Guess what? I said YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Ya think I'm a fool?)
It's been a roller coaster week or ten days as my FANTASTIC agent has kept me informed of the negotiation process. Actually, all I had to do was answer the phone and say, "Uh-huh" and nod vigorously at all her suggestions. Next up, putting my name on the actual contract.
This is a wonderful opportunity. The books will be coming out in hardcover. I know, a lot of people are going to say, "I can't afford hardcover!" That's where ebooks and libraries come into the picture. A year after the hardcover comes the paperback edition.
Hardcover is a good and bad thing. Good, because it earns me (and my publisher) more money (and did I mention my healthcare premiums are going up TWENTY PERCENT in January???), and there's the possibility more libraries will either buy or rent the books. Bad because . . . well, my paperback readers will hold off a year before buying/reading the books.
Ah, but it'll be available as an ebook for considerably less than the $25 hardcover price. (But still more expensive than a paperback. Hopefully publishers will rethink their ebook strategy in the coming years and lower the prices ... but that's another blog post.)
I've already got a three-story arc planned for those books (but not the nitty-gritty details) and it should be a fun ride. And I'll still be writing the Victoria Square Mysteries (using my Lorraine Bartlett name), and they'll be in paperback for the foreseeable future. Did I say win-win?
But still ... I worry.
Would you consider buying a Booktown mystery in hardcover?
Yay and Oh No! The Booktowns have been our bestselling MMPB for two years running at my store, but I'm in a VERY cost conscious area, so won't be able to sell more than 2-3 in hardcover (of course I'll still buy them the minute they come out, they reside on my keeper shelves!)
ReplyDeleteI will. Your series is one I collect. I read voraciously and can't afford to buy everything I read - hence why I LOVE libraries. But I do have a number of authors whose books I purchase. That means when they start out in paper back, I buy them and keep them on my shelves (paperbacks I don't collect are passed on to friends or traded with other bookworms.) And I stay loyal when they move into hardback. I understand your concern about the cost, but I think your readers will stick with you. I know I will.
ReplyDeleteI would still purchase it. I have purchased paperback and ebooks, but would def. purchase your hardcover. I love to keep a book and the paperbacks have gotten so worn I also purchased your EBooks. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteYes, I buy the hardcovers for authors who deliver great books and for series that have hooked me. I usually wait for a good coupon, though! =-)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
ReplyDeleteI buy a few hardcover titles and now yours have joined the list. I'll also buy the ebook version for my virtual bookshelf.
Love you, Dru!
ReplyDeletexoxoxo
Wow! I'm sooo happy for you!! Congrats and hats off!
ReplyDeleteI will TRY to buy your hardcovers, but, being retired on a very limited budget, I may have to opt for ebooks only. (Rats and grumble.) Still, I'll encourage my library to buy, buy, buy! And, that's what Nooks are for, right? ::grin::
Laurie, my royalty is actually higher for the ebook than the hardcover, so -- buy away on your little Nook!
ReplyDeleteI would certainly buy the new books in hardcover. For my favorite series, and yours is definitely one of them, I'd buy the books in whatever format they come in! I have to say, though, that I always get kind of miffed when a series starts out in paperback and then later becomes hardcover. The mismatched look on my bookshelf drives me nuts--haha! But anyway, congratulations! This change to hardcover is a good sign of how popular the books are, right?
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly right, Brigitte--my publisher starts everybody out in paperback and if they sell enough, they "graduate" to hardcover. Sometimes they do replublish the earlier books in Trade paperback (my friend Maggie Sefton just had her first two knitting mysteries published in that way). I'm hoping that happens for my books, too.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I prefer hardbacks cuz paperbacks are hard to read--tiny type & tight binding. Your readers can sign up w/ Borders or B&N and use their discount coupons. Authors deserve to make more $$ on for their hard work--congrats!
ReplyDelete