I wrote this book during my pregnancy in 1989. Ballantine gave it the absolutely most grotesque cover ever. The premise of the story is based on Rupert Sheldrake’s book, Presence of the Past, in which he introduced his theory of morphic resonance – that nature has a memory.
Ballantine labeled the novel “horror,” and while there are certainly elements of that, it’s actually a story about what happens to ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The cover didn’t do much for the sales of the book, which was published in 1990 and went out of print a few years later.
When I got the rights back to the book some years ago, the rights reversion letter sat in a file. There are 20 or so back list titles in that reversion letter and now, with the advent of ebooks and e-readers, I’m bringing those titles into digital form, one by one, and I’m using my own name. What a concept! Talented Katrina Joyner did the superb cover:
With this one, I’m trying Amazon’s Kindle select program, where the book is available exclusively on Amazon for 90 days and is included in Amazon’s lending library. In this program, the author earns according to how many times the book is borrowed. It’s also available for a traditional sale, at $3.99.
An article in Forbes Magazine talks about the impact of this program on traditional publishing. Two weeks earlier, the author of the Forbes article wrote this piece on how traditional publishing is broken and quoted author Sue Grafton, who has had 32 bestsellers, from an interview she did for LouisevilleKY.com:
“To me, it seems disrespectful…that a ‘wannabe’ assumes it’s all so easy s/he can put out a ‘published novel’ without bothering to read, study, or do the research. … Self-publishing is a short cut and I don’t believe in short cuts when it comes to the arts. I compare self-publishing to a student managing to conquer Five Easy Pieces on the piano and then wondering if s/he’s ready to be booked into Carnegie Hall.”
Personally, I think the explosion of ebooks and indie books is fantastic. Writers suddenly have multiple venues that didn’t exist before and readers have more books to choose from. How can that be a bad thing? It’s all a huge, exciting experiment now. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.
I lost interest in Grafton’s books a while ago. Now I know why. Self publishing, like many things happening right now, is just part of a new way for people to bypass the control mechanisms and stand on their own talent. They either sell or they don’t, but writers like Grafton are afraid of competion that doesn’t give them a competitive edge, IMHO.
I’ll have to download Lagoon! I love Rupert Sheldrake’s theories.
Standing on your own talent: that’s it in a nutshell.
Downloaded Lagoon in less than a minute. It will be my new fun book to read. I’ve been innundated with research studies and things that take time to understand. A little fiction is just what I need.
I am thrilled you are reissuing your backlist. Good books should never be out-of-print and now there is no reason for them to be. It’s so awesome. I, of course, read in every format and know the next generation of readers will always have an extensive library in their pocket.
I have never read Sue Grafton but did spend this past weekend with other 30-year-best-selling authors. All have been dropped from their publishers. All have turned to self-publishing. All are thrilled with their new audiences and being able to have all rights and profits from their backlist and current novels. Ms. Grafton is very aware that “best-sellers” are less about the book and writing and more about the marketing, distribution, promotions, and the algorithmic magic of specific lists. WHEN Sue Grafton joins the world of Indie-publishing, and really takes a look at it from the inside, she will have a different opinion.
Indie is the term that means, self published with hand picked editors and a supporting array of professionals who are all about getting good books into the hands of readers. Indie publishers are not shackled by buildings and trucking costs, but instead are all invested in the end product and sharing the profit. It’s a new publishing model, not a new storytelling or writing model.
That’s fascinating about the weekend you spent, Terri. Insightful. I’m glad to see other authors going the indie route!
Amen, Mike! Been wanting to ask…nosey ole me….how are you feeling? Recovering nicely? My hubby is now two years past his RCC surgery: right kidney; and is doing terrific! I’m sure you will do as well!
I’m doing fine thanks Math. No more treatment needed, but will have to have a scan + x-ray in 6 months time and then once a year for five years – to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned. A few aches and pains but I’m told these are normal and can take up to 3 months from op to go away. (It was my right kidney too, good to hear that your hubby is doing well.)
Many thanks to you and everyone else who lit a candle for me – I did leave a comment somewhere but it might not have been seen by everyone. I really appreciated everyone’s kindness and thoughts.
Maybe some authors are a little scared of the changes in publishing as it has taken the elitism away. All things are now possible for all writers, which must be the way to go. The cream will still rise to the top.
i must say i was really taken aback at grafton’s remarks – and totally agree that they were snide – ostracizing – denigrating – and turned away an entire reader segment – much to her own detriment –
in any event, the possibilities now existing in the e-world are fantastic in many ways – [not to say that i will ever give up my “real” books, however] – but there is so much more now available to so many – both readers and writers – everyone will profit literally and figuratively –
so glad to see ya’lls oldies coming up again – in new and creative ways – and cj is right about your readers becoming so attached to your characters – both of us being prime examples of that – and i do love the newer lagoon book cover version as i said over on FB – it will go over on my macgregor shelf where the fog and esperanza and ghost key live, together in peace and harmony with all those others “real books” of ya’lls… 😉
Maybe it is like mike said – a certain fear on grafton’s part.
What a nasty remark from Sue Grafton. There are lord only knows how many superb writers in the world whose works never get piblished simply because the author doesn’t know how to go through the hoops of traditional puiblishing. Granted, there is a lot of ridiculous trash written that the writer believes is “golden”, but still, Grafton’s remarks are callous and hurtful, expecially to young aspiring authors. The new E trend will allow many otherwise un-published, excellent authors with marvelous stories, to be put out there for the PUBLIC and the READERS to decide what they like. I, for one, have never cared for Grafton’s material. Now it’s FOR SURE I won’t purchase another of her novels! And Trish, love that new cover on LAGOON!! I continue to wish there had been just one more Tango Key/Mira in the series! I was waiting for Mira’s on-again, off-again love relationship to settle, so I mentally wrote my own happily-ever-after because it was kind of left open-ended, which in a way is nice!! I miss all the characters in the series. You know, readers tend to get very attached to characters when there is a series. I do, anyway, and miss them when the series is done. All you guys with EReaders, you definitely want to read the Tango Key series, among Trish’s other novels! And Rob’s non-fiction THE FOG is also a great read, about the Bermuda Triangle. Hope he goes to ERead with that one!
I think Sue later apologized. The Fog is already in digital form and now I’m bringing the mira books back into digital also.