Publishers Gone Wrong

Around the House
Thank you Mrs. Vladimir for allowing me to leave this posting on your blog! She wanted me to tell you that she is visiting Jerry at the Clinic to ensure that he is getting the proper treatment which to her means a good beating once a day. I didn't have the heart to tell her that he is having therapy and not beatings. What can you do? The great news is that I did get a chance to spend the afternoon talking to Raisa. She seems very excited about the events at Thanksgiving, because the family had to donate the goat to an animal shelter so that it could be properly taken care off.
My Thoughts
I have been thinking about the information circulating about Harlequin. Apparently their new imprint DellArte is charging authors for publishing services which for years has been against ethical business practices for Agents and Publishers. After reading the articles and seeing the stands made by SFWA and MWA, I must compliment them on taking a stand for author's rights. Publishing Houses, even during an economic downturn, should not be charging author's for their works. It would be like a TV show charging an Actor to appear instead of paying them. So it has brought be back to my opinion on how Publishing Houses could enter into agreements with new authors that would not be as large of a financial risk for the Publishing House. There are three things a Publisher must do 1. Pay the Author for their work, 2. Offer the work to the Retailers, and 3. Give the author a chance at turning their work into a commercial success. The way I believe publishing houses can do this is through Print on Demand and E-Books. Print on Demand is when the publisher only prints the number of books purchased. It can be as few as one book at a time or as many as the publisher needs. With the advances in modern technology kiosk machines that do this are currently available in some European Book stores which allow for a cost effective and professional product to be produced therefore eliminate the large and costly book productions that are currently the industry standard.
By moving to this model it would allow publishers to move away from offering advances to first time or new authors, but would also allow for a retailer to carry the product and receive the product quickly with out the need for mass production therefore saving the publisher money. Additionally, with the great success of internet sales and E-book sales on Amazon and Barnes and Noble publishers wouldn't have to worry about unsold book returns because the books would be ordered before shipping. Seeing this, Authors can still be paid royalties for their book sales, retailers can still get books from up and coming authors, and publishers do not have to worry about not being able to recoup expenses. This also benefits the reader by allowing for a reduction in book prices, increased availability of books (no out of publication), and a wider variety of material than the market is currently providing. Hopefully Harlequin will be smart enough to move to a model like this and away from charging its authors for publication.

D.J. Cappella