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Thoughts on Traditionally Published Authors & E-publishing

I want to start a conversation about traditionally published authors and e-publishing. I’m very interested in hearing what you think on this topic.

Yesterday, I published my first e-book. The fact that e-book technology and e-book acceptance have arrived at the place where they are today makes it possible for authors, like J.A. Konrath, to put to our “backlists” into print and distribute them to a wider marketplace. When I refer to an author’s backlist, I mean something different than what a publisher means when they say “backlist.”

When a publisher says “backlist,” they are referring to all of the content that has been contracted into their ownership. A publisher can  leverage content of an author’s if that content still falls under a valid contract between the two parties (or three parties, if there is also an agent).

Therefore, if an author’s traditionally published title went out of print ten years ago and the publisher reverted the rights to the author some time during the last decade that means the author now has the opportunity to e-publish that work and keep the profits without sharing any with the publisher, who originally published the work. The author could collect a bunch of different works into one collection or publish each title separately or basically do whatever he or she wants, because he or she owns the rights.

However, if a traditionally published title is still under contract, then the publishing house will convert the title into electronic forms, or not, and the author will receive a royalty, or small percentage of the profits, sometimes only of the net profits.

Now, when I say “author backlist” what I am referring to is the typically huge backlog of quality content often languishing on an author’s hard drive, because the author devotes the lion’s share of his or her energy to landing and fulfilling his or her next traditionally published book deal (or fulfilling a multi-book contract).

Like many traditionally published authors, writing instructors, and speakers, I have cultivated more helpful content over the course of the past decade than I could probably ever publish. Also more than any one or even ten publishers would ever be interested in publishing since much of it does not address a large enough audience for a trade publisher.

I would not want to publish every single bit of this content, anyway, for a variety of reasons, the most important being that I plan to hold some of it back for my next traditionally published book (because my books tend to grow out of and be an extension of my ongoing professional experience).

The head’s up to authors today, then, is that thanks to the technology that is available and a more widespread acceptance of e-publishing and e-reading, an author can take whatever high-quality content he or she has already curated, put it into e-formats, and share it with his or her readership fairly simply, although large amounts of time and effort are still involved. Whether or not an author’s readership will be interested in what the author e-publishes is a whole other discussion that I won’t get into right now. Let’s just assume that some readers only want the traditionally published books and other readers are interested in both, since that’s likely to be the case.

So publishers are not the only ones today who have an opportunity to share their backlists with readers. Authors also have an opportunity today to e-publish and share their “backlists” as well. If this is confusing to you, then call what the publishers have a backlist and what the authors have a backlog. Because that’s often how it feels…like more good stuff than you can manage to whip into shape to share with your readers.

What I’m discovering is that it’s worth transforming your “backlog” into your own backlist. This is what I have done with Author Mama. Along the way I’ve realized that just like traditional books, every e-book has its own story. If you are interested, you can now read the complete story of Author Mama as I’ve posted the dedication and acknowledgments page.

I’d like to hear from you on this topic.

Did I do a good job explaining the difference between a publisher’s backlist and an author’s backlist (backlog)?

How do you feel about either or both?

Thoughts, complaints, aha moments?

Photo by Jordan

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  • Cynthia Schuerr April 1, 2010, 12:47 pm

    Christina, you have a wonderful idea here. I personally am not a fan of the e-publishing business, but I understand that it is a necessary evil to be able to survive as a writer and get your work out there to the public. Especially, someone as yourself, with all the information that you have brought to us in the past decade.

    I'm not happy that publishers can e-publish their 'backlist'. It doesn't seem fair to the author, but again, I suppose necessary to stay in business. I think you explained the difference between publisher's backlist and author's backlist, very well. I agree that using the word 'backlog' instead of 'backlist' to differentiate the two is a great idea. Clears it up, nicely.

  • christinakatz April 1, 2010, 4:29 pm

    Thanks for your input and support, Cynthia. I like what you said about viewing e-publishing as a necessary evil. I think the way to make anything that publishers do or can do seem less exclusionary (is that a word?) is to give it a try for ourselves. This is the dangerous opportunity of the day. Everyone involved in publishing has new opportunities, and it just depends on how wisely we handle the opportunities available to us.

  • Jenn April 1, 2010, 4:59 pm

    Your distinction between “backlist” and “backlog” was incredibly helpful, Christina. All this talk in the blogosphere of authors publishing their rights-reverted backlists has given me a push to dig out my old book contracts and find out whether I can do the same (though I do find it daunting). I'm also curious as to whether, should an author publish a new book and that publisher want to bring out his or her backlist, having e-pubbed in the interim would be a stumbling block.

  • Kathleen McDade April 1, 2010, 8:03 pm

    I saw this in my feed reader and wondered whether you'd been reading Konrath. 🙂 Yes, I think you were very clear, and it sounds like e-publishing may be a very good opportunity for writers. However, I think (at least right now) that it's going to work best for already-established authors, rather than previously unpublished or lesser-known authors.

  • Colette April 1, 2010, 9:18 pm

    First, congrats on publishing your e-book.

    Thanks for the discussion on e-books. It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

    I like your distinction between backlists and backlogs. I think it does make sense for writers to 'self-publish' with an e-book for certain types of works — that might be their backlog, or it might be smaller pieces, or pieces used to build towards something bigger. I am starting to think that e-books might be a way to build a stronger platform.

    I'm really curious to see how you feel about it in a few months.

  • christinakatz April 2, 2010, 4:09 pm

    I think you are right, Kathleen. I also think it's a good idea to keep a level head about these things. We can't all be J.A. Konrath. 🙂

  • christinakatz April 2, 2010, 4:10 pm

    It all depends on who has the rights. An author either has the rights or doesn't. It's typically pretty black and white.

  • Nancy Madlin April 6, 2010, 12:41 am

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this; it was helpful to hear your perspective on this topic of interest to me…

    I personally like e-books for what they are — less than a traditional book, yet a wonderfully fast and accessible way to give or receive useful information. When I get into a relationship with a blogger or expert, I enjoy relating to their e-books also because they are so accessible and more affordable than a traditional book.

    Speaking of which, it would be so nice for me if you would also consider doing teleseminars!