Benerson Little

In the glorious year of 1929, 10,187 books were published in the United States, among them John Steinbeck's first novel, "Cup of Gold," which eventually achieved what, for a first novel, was the respectable but unremunerative total sales figure of 1533 copies. On came 1930 with its ten thousand books, and "Cup of Gold" and John Steinbeck were buried under that avalanche of up-to-the-minute new books which, under our publishing system, is constantly burying good books that suffer from the unpardonable disgrace of being a few weeks older.

Anybody can write a short story—a bad one, I mean—who has industry and paper and time enough; but not everyone may hope to write even a bad novel. It is the length that kills.

It proved a very dark rainy night... (cf. "It was a dark and stormy night...", the first line in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford. Defoe's line was placed within a paragraph well into the story. The similarity is probably coincidence but goes to show how similar some writers' lines can be—and how one will become cliché while another will not.)

As of January 2010, writing and publishing commentary is provided here. Earlier posts are available on the Commentary page.

April 3, 2010: The Problem of Outrageous Photo and Illustration Fees

Highly recommended new york times op-ed piece on the outrageous cost of photos and illustrations used in works of non-fiction, especially in regard to digital issues: "The End of History (Books)" by writer and editor Marc Aronson. Many heavily-illustrated books are being priced out of the market by spiraling image fees and a Byzantine method for determining those fees. Mr. Aronson proposes a solution.

From the writer's perspective, the ugly reality is that unless an author's publisher is willing to foot the bill for photos and illustrations--and quite a few mid-list and academic publishers are not--the author is stuck with the tab, which can easily run as high as $100 per photo or illustration, and often higher. Further, each photo or illustration request is accompanied by a nightmare of calculation and paperwork regarding the size of the graphic, how many copies will be printed, and so forth. The cost can easily exceed the entire advance for a mid-list title, assuming the writer has even received an advance. Add research expenses to this, and it is wonder a writer comes out ahead at all--and many do not. Custom maps and custom artwork can be even more expensive. Cartographers and artists often price their work at corporate rates, again leaving mid-list authors out in the cold. Authors of scholarly and narrow-interest titles often accept a nominal advance (or even no advance) in order to see a book published, and if they are not careful, will wind up paying for a significant portion of the publication fees themselves, and end up after all is said and done in the red.

What can authors do about this? Foremost, if photos and illustrations are critical, writers should try to find a publisher who will pay for them. Many will, especially those whose books appeal to the reader in part because of their illustrations. If the publisher won't pay, authors should try to have their advances increased, although even in this case they're still paying for images out of their own pockets in the end. Otherwise, the only choice writers have is to rely on public domain images (there are millions), the writers' own images, artwork or maps provided free or for a nominal fee by artists and cartographers who simply want to see their work in print, and on images provided gratis by friends, colleagues, and other helpful interested parties.

Writers can also learn to use a camera well, learn to create their own maps, and, if they have the aptitude, learn to draw. Writers are often annoyed to discover that some of the images they've paid exorbitant fees for can in fact be found in the public domain, had they only known where to look. Writers should learn how to locate public domain images, and how to tell if they're truly in the public domain. Stephen Fishman's The Public Domain: How to Find and Use Copyright Free Writings, Music, Art & More is perhaps the best place to start.

March 19, 2010: Advice on E-Book Royalty Rates from the Author's Guild

A good article, it's available online. Some publishers are attempting to retroactively lock in e-book royalty percentages.

March 9, 2010: Truth in Non-Fiction

Good article below on purported non-fiction, including the role of authors and publishers to fact check. Accuracy is never easy, but writers should never take the easy way out by assuming, or worse, turning a blind eye to potential inaccuracies in order to increase potential sales. Revisionism sells, and some writers are well aware of this. At the very least, in the case of new theory or revisionism, publishers should take an active role in questioning the writer's critical sources. To say that the difference between fact and fiction is a thin line, as one person is quoted in the article, is a cop out. "Pondering Good Faith in Publishing."

March 2, 2010: Ostrich Eggshell Etchings

Scientists claim that etched ostrich eggs, some 60,000 years old, are evidence of early human communication. However, unless art in any form is considered to be a form of deliberately intended communication, and not merely a form of artistic expression, it is hard to see how simple geometric patterns (mostly simple line patterns) scratched into ostrich shell are necessarily an attempt at "trying to express the identity of the individual or the group," and are thus communication in the sense of articulate ideas passed from one group or individual to another. You can read the article here.

January 28, 2010: "It's Not Fair!" Said One Wannabe Monopoly to the Other

"Deadline Looms for Google Books Deal"

January 24, 2010: Will Texting Permanently Alter English Spelling?

Perhaps I'm too set in my ways or too fond of the English written language, but let's hope not, at least not in my lifetime. See "The Keypad Solution".

January 24, 2010: The Formula Factory

An article on writing and publishing suitable to an age of appearance over substance, but perhaps all ages are like this.

January 3, 2010: What Good Publishers Do

"There's More to Publishing Than Meets the Screen" is good commentary on what publishers do--or what they should do--as opposed to what e-book publishers of existing books do, by Jonathan Galassi, president of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Even so, many writers today complain of hasty editing and proofreading by publishers in general, leading to sometimes egregious errors in text which will only be corrected (if at all) in subsequent printings, if there are any. A writer’s experience in this regard may vary among publishers and also within a publisher, depending on the editor. Writers often complain as well as of small or even insignificant advances, late payment of advances and royalties, and meager marketing. They often feel that marketing is left largely in their own hands, and this is particularly true of mid-list titles. Most writers I know, while they want to produce work they can be proud of, also want to get paid, and marketing is vital to this process. Thankfully, most publishers remain dedicated to producing works of which both they and the writer can be proud, and most still do their best to pay their writers on time, the current economy notwithstanding.

Under construction. In the meantime, please peruse the titles in the left column.