didn’t work for Second Cup. It’s the beauty of contracting out the jobs.

I think there are several factors which are contributing to concerns with book sales. Consider this, readers. Every time you buy a book you are not simply paying for the production of that book. You are paying for the production of ARCs and postage and marketing packets sent out to promote that book and others. You are paying for shipping.

You’re also paying a certain amount of buffer against the cost of the book being returned/destroyed. Paperbacks, as I understand it, aren’t even sent back. The covers are ripped off and sent back for refund, because it’s cheaper to pay to reprint the book than to have it mailed back for a refund from a store that can’t sell it.

Imagine if we could see a reduction in the cost of books because we’ve eliminated some of the expenses.

Espresso machines could be the catalyst to change. I’m not saying it will be this way overnight. I’m not even saying it will be this way in a year or two. And it’s possible that the Espresso will give way to other machines, better machines, that can better meet demand.

But I think the Espresso is a sign of change on the horizon in the book industry. While many people are nervous about this, I think there’s reason to be optimistic that there are positive things that can come out of new technology.

At the same time, I’m aware that there are many things to consider in the publishing business, things I might be overlooking. I'm interested to hear your thoughts. What are the potential drawbacks to this development in publishing?

No change comes easy. Sometimes, what saves us a few dollars today costs someone else their job. The way I see it, we’re going through some growing pains right now. We can stand still and mourn the loss of independents – and I do... it could spell the end of author events if we lose all independents – but I think we also need to start thinking about the future and what needs to happen in order to revitalize the bookselling industry. I suspect many will regard Espresso with skepticism and fear. But I hope that people will keep an open mind to the possibilities because I suspect that, like all things, it will be the retailers and publishers innovative enough to embrace positive change and take risks who will lead the way into the next phase of book production and selling.

Starting Points and Awards

Sarah Weinman provided insight into the question of whether writers should consider starting their careers with small publishers. Check out her post, Where to Begin for a very interesting, insightful perspective on the issue.

Contest News

Canadian writers are encouraged to submit work for the Arthur Ellis Awards. The Arthur Ellis Awards honour excellence in crime fiction - mysteries, thrillers... From Crime Writers of Canada:

Announcing the new Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel

Is the Great Canadian Crime Novel tucked carefully away in a drawer or even languishing under your bed?

Well, pull it out and enter it in the newly created Arthur Ellis Award category – the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel.

This new annual award from Crime Writers of Canada is sponsored by Canadian publisher McArthur & Company and has been created to recognize and promote the careers of promising new Canadian crime novelists. The winner receives a special Arthur Award from the CWC plus a cash prize from McArthur, which has first refusal rights on publishing the novel.

The competition is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, who lives in Canada or is a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, and who has never had a novel of any kind published commercially.

Contestants should have a completed manuscript and submit the opening chapter(s) – 8000 to 10,000 words – plus a 500-word synopsis of their crime novel manuscript. "Crime novel" is defined as crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense, or thriller, and can be set in any time period and crime-related sub-genre.

All entries must be accompanied by $30 per submission plus an entry form that can be downloaded from the CWC Website.

Initial submissions will be judged by a panel of publishing professionals who will come up with a shortlist. Shortlisted authors will be asked to submit their completed manuscripts for the second round of judging.

The shortlist will be announced at the end of April along with the shortlists from the other Arthur Ellis categories. The winner will be announced at the Arthur Ellis Awards dinner in Toronto in June.

The deadline for submitting the 8000- to 10,000-word sample and 500-word synopsis is January 31, 2007.

For the specific submission rules and the entry form, go to www.crimewriterscanada.com and click on the Arthur Ellis Awards button.


The 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards

Do you have a book – fiction or nonfiction – or short story that was published in 2006? If you do, it may be eligible for entry in the 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards. There are six categories of awards for published material:
Best crime novel
Best first crime novel (by a writer who has never had a novel of any kind published before)
Best crime nonfiction
Best crime short story
Best juvenile crime book
Best crime book in French

Either you or your publisher may submit the work. The deadline for submissions is January 12, 2007.

For specific eligibility and submission rules, email the CWC at info@crimewriterscanada.com or go to www.crimewriterscanada.com and click on the Arthur Ellis Awards button.

Updates

Drop by Mai Wen's Asian Fun and Then Some for her Third Day Book Club review of Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone. The Third Day Book Club is the brainchild of Patry Francis who explains about the selections for next month here. This is a fantastic idea that brings bloggers together to discuss books - a quick technorati search will lead to a long list of other bloggers who've posted reviews as well.

Over at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy there is a review of Corbenic by Catherine Fisher that is also worth checking out.

And the new issue of Mouth Full of Bullets, with poetry, short stories, interviews and reviews, should be up today.

On The Net

Arthur Ellis Awards

The rules for submitting work for the 2007 Arthur Ellis Awards are now posted on the Crime Writers of Canada website, including information about the new award, for best unpublished first novel.

Net News

Shots has some new material up, including an interview with Anna Blundy, features by Karl Vincent, James Twining writes about writing The Black Sun and David Harrison talks about his novel, Sins of the Father. There is also a new monthly column by Mike Carlson, called Carlson's American Eye.

Mysterical E has gone live with their new Winter Issue, featuring short stories, columns and reviews.

Allbooks Review Award Nominations

Nominations for the Allbooks Review Editor's Choice and Reviewer's Choice Awards have been announced. They are as follows:


Business
Behind the Union Curtain by R. Sall
The Art of Original Thinking by Jan Phillips

Childrens
Do you Know where Sea Turtles Go? by Paul Lowery
Reggie and Ryssa and the Summer Camp of Faery by B. Savino

Inspirational
Dancing in the Eye of Transformation by S. Brallier
The World's Best Kept Secret for Success and Happiness by V.F. Rayser
Non fiction-Exposed by D. Dimokopoulos
31 Months in Japan by L &L Collins

Fiction
Dreaming of You by Francis Ray
Payson Heights by J. A. Wellman
Dancing in the Void by R. E. Levin

Mystery
Baby Shark by R. Fate
Of Blood and Blackwater by T. Heffernan

Sci Fi/Fantasy
Cappawhite by G. Tate,
Angelos by R. Williams

Historical Fiction
The i Tetralogy by Mathias B. Freese
Danny and Life On Bluff Point 'The Man on the Train' by Mary Ellen Lee

Poetry
Unscrambled Eggs by N. Brown
Old School by Robin Cook


2007 Allbooks Reviewer's Choice Award nominees

Children
Danny and Life on Bluff Point-My Horse Sally by Mary Ellen Lee
John Audubon, Young Naturalist by Miriam E. Mason

Inspirational
Intelligent Design in Science, Religion and You by Nickolas Bay
Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds of the Past and Present by Richard A. Singer Jr.
Spiritual Practice, Occultism and Extraterrestrial Intelligence: A Travel Guide for Beyond the Rainbow by Judy Kennedy

Fiction
Eddie and Me on the Scrap Heap by M. Littman
The Butterfly Dance by Christyna Hunter
The Devil's Halo by Chris Fox
The Spriting by S. Grimes

Non fiction
Nana: My grandmother, Anne Gillis by Robert Gillis
America’s Controversies: The Death Penalty, Clinton’s Presidency & Export of Democracy to Nicaragua by Ksenija Arsic

Mystery
47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers by Troy Cook

Sci Fi/Fantasy
Sandryn's Glow by D. Collins
The Return of Innocence by D. Simolke
Quest for the Source of Darkness by P. Perry


Special congratulations to Capital Crime Press on the nominations of both Robert Fate's Baby Shark and Troy Cook's 47 Rules For Highly Effective Bank Robbers.

Winners will be announced January 7, 2007.

Bad Sex Award

Debut author Iain Hollingshead has received the Bad Sex Award for his debut novel, Twentysomething.

According to the article, "Because Hollingshead is a first-time writer, we wished to discourage him from further attempts,'' the judges -- editors of Literary Review magazine -- said in a statement. "Heavyweights like Thomas Pynchon and Will Self are beyond help at this point.''

Hollingshead, 25, who received his award from rocker Courtney Love at a London ceremony, said he was delighted to become the prize's youngest winner.

In For Questioning

Since the launch of Spinetingler Magazine I’ve gradually received more and more spam.

I must state, for the record, that I hate spam. I don’t know how I end up on some of these mailing lists but I do. I don’t know why, but there’s little use obsessing over that either.

Last month I’d received yet another piece of spam email. Yes, it was about a book. Yes, it was related to crime fiction, which is my personal passion.

But I sat there, looking at this unsolicited advert in my inbox wondering, What exactly do they think I’m going to do with this?

It was at that point that my mind started generating possibilities. In part, the thought process was prompted by other observations I’d made.

Over the past year in the crime fiction realm some of the authors I’ve heard the most talk about have been authors like Robert Fate and Troy Cook. JT Ellison said Robert Fate’s debut, Baby Shark may be one of the best books she’s ever read – you can read that on the front page of his website. Troy Cook’s book, 47 Rules For Highly Effective Bank Robbers has had an enormous amount of internet/listserve buzz about it.

I was starting to realize that the authors I was hearing about, more and more, were from independent presses or small publishers. There weren’t announcements about big advances or lucrative contracts and international sales – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but there was talk about how great their books are.

And a lot of that talk was coming from readers.

I started to wonder how readers were discovering these newcomers, despite the lack of conventional press.

I started to wonder how many other newcomers were still out there, waiting to be discovered.

Meanwhile, I was looking at a bit of spam that I couldn’t use for Spinetingler, wondering about all of this.

That’s when I realized that if there was a gap in the news, it was relating to small presses and international authors. Their news isn’t being reported to the same degree, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be reported.

Allan Guthrie started small press. Duane Swierczynski started with a small press as well. What made the difference for them was that someone discovered their talent.

What this tells me is that there’s a lot of good material out there, just waiting to be discovered. And I want to help people get the word out.

That’s why I invited a few friends to join me here. I have my writing. I have Spinetingler. I have my own blog, and my responsibilities over at Killer Year as well. I can’t do another blog on my own. SW Vaughn is an author with Wild Child Publishing. John McFetridge’s debut novel, Dirty Sweet was published this year by ECW, a Canadian publisher. I’ve invited a few others to contribute here as well, so you may see some more names in the days to come.

We actually want you to email us with information about book deals, releases, new issues of e-zines, credible contests…

This doesn’t mean we’re going to post your advertisements. We will post newsworthy information.

It also doesn’t mean that we won’t talk about big publishers or internationally known authors. It just means that isn’t our primary focus. Whether your name is Cook or Cornwell, Fate or Fairstein, McFetridge or McDermid, we’re interested.

The only question we’ll ask is, Is this newsworthy? And likewise, when we post here, we expect readers to do the same. That’s why this is In For Questioning. It’s like bringing a suspect in – you get to decide if it’s information you can use.

To officially start things off, John sent me a link about the surge in Canadian crime fiction. A reader gives a thoughtful assessment of Ken Bruen’s The Magdalen Martyrs and Crimespree 15 is making its way around the world, with a lovely photo of Russel in the Bouchercon scrapbook.