The Merry Christmas To All (e)Book A Day Traveling Blogathon (of Doom!)

Today is the day! It's my turn to host The Merry Christmas To All (e)Book A Day Traveling Blog-O-Thon (of Doom!) or The Blog-O-Thon (of Doom!), as I've come to call it.  The Blog-O-Thon actually started on November 23rd and will continue every weekday until December 24th.

Participating bloggers picked a day or day(s) and will post "something to do with the holidays," as well as give away one (e)book to a randomly-chosen commenter on their post.  

You may be wondering how I can do this, considering I do not yet have a book to give away. Quite easily, the Blog-O-Thon's creator, Briane Pagel, offered to let me give away his new book, Up So Down.  Since I really wanted to participate in a Blog-O-Thon (of Doom!), I jumped at the chance.

I'll have a special surprise for my next Blog-O-Thon (of Doom!) post on December 18th. I'll be sharing the cover for my own novel, Finding Meara, whose tentative release date is in February.  I'll also be giving away another copy of Briane's book, Up So Down.

Random Memories of The Holidays

When I think of Christmas, three separate memories pop into my mind.

My Eeyore today. He's almost 39 yrs old!

The first is one of my earliest memories. When I was two and a half Santa brought my sister a large stuffed Pooh-bear and me an Eeyore. I actually remember finding them under the tree. Eeyore was my best night-time buddy until well into adulthood.  At first he kept me safe from aliens and things that go bump in the night, and then I just couldn't go to sleep without him in my arms. Some people need music, I needed Eeyore. I'm okay with that!

The second is the year I was twelve years old.  My sister and I always used to get a doll.  That was our tradition and when I was twelve, even though I really didn't want a doll, I didn't want to admit I'd grown up that much.  I wasn't ready.  So, I put a doll at the top of my list, and it was the last year I received a doll from "Santa."

The last memory is Christmas not so long ago. About seven years ago, as a matter of fact.  My firstborn's due date was the first week of January but I began labor Christmas afternoon. My husband and I played Lord of the Rings on the Playstation and waited for things to pick up.  Our little guy took his time and was finally born two days later - on my father's birthday!

My question for you? 

What is one of your favorite Christmas memories?

Leave a comment for the chance to win Briane Pagel's newest release, Up So Down.

When "Bumpy" takes his sister's fiance out for a night on the town, a mysterious drowning crashes through their lives like a wrecking ball into an already-crumbling wall. Sarah mourns her lost lover by halfheartedly joining a group dedicated to proving there is a serial killer on the loose and jealously guarding her dying mother, while "Bumpy" moves to Las Vegas to take up a new career, only to accidentally stumble into his old one.

Through the course of a year that unfolds haphazardly and out-of-sequence, Bumpy and Sarah try to figure out how much of the past they ought to hold on to, and how much of the future is worth looking into.

Also, you can find more great giveaways by visiting the athors below on the days listed.  Have fun!

11/30: PT Dilloway, on his blog "Tales Of The Scarlet Knight,  Author of "A Hero's Journey."

12/1: Vanna Smythe, on her blog, author of "Protector: Anniversary of the Veil, Book One." 

12/3: Cindy Borgne, on her blog "Dreamer's Perch," author of "Vallar"

12/4:  Michael Offutt, on his blog SLC Kismet, author of the trilogy "A Crisis of Two Worlds"

12/5: Tony Laplume on his blog Scouring Monk, author of Monorama.

12/6: Briane Pagel at his blog Thinking the Lions

12/7:  PT Dilloway, on his blog "Tales Of The Scarlet Knight,  Author of "A Hero's Journey."

12/10: Andrew Leon, on his blog Strange Pegs, (theauthor of The House On the Corner and Shadow Spinner.

12/11:  Briane Pagel at his blog Thinking the Lions

12/12: Tony Laplume on his blog Scouring Monk, author of Monorama.

12/13:  Briane Pagel at his blog Thinking the Lions

12/14: PT Dilloway, on his blog "Tales Of The Scarlet Knight,  Author of "A Hero's Journey."

12/17: Andrew Leon, on Strange Pegs, (the author of The House On the Corner and Shadow Spinner.

12/18: Lara Schiffbauer, on her blog Motivation for Creation.

12/19:  Tony Laplume on his blog Scouring Monk, author of Monorama.

12/20:  Briane Pagel at his blog Thinking the Lions
  
12/21: PT Dilloway, on his blog "Tales Of The Scarlet Knight,  Author of "A Hero's Journey."

12/22: Vanna Smythe, on her blog, author of "Protector: Anniversary of the Veil, Book One." 

12/24: Brian Pagel at his blog Thinking the Lions

What's a Fair Price for an E-Book?

Warning: Super long blog post ahead, and it has qualities similar to that of a rant, so go forward with caution.

For quite a while now I've read the myriad discussions regarding what is a fair price for an e-book from the perspective of the writer.  

Many a blog post like this one by Melissa Foster on the Indie Reader question "Are Self-Pubbed Authors Killing the Publishing Industry?"  In the first sentence of the article, Ms. Foster states that self-pubbed authors devalue the written word with books priced low to gain attention.  Later on in the article she gives the pronouncement that yes, self-pubbed authors are the bane of the publishing world because they "give away" their books for "less than a buck" and use other "gimmicks" to garner sales.  Quite honestly, I found the whole article rather obnoxious, but didn't really feel the need to evaluate why.  I filed the article away under my Opinions That - While Interesting - Don't Really Seem Fair or Right mental filing cabinet.

Today I was reading a section of Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson titled "Pivot: Jonny Geller, Enough to Go Around."  In the section, Mr. Anderson relates  several points Jonny Geller made in an article of his own regarding the state of the publishing industry, including this one, "Readers need to risk paying for books again."

Mr. Anderson followed up the point made by Jonny Geller by saying,

"We can talk all day about the reader as a nearly holy figure in our business — seriously overlooked too long by the traditional publishers. But it’s also time for that reader to play his or her fiduciary role in the equation again, and prove the bargain basement prices of the fin-de-agency period to have been what they were, the dive for algorithmic leverage of amateurs flooding the market."

Before I go any further, I need to say that Porter Anderson is a very intelligent, witty and friendly guy.  When I read WotE I often don't understand exactly the points he makes, and I definitely am not being critical of the article.  That being said, what the article did was force me to change my perspective from writer to reader and back again. Quite frankly, I thought "Whoa. Hold on there."

First, as a soon to be self-published author, if I sell my book for something less than... Heck, I don't even know what Melissa Foster or the other people who think a low price devalues a book thinks I should sell my book for.  At what price do I show the world that I value my work?  Can anyone tell me?  Is $2.99 enough, or does it have to be higher?  Should I match traditional publishing at $9.99?  Do you honestly think I would sell any books if I did?  And yet, if I price point my novel in order to get someone to take a risk and buy my book, I am accused of devaluing my work and undercutting authors everywhere, but especially the "professionals."  I am not exactly sure who the professionals are, but it sounds suspiciously to me that they are those traditionally published.

Secondly, as a reader, if I buy a $.99 priced novel by a self-published author, I am accused of not holding up my share of the author/reader bargain and shirking my duty of paying an author what they're worth.  What happens if I buy a $.99 priced novel by a famous author who is traditionally published, and the publisher is running a sale?  Am I still shirking my duty as a reader?  And why is a sale (GIMMICK) by a traditional publisher all right, but by a self-published author it's tacky and devaluing to the written word?

As a reader, when the price of paperbacks rose above $7.99, I quit buying so many books.  Gasp, I know.  I got really friendly with my neighborhood library.  Then, after I became invested in some authors for FREE, I started buying their books.  Let me ask you, did the fact that I read their novels for FREE mean that I devalued their work, their talent?  No, it means I didn't have a very lucrative cash flow and I still wanted to read.

I think part of the problem about the whole "devaluing" issue is the question of how you measure the value of your personal time and creativity.  Someone I read said something like "Writing books is art, selling books is a business."

Throughout my twenties, I worked in the head offices of a retail chain as an assistant to the clothing buyers.  I learned about mark-up.  With clothing, the mark-up is basically double.  You buy a t-shirt for $2.99, you sell it for $5.99.  When a person self-publishes the need for mark-up is diminished.  The book is going to be available digitally forever.  If a person spends $1,000 for editing, cover, etc... they can afford to be patient with the first book being a lower price and baiting the hook for readers.  It's a career being built, not a get rich quick scheme.

So, do you want to know the funny part of this post (if you've even made it this far.)  The funny part is, I totally plan on selling Finding Meara for at least $2.99 or more, unless it's enrolled in a special program like Kindle Select.  I'd made that decision even before I decided to self-publish.  My reasons?  When I am shopping on my Nook and I see a book listed for $.99, I don't even really stop to look at it.  I judge the book by it's price point.  However, the same is true for the other end of the monetary scale. Also, you can sell less books at a higher price point and make more money. Hard math there.  Dean Wesley Smith taught me that.  He's got a great blog every self-publishing author should check out.

Does the question of a fair price for an e-book have an answer?  I don't know. I think it's up to the person putting their book out there.

Did you make it through the whole post?  What are your thoughts about the whole pricing issue with e-books?