What an author DOESN’T know. . . .
Hello! My name is Cheryl Brooks, author of the Cat Star Chronicles series of hot sci-fi romance. My newest release, Hero, has been out for about a month now, and whenever anyone asks me, “How’s it selling?” I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea. Yes, it’s gotten some very good reviews, and the ranking on Amazon has been encouraging, but until you get that royalty statement about a year later, an author truly doesn’t know–unless you’re the sort who badgers your editor to get the Book Scan numbers, and I tend not to do that. Call me a wuss if you will, but I bother my editor as little as possible.
Actually, publishing is such a team effort that there are a lot of things that an author has very little knowledge of, much less control over. I get emails all the time from readers asking me why a book isn’t on Kindle yet or when it will be available on such and such a site, and I have to refer those questions to my editor. Sometimes it takes a while to get a reply, because my editor has to ask someone else. I’d like to think that someone like Nora Roberts has all of this information at her fingertips and has some say in it, but mid-list authors like myself don’t. I have had some input on the covers, which I think is very important. After all, who knows better what a character looks like than the author? My chief input on the cover of Hero, however, was to tell them not to change it. It was perfect just as it was. 
Contrary to popular belief, most authors don’t have anyone to answer emails or write blogs for them, either. If you get an email reply from me, or see a blog posted, you can bet the farm that I’m the one who wrote it every word of it. I recently received an email from a reader who was astonished that I answered him (yes, it was a HIM!) so quickly, but then wanted to be sure it was really me responding to his email. Yes, I said, it really is me. Hero may be my sixth book, but I’m not so rich and famous that I have someone to answer my mail! To be honest, I’m not sure I’d share that job even if I was rich and famous, because I love interacting with readers via email and through their blog comments. I’ve made several friends that way, some that I hope to hang onto for a very long time.
Publicity is another aspect that is handled by the publisher. Sure, I can get a press release written (by Sourcebooks publicist, Danielle Jackson and the PR volunteer for my local RWA chapter), but I’m the one who checks them for accuracy. Then, unless I have a specific request, someone else decides where to send them, and also who gets the advance copies of the book to review. I may write every guest blog that appears during the promotional periods, but they are graciously lined up by Danielle. I know a great many authors who don’t have anyone to do that for them, and I’m very grateful that we at Sourcebooks have Danielle working so hard for us.
Distribution is something else that we authors don’t know anything about. My local bookstore had 3 copies of Hero ordered, but another from the same chain in Texas had 8. No clue as to how that is decided, nor do I know how my publisher decides how many copies to print.
Sometimes the whys and wherefores of publishing are a mystery, even to those of us who are right in the middle of it. So, the next time you pick up a book and the tall, dark, and handsome hero is depicted on the cover as a blond, you can bet that the author wasn’t happy about it, either. After all, the only thing the author did was write the book. What happens after that is up to someone else.
Question for the day:
Say you’ve written a book; what is the one thing that you would most like to have control over?
August 30th, 2010 at 6:46 am
It’s always amazes me how up close in personal we get with you Cheryl.
Can I have that cute short black sundress I loaned you back now. LOL!!!
Thanks You’re the bestest!!!
Seriously. If I wrote a book, I’d what to have a say as to what the cover looked like and I’d want Nora Roberts praises it. And I’d want the book to come with a WARNING: TO HAWT TO HANDLE. And I still haven’t figured out why that label hasn’t appeared on your covers yet.
A couple of your recent books have left burn marks on my reading table. And my Ice cube maker can’t keep up.
LOL!!!
August 30th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Hi Cheryl, I think I would like a daily sales count. Not to feed my ego (though it could use more feeding, lol) but so that you can understand what is working. Did you get a bump with that review or blog, etc. The logisitics from the publisher’s point of view would probably be daunting. The best part of writing a book, though, is hearing from readers. I would never give that up.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Cheryl, once again, a very informative view into the publishing world! I guess, like anything else, you have to be your own advocate. I would have thought, though, with today’s technology, you would have the tools to check things like sales, etc. through your publisher. Interesting that you can’t get some sort of monthly or quarterly statement with your numbers. I think it would drive me nuts to have to wait a year before seeing anything!
As a fan, I cannot tell you how much it means to be able to chat with you via the blogs and email. Your personal attention to us impressed me from the start and continues to do so and I thank you for that!
As for the most important aspect of publishing I’d like control over (other than the actual content itself) would be the cover. It’s a HUGE pet peeve of mine when the cover in no way relates to the book. Especially if the H/H described in the book don’t even remotely resemble the models on the cover. Perhaps that’s why so many books cut the heads off the male cover models.
=)
August 30th, 2010 at 11:54 am
You know Cheryl I work in the receiving room at our job and I still don’t know why certain bookstores get more than others. I was told it was about sales but who knows? XD Either way I think it’s nice when an author answers your emails and you get to talk to them.
August 30th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Good afternoon, ladies! It seems that many of you are interested in the same things that I am.
Donna,
LOL! Dress? What dress? It was a hat I borrowed from you, and I sent it back!
I’m not sure why my books don’t have a warning label on them. I put one on the book I self-published, and it wasn’t quite as hot as the CSC series. Yet another thing I don’t understand!
Carly,
The Book Scan thing will give you actual numbers straight from the cash registers (though not all of them) but to get that service costs about $2000 a year–not something your average author can afford. The publishers have access to this information, but for me to get it on a daily basis would require becoming a total pest to my editor!
August 30th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Lisa,
I get royalty statements twice a year, but the first one after a book comes out doesn’t tell you anything other than how many books were sold to retailers and wholesalers–nothing about how many have actually sold through to the public. I think that’s why a lot of us check the Amazon ranking periodically. It doesn’t provide any concrete numbers, but at least it’s something!
The cover discrepancies have always been a pet peeve of mine, too. I was told a long time ago that the cover represents the genre more than the individual book, but I don’t think readers see it that way. I know I never have!
It’s been a real hoot for me to connect with people across the country and around the world. This is something that never could have happened without the internet and it never ceases to amaze me that I can get emails from Australia as easily as I can from California or Texas.
Ana,
Yes, that was what I assumed, too, but I know my local B&N has sold more than three copies of my previous books, so why they were only getting that number was a bit of a mystery. I guess they figure they can always order more, but when a reader walks into a store looking for a book, if it’s not on the shelf or they know something about the author, etc, they won’t even know to ask for it! Having a book there for readers to find when they’re browsing is crucial!
Glad your store had 8! It just proves what a good saleslady you are when it comes to recommending my books!
August 30th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I forgot to mention in my blog that the Romance Junkies have two copies of Hero to give away. Post a comment for a chance to win!
August 30th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Cheryl, I love your books and recommend them to people whenever i get the chance. I enjoyed your comments about the conference that you attended. It must be so nice to get to interact almost exclusively with your peers for that long week-end. Keep on writing more Cat Star Chronicles!!
Betty
August 30th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I have to agree with Lisa. The cover would be the biggie for me. I detest when the cover doesn’t match the characters. Best wishes on HUGE sales!!!:)
August 30th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Another interesting blog Cheryl. I like knowing what process goes on behind the scenes. If I were doing the writing, and could only pick one other thing under my control, it would have to be the cover. I’m not clear whether or not you are able to write the cover blurb or if that’s done by somebody else?
You have a genuine interaction with readers and it means a lot more than you may think. As a book junkie I can tell you that I know when I’m talking to a “real” person on the other end of that email or blog.
If I were an author, I believe I’d like to know how my book is selling. On the other hand, maybe it would just make me worry about something I have no control over. To my mind, readers are mostly driven by their individual taste and some are more open to trying new authors and genres than others. I’m not sure what makes the difference but I think word of mouth is very powerful.
For example, I have a friend who reads historical almost exclusively BUT she’s been willing to read other genres I’ve suggested and found she enjoyed them a lot. I’m getting ready to expose her to yet one more…erotic sci-fi to be exact. *wink* Can’t wait to hear her reaction:)
Thank you Cheryl for all the good reads you’ve written so far. I look forward to the others that are coming and am hopeful that I’ll be reading erotic contemporary from you one day as well (I have, after all, read a sample:)
August 30th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Thanks, Betty! I’m trying to keep up with the demand!
Mellanie,
With so many readers feeling that way, it’s a wonder that covers aren’t more accurate. Thanks for the good wishes!
Nancy,
The cover blurb is written by someone else. I suppose if I really disagreed with something, I could make a fuss and get it changed, but so far, they’ve been pretty accurate.
Interacting with you and other readers is one of the best perks of being published, and one that I really didn’t expect going in. It’s been a hoot, and the word of mouth from you ladies has been invaluable!
I’m working on getting those erotic contemporary books published, but another thing that authors have to contend with is the mind-numbing slowness of the process!
August 30th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Hi Cheryl ,I ‘m not a writer but i think it would be the title and cover
August 30th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
I think I’d want to have some say in the title and cover. It amazes me how little control the authors have over their books. I’d say picking a publisher would be very important, but if you really wanted published would you be too picky?
August 30th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Peg360,
I agree!
Judy,
Probably not, unless two or more were fighting over the chance to publish you! So far, I haven’t had that problem….
August 30th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Hi Cheryl,
I would want to have control over the cover. Sometimes it seems like the folks in the art department have no idea what color hair or skin tone the hero or heroine have. I love book covers from the wonderful art work to the beautiful fonts they use in the title.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Hi Cheryl congrats on Hero’s release! Thanks for the enlightening post I think most just don’t realize how much goes into getting a book on the shelves etc.
I think mine would control of the covers too.
August 31st, 2010 at 3:40 am
I think you have the right attitude in not worrying about the things you can’t control. I think the one thing I would want some control over would be the cover since there are so many books out there that you want something that catches the eye.
August 31st, 2010 at 5:13 am
Hi Gigi, Pam S, & Maureen!
Yeah, before you know anything about a book, the cover is what you see. If you don’t like that, chances are you’ll never pick it up.
Thanks for commenting and good luck in the drawing!
August 31st, 2010 at 9:44 am
I have to say the cover. It’s the first thing people see and I love art and I have to say you have an absolutely gorgeous cover!!!!
August 31st, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Hi Catslady!
LOL! I agree, 100%! I LOVE my covers!