by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

As you know, I’ve been a very reluctant
convert to outlining.  I look for ways in
which outlining doesn’t work for me.

Instead, I keep coming across proof that
it does. Sigh. (Here
and here.)

I have an outline due for an editor by
September 1.  Chapter one of that book is
due on the same date.  I worked a bit on
the outline while I was traveling those two weeks in July.  Then, the last week of July, I worked harder
on it and finished it.

August 1, I started writing chapter one
of the book…and stalled out.  I continued
writing, but I realized that chapter one wasn’t right.
The tone and the mood were all off. I was reluctant to even open up the
document every day to work on it. 

Finally, it occurred to me (I can be
completely task-oriented and unwilling to look for root causes of problems)
that I should go back to the outline and see if I could figure out why that
first chapter was going so poorly.

After reading through the outline, the
answer was obvious to me. This wasn’t a cozy mystery at all. It was a mystery—it had a couple of murders and a
sleuth who solved the case by piecing together clues after interviewing
suspects and chasing red herrings.

But it was way too dark.  The victim had been a ruthless person. The
victims of the victim—now suspects—had seriously been taken advantage of.  One of the suspects was a recurring character
in the series and the sleuth was involved in a very unusual and disturbing way.

This outline could be for a police
procedural or maybe even a private eye. 
Heck, it could even be made into a noir.  But it wasn’t a cozy mystery.  And it had absolutely no mention of quilting
in there, for heaven’s sake, which was the series hook.  The outline also didn’t include the books’
recurring characters …characters that I knew were popular with readers of the
series.

The day before this
post came out about the importance of knowing our audience was the day when
I realized I needed to take the outline back to the drawing board.

I was able to adjust the outline to make
it more appropriate to my genre. I changed the suspects, I changed the victim’s
personality a bit to make him more of a rogue with an edge, I eliminated the
reason my sleuth was involved, I changed the motives. I lightened it up. Then I
scrapped my chapter one.

I’ve had to make similar changes before
with manuscripts, but it’s a lot more
time-consuming when you’re making the changes on a finished draft.  I used the basic plot premise that was in the
original outline and was able to make the changes to the outline in three days.  Chapter one was quickly written after that.

So—the outline can be a litmus test. You
can see from your outline if the story you’re planning will work…for your
genre, for your protagonist, for your readers. You can see plot holes, you can
see where there might be an issue with tone, you can see where readers might
have to suspend their disbelief too frequently. 
An outline can be a useful tool. 
(Bleh.)

I still don’t enjoy making them, but they
are becoming more useful to me.

How is your writing process going for
you? Made any tweaks with it lately to make it work better?

 by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This year, I will have at least
four, maybe five (the fifth will be pushing it) releases.  Three are traditionally published, I’ve
got one new self-pub release,  and there’s one that’s waiting in the wings.

Somehow, though, despite all
the releases, I freeze up when it’s launch day. 
You’d think I’d never had a release in my life. I really have no idea
why I do this, but I’m now coming up with a handy-dandy cheat sheet for me so
that I can refer to this post when I freeze up again…which will likely happen
with the December Penguin release.

After I get the formatted files
back from my formatter (thanks Rik Hall), or
after the traditional press book launches, I need to:

For self-pub books:

Upload to Smashwords.

Upload to Nook.

Upload to Kindle.

Upload to CreateSpace.

Check my emails or the
individual platform sites to see how the review processes are going for
CreateSpace and Smashwords. 

When CreateSpace approves my
content, I need to order proof copies (yes, I actually like to see the physical book and make sure the cover fits.)

Make sure Smashwords isn’t
having any issues with my upload. Fix any issues that arise.

Check on Nook’s progress.  Nook is poky.

By this time, Amazon will
already be live.  Use the Amazon link to
claim my book on ACX (the audiobook platform). 
Send email to ACX asking them for a stipend for the narrator (and
referencing the other books in the series.)

For self-pub and trad. pub:

Update my website that I have a
new book available.  Paste in the Amazon
buy-link (at that point, the only one ready to go.)

Post the release on my two
business-related Facebook accounts (I’ve got two names I write under.)  I skip posting about the release on my
personal Facebook account…I’ve got so many annual releases that I think my friends
and family would be heartily sick of hearing about them.  At least I’m gearing to readers on my other
accounts.  I only post once on the
release on the business Facebooks, to avoid overkill.

I don’t tweet the release on
Twitter.  But I will link to this post,
which will increase awareness indirectly.

Update my Amazon Author
page.  Add the new book to my list of
books.

Update Goodreads.

Update various bios and avatar
bios. Lately, I haven’t done this—I’ve just listed on the bios that I have 3
series and to visit my website (it’s just time-consuming).

For self-pub:

Are any of the other buy links
live?  Nook?  Smashwords? Add those to my website. 

Look over my proof from
CreateSpace.

Once I’ve got CreateSpace live,
order copies for a Goodreads giveaway. 
Link to the giveaway on my website. 
Actually, I should really list the giveaway months before the print release,
then provide the giveaway copies once they’re available.

Check on progress of auditions
for narrators at ACX.  Choose narrator
for project.

For Self-pub and trad. pub:

If you were a
smart author and had a mailing list for your newsletter…you should send out a
newsletter on the release. No comment as to whether I’m a smart author or
not.  :(

Write blog posts
for blog tour.  If you were smart and are
doing a blog tour. No comment again.  :(

Remember to add a short
addendum to the bottoms of my blog posts about the new release. This is the top
thing that I forget to do.

Update LinkedIn (again, usually
forget this.)

Keep writing next book.  The deadlines will bite me if I don’t.

What have I forgotten?  I’m sure, knowing me, plenty.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I usually do all of my link sharing on
Sundays, but I thought what I’d do today is to share a couple of recent links
I’ve found helpful…and also share some posts that I find myself coming back to
often to re-read.

Porter Anderson in his Publishing
Perspectives column
last Tuesday, linked to a Tumblr
post by Fight Club writer Chuck Palahniuk.  In it, Palahniuk pointed out that characters
who think can be dangerous. :) Thinking words need a bit of the show-don’t-tell
treatment.  Palahniuk also tells why
solitude is bad for our characters. Check the links for more information.

I also came across another link I found
interesting yesterday, on a similar topic. Self-Editing
for Everyone Part 4: The Weakeners by Bridget McKenna. This post has a nice
list of filler words (and other types of pitfalls) to look out for in our
writing.  I’m always careful here to note
that we don’t have to eliminate all of
these—but it’s helpful to go through our writing and see if we’re using these
words as crutches.

Here are some older posts that I
frequently refer to. I liked these posts because they offered something a
little different from most writing craft posts and because they got me
thinking.  Other than that…the posts have
very little in common.

The
one subplot you really need by Allen Palmer for Cracking Yarns.

6
Secrets to Creating and Sustaining Suspense by Steven James for Writer’s Digest

Five
More Ways to Add Humor by Darcy
Pattison for Fiction Notes.

Acting Out (a
technique for breaking acts and then adding twists, plot direction) by Lilla Zuckerman for Save the Cat!

How
to Build a Scene, Addendum: Do You Have a Surface Conflict and a Suppressed
Conflict?  By Matt Bird for Cockeyed Caravan

Story
Threads—Tie the Elements Together by Beth Hill for The Editor’s Blog

A
Clever Way To Give A Story Hidden Depth by John Yeoman for Procrastinating Writers.

One
key to handling exposition by Scott
Myers for Go Into the Story.

Logline Library compiled for
The Script Lab.  I somehow find this site fascinating
(probably says a lot about my state of mind.) I love seeing complex stories
being successfully reduced to a few words.

Plot
Generators, What-If Tools, 37 Dramatic Situations, and Getting Past Writers
Block. A nice post by Martina
A. Boone (Adventures in YA Publishing) for The Enchanted Inkpot.

What do you do with favorite posts that
you want to refer back to?  I use the
free version of Evernote to organize my
favorite tips.  I usually do a pass
through them right before editing or when I feel a bit stuck. The important
thing, I think, is not to get immobilized by all the good ideas—but to have
them there as reference when we need them.

And I’ve got to plug Mike Fleming’s and
my search engine…if you don’t want to bookmark and you’d rather search a topic
when you need it, you can pull up all the posts I’ve shared on writerskb.com .  It’s free.

Have you got favorite posts? How do you
organize them?

 by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming)
which has over 20,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search
engine for writers.

Sign up for our free newsletter for bimonthly writing tips and interviews with top
contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.

Mike Fleming and writing coach James Scott Bell are
offering an online, interactive, writing program to help make your next novel
great. It’s called “Knockout Novel” and you can learn more about it
at Knockout Novel.com. 

 

Do it yourself? 10 tips for beginners
from top self-publishing sites: http://bit.ly/1cjWzKD
@darlawrites

Indie Author Organizations for Publicity:
http://bit.ly/1cjWNRV @cateartios

How Genre Labeling Keeps Some Books from
Being Discovered: http://bit.ly/18KPmkz

Writing, Art and Outlining: http://bit.ly/1cjXkmZ @fcmalby

7 Reasons You Should Have a Songwriting
Process: http://bit.ly/18KPu3k @usasong

Authorial Artists: 5 Painters Who Also
Wrote: http://bit.ly/18KPGQg
@chris_shultz81

30 Days of Screenplays “Little Miss
Sunshine”: http://bit.ly/1cjXPxo
@gointothestory

How to Develop a Daily Writing Habit: http://bit.ly/18KPRep @rfwilliford

How to Keep Writing When You’re Scared of
Failure: http://bit.ly/1cjYgrm @diymfa

How to be found on the internet: http://bit.ly/18KQODr @CarrieCuinn

Want to Read More? Think About
Audiobooks: http://bit.ly/1cjZtPE
@booklifenow

Improving your odds of getting published:
http://bit.ly/1cjZByu @storyfix

Give your character a lie: http://bit.ly/1cjZRO4 @bethvogt

Reviews – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:
http://bit.ly/1ck02ZH @maryannwrites

Retired and Writing: http://bit.ly/15tHuCz

The outlaw hero: http://bit.ly/18PJx8T @NykiBlatchley

The 5 deadly sins writers don’t see in
their own writing: http://bit.ly/15tHQsP
@rxena77

3 Types of Headings: http://bit.ly/15tIdDN @writing_tips

The Truth About Having Time to Create: http://bit.ly/18PKGNv @JeffreyDavis108

An author rounds up the most memorable
criticism of her career: http://bit.ly/18PLemI
@AdriennedeWolfe

Adaptations: Passionate, Not Precious: http://bit.ly/15tJvyF @jtjarzemsky

5 Traps of the Imagination John Grisham
Helped 1 Writer See: http://bit.ly/18PLyBZ
@VanderwarkerT

What to expect when going to a writing
conference: http://bit.ly/13plQjr @JenTalty

How typeface influences the way we read
and think: http://bit.ly/1edoB8X
@passivevoiceblg

4 Things Barnes & Noble Could Do to
Stay Competitive: http://bit.ly/13plV6O
@dearauthor

How To Make a Book Cover with Public
Domain Images: http://bit.ly/1edoH0c
@jasonboog

10 Free (or Mostly Free) Book Launch
Strategies: http://bit.ly/13pm2iD @bookbaby

New Literary Forms for Self-Publishers: http://bit.ly/1edoQR7 @ornaross

Is It Worth Being in the Amazon
Associates Program? http://bit.ly/185E3Wb
@goblinwriter

Building your author platform–Goodreads:
http://bit.ly/1edp0rL @tonyriches

Should you change your book’s cover? Tips
for success: http://bit.ly/13pmmhc
@dirtywhitecandy

8 Promises You’re Making to Readers—and
Then Breaking: http://bit.ly/1edpqOU
@KMWeiland

Help with show, don’t tell: http://bit.ly/1edpzlp @BridgetMcKenna

Screenwriting – Character Outlining: http://bit.ly/13pn0vb

11 Tips On How To Become A Better Writer:
http://bit.ly/1edpPkx @woodwardkaren

Maybe You *Shouldn’t* Be a Freelance
Writer: http://bit.ly/1edqen1 @danasitar

9 More Twitter Tips for Writers
Confounded by Twitter: http://bit.ly/1edqAKr
@rsquaredd

On Error-Correction and Formative
Fictions: http://bit.ly/13poA09

4 More Things Published Authors Know: http://bit.ly/1edrM08

4 ways to be a polite screenwriter: http://bit.ly/1edrVRb @Bambookiller

4 Ways Images Can Inspire Writing: http://bit.ly/1edsdI0

Focus on One Book Series or Start
Multiple Series? http://bit.ly/13ppWbf
@goblinwriter

5 Red Flags for a “Self” or
“Indie” Publisher and Author: http://bit.ly/1edshHE
@mybookshepherd

Proof Copies: Do You REALLY need them? http://bit.ly/13pq5eN

Tips for designing and formatting ebooks:
http://bit.ly/13pqf5T @pubmybook

How to Connect With More Readers in Just
5 Minutes: http://bit.ly/1edsACa @duolit

2 things an agent isn’t: http://bit.ly/14nZC44 @JanetKGrant

10 Never-Fail Ideas for Twitter Updates: http://bit.ly/14MbXrA @EdieMelson

Dig deep and get to the heart of a
character by asking ‘why’: http://bit.ly/14nZQYL
@livewritethrive

How to Craft a Happy Ending: http://bit.ly/14McGsY @waynesmom

5 Lies Writers Tell Themselves: http://bit.ly/13bks0l @losapala

The horrors of self-promotion: http://bit.ly/13FULVv @SeanBeaudoin

Know your characters before you start
writing: http://bit.ly/13FWg60
@JE_Tankersley

Does publishing need *more* gatekeepers? http://bit.ly/19LRPhF @Porter_Anderson

Is “Copyright Protection” an
Oxymoron?  http://bit.ly/14jHF3G
@Porter_Anderson @beccarosen

Developing a Strong Third-Person Voice: http://bit.ly/1esIpFi @JodieRennerEd

Bezos purchases the Post–and analysts
weigh in: http://bit.ly/133hXlV
@Porter_Anderson @mathewi @koxinga21

Fear and loathing at the bookstore: http://bit.ly/133yRkc @Porter_Anderson
@juderogers

How to Make Adverbs Work for You: http://bit.ly/14o1ARY @janice_hardy

3 pillars of fiction: http://bit.ly/14MfNRI @KatiaRaina1

What Not to Think About When You’re
Writing: http://bit.ly/14o1Yjq

What Zombies Can Teach Us about Writing: http://bit.ly/14MgmuS @lyndaryoung

Your Career in Indie Screenwriting: http://bit.ly/14o28Y4 @scriptmag @jeffrichards

NA, YA & MG book reviewers: http://bit.ly/14MgU3T @SA_Larsen

Tropes vs Women from a writer’s
perspective: http://bit.ly/14Mh0sa
@ajackwriting @femfreq

10 Simple Tips for Self-Editing: http://bit.ly/14o2HB7 @melissadonovan

Writing is rewriting: http://bit.ly/14MhKxp @shalvatzis

Freelancers–query writing is just as
important as the paid content you deliver: http://bit.ly/14o2U7c
@TiceWrites

Revisiting Our Writing Resolutions: http://bit.ly/14Mihzq @DeniseVegaBooks

1 writer argues against getting ISBNs for
your ebooks: http://bit.ly/14MiuCL
@willentrekin

Using Satan as a character: http://bit.ly/13biJId @LouMorgan

Genre mashups: http://bit.ly/148QZar @mikemartinez72

No More Excuses: Find An Editing Partner:
http://bit.ly/13biYTD

Are you hoarding your writing? http://bit.ly/148Rd1v @LaurieEpps2

Why characters are the heart of your
novel – & how you can write them effectively: http://bit.ly/13bj9hS @NailYourNovel

Writing Blind, a Creative Force: http://bit.ly/148RNMI @blindspothannah
@womenwriters

You just sold your book! Now what? http://bit.ly/13bjMrN

Female Friendships in Fiction: http://bit.ly/148ScyC @RileyRedgate
@writeangleblog

What makes a picture book manuscript
stand out? http://bit.ly/13bk69W
@SimoneKaplan

Secrets Your Inner Critic Would Kill to
Keep: http://bit.ly/148SuWf @losapala

3 Ways to Turn Blog Failure Into Success:
http://bit.ly/148UGgg @jfbookman

To Swag or Not to Swag? http://bit.ly/13bmcXl @JeannieLin

The Real Problem with Mythology in
Television: http://bit.ly/148USfD @LBGale

What is Neo-Noir Fiction? http://bit.ly/13bmAVE @litreactor @wickerkat

How To Pitch Your Book to Online Outlets:
http://bit.ly/Hrvhzo @jasonboog @galleycat

The writing challenge that knows you have
a life: http://bit.ly/19EEJ5v #ROW80

That Second Look at Your First Draft: http://bit.ly/1ejLpUi @elspethwrites

Linking to independent bookstores using
Indiebound: http://bit.ly/19EERCj
@chuckwendig

5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation
Problems: http://bit.ly/1ejLAiG
@writing_tips

6 Common Myths about Book Reviews: http://bit.ly/19EF3Bk @bookmarketer

How to Develop Characters Intuitively: http://bit.ly/1ejLSGf @losapala

Is This Too Erudite For Modern Readers? http://bit.ly/19EFdc1 @Peculiar

The Greatest American Novel? 9 Experts
Share Their Opinions: http://bit.ly/1ejMaNn
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What Writers Can Learn From
Entrepreneurs: http://bit.ly/13dyTR6
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Is it Fair for Authors to Review Other
Authors? Do We Ruin the Magic? http://bit.ly/135sPOl
@KristenLambTX

Writing Scenes You Haven’t Seen: http://bit.ly/13IfZFk @PatrickRwrites

Revealing a Character’s Past Without
Falling Into Backstory: http://bit.ly/11jO11S
@Janice_Hardy

8 Promises You’re Making to Readers—and
Then Breaking: http://bit.ly/1edpqOU
@KMWeiland

Eliminating “thought verbs”
from our writing: http://bit.ly/193eClZ
@Porter_Anderson @chuckpalahniuk

Free Print Book Resource for Authors: http://bit.ly/14jL16Q @bookbaby @JFBookman

Genre Fiction and Digital Publishing: A
Marriage Made in Heaven: http://bit.ly/193fase
@DennisAbrams2 @Pubperspectives

Tips for a Series Bible: http://bit.ly/193fh73 @jemifraser
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The Impact Character: http://bit.ly/14jMrhw @glencstrathy

Do you know a good rejection when you see
one? http://bit.ly/14jNKNH @EdieMelson

When it’s time to listen to your body
(carpal tunnel): http://bit.ly/193g87U
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10 Essential Neo-Noir Authors: http://bit.ly/14jPEOn @wickerkat

7 Rules for Dialogue: http://bit.ly/193h6ko @advicetowriters

Are There Rules for Writing
Seat-of-the-Pants? http://bit.ly/14jQBWJ
@JessicaDotta

The Secret to Including Drama in Your
Creative Writing: http://bit.ly/193hmQl
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5 Tips For Curing Writer’s Block: http://bit.ly/14jR1wi @jeanoram

On Writing Risks, and the Safety Net: http://bit.ly/193hEXv @KatZhang

The Magical Midpoint Moment: http://bit.ly/14jRFdi @jamesscottbell

5 Ways to Support Your Favorite Authors: http://bit.ly/193hNdq @ava_jae

The Marketing Questionnaire: http://bit.ly/19NRevN @kcraftwriter

Keys to Understanding Amazon’s
Algorithms: http://bit.ly/19NV2Ns @bookgal
@JFBookman

What J.K. Rowling’s pseudonymous novel
says about commercial success: http://bit.ly/1esNUUz
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Top 7 Strategies for Blog Marketing: http://bit.ly/16vgTEi @JFBookman

8 Online Productivity Tools For Writers: http://bit.ly/19OjluM @thecreativepenn

Alternative story structures: http://bit.ly/19OkAu7 @ingridsundberg

The How and Why of Author Newsletters: http://bit.ly/16vjSwF @steenaholmes

5 Ways to Limit Your Character’s Options
– and Make Your Story Better: http://bit.ly/19OkQcn
@mooderino

Writing is rewriting–style: http://bit.ly/16vkeDu @shalvatzis

AmazonCrossing Publishes More Books in
Translation than Anyone Else (In 2013. Probably.): http://bit.ly/19Olfvn @chadwpost

Neil Gaiman on the spooky art of writing:
http://bit.ly/16vkrGL @neilhimself
@geoffboucher

How To Improve Your Writing In Your
Sleep: http://bit.ly/19Olruy @writersrelief

The cross-pollination of reality and
fiction: http://bit.ly/1bfjENb @cwrenpress

5 Literary Magazines That Restore 1
Writer’s Faith in Publishing: http://bit.ly/133r8CM
@writerscramp1

Over-Researching Your Writing: http://bit.ly/13QPOcG @PeterSaintClair

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the Digital Age: http://bit.ly/133rrxs
@KristenLambTX

5 Quotes to Plot Your Novel By: http://bit.ly/133xdiz @fictionnotes

Words and phrases that may be bloating or
weakening your writing: http://bit.ly/1496hIq
@BridgetMcKenna

An Easy Tip for Developing Story Ideas: http://bit.ly/133xJNH @janice_hardy

Ideas for promoting your self-pubbed
book: http://bit.ly/1497nUk @JCMells

How to Sell More Books By Optimizing Your
Metadata: http://bit.ly/133yrKR
@thecreativepenn @JaneFriedman

Automated Online Proofreaders: Are They
Worth It? http://bit.ly/16BLMab
@LyndaRYoung

Crowdsource Your Self-Publishing Project
without Asking for Money: http://bit.ly/16BLMXK
@livewritethrive @danasitar

The Establishing Shot & Your Novel: http://bit.ly/16GUd61 @ashkrafton

4 Tips for Worldbuilding Success: http://bit.ly/16BM6Wz @kcrosswriting

5 Tips to Effective Dialogue: http://bit.ly/XzkXON @MaloneEditorial

33 Unusual Tips To Being A Better Writer:
http://bit.ly/16BNs3E @thoughtcatalog

Human Eyes on the Manuscript: http://bit.ly/16GVWs4 @authorterryo

How to Successfully Self-Publish a Kindle
eBook: http://bit.ly/16BNvwc @jeffgoins

 by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

After my post Wednesday, where I extolled
the virtues of the feeling of control that one gets through the self-publishing
process, I thought I’d backtrack a bit today and talk about the times I don’t have a feeling of control as a
self-publisher.

A large exception is dealing with a
certain mammoth retailer.  When Amazon
writes me an email, I pay attention and immediately do whatever it is that they
want me to do. 

This is the first time I’ve received this
particular email from Amazon:

Hello,

We
recently noticed the digital list price for the title(s) listed below is higher
than the list price of the same book listed on Amazon.com or another website.

A Body in
the Backyard (A Myrtle Clover Mystery) (ID: B009YAVVAU) is listed on Amazon.com
at $3.99 and at $2.99 on Sony

According
to our pricing policy, your book should be priced no higher than the list price
on Amazon.com or any other sales channel for either the physical or digital
edition of the book. Please adjust the list price for the above book(s) within
the next 5 business days. If the price isn’t updated within 5 business days, we
may remove the book(s) from the Kindle Store, at which point you will need to
republish the book with an updated price.

For more
information on our list price requirements, see section 4 on our Pricing Page
below:

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=200634500

Thanks
for your understanding.

Sincerely,

The
Kindle Direct Publishing Team

When I read the email, I said, “Whoa,
whoa, whoa!” and quickly hopped over to the Sony page and the Amazon page to
see what the heck was going on.  Had I
signed something like that?  A “list
price requirements” thing? Why didn’t I remember signing something like
that?  Note to self—review
contracts from time to time! I’m running a business, but clearly—at
least sometimes—I’m not completely paying attention.

Honestly, I had never been over to the
Sony page for my book.  In fact, I’d
never been over to the Sony bookstore, period. 
I deal with Smashwords for Sony, Kobo…the odds and ends of my income
from non-Amazon sources that aren’t B&N (whom I deal with separately.)

Sure enough, there was the book in
question, listed for $2.99.  I do know that Sony can be painfully slow to
make changes to pricing. I know this from when I’m done with a free book
campaign and I’m trying to end it…and they’re the last holdout. I immediately
raised the price on Smashwords to $3.99, and then pulled up the book on Amazon.

I looked at my Amazon page for Body in the Backyard…they’d already lowered
the price to $2.99 without waiting for approval.

So, not really wanting to lose 95% of my
self-pub income for that title by having Amazon boot the book from its catalog,
I quickly lowered the price on the Amazon Bookshelf page (where it was still listed at
$3.99, even though the price for readers was a dollar lower.)  Sony might not raise that price in five
business days and I wanted to cover my bases.

Not a lot of control here, right?  But then—no
one has control over Amazon. 
Penguin would agree with me there. How eager was I to correct this
matter and put Amazon on better terms with me as a publisher? I can’t
overemphasize how eager I was.  I make a
good deal of income from them.

Where else do I feel as if I toe the
line?  As I’ve mentioned many times
before—with my readers.  They have Ideas
about Things.  :)  Their ideas encompass everything from chapter
length to profanity to storylines to characters they’d like to see more
of. 

I’d like to say that I write to please
myself, but if that were solely the case, I’d be writing crummy and unpublished
poetry. No, I’m a commercial writer and I’m writing for an audience…am I
concerned about their opinions?  You
bet.  I’m not going to incorporate every
single suggestion I get (that would be taking things a bit far), but if I see a
trend on a particular idea or complaint—I’m absolutely
taking it into account.  It would be
silly of me not to, considering my goal is to please my readers and have them
keep reading.

Summing up, I’d say that even on the
self-publishing side of things, we’re not totally independent.  If we are, then
we’re perhaps not working with our retail outlets well or providing our readers
what they want.  It’s good to be
independent…I enjoy it…but we still have responsibilities, red tape, etc.

If you self-publish, have you come across
an email like this one from Amazon? Do you follow reader feedback?  Are there other examples you can give where
you’re not really completely an
independent contractor/publisher?

Update: I just checked (8:30 a.m. EST 8/9) and Sony has raised the price for the book. Took them about 72 hours.  Going to re-adjust on Amazon now. Whew.