Trapdoor Books

Going All Digital

A Wall Street Journal article, Mass Paperback Publisher Goes All Digital, is an interesting look at the other side of electronic book publishing – the negative impact on traditional publishers who are not well positioned to break the distribution and wholesale chain. Dorchester Publishing – famed for its mass-market romance novels – has seen sales of traditional books fall by 25% last year. This is interesting because their primary market focus has been on older women readers who have embraced new e-book readers – supposedly because of the ability to change font sizes. Maybe someone should come up with a Fabio-inspired case for the Kindle to mimic the cover art that my mom so cleverly hid with her “book caddy”. Some authors and imprints have decried the move by Dorchester, and I agree that mass-market paperbacks still have a place in the book world. The challenge is that the current supply chain dynamics will have to change to make this work. Retailer and wholesaler percentages are out of whack for this market segment, return policies provide no incentive for retailers to order the right books, and distributors provide very little value for a significant cut of the pie. While we have no plans for mass-market paperback releases for our titles, I would hate to see the demise of the format. What would we do with all those book caddies without them?

The First Glimpses of the E-Book Revolution

An article last week in the NY Times entitled, E-Books Fly Beyond Mere Text, lightly touches on the first forays into the electronic book revolution. I like the adjectives used by the publishers to describe the new generation of e-books: enriched, amplified, enhanced. Very cool. While publishers can’t decide what to call these new book formats, there seems to be general agreement that this phenomena has been kick-started by the arrival of the iPad - which really opens up the possibility of what interactive books are all about. Videos and author interviews in Nixonland, research photos and alternate endings in Deliver Us from Evil, and Pillars of Earth television clips are good stuff – early attempts to compete. Is this a fad like 3D movies – which are already meeting resistance by movie goers? I don’t think so. Well, not if done right. Like any new technology, there has to be some lasting value after the initial hype has died down. In my mind, this value is in extending the experience - not merely putting some movie clips into an e-book file. The reader needs to feel that they are immersed in the new format and connected with a community of like-minded folks who share their interest and passion. In the end, it is all about making the experience fun and compelling. We’re not there yet, but it’s going to happen.

Learning in Small Bytes

Recently, there have been a number of interesting articles published about the advances of electronic books – far from the droll reviews of the Kindle and Nook. These are glimpsing the real future of e-books and some of the technological leaps that forward-looking publishing houses are making. I’ll post a few over the next couple of days with links to the articles for those of you who want to look into the crystal ball. Electronic reading devices are transforming the concept of a book – LA Times. This article dismisses the myth that reading is a solitary endeavor – reading is a community affair; readers have a desire to reach out to authors and each other for collaboration and fellowship. It shows that new technology can make learning more interesting and add a meaningful new dimension to novels and storytelling. I disagree with the premise that the barrier to entry is lowered for self-published authors – the cost of making videos and doing the coding necessary for this new generation of e-book is well beyond the means of most individual authors. That said, I am hoping that the viral nature of the technology will allow undiscovered authors to get noticed and break the stranglehold of formulaic “blockbusters” that the big six publishers seem to be fixated on publishing. Finally, I really like the educational advances promised by making textbooks interactive. The idea that learning can only be accomplished by reading long chapters out of a linear textbook is crazy. Yes, that’s how we old people learned. But - and I don’t know about you - my research abilities have improved vastly in this internet age where I can bounce between subjects with a click of the mouse. Short attention span? Maybe. But who says that making learning more entertaining and dynamic isn't the right way to go. Overall, this is a great article that puts the technology into good context.

Smell of Books

The smell of e-books just got better Does your Kindle leave you feeling like there’s something missing from your reading experience? Have you been avoiding e-books because they just don’t smell right? If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, you’re not alone. Book lovers everywhere have resisted digital books because they still don’t compare to the experience of reading a good old fashioned paper book. But all of that is changing thanks to Smell of Books™, a revolutionary new aerosol e-book enhancer. Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books™ you can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favorite paper book. Smell of Books™ is compatible with a wide range of e-reading devices and e-book formats and is 100% DRM-compatible. Whether you read your e-books on a Kindle or an iPhone using Stanza, Smell of Books™ will bring back that real book smell you miss so much. Check out the site. Absolutely hysterical.

The Death Knell of Publishers

One of our hippest readers shot me this Wall Street Journal article about a famous Japanese author, Ryu Murakami, skirting his traditional publisher to put his book out directly to iPad. A horror story for Trapdoor Books? Not hardly. Here’s why. If Trapdoor Books doesn’t add anything to the value chain, then we deserve to be skirted. Several key points. First, the author is already famous. There are quite a few doors that open when your name will draw a legion of fans to buy your novel. For every Murakami, there are thousands of authors – many of them extremely talented – whose name does not have the draw necessary to pull this off. Second, Mr. Murakami hired a software company to make his digital book application. So, he replaced his traditional publisher with a digital one, but in essence he still has a publisher – albeit one who probably gives him much better terms. See my comment above about needing to add something to the value chain. We firmly believe that publishers in the next five years will look quite a bit more like software companies than they do now. We are ready for the revolution.

Putting the Genie Back into the Bottle

In a Wall Street Journal article posted yesterday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal raised the specter of anti-trust laws about the new “agency” pricing used by Apple and Amazon for their e-book titles. Although there is some merit in debating whether the agency model – requiring that publishers do not undersell the e-book retail giants on other websites – is fair to all retailers, there are subtler forces at work here. And, not to be a conspiracy theorist, but the goal is not to protect the consumer – sorry Mr. Blumenthal. There is a minimum price to produce and publish books – and with declining sales for hardcover books which generate the highest margins, the price of electronic books has an absolute floor. Whether that is $9.99 or $7.99 is not the point. The point is that consumers are not going to get free books because of anti-trust legislation. How long can Amazon be expected to lose money on $9.99 e-book titles? Established publishers may want to see e-book sales retarded as much as possible (to keep those juicy hardcovers selling), but this is not a long-term strategy. It simply buys time for them to get their own e-book strategies in place. More threatened by the new technology are wholesalers. E-book technology does not require wholesalers. Publishers (like Trapdoor Books) can work directly with retailers (like Apple) under a 70% - 30% arrangement. This cuts out a multi-billion dollar wholesaler industry including the two titans (Ingram and Baker & Taylor). While these behemoths provide some value in the paper book chain, they really don’t bring anything to the table for e-books. I have long wondered what strategies they would use to insert themselves back into the supply chain. Technology is moving forward, and the old guard will be challenged to meet the demands of e-books. Small publishers support the agency model, and it seems that most large publishers do too. I’m hoping that industry players on the outside looking in will devise new ways to add value to the process instead of just trying to put the genie back into the bottle.

New Kindle e-Readers For $139? - Sold Out!

In a NY Times article last week Amazon announced (just in time for the holidays) a new Kindle e-reader priced at $139. It’s not quite to my final prediction of $99, but we’re getting there. As the article pointed out, this is a price war – with prices falling much faster than is customary for electronic gadgets. While this is interesting from a business perspective, is it revolutionary? Smaller, lighter, higher contrast, crisper text – all nice, but NO. Let’s face it, the iPad – all color and touch screens – is still significantly sexier than the Kindle. But, I can buy three Kindles for the price of one iPad and still have money left over for eight titles at full price. This morning, Amazon announced in a story covered by USA Today that the new Kindles are already sold out. Since we don't know how many units this represents, the impressiveness of the announcement is questionable. But, it does fire the first shot in the upcoming holiday melee. Amazon expects orders placed today should ship by September 1.

Get Your Updike – But Only On a Kindle!

There was an interesting story in the NY Times yesterday entitled, “Literary Agent Plans E-Book Editions”. There are two points that raised my eyebrows when reading the article. First, the main thrust of the story is that many traditional book publishing contracts were drawn up long before e-books existed. Since they are not specifically covered in the contract, there is some debate whether e-book rights are owned by the publisher or the author. A new breed of publisher – one focused only on e-books – is emerging to fill this gap. They offer better terms to authors than traditional paper-based publishers, and they can get the e-book rights from the author exclusive of the paper book rights already held. Andrew Wylie, certainly a big name in the industry, is doing just that with his company, Odyssey Editions. With a reduced overhead, Odyssey Editions is offering authors significantly better deals for their e-book contracts than they got for paper books.  This brings up the interesting conundrum that each new technology may very well allow authors to "go back to the well" in selling the rights to their books. The second point is the disturbing one - Odyssey edition books, including some by Saul Bellow, John Updike and the like, will ONLY be available on the Kindle. In my blog a couple of days ago, I warned that “forcing readers to choose between being able to read Clancy or King depending on their hardware” was one of the fundamental mistakes publishers can make in driving e-book adoption in the marketplace. While Odyssey Editions is only giving the exclusive to Amazon for two years, this is the short-sighted thinking that really hurt the adoption of so many technologies – just think HD DVDs. And, in the same way, I can see a new technology leapfrogging the current e-book readers if they drive customers into proprietary solutions. What are your thoughts?

CYBERKILL’s Frank Fiore Appears in Literature & Fiction Interviews

Want to know a bit more about CYBERKILL author Frank Fiore? Shelagh Watkins interviews the Trapdoor Books’ author in the newly released Literature & Fiction Interviews Volume II. The book provides entertaining and inspiring stories about authors, their books and writing. You can order a copy here. Congrats to Frank on being selected for inclusion in this edition of the book! Frank will also be appearing live and in person at the National Robotics League event on July 30 from 10:00am to 3:30pm at the Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix, Arizona. Rumor has it that there will be battlebots built by the Summer Robotic Intern program graduates dueling it out at the event. Frank will be there signing copies of CYBERKILL with Trapdoor Books providing a donation to the NRL. Whether Dorian will show up or not is anybody's guess. Swing by and catch the excitement.

E-Books Top Hardcovers at Amazon

A NY Times article on Monday announced that sales of Kindle books outnumbered the sales of hardcover books during the period March through June 2010. All industry signs point to an acceleration of this trend. I suspect that it won’t be too many months before we see the same headline for paperback books. The other trends that are pushing this rapid change are: a lower price point for buying an e-Book reader like the Kindle or Nook (under $200 and falling), a lower price point for buying a an e-Book ($9.99 for new releases), improved technology (sit an iPad next to a Kindle 2 to see my point), and better incentives for publishers looking to put their titles into electronic formats (we get 70% instead of 35% of e-book sales). So, what’s going to stop this avalanche? Technology is both the best friend and worst enemy of the e-book market right now. Give people value, new experiences and convenience and we will see acceleration. Try to force readers into having to choose between being able to read Clancy and King depending on their hardware or make them re-buy books for new formats and we will see deceleration. I don’t think anyone believes that the Kindle 2 is the end-state of e-books – the room for improvement is vast. And, there will always be a market for paper books – hardcover titles for collectors and paperbacks for taking to the beach. However, this is a milestone for our industry and worthy of note. Well, back to reading my current book – where did I put my cell phone?

So What’s Up With Trapdoor e-Books?

First of all, I am pleased to announce that all Trapdoor Books titles are available for sale on the Apple iBookstore. We submitted the listings about three weeks ago when Trapdoor Books was accepted as a direct publisher with Apple, but Mr. Jobs likes to read each book personally – or so it seems. The result is a somewhat slow turnaround in getting listed. But, we are there now with the titles at $9.99 each for you iPad, iPod, and iPhone readers! I checked them out last weekend at the Boulder Apple Store, and I must admit it is an impressive experience. Also, several of you noticed that our e-book titles disappeared for a few days from the Amazon Kindle store around the end of June. That was due to the change in contracts which make our publishing percentages much more attractive. As a result, the MSRP price of our Kindle books is now set at $9.99. Everything seems to be up and working again on the Amazon site, so I’m hoping we are good to go. Sweet! Finally, at long last, all of our e-book titles are available at the online Sony store – which means they are also available at Borders. Sony is still working under the “old school” contracts which mean books for their platform still run about $14.99 each. I suspect this will change in the next few months. What about Barnes & Noble? Well, the Nook store is… well… not really running. B&N is in the midst of a huge migration from their old site to their new Pubit site. As a result, new books aren’t being added for, like, well, months. I suspect that the new contract with B&N will be identical to Apple and Amazon – which will mean the wait for Trapdoor Books will be worth it. Of course, B&N has been known to disappoint publishers on occasion. Only time will tell. So, that’s the scoop in a nutshell. Dan is updating the website to reflect these new developments. For those of you who had to wait an extended period of time for your e-book copies of CYBERKILL, I apologize. Sometimes technology gets a bit ahead of itself. Read on!

Wikibin Talks About CYBERKILL and Transmedia

Most of the blogs that come across our desks at Trapdoor Books are traditional reviews - comments and thoughts about the story, characters and action in our titles.  Wikibin published an interesting article discussing Trapdoor Books' approach to marketing CYBERKILL using a transmedia approach - that is using book teaser trailers, browser games, and social networking.  While this approach is undergoing significant changes - and we can attest to some of those - it is a non-traditional method for getting the word out to a more technologically saavy readership.  I can tell you that we are exploring even deeper into the value of transmedia experiences as a way to make our books more entertaining. If you are interested in the original article, here it is.

OF Blog of the Fallen Interviews Todd Newton

Lotesse over at the OF Blog of the Fallen, an excellent review site for literary and speculative fiction, has interviewed Todd Newton - Trapdoor Books author of The Ninth Avatar.  It's an insightful interview that allows the reader a glimpse into Todd's mind and motivations for the characters and setting for the book.  I have included a few choice questions below, but I encourage you to read the entire interview here. What is your trick for making the characters seem real and alive? Do you know more about them than what is written in the book? The way I see it, my job is to make a character’s life harder. Anything within reason I can throw at them, I consider using, and I try to stay “in their head” as I’m writing. When something changes, I try to show what it means to them the best way I can. And yes, I have to know more about them than what’s written; their pasts and futures are just as important as what they go through because it shapes each of them differently. When I finish reading a book, I feel like I should know a character well enough to guess how they would react to a given situation, otherwise I feel somewhat cheated. This is one of the biggest things I try to keep in mind as I write. There are quite a few books in the fantasy genre that share the basic idea of The Ninth Avatar. An unwilling hero goes into the world, the forces of Darkness march against Humanity, and a prophecy that might save them all. What is, in your opinion, the thing that makes your book different and appealing? I completely agree with your point, which is exactly why I wanted to do something outside of the traditional “hero saves the world” epic. For me, what sets The Ninth Avatar apart is summed up in the character of Starka. She’s integral to the story, yes, but she isn’t exactly picking up a sword to rush headlong at the villain and his armies. My goal was to tell the story through her experience, which contrasts well with characters like Cairos and Mayrah who do quite a bit of battling. As Starka experiences the world she lives in and the people in it, so too does the reader. This allows the story to unfold with a great deal of perspective without keeping the reader at a distance.

How to Write Good

Just a little bit of humor on what is an overcast Monday in Boulder.  This was sent to me by a fan.  The original is by Frank L. Visco. My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

My Thoughts on the WSJ's “Vanity Press Goes Digital”

A number of readers forwarded a copy the Wall Street Journal article “Vanity Press Goes Digital” on Friday.  It was a good piece, although a bit rosy in some places.  I encourage you to read the entire article, although here are a few thoughts of mine. I agree that the established publishing houses are going to be challenged – significantly – by technology companies that are not invested in traditional printing and distribution services as their lifeblood.  And, control of the big-name authors is going to be up for grabs in the next five years if the tech industry doesn’t blow the current opportunities of e-books and next generation mobile book applications.  From a big business point of view, the article was mostly spot on. However, I’m thinking of the unpublished writers out there who read the article and rush to self-publish their books. The article talks about how easy it is to publish your e-books directly through programs like Amazon’s Digital Text Platform.  True.  And it covers the shift in Amazon’s royalty cut from 65% (we own the market) to 30% (we have to compete in the market).  True.  And, they also said that authors can “hire their own publicist, their own online marketing specialist, a freelance editor and a distribution service.”  True as well. However, the key disconnect is buried 34 paragraphs into the article, “Most self-published authors don't have popular followings and see modest sales.”  Really successful self-publishers are like lottery winners.  If I told you to go to the gas station, spend a dollar for a ticket and make millions, you would lock me up.  Outside of winning the lottery, the cost of hiring publicists, marketing specialists, freelance editors, distribution services, etc. is brutal in both dollars and time.  It’s one thing if you are Stephen King, but I think the article should come with a disclaimer that your mileage may vary. Publisher rhetoric?  Not really.  Self-publishing is a great way to get noticed by publishers.  It is not a great way to make money.  BTW, the article has a glaring mistake – once you self-publish a book, you can’t just “pull it down”.  The distribution is automated and one-way.  Once your book is out as a self-published title, it is out.  There is no putting the genie back into the bottle. The challenge for publishers is going to be to shift the value they bring to the table from printing and distribution to editorial, marketing and technology.  If Trapdoor Books provides better editorial, marketing and technology support than writers can get by doing the work themselves, then we have earned our percentage.  I can guarantee that authors cranking out two books a year don’t spend 20 hours a week on sales and marketing calls for their current titles.  Personally, I like the challenge of “provide value or die”.  I guess I should get back to work.

Todd Newton has some amazing talent…

Another wonderful The Ninth Avatar review came across my desk today from Fantasy Book Critic. I strongly encourage you to visit the site, as it is an awesome source of fresh information on the genre. Here is a link to Cindy Hannikman’s full review of The Ninth Avatar. A couple of highlights follow.  "While the storyline of The Ninth Avatar fits the typical fantasy model, the detailed scenes throughout the novel do make it stand out from the rest of the run of the mill fantasys. The story was fairly easy to follow, and very faced paced." "Todd Newton has some amazing talent that I'm sure readers of fantasy will be coming across in the future. It'll be amazing to see what becomes of this talent and to see it channeled into future novels."

Geeks and Nerds Venn Diagram Revisited

I just returned from a long holiday weekend, so the mood around the office is pretty upbeat - at least mine is.  One of our fans sent along this Venn diagram that is a follow-up from my earlier post, The Difference Between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram.  Touché.

WIN - Trapdoor Puzzle Contest Extended Through The Summer!

You asked for more puzzles and prizes, and here they are. Trapdoor Books is proud to extend its Mayday Puzzle Contest with the catchy new moniker Summertime Puzzle Contest. Click here to go the official puzzle page. What is the contest? I'm glad you asked. Play the Trapdoor Books “Summertime Puzzle Contest” for your chance at free books and an Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook or Sony Reader Touch of your choice (loaded with Trapdoor Books, of course)! Here’s how it works. Solve the weekly The Griddle Puzzle (see below for links to the puzzles so far). Email your solution to me at cmatney@trapdoorbooks.com. If your solution is correct, I’ll email a one-use “secret code” back to you. When you place an order on the Trapdoor Books website for either a paperback or hardcover book this summer, include your secret code in the “Special Shipping Instructions” box. When your order is filled, your code will be entered into our Summertime Puzzle Contest computer. 1-in-15 codes used will get their order FREE! 1-in-250 codes used will win a free Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook or Sony Reader Touch! Simple, fun and yet puzzling! Have fun!

The Internet will never be the same after you read…CYBERKILL.

A reader sent in an interesting link to About Nano Wires. This is a site for nanotechnology news and jobs. CYBERKILL seems to have tickled their fancy as there are a number of very interesting reviews on the site. Here are some excerpts: "By weaving together current events, the Internet, real scenarios, action and suspense CYBERKILL instills enough paranoia to make the reader wonder as they frantically turn the pages to find out what happens next. Those who read Science Fiction will love CYBERKILL but make no mistake anyone who uses a computer will enjoy this thriller. This story of revenge and survival will stay in your mind long after you finish reading it. CYBERKILL is a must read." "Many international and US government entities explored through this book exist, as does the technology surrounding this mendacious cybernetic being. All of this helps to make CYBERKILL genuine as well as intriguing. Congratulations to Fiore for his captivating, fast-paced thriller. One can only anticipate the cinematic appearance of this frightening yarn." "If you are interested to read about battle bots, havoc wreaked by viruses, blood, weapons, artificial intelligence, revenge of artificial intelligence, science mysteries, KGB, CIA, FBI etc in one book, then lay your hands on CYBERKILL."

New York Journal of Books Review of The Ninth Avatar

The New York Journal of Books published its wonderful review of The Ninth Avatar today. As always the analysis is thoughtful and well balanced. It’s high praise when a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company likes your epic, geek fantasy book! Way to go Todd! I won't spoil the review, click here to read it all.

CYBERKILL Paperbacks Arrive!

The trade paperbacks for CYBERKILL have arrived in the warehouse! I’m not sure if they were delayed because of the flooding in Tennessee, but the trucks have delivered the goods. For those of you who pre-ordered the book, your copy will be in the mail today! Hardcover copies of CYBERKILL are speeding their way to Frank’s place in Arizona for signing and numbering by the author. The boxes are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. So, you will have to wait a few more days before you have a first printing, signed copy. But, good things come to those who wait. Finally, congrats to those of you who are doing The Griddle Puzzles for a chance to win your order for FREE, not to mention the possibility of a new Kindle 2, B&N Nook or Sony Reader Touch. To answer a common question. You do not need to solve a puzzle themed around CYBERKILL to use your “secret code” to buy CYBERKILL. All “secret codes” work for all orders. Confused? Here’s the Mayday Puzzle Challenge page.

One View on The Future of Publishing

As astute reader the other day sent me Michael Mace’s interesting article on The future of publishing: Why ebooks failed in 2000, and what that means for 2010. Some of these issues are hauntingly familiar. I’ll hit a few highlights and let y’all read the details. It’s a long article, but it’s full of good stuff. The most overriding argument Mr. Mace makes for previous eBook failure is that electronic eReaders don’t solve a problem. There is a great quote in the article, “The reading device for the paperback is widely available for free (sunlight). This device can be used for other tasks as well.” In looking at the marketing by Amazon, Sony and the others, they don’t really tout the benefit of eBooks – their ability to extend the reading experience – instead relying on a list of features: slim, lightweight, and easy-to-read. I must admit that I have never understood the compulsion by eReader makers to try to only replicate the paper book experience. Open your minds, folks. Towards the end of Mr. Mace’s article, he talks about Yahoo creating totally ad-supported eBook content. Free to the user, paid by advertisers. That is another concept that is coming, as publishers struggle with the free-web-content challenge. Finally, he questions the publisher value chain – which is primarily focused on distribution currently. Well, the distribution chain is going away. Here is Craig Mod’s view of the future: “You already know the potential gains: edgier, riskier books in digital form, born from a lower barrier-to-entry to publish. New modes of storytelling. Less environmental impact. A rise in importance of editors. And, yes — paradoxically — a marked increase in the quality of things that do get printed.” I, for one, am looking towards that type of future for books.

Solve a Puzzle, Buy a Book, Win a Kindle!

They say that geeks are smarter than most.  Here's your chance to prove it. Trapdoor Books announces its first-ever Mayday Puzzle Contest! Put on your thinking cap, grab a cup of coffee and a #2 pencil and get ready. Custom-built Trapdoor Books puzzles are provided by David Millar at The Griddle. Thanks, David! Every time you solve a puzzle, email your answer to me. If you are correct, I’ll send you a one-use “secret code” which can be used when purchasing paper books on the Trapdoor Books website. Enter your code, and you have a chance to get your order for FREE or win an eBook reader of your choice – Kindle 2, Nook, or Reader Touch! You can even give your code to a friend who wants to order a paper book from the Trapdoor Books website. Now, each code can only be used once, and not every code is a winner. But, puzzles, codes, books and fun – what more can you ask for? I solved this week’s puzzle in about 20 minutes. Let me know how long you took. Here's a link to this week's puzzle.

The Difference Between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram

Although I have seen this one before, one of our astute readers sent this in from Great White Snark.  It is a Venn diagram showing the difference between geeks, dorks and nerds.  A light-hearted laugh for an overcast, grey day.

Random House CEO: Book Publishers Are Living in the Past

One of our readers sent me a wonderful article published by the Harvard Business Review interviewing Peter Olson, the former CEO of Random House. Mr. Olson states the traditional book publishing industry is headed for disruption. The four main points of the article are: Publishers refuse to change their business models to embrace e-books (and e-book pricing). They are unwilling to innovate to make use of technology. Publishers are focusing on manufacturing and distribution rather than editorial value and customers. And finally, publishers are fighting with e-book distributors rather than partnering with them. While the opinions are similar to others that I have posted, it’s interesting that the former CEO of Random House is voicing them publicly.

Friday's Challenge: Magician of Lhasa Chunkword Puzzle by The Griddle

Just in time for a weekend filled with fun, Trapdoor Books and The Griddle are proud to present another Friday Puzzle. You don’t need to buy and read The Magician of Lhasa to solve the puzzle, but why not? Click here for a printable version.

You Voted, And We Listened: Final CYBERKILL Cover Posted

After many, many revisions, Trapdoor Books takes great pleasure in unveiling the final cover for Frank Fiore’s upcoming techno-thriller CYBERKILL. The final cover was voted on by you, the Trapdoor community. It was a very clear choice, although Sue Campbell gave us a number of excellent designs to choose from – thanks Sue! Click on the cover to see a full-sized image. Remember, you can participate in the fun that is CYBERKILL by playing the online game – which is now available on Facebook. Click here to beat my high score of 11,800! Okay, so my score isn’t even in the Top 50. Also, if you want a signed, limited-edition, first print run copy of CYBERKILL, you need to order it here off the Trapdoor Books website. There are a few left, but don’t wait!

"Magician of Lhasa" Grid Fill Puzzle by The Griddle!

Just in time for a weekend filled with fun, Trapdoor Books and The Griddle are proud to present a Friday Puzzle - The Magician of Lhasa Grid Fill.  You don't need to buy and read the book to solve the puzzle, but why not?  Fill the grid with words and pieces from the list given. Words should go across the grid left to right or thoughout a shape left to right and top to bottom. Get it? If not, go to David Millar's wonderful site filled with puzzles, Sudoku and more! Thanks, David for getting us started with Trapdoor-themed puzzles. I'm sure this will be the first of many! Click here for a printable version of the puzzle. Share this with your friends and post your solutions today!

Limited Hardcover Edition Trapdoor Books Now Available for Pre-Order

Trapdoor Books is making a limited-time offer to the first 100 people who pre-order the hardcover versions of our latest titles – The Ninth Avatar and CyberKill. Your copy will be signed and numbered by the author! Priceless? Maybe not, but you never know what will happen with a first edition signed copy of an emerging author. Plus, you will be supporting a great cause and getting a pretty darn good read in the bargain! This offer is only good from the Trapdoor Books website. So, click the “Buy the Book” button to pre-order your hardcover copy of The Ninth Avatar and CyberKill today. Current Status:  The Ninth Avatar is at the printer with some boxes already shipping. CyberKill is waiting for final touches to the cover, and then it will be speeding its way to you as well. We can handle international and special orders as well, so contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Happy reading!

Puzzle Contest #8 - The Seven-Pointed Star

I'm not sure anyone solved Twing's Homework Puzzle #7, although there were certainly some valiant efforts. Hey, Matt, any winners? I thought I might give you an easy one for the weekend. All you have to do is to place the numbers 1, 2, 3... up to 14 in the circles so that every line adds up to 30. Easy, huh?  There are several solutions - one elegant and some other that are brute force.  I'll take any real solution.  Have a great weekend.

The Ninth Avatar Arrives!

The paperback and hardcover proofs for The Ninth Avatar arrived today. At first glance, the proofs look wonderful. The cover is very striking, and the interior layout is clear and easy to read. Sue and I have approved them, so we are just waiting the critical eye of Todd, the author, this afternoon. Then, it’s off to the printer. We expect the books to be in the warehouse about a week after the printer receives the order, so keep watching this page for the official announcement and the BUY NOW buttons to appear. The Ninth Avatar is already listed on Amazon, and its presence will trickle out to the rest of the internet over the next few weeks. Exciting times – we hope you love the book as much as we do!

Precious Metal Review for The Magician of Lhasa!

Nathan DeMontigny published a wonderful review of The Magician of Lhasa on his blog Precious Metal today.  Here's a snippet, but you should read the whole review and visit his site.  Thanks, Nate! I think this tidbit, from the publishers website, can give you a bit of insight to what this book has in store… “Trapdoor Books believes that by giving a new voice to authors without imposing overtly commercial constraints on their work, the stranglehold of formulaic writing can be broken and the world of fiction, along with the real world, can provide a better and more rewarding experience for all of us.” Wow! I believe wholeheartedly they, Trapdoor Books being the “they”, have truly broken the mold with this book. Not only is the idea fresh, but it’s fiction, not a manual on Buddhism or meditation. Maybe I am just not as aware, but I believe there aren’t many “Buddhist” themed fictional works out there, and if I’m wrong point me in the right direction. That being said, I haven’t sat down and read a book this quickly in a while....

Changes to the Publishing Industry = Disruptive and Non-Negotiable

A reader turned me on to Jason Epstein’s wonderful projection in The New York Review of Books describing the publishing industry of the future entitled, Publishing: The Revolutionary Future. Part of what I like about the article is that Mr. Epstein talks about the elimination of the redundant traditional publisher infrastructure and non-essential services. The next generation publishing houses will be less about warehousing and distributing returnable physical books and more about good editors providing solid content. This has long been my position on the basics of the upcoming revolution. The author also talks about the Espresso Book Machine which I think will be one part of a two part solution that re-writes the map for fiction novels. The other, of course, is the e-reader (or more accurately the iBook app) – but that is another story. If my local bookstore had one of these babies, I would never have a reason to order a book on Amazon or hit the big box bookstore. I encourage you to read the article. Yeah, it’s long, but it is so right. And, I would love to hear your comments.

Puzzle Contest #7 - Twing's Homework

Matt Twing sent in a classic riddle which I thought I would share with you. I suspect it might be a homework problem for his logic class, as Matt is a high school senior and sneaky smart. You have 12 marbles, one of them is either heavier or lighter than the rest. In three weighs on a balance scale, you must determine which is the odd marble. How do you do this?

The Ninth Avatar Cover Unveiled!

The cover for The Ninth Avatar has arrived! After many, many revisions twists and turns, everybody has finally agreed on the cover for Todd Newton’s new epic fantasy story. The book is already out for review to a number of critics and celebrities, so it won’t be long before you, too, can buy a copy of this wonderful story.  Click here to get a free sample! Click on the cover to enlarge the picture. Any feedback is welcome on the cover design. Sue Campbell has done her usual bang-up job, and all the credit goes to her. We will have many posts about the novel in the coming days, so this is just the beginning of the excitement. Have a wonderful weekend. Read a book.

iBooks or Apps? 18,000 votes have been cast.

One of our readers sent in an interesting article about how there are 18,000 books in Apple’s App Store. It’s a number that surprised me in one way but not in another. The idea of publishing books as straight applications – one book per app is not a terribly exciting concept. As Mr. Padley, the author, points out, there isn’t much advantage to this approach vs. publishing e-books in the iBookstore. So, why are there 18,000 books already there? Well, the iBookstore doesn’t exist, so it seems logical that publishers are getting the word out where they can. That said, I was chatting with a CU professor the other day, and he said that applications are the lingua franca of all college students - a common way that they communicate with each other. My obsession with books as applications comes from adding value to the experience – video, links, music, etc. If you just want to read the book, fine. But, if you want to click that link and find out a little bit more about nano-technology while consuming our latest thriller, the option is there for that as well. Get to know the author, listen to a few tunes, whatever. I am still bullish on applications as a new way to get readers hooked on a good story. Whether it is through serialization or extras - putting static text on the electronic page does not make a revolution.

Puzzle Contest #6 - The Twenty Pennies

Here is a new riddle to consider on your drive home this evening - remember to post your answers for the glory of being the cleverest. If sixteen pennies are arranged in the form of a square there will be the same number of pennies in every row, column and each of the two long diagonals. Can you do the same with twenty pennies? The answer is simple, and I bet you could win a few beers at the bar with this puzzle.

Could the Kindle and iPad Kill Quality Content?

A reader sent me an article today from gigaom with the title, Could the Kindle and iPad Kill Quality Content? This concept ties into the posting earlier this week about the decline of literacy in America, so I thought it deserved some comment. Thanks, Dick, for the article. First of all, my general answer to the question is “no”. But there are some qualifications that are important. Having reviewed over 500 manuscripts submitted to Trapdoor Books in the last year, I can tell you that a vast majority – all but a handful - need professional editorial help before they are ready for publication. With the ability to self-publish books electronically at almost no cost, what has happened is that the amount of noise – books that aren’t ready for prime time – has begun choking the market. This makes it hard for good books to be found. Most readers demand professional-quality books. Eventually, this will be solved by a combination of technology and market forces – bad books will not survive, good books will. However, this issue can’t really be blamed on the Kindle and iPad. This is kind of like saying that the advent of the paperback book destroyed literature – it is just the delivery mechanism. What the introduction of the paperback book did was create new genres – crime fiction for instance. It didn’t stop “literature” from being written. The Kindle and iPad may have a similar effect. We may see new genres of books available that weren’t commercially viable before – niches so narrow that printing even 5000 copies would be overkill. In electronic format, however, this could still be an interesting business model. This won’t kill “literature” either. It will introduce more people to reading – which is a good thing. In the end, publishers cannot expect to be the absolute gatekeepers of all things written any more. To be relevant, they must provide value to the reader and the writer. Just like good writers, good publishers will survive. And, the price points will adjust so that the publishing machine works. The alternative is the end of the story – something that humans have needed for the last 6000 years. I don’t think the Kindle or iPad can stop that.

New CyberKill Game And Teaser Online Now!!!

In anticipation of our upcoming announcement of the acquisition of CyberKill, Frank Fiore’s latest cliffhanger, we have posted both a video teaser for the book as well as a free video game.  Be the first to finish all six levels of the game as you guide ace programmer Travis Cole around the rooms and ventilation shafts of the lab. Get into the control room before his artificial intelligence creation Dorian wipes out mankind.  It’s fun, free and addictive.  Tell your friends and let us know what you think. Click here to go directly to the game.  Otherwise, you can always reach it via the scrolling marquee on the Trapdoor Books website.

The Book the Chinese Government Doesn't Want You To Read

PRWEB just sent out this press release about The Magician of Lhasa and Trapdoor Books. Below is an excerpt. Lyons, Colorado (PRWEB) Feb 9, 2010 -- Just days after the Chinese Government has slammed both Google and Hilary Clinton for getting in the way of its rigid censorship laws and warned President Obama against meeting with the Dali Lama, emerging US publisher of geek fiction, Trapdoor Books, announces that its new book The Magician of Lhasa cannot be printed in China because it portrays the 1959 Chinese occupation of Tibet in less than flattering terms. Chris Matney, Publisher at Trapdoor Books says: ‘Although we print our books primarily in the US, local off-shore production for worldwide sales reduces the ecological impact of shipping and is a responsible alternative. But because of the censorship issue, we’ve decided to print The Magician of Lhasa only in the US. It’s an amazing paradox that the book has just been approved for reading in the US prison system, but is considered to be so counter-revolutionary that China won’t touch it.’ The Magician of Lhasa by David Michie describes the flight of a lama and his two novice monks from Tibet in 1959, being pursued by Red Army soldiers and facing treacherous conditions in the Himalaya mountains. Just as Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses so enraged the Muslim establishment that a fatwa was declared on him, and Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code earned him the condemnation of The Vatican, behind its standard ‘no comment’ exterior the Chinese government seems rattled by the prospects of a popular new novel drawing attention to its own record of human rights abuses in Tibet. David Michie, best-selling author of the non-fiction book Buddhism for Busy People and a long-term Western Buddhist says: ‘The Government in China seems to have learned nothing from its past mistakes. One of the main reasons why they invaded Tibet in 1959 was to crush Tibetan Buddhism, but all they succeeded in doing was exporting it to the West. Their continued persecution of documentary makers, authors and other artists, far from protecting their reputation, is only making it dramatically worse.’ Availability The Magician of Lhasa is available across North America in hardcover, trade paperback and various e-book formats. The book is available on the Trapdoor Books website or from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers. About The Magician of Lhasa When novice monk Tenzin Dorje is told by his lama that the Red Army is invading Tibet, his country’s darkest moment paradoxically gives him a sense of purpose like no other. He accepts a mission to carry two ancient, secret texts across the Himalayas to safety. Half a century later, in a paradox of similarly troubling circumstances, Matt Lester is called upon to convey his own particular wisdom as a scientist, when Matt’s nanotech project is mysteriously moved to America after being acquired by the shadowy Acellerate Corporation. Tenzin and Matt embark on parallel adventures which have spine-chilling connections. Tenzin’s perilous journey through the Himalayas, amid increasing physical hardship and the ever-present horror of Red Army capture, is mirrored by Matt’s contemporary, but no less traumatic challenges, as his passionate relationship with his fiancée, Isabella, and his high flying career undergo escalating crises. It is at the moment when both Tenzin and Matt face catastrophe that their stories converge, spectacularly transforming our understanding of all that has gone before. About Trapdoor Books Trapdoor Books is an imprint of Trapdoor Publishing, an emerging small press in Lyons, Colorado. Our geek fiction philosophy: technology, intellectual promiscuity, and scientific thought are becoming increasingly appealing to a wider audience of sophisticated, socially-connected readers. Our goal is to break traditional genres and surprise readers with well-paced, well-researched and compelling stories. About David Michie Best-selling author David Michie introduces the world's first Tibetan Buddhist thriller in his latest masterpiece, The Magician of Lhasa. Michie has previously published three mysteries through Time Warner Books UK and is the author of the popular non-fiction titles Buddhism for Busy People and Hurry Up and Meditate.

Google Editions – A Win for Readers and Publishers

Google has been toying around with getting into the e-book market for awhile now, and according to an article in the NY Times, it looks like they are moving towards Apple’s “agency” model where they take 30% for selling an e-book priced between $12.99 and $14.99. This is a huge win for both readers and publishers. This announcement follows on Macmillan’s victory over Amazon to do the same. Thanks, Apple! Is this the end to the draconian “wholesale” model that is choking the publishing industry? Probably not, but it is another step in the right direction. Of interesting note about Google Editions, consumers would be allowed to read books on any device with Internet access, including mobile phones, rather than being limited to dedicated reading devices such as the Kindle. Trapdoor Books has been doing that since the beginning, and it makes sense to us – of course we sell books not hardware. Google Editions has nothing to do with Google Books – the giant scanning and free public domain book giveaway which I have blogged about in the past. That effort is still tied up in court, so it might be awhile before progress on that front is announced. But this is still a victory for publishers and book lovers alike!

Dissecting the Moon

Congratulations to Norm LaFave, not only a talented writer but a clever puzzle solver, for figuring the solution to Puzzle Contest #4 – An Epitaph from 1538AD. Here’s his solution. This week’s puzzle (#5) – Dissecting the Moon - should give you something to think about as we head into another weekend. In how large a number of pieces can this crescent moon be cut with five straight cuts of the knife? The pieces may not be piled or shifted after a cut.

Smart Dust? Not Quite, but We’re Getting There

A number of manuscripts submitted to Trapdoor Books deal with nanotechnology.  It is a wonderful topic for speculative fiction, and I am hoping that several of them get published this spring. Even The Magician of Lhasa talked about the technology.  Last week, I stumbled across this article in the NY Times on smart dust and thought it was an interesting nanotechnology topic for discussion with our readers.  I have reprinted the first few paragraphs below, and the entire article is here.  Enjoy. "In computing, the vision always precedes the reality by a decade or more. The pattern has held true from the personal computer to the Internet, as it takes time, brainpower and investment to conquer the scientific and economic obstacles to nudging a game-changing technology toward the mainstream. The same pattern, according to scientists in universities and corporate laboratories, is unfolding in the field of sensor-based computing. Years ago, enthusiasts predicted the coming of “smart dust” — tiny digital sensors, strewn around the globe, gathering all sorts of information and communicating with powerful computer networks to monitor, measure and understand the physical world in new ways. But this intriguing vision seemed plucked from the realm of science fiction."

Amazon Backs Down

As a follow-up to my post on January 20 entitled Amazon Goes Nuts on Book Royalties, the next shot has been fired in the war between Amazon’s desires to sell Kindles by pricing all e-books at $9.99 and the publishing world’s desire to not lose money by selling e-books below cost. As reported in the NY Times yesterday, we have Macmillan to thank for the salvo, as it pulled all of its titles from Amazon demanding that a 30% "agent" royalty schema similar to the one proposed by Apple for titles on the new iPad. On Friday, all Macmillan titles were available only through third-party Amazon stores. On Sunday, Amazon backed down - realizing that allowing Apple to have a superior selection of books was a losing strategy long-term. With the lowered Amazon royalty, suggested retail prices will drop to $14.99 or thereabouts. Amazon can discount these to compete with Apple, leaving nice profits for everybody. While there are many chapters left to be written in the e-book saga – not the least of which is ultimate consumer adoption – at least the book publishing industry is moving towards a better solution than the music industry. It's a good way to start the new month.

"Geek fiction is something all intelligent book-lovers should be reading"

Critical acclaim for The Magician of Lhasa continues with a wonderful review in the New York Journal of Books. I’ll post some excerpts below, but you should read the entire review on their website here. “Reading with a writer’s eye, I’ve always been an admirer of first-person, present-tense narrative. A difficult literary style but, when done well, it can give an unparalleled sense of immediacy to a story. The prologue of The Magician of Lhasa begins just so. The reader is immediately in the temple, at the feet of the Buddha, lighting butter lamps. Then, just as quickly, we’re outside in the chaos of the impending arrival of the Red Army. It’s 1959. David Michie, quite apart from his résumé, is obviously highly accomplished in the protocols of Buddhism, and he writes about them in a way that’s full of joy and karmic serenity. The novel could have descended into textbook prosthelytizing or a kind of preaching-to-the-converted, but the author avoids this by constantly questioning the observations of both Geshe-la and his protégé, Alice. He makes a good case for meditative practices, as opposed to knee-jerk interpretations of cause and effect—“if meditation was available in capsule form, it would be the biggest selling drug of all time.” Trapdoor Books, a new press on the block, proclaims to be a publisher of “geek fiction.” Perhaps the term “unique fiction” would be more appropriate for this emerging high-quality house and, if The Magician of Lhasa is anything to go by, geek fiction is something all intelligent book-lovers should be reading."

Puzzle Contest #4 - An Epitaph from 1538AD

Congratulations to Brian for soliving last week's simple addition puzzle!  Here's his winning solution. This week's puzzler is an epitaph from 1538AD. It is a favorite of mine, although there may be more than one solution. You are walking along in an old graveyard and come across a tombstone with the following verse carved on it. How might this happen? "Two grandmothers, with their two granddaughters; Two husbands, with their two wives; Two fathers, with their two daughters; Two mothers, with their two sons; Two maidens, with their two mothers; Two sisters, with their two brothers; Yet only six in all lie buried here; All born legitimate, from incest clear." Figured it out?  Post your solution here.  Need help?  Invite a friend to join the community and help in the fun.

Geeks and Buddhists to Collide This Week

PRWEB just sent out this press release about The Magician of Lhasa and Trapdoor Books. Below is an excerpt.  Lyons, Colorado (PRWEB) Jan 26, 2010 -- Geek quantum scientists and Tibetan Buddhists are set to collide this week. No, we’re not talking about a bizarre experiment in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, but a rare intersection revealed with the official launch of The Magician of Lhasa, the world’s first Buddhist thriller, published by emerging geek fiction press Trapdoor Books. The Magician of Lhasa by David Michie is a suspenseful adventure story and a tale of corporate intrigue, involving a lama and his two novice monks fleeing the Red Army invasion of Tibet in 1959 carrying their order’s most well-guarded secret. In a parallel but intertwined storyline, a contemporary researcher’s nanotech project is mysteriously moved from London to a technology incubator in Los Angeles. While a number of modern day thrillers are set against the backdrop of history and religion – think Dan Brown’s antimatter in the Vatican – rarely does the final story appeal to fans on both sides of the science and religion equation. The Magician of Lhasa has received rave early reviews from both Buddhists and geeks alike. Chris Matney, Publisher at Trapdoor Books says: “Most people believe the ideas of quantum science presented by the likes of Einstein, Bohr, and Schrodinger were a 20th century scientific breakthrough. But when physicist Sir Arthur Eddington said ‘The concept of substance has disappeared from fundamental physics’ he was only paraphrasing what Buddha said 2,500 years ago. Quantum science and Buddhism represent two converging lines – objective and subjective – which arrive at the same startling understanding about reality.” Michie, the best-selling author of the non-fiction books Buddhism for Busy People and Hurry Up and Meditate, says: “Science and religion have been represented as fundamentally conflicted since the Renaissance. The current angst about evolution versus intelligent design is just the latest in a long line of debates. Buddhism not only embraces science, but as technology has advanced, it has increasingly verified truths about the nature of reality revealed centuries ago in ancient India. And the Dalai Lama’s view is that if science disproves any tenet of Buddhism, Buddhism must change accordingly.” Availability The Magician of Lhasa launches across North America today and is available in hardcover, trade paperback and various e-book formats. The book is available on the Trapdoor Books website or from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers. About The Magician of Lhasa When novice monk Tenzin Dorje is told by his lama that the Red Army is invading Tibet, his country’s darkest moment paradoxically gives him a sense of purpose like no other. He accepts a mission to carry two ancient, secret texts across the Himalayas to safety. Half a century later, in a paradox of similarly troubling circumstances, Matt Lester is called upon to convey his own particular wisdom as a scientist, when Matt’s nanotech project is mysteriously moved to America after being acquired by the shadowy Acellerate Corporation. Tenzin and Matt embark on parallel adventures which have spine-chilling connections. Tenzin’s perilous journey through the Himalayas, amid increasing physical hardship and the ever-present horror of Red Army capture, is mirrored by Matt’s contemporary, but no less traumatic challenges, as his passionate relationship with his fiancée, Isabella, and his high flying career undergo escalating crises. It is at the moment when both Tenzin and Matt face catastrophe that their stories converge, spectacularly transforming our understanding of all that has gone before. About Trapdoor Books Trapdoor Books in an imprint of Trapdoor Publishing, an emerging small press in Lyons, Colorado. Our geek fiction philosophy: technology, intellectual promiscuity, and scientific thought are becoming increasingly appealing to a wider audience of sophisticated, socially-connected readers. Our goal is to break traditional genres and surprise readers with well-paced, well-researched and compelling stories. About David Michie Best-selling author David Michie introduces the world's first Tibetan Buddhist thriller in his latest masterpiece, The Magician of Lhasa. Michie has previously published three mysteries through Time Warner Books UK and is the author of the popular non-fiction titles Buddhism for Busy People and Hurry Up and Meditate.

Trapdoor Books on the iPad?

It is a fervor that only Apple can manage. Today is the day of the big Apple iPad announcement. The event is scheduled to start at 10:00am PT today at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The publishing industry has pinned high hopes that the new device will start an explosion in electronic book, magazine and newspaper sales – just like the iPod did for music. With only a few hours to go, I guess we will see what the beast looks like soon enough. I’m voting on my niece Rowan being the first one in the family to own one. Trapdoor Books will be available on the iPad. But it is not "another format" that is exciting. I am still very keen about books as “applications” in addition to simple e-reader files. That allows us to provide enhanced content – author interviews, links, games, and puzzles to enhance the experience. I am still toying with the serialized approach, although rumors are the electronic books on the iPad are expected to cost $13-$15. Theoretically, this leaves a reasonable margin for the authors and publishers. As Amazon has shown, the devil is in the details. So, I guess it is time to get a cup of coffee and turn on CNN. The world will know soon enough.

Trapdoor Books Goes to Prison

The Magician of Lhasa has been approved for inmates to read in the Texas prison system. I think that is pretty cool. I had no idea, however, that the list of banned books in prison is any different than, say, in the American school system. And while I have a personal issue with censorship, I guess that it makes some sense to have some rules on this accord. The reason that this popped into my mind today was an article in the New York Times forwarded to me by an old gaming buddy entitled Dungeons & Dragons Prison Ban Upheld. As the subtitle so aptly claims, “Prisons can restrict the rights of inmates to nerd out.” The game, according to the article, could “lead to gang behavior and fantasies about escape,” which is why it has been put on the banned list and offending material confiscated. For those of you who are old enough, this should provide a flashback moment to the early 1980s. I really like the quote by Andrew Oh-Willeke, a Denver lawyer who wrote, “If more inmates were uber-nerdy D&D players, life would be good.”

Got an extra 1749 Yen?

A reader sent this in to me.  Odd, the book isn't for sale in Japan.  I guess if I find an extra 1749 yen in my account, I'll know where it came from. 

Puzzle Contest #3 - Simple Addition

This week, we have a simple addition puzzle. Each letter in this puzzle represents a different digit (between 1 and 9). Just substitute the correct digit for each letter to make the addition work correctly. Let's see if anybody can beat Bob to the answer. Several of you asked how to get an automatic e-mail notification when puzzles are added to the site.   It's simple.  Under Subscription Options on the right-hand menu of this site, just click the green envelope.  Put in your email, confirm your identity, and you will be the first to know when new puzzles are posted. Click the blue dove for Twitter.  And the orange waves for an RSS feed.

Amazon Goes Nuts on Book Royalties

Thanks to a reader who sent in this interesting PC World article on Amazon’s reaction to the upcoming Apple iSlate. Here are my experiences with Amazon’s royalty rates and practices to date. Some are bad, others are just bizarre – your mileage may vary. Amazon sells The Magician of Lhasa directly to you for $13.49. From this sale, I make $6.12 after printing, shipping, author royalties, etc. Cool. However, Trapdoor Books has an Amazon store where by selling the book for $13.49 our profit is $6.74. Not much different, but every penny helps. So, I set the discount at our store to $13.48 (one cent lower than Amazon) – mostly to see if Amazon would lower their price to beat this. Nope. You’ll never guess what they did. They changed the price in our store back to $13.49. Hmm. That’s not playing fair. I change it one way – they change it back. It’s good to be king, I guess. For e-books, Amazon takes a 65% royalty cut for each copy sold on its site. This is, by far, the worst deal around for publishers. In order to get a similar return to our paper books, the MSRP for the Kindle version is $19.99. Amazon discounts the book to $13.99, but I still get my $6.99 return. Yesterday, I received a notice that Amazon is changing the MSRP for e-books on their site – which makes you wonder if it is really the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. In my case, The Magician of Lhasa will now retail at $14.99. Hmm. It sounds like the king is restless. So, I’m hoping that PC World and the Wall Street Journal are right. If Amazon really is changing their royalty to 30%, then I can make my $6.99 return with a price to the public of $9.99 – which is a good deal for all. Of course, if Apple doesn’t come through with the Kindle Killer, I’m not sure the rules won’t change again.

Puzzle Contest #2 Winner - Can Anyone Stop Bob?

Last week’s puzzle was solved very quickly! Bob (aka Mental Wasteland) was the fastest on the trigger to calculate 35 triangles.  Congrats!  Can anyone stop Bob? Norman Lafave posted the honorable mention in excellent geek fashion.  Another novel solution of this puzzle…  Consider this to be a 2-dimensional projection of a 4-simplex (4-dimensional tetrahedron) instead of a flat figure. In that case, there are 5 vertices, 10 edges, 10 triangles, and 5 tetrahedra in the projection.  Geeks rule! Look for another brain tickler in the next couple of days.  Happy puzzling.

Another Gold Star for The Magician of Lhasa

Ted Biringer, author of The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing, wrote a wonderful review this weekend.  Here are some excerpts, and the entire review is posted on his blog. "In his latest book, The Magician of Lhasa, author David Michie has proven himself a masterful storyteller as well as a truly gifted purveyor of Buddhist doctrine and methodology. Like the best novels, The Magician of Lhasa grabs the reader on page 1 and does not let go until the final satisfying paragraph. Don’t start this book before bedtime—you just might be up all night. Michie ruthlessly leaves the reader on cutting edge cliff-hangers (some quite literally) as The Magician of Lhasa alternates between two very different worlds. The Tibetan refugees, willing to die if need be to accomplish their mission, come alive for the reader as they battle hunger, thirst, doubt, and the Red Army. So too, does the contemporary scientist take on the reality of an acquaintance, with all the difficulties and questions familiar to anyone that has grappled with great questions of life and death in the fractured modern world. Congratulations to David Michie—from nonfiction conveyer of Buddhist wisdom to the modern world, to transmitter of Buddhist wisdom through the entertaining art of fiction! David Michie’s future is, as the living, breathing characters of his novel discover, not without a great deal of uncertainty—but it will definitely not be dull."

Sony Reader Fans Rejoice - The Magician has arrived

A quick note on a busy Friday afternoon to announce The Magician of Lhasa is now available on the Sony Reader Store - the new site for those of you lucky enough to get a Reader Daily Edition for the holidays.  The discounted price is $13.99 on the Sony Reader Store site which has been updated and looks really nice.  Remember, you can also buy epub-formatted Trapdoor Books titles on this site as well.

Puzzle #2 - A One-Cup-Of-Coffee Challenge

Last week's puzzle contest was wonderful.  There were lots of great responses, and I heartily applaud everyone who participated.  This week's challenge should be a bit easier - let's call it a one-cup-of-coffee challenge. How many different triangles are contained in this figure? Again, much honor to the first right solution.  As always, if you want to get an early peek at the puzzle each week, register on the site and you will get our weekly newsletter, Opening the Trapdoor.  This has annoucements, discounts, the weekly puzzle and more!

The Magician of Lhasa Arrives at Barnes & Noble

A bit of excitement here at Trapdoor Books this morning. The Magician of Lhasa has made it through the labyrinth of wholesalers and distributors and is now available at Barnes & Noble.  Hooray!  The decision to carry the title in stock is made by the store management, but you can order the book on barnesandnoble.com.  You can also order it from Customer Service when you go into the physical store - a practice I whole-heartedly support. For those of you with Nooks, I chatted with an executive at the B&N e-book shop about a week ago.  "Chaos" was the word of the day, as B&N is massively behind at catching up on their e-book catalog.  The woman I spoke with didn't know how long our title was going to be delayed, but apparently we are in good company.  That said, the Nook version of The Magician of Lhasa is currently available on the Trapdoor Books website for purchase - and it will probably be a bit cheaper here than from B&N anyway.

Puzzle Contest #1 Winner

Last week's puzzle was finally solved! With a number of good guesses, the answer to the MADAM puzzle is 80. Our newest community memeber, Bob Phillips (aka Mental Wasteland) came up with the right answer. Here is his response, "Just saw your puzzle. By my count, there are 80 ways if letters can be reused, or 44 ways if they can't. Either way, that's a lot of Madams. I've got a simple graphical proof if you want. :)" UPDATE:  Here is the proof in PDF format - uber-geeky, Bob.  Puzzle Proof - PDF The logic: Every reading must begin with an M, and as there are only four M's there can only be four starting points. There are 20 different ways of reading MADAM, always starting from the same M, therefore the correct answer is that there are 80 ways in all. Some honorable mentions: Sandy and Larry guessed 40 and then decided maybe it was double that - better lucky than good, eh? Bruce said that there is only one way to spell MADAM, that is M-A-D-A-M - very witty. And Franz brought up the count for Adama - the commander from Battlestar Galactica - very geeky. Another puzzle is coming tomorrow. Sign up on in the Trapdoor Books community to get a sneak preview of the puzzle.

Psychology Today Review: The Magician of Lhasa

Thanks, again, to Dr. Susan Blackmore for a wonderful article in Psychology Today about The Magician of Lhasa. If you want to debate the scientific thoughts around reincarnation and psychic powers, this is your forum. Here's a short exerpt from the article (read the whole article here): I read a fun book over the holidays. Has anyone else read it and would like to comment? This is David Michie's "The Magician of Lhasa". Billed as the first ever thriller based on Tibetan Buddhism, its subtitle is "A novice monk. A quantum scientist. An ancient secret.". It certainly lives up to the description. I found it exciting, sometimes scary, and a lot of fun. Before publication the publishers asked me to read the book to see whether I would be prepared to comment or provide a recommendation they could use for their publicity. I replied, truthfully, that I was pretty sceptical. I have seen some appalling films that trivialise Buddhism, make ridiculous claims for Buddhist monks, and seem to have no idea what Buddhist practice is really all about. So I was dreading something similar. Happily my fears were largely unjustified. The two topics that always cause most trouble are reincarnation and psychic powers. I cannot believe in either of them - at least in their popular forms. However, although both are involved in the story, I thought they were rather cleverly dealt with."

Psst, A Puzzle Contest #1, Pass It On!

Over the holidays, I asked a number of our readers and fans what they would like to see in 2010 to make the site more interesting.  One of the best ideas (and a personal obsession of mine) is a weekly puzzle - something to challenge the brain during those long hours at work, err, leisure. So, here is the first puzzle of the New Decade.  In how many different ways can you spell the word MADAM in the diagram? You may go any way possible along the path, but the letters must be contiguous. No skipping letters! I will post the correct answer next week, but I would love to see everybody's guesses.  Much honor to the first person to post the right answer.  If you want to get an early peek at the puzzle each week, register on the site and you will get our weekly newsletter, Opening the Trapdoor.  This has annoucements, discounts, the weekly puzzle and more!

What the Book Will Look Like in 2019?

A Very Happy New Decade to all! I hope that everybody had a wonderful holiday break. The elves at Trapdoor Books worked until the last minutes before Christmas, even making some deliveries by car, to make sure that The Magician of Lhasa reached everybody in time for the festivities. Then, I decided to take a few days off to recharge the old batteries – and read a few books. But, now the new decade has begun. I spent an interesting couple of hours over drinks with some friends discussing what the book would look like at the end of this decade – on December 31, 2019. Some vowed paper, others vowed e-books. Personally, I would like to see a device that looked and felt like a book (maybe even some old book smell) but had electronic paper that would display my current manuscript. That way, I could flip the pages but still be able to dynamically change the font size when my eyes got tired. Well, this is science fiction, isn’t it? One concept that we discussed was advertising. Books today are like premium movie channels – you pay a high price, but you don’t get advertising in the middle of your story. I think that as the book industry changes, the concept of network TV – books that are free or very low cost supplemented with advertising – could catch on. Before you kill me, I would hope that books (just like movies) would be available in both formats (with and without advertising). The reader can choose which to buy. What are your thoughts for the book in 2019? As a personal note for those of you waiting for correspondence from me, I am almost caught up on the 600 emails and voicemails that came in during my absence. If you haven’t heard from me yet, you should in the next few days. Cheers. Chris.

Last Minute X-Mas Shopping? How About a Thriller?

The last of our pre-Christmas boxes of The Magician of Lhasa have arrived at the warehouse – all versions of the book are back in stock! There is still plenty of time to order your hardcover or trade paperback for delivery before next Thursday. What’s nicer that a novice monk, a quantum scientist and an ancient secret waiting under the tree?  Click here to make the move. If you are giving (or getting) a Kindle, Nook or Sony e-reader this holiday, don’t forget to stop by and download a copy of The Magician of Lhasa from our website on Christmas morning. Nothing says love and adventure like electrons! The title can also be read on your PC, Mac or cell phone - see here for details. For me, well, I have a pile of manuscripts to read over the next few weeks. Somehow, I have a feeling that you, our readers, will be asking for another title soon. BTW, The Magician of Lhasa is now being spotted around the web at different retailers.  Powells' Books and Books On Board are both carrying the title. And, if you happen to be in your local bookstore, ask them to stock the book. Every little bit helps.

The Magician of Lhasa on Your Doorstep

Several customers report that recently-ordered copies of The Magician of Lhasa have arrived on their doorstep. For this nervous publisher, that is great news. All the pieces of the supply chain are working! Amazon reports that another shipment of trade paperback hit the warehouse this morning. First run copies are selling quickly, but we should have enough for the holidays. Order yours today and help us start the geek fiction revolution!

Is the Napster of e-Books coming?

It is hard to imagine that 10 years have passed since the launch of open-source media swapping site Napster plunged onto the internet attracting 15,000 users in its first week. While arguments can be made on both sides of the file sharing argument, you must admit that the revolution had begun. And, the music industry advanced. Now, we have iTunes. Music lovers get the songs they want at a reasonable price and artists get paid for their efforts. But it wouldn't have happened without Napster. An article in the NY Times today announced that author Stephen Covey (think 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) is shifting the e-book rights for his books to Amazon.com. Yup, he is skipping the publisher and going straight to the consumer. As you would expect, his print publisher Simon & Schuster is not happy. Now, part of this is a publicity stunt – Amazon will be pushing Mr. Covey’s books with extreme prejudice in return for the nod. And, you can expect lawsuits and nastiness (ala 1999 Napster headlines) – in fact, Simon & Schuster is going to start delaying e-book publications to four months after hardcover editions are released. However, this is the beginning of the same revolution for the book publishing industry, and it should be a wake-up call for publishers that you can’t treat e-books like paper books – any more than the music industry could corral MP3s like vinyl. I applaud Mr. Covey for shaking it up.

We Have e-Books!

The e-Book bundle for The Magician of Lhasa arrived the other day from the conversion house and is now up on the Trapdoor Books website. We are providing readers with four – count ‘em four – formats in the bundle - all for one low price of $9.99. This should cover about 95% of all of e-Readers out there including the Kindle, Sony Reader, and Barnes & Noble Nook devices. It will also make our titles available to almost all the known computer and cell phone readers out there. So, come on down to the Trapdoor Books website and get some instant gratification. You’ll be reading about novice monks, quantum scientists and ancient secrets in less than five minutes. The e-Books should also be appearing on commercial sites over the next week (Amazon) to six weeks (Barnes & Noble). Of course, you won’t beat our price, so you might as well buy yours today. In case you are still curious about the details, here is my technical page on e-Book formats. It links to more details which in turn links to more details which… well, it’s a propeller-head’s dream. Happy Kindling!

A Terrific Read

In September, I wrote a blog entitled “I’ve never read anything like that before”. At that point, I hoped to push the boundaries of commercial fiction with some of our first titles. With The Magician of Lhasa shipping this week, my mind has been racing back and forth as to whether we should have picked a “safe” first book. Over forty copies of the The Magician of Lhasa were sent out to influential bloggers, reviewers and critics – some of them experts in the field. Here is the initial reaction from Dr. Susan Blackmore, a leading psychologist and visiting professor of psychology, when we asked her to review the book. “I'm not at all sure I'm the right person. I find any kind of fiction very hard to read (I stick to science books) and my ability understand stories is so limited and I get so quickly bored that mysteries tend to escape me. So I think the chances of me actually reading more than a few pages are slim. But you never know. If you are prepared to send me a copy on the very faint off-chance that I might find it readable then please do and I shall do my best.” Here is her review, sent in the other day. “To my surprise I really enjoyed The Magician of Lhasa!” “Fanciful caves, scary adventures, and a creepy plot are all mixed up with deep truths about human existence and the nature of mind. A terrific read, even if the reincarnation theme is wildly implausible. How rare to get an exciting story and be made to think deeply about the meaning of life.”  “I'm looking forward to the sequel - what is the purpose of the sacred texts, does he get to Lama Tsering in time, and what about Alice?” Dr. Susan Blackmore is a psychologist and writer researching consciousness, memes, and anomalous experiences, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. She blogs for the Guardian and Psychology Today, and often appears on radio and television. Her book The Meme Machine (1999) has been translated into 13 other languages and more recent books include a textbook Consciousness: An Introduction (2003), Conversations on Consciousness (2005) and Ten Zen Questions (2009). Visit her site here.  Thanks, Susan!

"Geek Fiction WIN!"

A few of you asked me to share reviews of The Magician of Lhasa as they appear in the real world. One of my favorites so far is by E.L. Fay on her blog, This Book and I Could Be Friends. Ms. Fay focuses on fiction and international literature and has a refreshingly eclectic reading list. Her review is entitled Quantum Buddha does a great job of discussing what makes the story different and compelling. She writes, “Like all good works of geek fiction, The Magician of Lhasa is not a book to be forgotten once finished…. I want to learn more! Geek fiction WIN!”

Ben Kingsley in The Magician of Lhasa?

Why is the debut novel from Trapdoor Books, The Magician of Lhasa, already posted at a website called Storycasting.com? Because there's a dirty little secret going on in the minds of certain fiction readers - and maybe you're already participating in it! Turns out that about a fourth of fiction readers routinely say to themselves, "if they ever made a movie out of this, I know who ought to play this guy." At book signings, conventions, and reading circles, these are the people who ask, "who do you see in the movie?" It's interesting to present this 'casting' idea to a group of readers, because the people who don't do this never have, and don't know why you would. They are surprised - sometimes, slightly repelled - to discover people right in their midst who play 'the casting game', 'fantasy casting', or 'dream casting'. At Storycasting, fiction readers can select a book they've read, and then post a 'cast' using current film and TV stars. The site has actor photos, and each cast is a 'vote' for that actor in that role. If you don't see the actors you want to use, it's easy to contact the site crew and request an actor. Although registration is required, the site is free and non-spamming. So, who do YOU see in the movie adaptation of The Magician of Lhasa? Thanks to Jeff Reid from StoryCasting.com for picking up The Magician of Lhasa. I know who I see in the movie version. Check out my storycast here.

The Magician of Lhasa Rolls Off The Presses!

At long last, our first title, The Magician of Lhasa, is literally rolling off the presses. The first run is expected to ship to our distribution warehouse early next week, and it should be winging its way towards you in plenty of time for Christmas. The Trapdoor Books website is ready to take your orders now, so don’t be shy. If you would rather order off of Amazon.com, the books should be listed next week (once they are in stock) – I’ll post again when that happens. To everyone who has helped in this effort, thanks a million! It is heartwarming to see the initial reviews of the book. We have about forty advanced reading copies in the hands of critics, authors, bloggers and celebrities. Their responses have been wonderful. I’ll post links and copies of the reviews as they come out. While we are hoping that these public reviews drive some interest in the title, it is really up to you – our community to be the harbingers of Trapdoor Books. I encourage you to buy a copy of the book – hardcover, trade paperback or e-book. Tell your friends about it. Be part of the success of The Magician of Lhasa and our new venture. Click here to see the details on the book. Happy reading!

Don’t Look In Your Stocking for a B&N Nook or Sony e-Reader

On Tuesday, the NY Times reported that Sony might miss Christmas delivery for its Daily Edition e-Reader. The device won’t be in physical stores until January, and now the company is not guaranteeing delivery by Christmas for online orders. Ouch. Now, I still think that Sony being available in Wal-Mart and Best Buy is going to be a very compelling long-term advantage – especially as the e-book market increases its mass market appeal. And, Sony is known for putting out quality electronics, so I’m not suggesting that the eReader is dead. But, the folks over at Amazon are probably smiling a bit right now. Today, mirroring this announcement, the NY Times today reported that Barnes & Noble is also struggling to meet holiday demands for its Nook e-Reader. On one hand, this is good – the product has sold out. Nooks will ship the week of January 4, and Barnes & Noble will be sending a holiday certificate as an apology. Again, in the long term, I’m not sure of the impact, but it will definitely push many shoppers over to the Kindle in the short-term – especially those who want a physical device so that they can read non-physical books. I guess I know what I will be reading on Christmas Day.

Trapdoor iPhone App?

There was an interesting post in the NY Times today talking about reading books on the small screen – no, not the Kindle – the cell phone. Now, the concept isn’t new. Some people love it – I can read on the train. Some people hate it and predict the demise of American literature because of cell phones. The article was interesting, however, because it talked about making books into iPhone applications. Twenty percent of applications introduced for the iPhone last month were books according to the article! Whoa! A bell went off in my head, and I started really thinking about this concept. You can deliver a lot more than text with an iPhone application. Publishers are no longer constrained by the limitations of the e-Reader displays for the iPhone. Moving images, music, authors reading their book… The possibilities are endless. I personally like the idea of bundling the book with a game themed around the story. I’m interested to hear what you gadget-heads out there think. Trapdoor Books - App or no App?

Playing with the Kindle for PC

It’s late at night (for me), and I’m sitting at my computer playing with the Kindle for PC beta software. I should be in bed… reading a manuscript on my Kindle Kindle. Hmm. I hope my Kindles don’t get jealous of each other. In October, Amazon announced the release of Kindle for PC which joined the Kindle for iPhone application. Several of the tech sites carried the news, including Wired. Now, the Kindle for iPhone is old hat, and I must admit a certain ho-hum reaction to the Kindle for PC beta. It mostly seems like a really nice portal to the Kindle store – which I can actually get to with my browser already. On the plus side, it synchronizes my Kindle Kindle with my Kindle for PC – keeping my bookmarks, etc. However, this whole experiment seems somewhat backwards – since the Kindle Kindle was a way for me to get away from reading at my PC. Today, however, there was a posting on Wired about Amazon hinting at a future color Kindle. Now, color inside books (graphic novels not withstanding) is pretty rare and very expensive for the publisher. Maybe a map or a few plates, but real color is not coming to the inside of print novels anytime soon. That said, the picture clearly shows Pooh Bear in color on a Kindle for PC. Marketing hype? Prognostication from beyond? You decide – I’m going to bed.

Another Hat In the Ring? Barnes & Noble’s Nook

An article in Wired last week showed us the first pictures of the Nook – Barnes & Noble’s entry into the hot eBook reader market. The Nook will obviously compete with the established leader, Amazon’s Kindle, and the upcoming Sony Reader Daily Edition – the first Sony device with wireless shopping. The Nook appears to be a first-class machine – it has the standard black-and-white display, wireless capability, etc. Instead of the Kindle keypad, it has a color touchscreen for added flexibility (and coolness). Like the Sony, the Nook supports EPUB formatted files – so your Trapdoor Books titles are set. This also means that you can read books from the Google Books Project. The “killer” advantage of the Nook is a “lending” feature for friends. You knew it was coming, but it will be interesting to see how the lending works. Never underestimate the value of viral sharing. While the device will be ready for the holidays, Barnes & Noble doesn’t have enough to stock them in their physical stores. So, you can play with them at the store, and then go home and order one via the internet. The irony isn’t lost on me that Barnes & Noble, the brick-and-mortar giant, is relying on an Amazon-like distribution for its products. All-in-all, this is very cool news. It seems like every electronics gadget needs about three major competitors to keep prices low and innovation high. Game consoles have Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo PlayStation 3, and Sony Wii. We have Amazon, Sony and now Barnes & Noble. Let the games begin.

Burning the School Library

It is a snowy Wednesday afternoon in Colorado – just in time for Halloween! For those who called about our website being slightly askew, don’t panic. We rolled the Books page into production this afternoon. So, there was a momentary hiccup. The next phase is the introduction of the shopping cart – hopefully by week’s end. Lots of testing left on that front, but it will be great to be able to – gasp – sell books. There are several old news clippings that I wanted to comment on today and tomorrow. The first was an article that appeared in that news giant, USA Today, a couple of days ago. It concerned the Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass. The school has decided to get rid of its 20,000 volume library and go digital. Academic research is done via laptop computer via 13 databases subscribed to by the school. Literature? Check out one of 65 Kindles circulating like library books. The old circulation desk? It’s a coffee bar. The old books? Donated. The argument for this radical move? Well, the digital library now has millions of volumes. The argument against? For me, it is just hard to take notes on my Kindle, although that technology will improve. Let’s just hope that when the technology does change, poor Cushing Academy doesn’t end up with a library full of 5-1/4” floppy disks, VCR tapes, … well, you get the idea. It’s a brave new world.

The Magician of Lhasa Cover Revealed

It’s a busy Monday around the office, but I wanted to give y’all a sneak peak at the cover of our first title, The Magician of Lhasa. The wonderful cover design is by Sue Campbell. Here’s a teaser for the book to pique your interest. Pre-sales will start very soon, so keep checking back. A novice monk. A quantum scientist. An ancient secret. When novice monk Tenzin Dorje is told by his lama that the Red Army is invading Tibet, his country’s darkest moment paradoxically gives him a sense of purpose like no other. He accepts a mission to carry two ancient, secret texts across the Himalayas to safety. Half a century later, in a paradox of similarly troubling circumstances, Matt Lester is called upon to convey his own particular wisdom as a scientist, when Lester’s nanotech project is mysteriously moved from London to a research incubator in Los Angeles. Tenzin and Matt embark on parallel adventures which have spine-chilling connections. Tenzin’s perilous journey through the Himalayas, amid increasing physical hardship and the ever-present horror of Red Army capture, is mirrored by Matt’s contemporary, but no less traumatic challenges, as his passionate relationship with his fiancée, Isabella, and his high flying career undergo escalating crises. It is at the moment when both Tenzin and Matt face catastrophe that their stories converge, spectacularly transforming our understanding of all that has gone before.

The Arms Race: DOJ to Investigate Book Price War?

This is a very interesting article from the American Booksellers Association.   I am posting it in its full glory straight from the ABA website. This is a follow-up from my post earlier this week. I would love to get your thoughts. The Board of Directors of the American Booksellers Association today sent the following letter to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting that it investigate practices by Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target that it believes constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. The letter reads: We are writing on behalf of the American Booksellers Association, a 109-year-old trade organization representing the nation's locally owned, independent booksellers. A core part of our mission is devoted to making books as widely available to American consumers as possible. We ask that the Department of Justice investigate practices by Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target that we believe constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. We are requesting a meeting with you to discuss this urgent issue at your earliest possible opportunity. As reported in the consumer and trade press this past week, Amazon.com, WalMart.com, and Target.com have engaged in a price war in the pre-sale of new hardcover bestsellers, including books from John Grisham, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, Sarah Palin, and James Patterson. These books typically retail for between $25 and $35. As of writing of this letter, all three competitors are selling these and other titles for between $8.98 and $9.00. Publishers sell these books to retailers at 45% - 50% off the suggested list price. For example, a $35 book, such as Mr. King's Under the Dome, costs a retailer $17.50 or more. News reports suggest that publishers are not offering special terms to these big box retailers, and that the retailers are, in fact, taking orders for these books at prices far below cost. (In the case of Mr. King's book, these retailers are losing as much as $8.50 on each unit sold.) We believe that Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are using these predatory pricing practices to attempt to win control of the market for hardcover bestsellers. It's important to note that the book industry is unlike other retail sectors. Clothing, jewelry, appliances, and other commercial goods are typically sold at a net price, leaving the seller free to determine the retail price and the margin these products will earn. Because publishers print list prices indelibly on jacket covers, and because books are sold at a discount off that retail price, there is a ceiling on the amount of margin a book retailer can earn. The suggested list price set by the publisher reflects manufacturing costs -- acquisition, editing, marketing, printing, binding, shipping, etc. -- which vary significantly from book to book. By selling each of these titles below the cost these retailers pay to the publishers, and at the same price as each other, and at the same price as all other titles in these pricing schemes, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are devaluing the very concept of the book. Authors and publishers, and ultimately consumers, stand to lose a great deal if this practice continues and/or grows. What's so troubling in the current situation is that none of the companies involved are engaged primarily in the sale of books. They're using our most important products -- mega bestsellers, which, ironically, are the most expensive books for publishers to bring to market -- as a loss leader to attract customers to buy other, more profitable merchandise. The entire book industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in this war. It's also important to note that this episode was precipitated by below-cost pricing of digital editions of new hardcover books by Amazon.com, many of those titles retailing for $9.99, and released simultaneously with the much higher-priced print editions. We believe the loss-leader pricing of digital content also bears scrutiny. While on the surface it may seem that these lower prices will encourage more reading and a greater sharing of ideas in the culture, the reality is quite the opposite. Consider this quote from Mr. Grisham's agent, David Gernert, that appeared in the New York Times: "If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over. If you can buy Stephen King's new novel or John Grisham's 'Ford County' for $10, why would you buy a brilliant first novel for $25? I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted best sellers take the consumer's attention away from emerging writers." For our members -- locally owned, independent bookstores -- the effect will be devastating. There is simply no way for ABA members to compete. The net result will be the closing of many independent bookstores, and a concentration of power in the book industry in very few hands. Bill Petrocelli, owner of Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, an ABA member, was also quoted in the New York Times: "You have a choke point where millions of writers are trying to reach millions of readers. But if it all has to go through a narrow funnel where there are only four or five buyers deciding what's going to get published, the business is in trouble." We would find these practices questionable were they taking place in the market for widgets. That they are taking place in the market for books is catastrophic. If left unchecked, these predatory pricing policies will devastate not only the book industry, but our collective ability to maintain a society where the widest range of ideas are always made available to the public, and will allow the few remaining mega booksellers to raise prices to consumers unchecked. We urge that the DOJ investigate and request an opportunity to come to Washington to discuss this at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, ABA Board of Directors

Trapdoor Closes Deal on World's First Buddhist Thriller: The Magician of Lhasa

A novice monk. A quantum scientist. An ancient secret.

Trapdoor Books is excited to have acquired the North American rights to The Magician of Lhasa, the world’s first Tibetan Buddhist thriller written by best-selling author David Michie. Michie has previously published three mysteries through Time Warner Books UK and is the author of the best-selling non-fiction titles Buddhism for Busy People and Hurry Up and Meditate. The Magician of Lhasa follows the converging stories of a lama and his novice monks fleeing the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959, with the relocation of a nanotechnologist from London to Los Angeles in current times. Trapdoor Books plan to publish in hardback, paperback and electronic formats simultaneously in November with pre-release sales beginning later this month. Chris Matney, Publisher at Trapdoor Books says: “We are thrilled to have The Magician of Lhasa as one of our first titles. It’s a brilliantly crafted work targeted directly at our audience. Michie is not only a seasoned thriller writer, he introduces readers to some truly mind-bending concepts in the book, like the fascinating convergence between Tibetan Buddhism and quantum science. Readers looking for some intellectual stimulation along with a storyline that packs a punch, will find The Magician of Lhasa a dazzling read. Even the most curmudgeonly among our review panel were blown away by it.” Michie’s book Buddhism for Busy People has been published around the world and so far translated into eight different languages. A westerner who has been a practising Buddhist for over a decade, Michie has travelled in the remote Himalayas to study Buddhist temples and practices, and has been involved helping manage tour arrangements for the Dalai Lama.

It’s War: Amazon vs. Wal-Mart on Book Prices

On Friday, three readers all sent in links to the same article in the Wall Street Journal entitled Book Price War Escalates. In case you have been absorbed watching the child-trapped-in-a-balloon hoax here in Colorado and missed the story, here are the basics. Thursday, Wal-Mart began selling its ten most anticipated hardcover books for $10 each when pre-ordered on its web site. Hours later, Amazon matched the offer. Friday, Wal-Mart lowered its price to $9. Hours later, Amazon matched the offer. Late Friday afternoon, Wal-Mart staggered the world by lowering its price again to $8.99. What’s this all about and what are the long-term implications? This is about Wal-Mart wanting to establish an on-line retail presence like Amazon. Period. They are going to lose money on these books, but that’s fine. They are generating press, and they have deep enough pockets to eat a nice loss to get users comfortable with using their site. Amazon matching the prices is about wanting Wal-Mart to fail to establish a larger on-line retail presence. Period. They are going to lose money on these books and probably try to make it up on upselling buyers who take advantage of the offer. Other on-line retailers will probably sit back and watch, losing a bit of traffic in the fray. But, it is hard to subsidize a war between behemoths. This is not a sustainable war, but it makes sense in the short-term. If this gets buyers excited about books as gifts over the holidays – wonderful! Does this mark the end of hardback books over $10? Nope. There might be some downward pressure on prices, but, in the end, the margins have to be there for everybody in the chain – sometimes the price is just what it is.

Apple iTablet: Can Interactive Books Be Far Behind?

There have been postings across the internet recently about the rumored iTablet including an interesting article today in Wired entitled, In-App Sales and iTablet: The Killer Combo to Save Publishing? The main thrust of the article is about using the iTablet to save traditional newspapers and magazines – both form factors that can’t really be enjoyed on the current crop of e-book readers. However, the concept of putting an application in front of the newspaper, magazine or book is really what caught my imagination. The obvious play for publishers is to lure customers with a free app to get them hooked on the story – and then charge them for the book. In my mind, however, you could have a free iTablet game that requires a key from the book to unlock the last level, puzzles based on the novel, a podcast style reading of the book by the author to get an audience hooked, etc. There are a million ways to think of something multi-media that would get a reader’s attention. The slippery slope here is to not to make the marketing ideas into the book. I still don’t think that novels need to be less than 100 pages, filled with graphic content or multi-media enabled in order to tell a story that would interest modern readers. Like all technology, it can be used for good or evil. I guess time will tell. I see the iTablet as the potential next generation of e-book readers with a very strong ability to promote book sales. Are we entering a new “golden age” of journalism? Well, it’s all about the content. Look at a newspaper today and tell me what you think.

The Hot Gadget for Christmas 2009

It has been a grueling couple of days getting caught up from a long weekend, but I can finally see the bottom of my Inbox. We will be announcing our first two books and authors over the next few days, so the excitement is mounting here in Lyons. And speaking of mounting excitement, the industry reports on the adoption of e-books is expected to be three to four times what was predicted just a year ago. Wow. This might be the start of a revolution. If not, e-book readers are certainly on track to be “the” hot gadget for the holiday shopping season this year. First, we had news on October 6th that the Amazon was reducing the price of its Kindle reader to $249 and launching an international version (without wireless internet access). In case you’re curious Kindles have a 60% market share right now. Even Jeff Bezos says that the increase in percentage of e-books sold (48% of all book sold) is accelerating faster than expected. Then, on October 12th came an announcement from Sony that its new e-Reader has dropped in price to $199. With fewer current blockbuster titles, Sony is banking on readers being able to check-out library books and scanned classics. Sony e-Readers have a 35% market share currently. Still, people are clambering for $125, $99 e-book readers. Can they be far behind? Today, leaked photos of the Barnes & Noble e-book reader surfaced in a Wired Gadget Lab posting. The big selling point is an LCD touch-capable screen. It has a wireless connection, so it clearly is looking to leapfrog the Kindle. The picture shows the "leaked" photo. The winner? Readers – hopefully – who will get to enjoy their favorite books with whatever flavor of e-book reader they like. Put one of these (and a few Trapdoor titles on your Christmas list this year).

Trapdoor Books Community Launching

It is a busy Tuesday here at Trapdoor Books. The big excitement around the office is the launch of the Trapdoor Books Community page. Now, we are a long ways from being another Facebooks, but everybody has to start somewhere.  The community is the heart of Trapdoor Books. It is what differentiates us from the large, corporate sites. We encourage the free exchange of ideas and seek to involve our authors, readers, friends and staff in an immersive conversation about what moves us. Whether you are interested in posting an occasional blog comment or are seeking to become a serious reader or full-time editor, we whole-heartedly welcome you to the community. Joining the community is simple and free – it takes less time than making a cup of coffee. Email me at cmatney@trapdoorbooks.com to discuss how you want to participate in the Trapdoor Books community.

Maybe I Shouldn’t Be Blogging…

I started the week with a blog about Banned Books Week, and I thought it would be appropriate to end the celebration in the same manner. The map is the site of documented attempts to ban books from 2007-2009. I’m not sure what you can draw from this. I just like maps. My comments today, however, aren’t about banning books. They are about banning blogging. The Huffington Post ran an article entitled Bound and Gagged: Publishers Remain Silent on Wednesday. It seems the HuffPost is starting a new Books section blog, inviting industry types to join. Interestingly, almost none of the employees of large publishers accepted. Independent booksellers = yes. New model publishers = yes. Cutting edge publicists = yes. All the big guys combined? One from Penguin as an editor only and one lone blogger from HarperCollins. Weird, huh? Now, there are quite a few anonymous bloggers on publishing out there on the internet (some of which have to be from the big guys), but the kibosh is on for named publishing blogging. As the article asks, what better way to “start a productive conversation that might lead to a great exchange of ideas, and maybe even change how things are done for the better?” We agree. In fact, the irony is that we are very close to getting the Community rolled into production - allowing our authors and readers to blog.  I guess time will tell whether blogging about the publishing industry is a smart thing to do.

September 31 ???

I am huge fan of the Twilight Zone. Sometimes I can’t escape the feeling that I am living in a snow globe – somebody comes along and gives everything a good shake and then the audience goes “ooh, aah”. Actually, I was thinking about snow globes because of a Wired article about yet-another-banned-item-for-airports. Yes, the ever-so-dangerous snow globe has been put on the banned list. Of course, we know that the real culprit here is glitter, but that’s another story. My Twilight Zone day, however, started with trying to do this post. My WordPress calendar informed me that today was September 31. Hmmm. Since I couldn’t believe that in this day and age programmers don’t know the rhyme, “Thirty days has September, April, June and November…" Heck, it’s even the first month mentioned. Then, it struck me how nice it would be to have an extra day slipped into the week. Nobody would know about it, so it would be free. Maybe I’ll have a beer and check back in on September 32. A Trapdoor Reader, Ross Kay, however, made my day. He has started a Trapdoor Books Fan page on Facebook. I’ll put the links to the site up once the Community launches. But, hey, that’s pretty cool. Here is the link. Of course, we only have me and Ross as fans right now. You KNOW what that means, right? Well, given that I’m not sure if my September 31 post will work, I’ll sign off. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a free day too.

“I’ve never read anything like that before.”

Those words are what I’m hoping to hear from our readers as our first few titles roll off the presses. In talking with one of our readers the other day, the phrase “this isn’t classic geek fiction” came up. It took me some time to process the comment. In order to provide a new, unique experience for our readers, I’m not sure that we will ever completely define classic geek fiction. The discussion fired a few neurons on a story that I read last week, a wonderful article by Toby Litt in the NewStatesman entitled Out of This Word. The post talks about current science fiction and the tendency for many mainstream novels to be “a bit like 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968) or …” You get the idea. Even Star Trek provides us with a comfortable view of speculative fiction – with a future that relies entirely on familiarity. Mr. Litt complains that the future imagined by contemporary writers is “just too damn tasteful.” I agree with the statement from Nicholas Bourriaud in his book Postproduction, “Since the early 1990s, an ever-increasing number of artworks have been created on the basis of pre-existing works; more and more artists interpret, reproduce, re-exhibit, or use works made by others … working with objects that are already in circulation on the cultural market.” While I like the latest Dan Brown thriller as much as the next reader, our vision of geek fiction is to break these pre-conceived ideas and expand formulaic genres. However, breaking the mold isn’t as easy as it sounds. Consider writers who lived on the edge of their current world of fiction – Philip K. Dick and Stanislaw Lem to name two. They wrote some jewels – Lem’s Solaris being a personal favorite of mine. Oh, but they wrote some clunkers – books that are bad even by today’s standards. It certainly wasn’t from a lack of talent. Mr. Litt comments that “one of the defining characteristics of Dick’s work is how embarrassing it is.” In pushing the boundaries, not every attempt is going to be great. But pioneer writers (think William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, etc.) are remembered and revered for moving fiction forward. I'm hoping Trapdoor Books does the same.

Publishing on Speed

On a personal level, I have found caffeine to be a wonderful way to ramp up to speed in the morning. However, publishing is traditionally a brutally slow process. I have often wondered, echoed by many writers, why it takes nine months to make a book – and that’s after it takes a year to write it. One of our concepts at Trapdoor Books is to cut that time by, well, at least half. However, we aren’t the only publisher thinking this way. The New York Times reported today that Tina Brown is out to do the same thing with her new imprint, Beast Books. Now, Ms. Brown is looking to publish very short 40,000 word titles that will first appear as e-Books. The books would be topical – thus the need for speed – and focus on non-fiction titles. However, she is expecting to cut writing time to less than three months and publishing time to one month. See, it can be done! While some of you may worry that this revolution will lead to shorter and shorter novels with less plot and superficial characters, I think this is wonderful news. It shows a major publisher deciding to break with tradition to try a new approach. I stick by my guns that quality literature will continue to shine – whether that means a renaissance for novellas or the serialization of novels into smaller chunks to fit the form factor of the modern reader. I will be watching the progress of Beast Books with a cup of coffee in my hand and an eye on the stopwatch. Good luck, Ms. Brown.

Celebrating Banned Books Week

In a way, it is sad that we have to have a special celebration for the freedom to read books and enjoy our First Amendment rights – you would think that would be a daily occurrence kind of like drinking coffee. Sponsored by the American Library Association, Banned Books Weeks “highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted banning of books across the United States.” To read the story and see what the hoopla is about, check out the ALA website. Since you already know where I stand on censorship, I will let this amusing YouTube video from last year’s Banned Books Week about saving The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn do my talking.

Calling All Cover and Layout Artists!

It's a stormy Friday afternoon at Trapdoor Books, and I am ready for a nice long weekend of reading. A couple of weeks ago, we acquired our first manuscripts, and they are now comfortably resting in the hands of our editors. Currently, we are looking for additional contractors to provide two critical services. First, we are looking for a layout artist – primarily a typographer who understands the intricacies of traditional paper book formatting as well as new electronic formats. In addition to providing hardback and paperback books, we will be providing electronic files for Kindle (azw), Sony (Epub), B&N (pdb) and Mobi e-readers. We will also be determining the DRM schemes for Trapdoor Books. So, if this sounds like fun to you, drop me an email and we can chat. Second, we are looking for cover artists who are interested in submitting their work for consideration. The goal is to publish a very wide variety of books, so flexibility is a key attribute in working with Trapdoor Books. Any experience with book cover design is a huge plus. If you are interested, send along a link to your website or attach a few examples to an email. We would love to hear from you. Well, today’s blog ended up being a job posting. I guess that’s fitting for a new company. Have a great weekend.

The Goodness of Google Books

Wired posted an interesting article today entitled, A Writer’s Plea: Figure Out How to Preserve Google Books by Alexis Madrigal. In it, Mr. Madrigal argues that the underlying research value of having books electronically available vastly outweighs the privacy, competitive and profit issues. Thinking back on my college days, the Rice University archives, Fondren Library, was an outstanding resource by all academic standards. I spent many happy hours there studying and browsing the stacks. However, the time consuming nature of research meant pouring over books, sometimes for hours, to find a single passage which could be searched electronically in seconds today. It was not the most efficient way to find what you were looking for, although you would often find other material – that you would never have thought to search on – in those related tomes. Overall, however, I must agree with Mr. Madrigal. Not everyone has physical access to an outstanding university library or world-class research institute, and the research capabilities of Google Books are enormous. My only fear is the Wikipedia effect. Now, I use Wikipedia about, oh, a million times a week. It is a great resource for general information – a vastly superior version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. However, it is not definitive and it is definitely not academic research quality information. I imagine that the role of university libraries and librarians will change from being the keepers of the Rare Book Room key to the suppliers of verified, honest research information – electronic versions of key research papers and journals that will never make it into the mainstream. Does this make them less valuable? On the contrary, as information becomes more available, it is important that researchers have a place to go to get the latest, definitive works in their area of study. As to Google Books – I’m not sure that Google is the best keeper of academic research material. It’s fine for novels and general interest materials, but I will be surprised if they are willing to move into the erudite, often unprofitable business of academic publishing.

Autumn Colors in Lyons

As I have been plowing through emails and piles of unanswered correspondence today, I thought that I would take a minute to change my focal length. I must admit that I tend to hyperfocus on the computer screen, a very bad habit which my wife is constantly trying to break. It is dark and cloudy here, a dramatic change from last weekend. The mountains are covered with a new blanket of snow, thanks to a storm that passed through on Monday. I was hoping for some of the white stuff in Lyons, but cold rain was about as good as it got, weather-wise. Speaking of focal lengths, we did take a quick drive through the mountains last Sunday to see the fall colors on the Peak to Peak Highway. I snapped this photo at one of our favorite overlooks. The yellow aspen groves streaked with of red and orange is both a comforting reminder of the seasons here in Colorado, and a reminder that the clock is ticking towards our first books rolling off the printing press. We have made remarkable progress in five months, but there are so many things left to do.

Victory for Libraries

As most of you know, Trapdoor Books is supporting local libraries through its Library Grant Program. So, we were delighted to see that the Pennsylvania legislature avoided their Plan C budget scenario which called for closing all public 54 libraries in Philadelphia and firing all the staff. The vote was 32 to 17. I’m curious about those 17 that voted to kill literacy, but a victory is a victory. Huzzah. Now, I’m sure that there were lots of other city items in the bill, enough pork to start a farm, but just the idea of shutting down libraries – even temporarily as a political game – is unthinkable. See this BoingBoing post for the entire thread. In the theme of libraries, there is a great item available from etsy for the librarian in your family - a usable and wearable miniature library. Yes, the eleven little books are filled with Strathmore drawing paper and the bindings are antique leather scraps. You can write, draw and look cool all at the same time. Trapdoor Books will not be publishing in micro-library format, however.

Screaming Advertisements in Magazines and Books? Literally!

The BBC aired an interesting piece the other day on the use of little paper video screen pages inside of magazines which show advertisements. These are complete with live-action video and sound. I guess that we have had musical greeting cards for years, so why not? The screens are about the size of a mobile phone display and can hold up to 40 minutes of video. Novelty? Yes. A glimpse into the crystal ball of the future? Maybe. Like all technological advancements, this one could be used for good or evil. It would nice to see an instructional video insert in the manual of my next DVD recorder showing how easy it is to hook up the 150 basic connections. How about opening up an Ace bandage and seeing instructions on how to properly wrap a twisted ankle? The possibilities are endless. However, it would be annoying to walk down the magazine aisle at the supermarket and be blasted by hundreds of advertisements from partially opened periodicals. I guess time will tell. I have been thinking about our electronic distribution of Trapdoor Books titles quite a bit lately. I have asked several of my colleagues whether they would prefer to buy a Kindle book at $10 or download a free Kindle book that has several advertisements in it. The idea is that the advertisements would offset the lost revenue for the publisher and author. Interestingly, several defiantly said, “no advertising”. A surprising number were intrigued by the concept – with varying enthusiasm based on how annoying and disruptive they imagined the advertising would be to their reading experience. Now, I’m not saying that Trapdoor Books is going down that path; it’s just nice to know the options.

Trapdoor Books Gets a Facelift

Several of you have commented about my lack of posts recently. Well, let me assure you, gentle reader, I have not been off sipping a Mai Tai under the palm trees. Actually, I prefer a nice Scotch to drinks with umbrellas, but that's another story. Activity in the halls of Trapdoor Books is at a fevered pitch, and we have a number of announcements which I am busting to spill. Tonight, we will be switching over to a new website. This mostly has a new look-and-feel. The long-anticipated Community, Author and Book pages will be coming shortly afterwards as well as our e-commerce functionality. A shopping cart? This means that we will have something to sell in the near future. See, I told you that there are lots of exciting things happening here. During the transition, you might experience availability issues with trapdoorbooks.com. This shouldn't last more than 48 hours as the new web address gets propagated around the DNS universe. Also, emails might be slightly disrupted this evening - for those who like to communicate with me late at night. But, pardon the dust; I think you will like the new site.

Are You Ready: Digi-Novels or Reading Retro-Style?

Our local TV station ran an interview on the news yesterday that my wife recorded about Anthony Zuiker's new digi-novel, Level 26: Dark Origins. The story is a spinoff of the TV show CSI. But, it's not the content that caught my wife's eye. What's a digi-novel? Well, I did a bit a research and it is kind of a cool concept - although the proof will definitely be in the story. Here's how it works. You read a chapter of a book retro-style turning paper pages or hitting the "Next Page" button on your Kindle. (Notice that reading an e-book is already retro?). Then, at the end of the chapter, you log onto the digi-novel's website (using a code from the book) and watch a two minute video clip that transitions to the next chapter. These are called "cyber-bridges" and there will be twenty of them (one every five chapters). Afterwards, there will be some interactive puzzles for would-be crime solvers and a community chat room for those who want to discuss how they would have ended the book. Penguin has shelled out millions for the rights to publish Mr. Zuiker's ideas under its Dutton imprint, so I'm not sure that this is an avenue that Trapdoor Books will be pursuing in the near future - although, I like the idea of the digi-novel with one big provision. The book still has to stand on its own - it still has to be a good story. As a supplement to the novel, it is great. As a replacement for good writing - no thank you. Now, I haven't read Mr. Zuiker's other novels, and I'm not a fan of his TV series CSI. It's not that I don't like CSI, I just have never been compelled to watch. Maybe this will win me over. Here is the trailer for the novel. Wow, that is kind of a weird concept in itself. Here is an article by Reuters on the project. Novels, websites and movies coming together - how's that for a 21st century idea?

Is Google Big Brother? Better Watch What You Read

There are a number of articles circulating around the web today about the Google Book Search program. Now, I have blogged on this topic before, but the case is taking a predictable, although interesting turn. As a quick recap of the program, Google wants to scan every book ever published into an e-book that can be read and sold online. As of April, the company was at 7 million books and counting. Now, this includes books that are currently being published - scanning, indexing them, and showing snippets online is protected under the Fair Use doctrine. If the book is still for sale, Google will give you a link to buy it. If not, you can buy it from Google. There are three major problems with this approach. First, Google is selling its advertising next to currently-published books. So, if you search on "Harry Potter", Google makes a fraction of a penny from the advertiser who is paying to put up their annoying banner on the page. The problem is that the author and publisher are not getting their fraction of a fraction of a penny from this. A big lawsuit was settled in 2007 that set up the Book Rights Registry to deal with this issue - insuring that, if the rights holder can be found, they get their money. Cool. Second, in many, many cases (read 5 million of the 7 million books) the rights holders cannot be found. Normally, if Google didn't get their permission to include the book in the project, Google would get fined $150,000 if the owner surfaces and sues. So, Google has asked the government to give them (and them alone) an exemption from prosecution. If an author doesn't know to go to the Book Rights Registry by tomorrow (September 9, 2009), they are forfeiting their rights to sue Google. If approved, this decision by the government will create a monopoly which has worked so well for the phone companies, cable companies.... This is still an active issue with Google's competitors heading the opposition - Microsoft, Amazon and Yahoo to name a few. The final issue, and the one that is just rearing its ugly head, is that Google sells your private information to whomever for a few bucks. Their new privacy statement (published yesterday) promises that your information is now protected. In a post to Wired, the president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center disagrees, "Even if Google would write it in blood, there is still the obvious problem that when the government comes knocking the policy doesn't mean anything." Google routinely ties your search requests to your name, credit card information, IP address, etc. and keeps this data for years. In the case of the Google Book Search Program that includes what books you are reading. Hello, big brother. Now, the American Civil Liberties Union has joined the fray. They don't like the idea of Google keeping a "digital dossier" of what we read either. The latest developments are detailed in another Wired article from today, and it looks like the October 7 showdown in court will be an interesting one. BTW, here is a great summary of the entire project.

Disney and Marvel: Bubbling Aunt Meets Brooding Uncle

It has been zany around here the last few days. I apologize for all those unanswered emails, but we are finishing up marketing plans, website plans, and contract changes. Even my blogging has been a bit sporadic lately. I have a few partially finished rants that I will try to get posted today and tomorrow. I expect the zaniness to continue for a couple more weeks, as the first manuscripts move into pre-press. Keep watching this space. A couple of you asked me about the Disney acquisition of Marvel yesterday. I felt like I was back in my industry analyst role. My first reaction was, like geeks everywhere, one of horror. As I have posted before, I am not one of the great comic book readers of all time. However, good comic books have, at their heart, interesting heroes with deep and tragic flaws - a dark side that oftentimes reflects on society. I never felt that a Marvel comic book was synthesized for mass-market appeal (although I'm sure there are good examples). Disney, on the other hand, can crank out mindless fun like it's nobody's business. I own a number of Disney films and certainly can't fault them for production values. Their films are great for kids, although it is rare that one really hits home for adults. Overall, the acquisition is like that strange marriage between your happy, bubbling aunt and your dark, brooding uncle. The marriage may work, even if you can't see how the two ever got together. And, on some days, you might want to visit your aunt and on others you might invite your uncle over for drinks. As to the ongoing Marvel business, there is both hope and fear. The hope is that Disney will leave Marvel completely alone - using the richness of its library to fill hundreds of mindless kiddie shows on television and the theater, but allowing hard-core comic fans to enjoy their art unmolested. The fear is that Disney will showcase its penchant for censorship to rip the soul from some of the most beloved characters in literature - making them Barney for all ages. If the former happens, fine. I can always decide NOT to go to the movies. If the latter happens, then this will be a day of mourning for geeks everywhere. As to my bet, Disney didn't buy Marvel for nostalgia. They paid $4B dollars, so they must really want the rights to the materials for their children's factory. I'm going to bet that the traditional comic side will, in the short-term, get the Pixar treatment and be left somewhat alone. However, somewhere down the line, some Disney executive is going to forget this concept, pitch A Pup Named Scooby Doo for The Hulk and it will all be over. The best hope for the future of Marvel is that the geniuses behind the scenes will hold their ground and fight for the tradition.

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

Several days ago, I blogged about books that are imitations of other stories usually described best by a one-sentence elevator blurb - "the X-Files' Lone Gunmen meets John Grisham", for example. While I tried to establish the caveat that the ultimate success of these books is really based on the plot, characters and skill of the writer, several of you commented that I was being particularly harsh. So, today I wanted to review a book that falls into this category that I really enjoyed. The Camel Club by David Baldacci introduces us to four harmless but obsessed conspiracy theory enthusiasts that meet secretly on Roosevelt Island in the Potomac River every month to discuss their latest findings as they watchdog the American government and rail against "the man". Imagine the chaos when they actually witness the killing of a real Secret Service agent on the island. Mr. Baldacci does a wonderful job pulling us along with a plot that could only come from the minds of four individuals too paranoid to simply pick up the phone and dial 911. So, why does the book work? First of all, the characters in the club are wonderful old codgers: Oliver Stone (an alias), Caleb Shaw, Reuben Rhodes and Milton Farb have deep personalities and enough idiosyncrasies to make them interesting. Far from one dimensional, they rail against their situation even as they compulsively do what any good conspiracy theorist must. As allies, the club recruits Secret Service Agent Alex Ford and Department of Justice lawyer-turned-bartender Kate Adams. The characters twist and turn and play well off of each other in believable and sometimes maddening ways. The plot of The Camel Club is wild. It's a political thriller - not political science. Focusing on the tensions of the CIA, FBI, NSA, etc. having to work together in a post 9/11 world, the layers of complexity, misdirection and deceit are plausible with only a slight suspension of disbelief. The Arab terrorist angle is timely, but is well enough hidden in the murk as to not get in the way. Overall, there are a wonderful number of subplots and red herrings. I like having to figure out what is going on as the book unfolds. In short, you will keep turning the pages late into the night. You won't exit the book with a PhD, but you will be entertained. At least I was. So, can a book described as "the X-Files' Lone Gunmen meets John Grisham" work? In this case, yes. In the hands of a skilled writer, anything is possible.

Leap-frogging the Kindle?

In preparation for the upcoming launch of our first titles, I have been doing research into the different e-book readers and file formats. With over 30 e-book readers already on the market, you can imagine my joy at Sony's announcement this morning in Wired of its Reader Daily Edition. Actually, it looks like a pretty cool gadget - perfectly timed for Christmas. The new Sony e-book reader should challenge the Kindle nicely. Some of the features are just catch-ups (i.e., wireless connectivity), but other features are really new like the touchscreen and Library Finder - software that will allow users to borrow e-books from their local libraries for free. In the end, my personal bet is that the real winner will be you, the reader. With a number of manufacturers going after the market, we should see some pretty whiz-bang stuff coming out over the next few years. The biggest hurdle - the one that killed Betamax - will be if publishers are forced to have their titles available on one platform or the other. Oh, and there is still the possibility that the courts will short-sightedly reward all public domain and orphan books to one vendor. But, barring this stupidity, as long as Trapdoor Books can publish its titles on all e-book readers, then we can live with having to support the current 27 file formats. Well, okay, this is a bit of a problem. Twenty-seven formats are too many. I suspect that this will get pared down to three or four eventually. We will have an "open" format with no DRM protection and a couple of proprietary formats - one from Adobe that is DRM-protected but readable by all players and several DRM-protected formats that are platform specific. In the end, however, it shouldn't matter to the end user. My advice to the manufacturers is always the same - make it simple. If you are interested, here is a great link that shows a side-by-side comparison of the current lot of e-book readers. As to our supported formats, it looks like Epub, .mobi, PDF, Kindle .azw, , Sony LRF, and Palm PDB are in the running. Of course, our goal is to provide content in whatever format our readers demand. Special orders don't upset us. My current challenge is finding graphic designers who have book layout experience in both paper and electronic formats. If you know someone, send them along.

Beneath the Planet of the Sequels

It is interesting that a number of readers seem more interested to know what books I don't like than stories I think are wonderful. I have blogged before about the systemic problem with assuming that every story can be made into a trilogy or series. From a publisher's perspective, this approach allows the first book in a series to be a loss leader while hooking readers into a successful formula. There are some characters and stories that are perfect for serialization - I can't imagine the world without the literary greatness of Sherlock Holmes. However, many, many books are poorly sequelized, imitated or transformed. In general, it is a bad assumption that every successful book deserves a curtain call - slowly fading applause until the theater is empty. An astute reader sent a wonderful blog from Sarah Baxter at Slate entitled Is It Time To Burn This Book? When Fahrenheit 451 becomes a comic book, it's time to worry. Now, I have blogged several times on movie adaptations that fall well short of the original book. And I'm not sure how well the classics will translate into comic books either - as descriptive prose is hacked into dialog and cut scene illustrations. The irony here, however, is just too perfect. The article reminds us that in Fahrenheit 451, "comic books are the only books shallow enough to go unburned." In Bradbury's view, "books are cut shorter to condensations, digests, tabloids - one column, two sentences, a headline. Then, in mid-air, all vanishes!" Now, I love comic books as much as the next baby boomer - ah, spending too many summer afternoons reading the adventures of the Green Lantern - but this transformation is an odd one at best. I have blogged several times on good books turned into bad movies, and my rants about mindless sequels should be clear - although there have been well-done examples in both categories. My review today is about another category of fiction which has a bad reputation, and sometimes deservedly so, the imitation. Sometimes when I read a book, I can almost hear the elevator pitch to the publisher, "it's like James Bond meets The Da Vinci Code". Now, this is a slippery slope. I love fantasy books, for instance. One of my earliest reading memories is plowing through Tolkien - several times over the course of a long childhood summer. Then, I read The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. To some, this is just imitation - to others it started the fantasy genre. In the end, the book must stand on its own merits - the depth of the characters, the richness of the story, and the skill of the author. My review today is of The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry. It is a thriller based around ex-spy Cotton Malone - a man desperately trying to crank down his life into that of a humble antique bookseller. As the story unfolds, we learn that Cotton has knowledge of the legendary Library of Alexandria - and the bad guys want that information. His son is kidnapped, throwing Cotton and his ex-wife together, hopping around the globe to save the boy and protect the secret long-held by an ancient society - a secret which, if revealed, could tear apart Israel's claim to the Middle East. Hmm. It sounds like James Bond meets The Da Vinci Code, eh? Published six months after The Da Vinci Code movie and a month after Casino Royale debuted. On one level, The Alexandria Link is a fun romp. If you can completely suspend your disbelief; ignore the massive gaps in logic, politics and geography; and just keep turning the pages - then, you have a fun couple of hours in the airport or on a long drive across Kansas. However, the plot is a bit too predictable, the characters a bit too shallow, and entire book a bit too formulaic to work for me. While Mr. Berry clearly has talent for writing a thriller, I am looking for more imagination and challenge for my reading dollar.

"All your base are belong to us"

You are probably either scratching your head about today's title or chuckling quietly to yourself. The reference is from the internet phenomenon that surfaced in 2000-2002 mocking the poor translation of the game Zero Wing from Japanese to English. The reference appeared in music, videos, clothing and the general press for months. So, what does this have to do with anything? Well, it illustrates two points. First, it shows the power of the word of mouth shouted into the megaphone we call the internet. Not everything that catches on is a carefully planned marketing catchphrase. Second, and more on topic, it was the mantra of a niche of gamer geeks for several years. I have been thinking quite a bit about Trapdoor Books' role as niche publisher vs. the generalized approach of the major publishing houses. Part of my excitement is borne from the marketing plans that are being pounded out for our first few novels. We are very specifically looking to target those books to the appropriate audience. Trapdoor Books titles will not appeal to all readers - and we don't want them to. What we are looking to do is provide an excellent story that will appeal to our readers - an established, focused, core readership. There was a great blog about this topic sent in by one of our community members the other day entitled, More evidence that the general trade business is getting harder. The article mentions an observation by Boyd Tonkin of the UK Independent. Mr. Tonkin discusses the collapse of salaries for well-known authors since the heydays of the 1980's. He makes some wonderful points about the rite of passage for literary giants who worked "day jobs" to satisfy their literary goals. Mike Shatzkin, the blog author, begins his discussion by noting that the book publishing industry must shift from the horizontal to the vertical. His advice: "you must focus, you must specialize in niches so that you own vertical audiences." I whole-heartedly agree. What I don't agree with is the tenet that such a move is a death knell for literary fiction. In fact, I expect that we will see small, niche science fiction publishers that must distinguish themselves from Tor, for example, by publishing a better-told story, more richly developed characters - in short, better science fiction. The blog also references Tom Matlack's article Book Publishing: Death or Rebirth?. It also supports the idea of niche publishers - this time through Mr. Matlack's own tale of trying to get his book published - first-person stories by men about manhood. Rejected fifty times, he is skipping traditional publishers altogether - eschewing that he will be able to find readers who specifically want to read this type of book. Of course, Mr. Matlack has the resources to hire an all-star team of experts (editor, book designer, lawyer, photographer, web designer, etc.), so I'm not sure that he represents your typical James Joyce scenario. But, the overall conclusion is the same - a vertical approach to publishing is replacing the traditional horizontal approach. In the end, the winners in this transformation will be those publishers that can establish a solid reputation and a clear understanding of their readers. Just remember, "all your base are belong to us."

The Point of Know Return

No, this is not a rambling about the classic Kansas song - which I did hear on our 1980's rock drive across the Sunflower State last weekend. I had an interesting discussion the other day with several friends. The question that I posed was, "at what point have you invested so much time into reading a novel that you will finish it no matter what?" The context for the question is that, as a publisher, I want to allow readers a good sampling of a book before they commit to buying it. A chapter? Several chapters? Half the book? The other side of this equation is that once a reader has reached this point of know return - when you have to flip to the next page - the process should be trivial to sell them the book. Now, Cory Doctorow posted in The Guardian a couple of days ago that you should give the entire e-book away - and readers will come back for printed copies. This actually makes some sense if e-books were to include commercials and other means for authors and publishers to make money. Otherwise, Stephen King's experiment with free, serialized giveaways proves this is not yet economically feasible. My wife was watching one of the those talent shows on television the other night, and inertia overcame me - so I sat there and watched four or five insipid acts vying to move on to the finals. All of a sudden, the show ended, and I was informed that I would have to tune in tomorrow to find out the results. Well, I wasn't hooked, so I never bothered to find out who won. The same might be true of a book. Even if you gave away 90% of the story for free, readers might not buy the ending. E-books would be easy to solve the problem of instantaneous gratification for readers who have reached the point of know return and want to buy the last few chapters. A button at the end of the last free chapter could prompt the reader to "Buy Now" and auto-magically have the remaining text appear. The one caveat that I would require:  a warning should be printed in BIG, BOLD letters in 42-point font that the book you are reading is not complete unless you purchase the last few chapters. It really annoyed me the other day to have the talent show end without resolution. The other concept on the table is that of the background story novella, which would be given away in its entirety for free - to generate interest in the book. However, there is a cost to doing this for the author, and some stories don't really lend themselves to this type of marketing. This would eliminate needing to give chapters or parts of a book away for free, however. In the end, I find that I will give a book about an hour's worth of time before reaching the point of know return. I would love to get your thoughts. Please Note: This blog is free in its entirety. If you send me money, I might add a snappy ending, however.

Legal Humor?

It has been a long three days for me. One of the reasons for this is that Trapdoor Books is finalizing its printing and distribution channel contracts, setting up its accounting infrastructure, and trying to get our lawyers to come up with a fair contract for both the writers and us. In short, I have spent a few too many hours on legal and tax documents. Now, I realize these are important - having started a business that eventually sold software and delivered services across the globe - it is nice to avoid some of the mistakes of the past. And, I am a very thorough person. But, I don't want to hear the words "herein" or "thereof" for a couple of days. On the lighter side of the law, there was a posting on BoingBoing today that pointed to Chip Rowe's column Don't Blame Me. It is a very funny look at the absurdity of legal claims made in America. Here are a few classics. "A student who fell from a window while mooning passersby sued the university because it hadn't posted a caution sign." "An elderly woman who injured her hands while trying to turn on the lights demanded the maker of the Clapper give her $50,000." And even our industry is not immune. "A well-known romance writer, accused of plagiarism, blamed an unnamed ‘psychological problem I never even suspected I had'" for her crime. Ironically, she won the case. Even more ironically, she is still cranking out romance novels. It just goes to show you that a) herein, you can't protect yourself legally from everything that happens (although the last three days seem to try) and b) the spirit of the law, or the lack thereof, is a problem for many Americans. Now, I need to find a nice cold beer and a good book to read.

Do Not Adjust Your Set. We Control the Transmission...

TechCruch posted an interesting story about the movie industry that made me sigh - in that frustrated why-does-the-consumer-always-have-to-lose sort of way - and then it got me thinking about how books are released to the public. The article is entitled, The Movie Studios Have A Great Idea To Ramp Up Piracy. And Blockbuster Wants To Help., and it presents the newest brainchild of 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Brothers. The idea is simple. They will delay movie releases to Redbox and Netflix by 30 days and force consumers to go to Blockbuster to get recently-released DVDs. Now, I spent a lovely flight from Denver to Los Angeles next to the CEO (now ex-CEO) of Blockbuster. I remember our discussion vividly - partly because I usually sit next to less-than-interesting passengers, but mostly because the then-CEO of Blockbuster was clueless. He claimed that DVDs were a fad. This was long after I had bought a new player for myself and my parents. What?!? I presented my case about superior sound, picture, search, etc. I told him that I had already ejected all VCR tapes and players from the house. But, he was steadfast at digging in his heels - "do you know what it would cost to redo our shelving?" Given the less-than-stellar brainpower behind Blockbuster, I can see why they have managed to miss all the technology advances and changes in customer habits for the last several decades. I can also see why their business model is tanking. However, I can't possibly see the movie studios lining up for this mistake. For print books, the challenges are the same. You need the right number of books in the right stores/libraries at the right time. One idea that intrigues me is the print-on-demand kiosk for books. You want a book? Go to the kiosk, type in the title (or author or ISBN) and five minutes later, your bound book pops out. The NY Times archives have an old 2007 article entitled And Now, Folks, Behold the 15-Minute Publisher. It discusses the Espresso Book Machine - a German invention to do just this. Now, the columnist envisions this for out-of-print and less popular titles. But, my thought is that this would be a perfect solution for any titles - give readers the books they want, in the format they want, when they want them. Hmmm. In an updated 2009 feature, the InstaBook III is reviewed. The cost has come down, the quality has gone up. Traditional publishers are still shying away. According to the author, there is "reluctance on the part of publishers to abandon older distribution models, which Neller says is sometimes driven by a fear of cannibalizing existing inventory." Insert here another sigh in that consumer-is-losing sort of way. I hope the book publishing industry can learn from the mistakes of Blockbuster.

Why Do We Love the Great Libraries of the World?

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I really love the weather in Colorado. It only takes a day in KC to remind me why hot and humid are two words best left unspoken - and avoided. But, it's nice to be home for a few days. Much to my surprise, I was discussing the Lara Croft movie, Tomb Raider, the other day with a couple of friends over drinks. When I first saw the movie in the cinema, I was underwhelmed by the story, character development, blah, blah, blah. However, I found myself watching it again on a movie channel the other day. Not for the delectable Angelina Jolie, which might seem the obvious reason, but because I really like her mansion - okay, the library in her mansion. I can imagine myself fortified in an overstuffed leather chair exploring the volumes of forgotten lore. I guess as a book fiend, I have a bit of biblio-envy - not that I don't own a few titles myself. Our cocktail discussion turned to great libraries of the world, not the Library of Alexandria or the Library of Congress, but fictional libraries as depicted in books and movies. I brought several of my favorites to the table - libraries from The Name of the Rose, The Ninth Gate, Inkheart, and even Sherlock Holmes' library at 221B Baker Street. It's fun to imagine ourselves in those settings, even if it is just Hollywood's CGI dream world. For a real library, I like the Great Reading Room in the British Museum, but I would love to hear your favorites - both real and imagined. What sparked this seemingly random topic today was an article in BoingBoing entitled Photos of Science Fiction Writer's Nests. It shows writers in their natural habitat - surrounded by shelves of books, generally with a computer peeking out from behind the stacks of paper. Now, my office is a sad comparison. I have lots of books, but my life is almost paperless from the standpoint of stacks of loose-leaf sheets. I guess this comes from several decades of traveling with my entire office each week to a client site. My office appears tidy, almost boring by comparison - but it at least has several comfortable chairs for reading. I will leave you today with one of my favorite episodes of Twilight Zone, Time Enough at Last (1959). In the episode, Henry Bemis (played by Burgess Meredith) is a heavily bespectacled bank teller who delights in stealing away to read despite the protestations of his wife and boss. One day, while escaping into the bank vault to read a book, the human population is wiped out by a nuclear bomb (it was the 1950's remember). When Mr. Bemis emerges, he finds books everywhere - scattered from the local library. As he prepares for a lifetime of reading by stacking his beloved books about him, the poor man's glasses slip off his face and smash. Talking about a heart wrenching story - one that hit this book lover where it hurts. It's a good thing that I have a spare set of glasses with me, eh?

Drowned Moon by Glenn Blake

The reading across Kansas experiment went well. My laptop battery died thirty minutes into the trip - after telling me that I had four hours of power left. So, I switched to the Kindle and was able to read a new manuscript cover to cover. It's great to get caught up on some work while my wife/driver rocked out to a 1980's revival of Kansas, Journey and Boston. I must admit that batteries are one area where technology seems to have failed to progress over the last few decades - our gadgets seem to be limited by power more than anything else. At least the Kindle will go several days without a wall outlet. Today's Wired blog turned me on to Rudy Rucker's blog which had an interesting article about How to Write. He gives some excellent advice on avoiding one-dimensional characters, writing about what you know and love, and crafting realistic dialog. Now, I'm not sure that I agree about needing a big climatic finish, especially a happy one. Mr. Rucker's thought is that fantasy and science fiction is an escape - well, true to a certain point - but I always feel ripped off when every thread gets wrapped up neatly and everyone lives happily ever after. I like to have something left for my mind to chew on - a tidbit to debate with friends over beer when discussing our favorite books. Reading Mr. Rucker's article fired some long-unused neurons and took me back to my fiction writing class in college. The course was taught by Glenn Blake, the author of one of my favorite non-geek books, Drowned Moon. The book is a collection of short stories set in the Deep South - each filled with quirky characters, beautifully rendered in tight prose. It is amazing how quickly a reader can become immersed in a well-developed character, even if the setting is bleak and hopeless. Mr. Blake's stories are not heroic fiction, but they examine a small slice of humanity, carefully turning it over and examining its place in life's ecosystem. And, there are no big finishes and certainly no happy endings. I'm not saying that every book published should be as gut-wrenchingly reflective as Drowned Moon - one of the joys of reading, for me, is the expansive variety of the story telling craft. I know that my mood is oftentimes reflected in the book I choose off the bookshelf. One of the most important pieces of Mr. Blake's advice that sticks with me today is: write stories that you like. If you like the story, others will too. Don't worry about what is popular or trendy; just find your own voice. I guess the same advice is good for publishers too.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It's a beautiful summer morning in Lyons, and the hummingbirds are going nuts outside my window. I am heading back to Kansas City tomorrow to visit my Mom, so I'm trying to soak up the cool weather as much as possible. I'm looking forward to the drive, as I am planning to catch up on my backlog of manuscripts along the way - and, yes, my wife will actually be driving the car while I read. I tried doing Latin flashcards and driving by myself one time - won't be doing that again. You think texting is dangerous... So for the good - Korak Designs has submitted a number of color logos for Trapdoor Books, and we have decided on a simple two-color one. I hope you like it. The comments back on the black-and-white logo were great - thanks!

For the bad - In Wired's This Day In Tech column, we are reminded that today is the day in 1903 that instant coffee was invented (well, patented). I love many, many coffees from all over the world, but "instant coffee is to real coffee like Tang is to orange juice". As a veteran road warrior, there was always that early morning debate as to whether to drink the coffee crystals provided by the hotel en suite - and here I thought coffee was a fruit not a mineral - or hoof it down to the local Starbucks. In short, there are some things that just shouldn't have been invented. And for the ugly - Several of my friends always ask me why I like driving across Kansas instead of flying. The answer could not be clearer. The New York Times, along with just about every news organization in America, ran an article about Continental kidnapping 47 passengers and holding them hostage for 14 hours on the tarmac in Rochester, NY. I say "kidnapping" and "hostage" in a very literal way - they were forced to stay onboard, against their will, for no apparent reason. While, I'm sure there will be lots of excuses for this debacle, it is just the latest in hundreds of similar incidents. I hope some jury awards these people lots of money - of course, then I will have to pay for another bailout of the airlines. So, don't fret for me, driving across Kansas. There is always the world's largest prairie dog in Oakley. And, Mom will have some famous KC BBQ waiting at the end of the road.

When Giving Things Away is Good

My wife and I are firm believers in donating things to charity. Not only books - which we take to our local library - we also donate clothes, food and things that might help others. It just seems like the right thing to do, and we can actually park our car in the garage at night. So, this morning, I read in Wired about the Google Book Search program helping the blind to enjoy books that are available to the general public - thanks to the Google format which can be used by specialized readers. This will also allow anyone who can't get to the library the same advantage. Now, this isn't a philanthropic program - there is a commercial advantage for Google, but if some good comes from the project, then groovy. I blogged about the Google Book Search tribulations on June 2 under Google vs. Amazon - is this a Godzilla vs. King Kong rematch? And, my point still stands - this is good as long as it's not a monopoly. I actually don't have a problem with Google making money on the endeavor, and this brings me to another story sent in by a loyal reader. Want to Sell Lots of E-Books? Give One Away for Free, Then appeared on the Fast Company website recently. It is not a new idea, and internally at Trapdoor Books we have been discussing having emerging writers give away background story novellas in order to generate interest for upcoming titles. The story quotes Scott Channon, publisher of Del Rey/Spectra, "by offering the first book in Naomi Novik's Temeraire fantasy series for free, sales of the remaining novels rocketed up a ‘stunning' 1,000%." And, it seems this approach is very popular with Kindle readers - who have shelled out $300-$350 for a machine and expect a little kindness in return. Does the concept of free e-books scare me? Not really. It isn't really fundamentally different than used books or the public library. People not being able to read or not wanting to read - that's what keeps me up at night. Read a book!

Keeping Up With Digital Formats

First of all, thanks to everyone responding to the new logo - I would like to take credit, but Korak Design gets the nod for the genius on this one. I'm sure it will serve us well for years to come. It is a crazy Friday, and I am in the middle of trying to get three book reviews finished for writers who have been very patient so far. It's a good thing that every week ends with a couple of catch-up days, eh? Wired Magazine posed an interesting article from their print magazine today entitled Burning Question: How Do I Future-Proof My Digital Media? For all of us geeks out there, this is a light-hearted Friday type of topic - too bad we can't share a beer over the website. My primary digital media are: books, movies, music, and photographs. Let me start out by saying that I don't believe there will ever be one format to rule them all. It brings me back to the idea of having only one master gadget - form must follow function. I'll start with the easy ones first. Music. On this topic, I am somewhat a snob (or so I have been told). Quality trumps convenience for me. While I have finally given up on vinyl, I do have an extensive CD collection. WAV files sound better than MP3 files. Period. If you think otherwise, come on over to my house for a little blind listening test - but bring your wallet as this is a bet I will win. Since I don't like headphones or ear plugs, I tend to listen to music on my home theater or car stereo. Both have CD players, and all my CDs play on all my CD players. Someday, storage of music on iTunes-esque servers will be my standard, but the quality has to significantly improve to get there. Movies are about the same. The amount of disk space needed to download HD DVDs is beyond my capabilities for patience. I don't watch movies on my computer, my home theater has a DVD player, and Netflix is happy to deliver movies to my door. Again, quality trumps convenience. Now the tough one: photographs. I can't bring myself to shoot RAW or TIFF pictures. I like the convenience of dropping photos onto my website in JPEG format. However, I already notice the difference between the quality of shots made with my wife's first generation Mavica and her current Canon digital SLR. So, in twenty years, I might regret not having full data. That said, I would love to have a good electronic photo album - just like the Kindle - where I could drop ALL my photographs and carry them around without having to a) lug the laptop around and b) write HTML to publish new albums. Now, I'm not taking about the little 400 photograph electronic albums out there today - I want to take 10,000+ photographs with me. Printing photographs on a home printer is almost always disappointing - and my luck with the photo printers at Mike's Camera is not much better. Anyway, I will never have time to glue them into albums. As to books, well, I already have a pretty clear position there. My one expectation is that an open standard format (without DRM) will eventually emerge for all the major readers. Well, I'm off to create more digital content - have a great weekend.

A Sign of the Times: Coffee Shops Turn Bitter

We had an amazing electrical storm rumble through Lyons last night. It made me want to grab a good horror novel off the shelf, make an Irish coffee, and plunk down in my old leather chair as the thunder rumbled the windows. Instead, I stood on the porch taking about two hundred photos and mostly cursing my poor photographic skills. Of those, only one had any lightning in it.  But, the storm put me in a good mood this morning. Another reason to cheer is the completion of our b/w logo, part 2. Now, this might get tweaked a bit as the color schemes are finalized, but I wanted to give my readers a sneak preview. 

Now, my lawyer has advised me against saying anything about the first company that was working on the Trapdoor logo/website project, but this does segue nicely into my next topic. One of my favorite truisms is that "the measure of a person shouldn't be taken when times are good - it's easy to be beneficent then - but when times are bad people's true identity comes out." I'm sure that all of us can think of a few examples to fit this axiom, advertising agencies notwithstanding, but I never thought that my local coffee shop would fall victim. The Wall Street Journal today published an article entitled No More Perks: Coffee Shops Pull the Plug on Laptop Users - They Sit for Hours and Don't Spend Much; Getting the Bum's Rush in the Big Apple. To quote: "Amid the economic downturn, there are fewer places in New York to plug in computers. As idle workers fill coffee-shop tables -- nursing a single cup, if that, and surfing the Web for hours -- and as shop owners struggle to stay in business, a decade-old love affair between coffee shops and laptop-wielding customers is fading." The article talks about patrons bringing their own tea bags in, using free hot water and working on their laptops.  Yikes. I must admit that I have been known to linger at the best coffee shop in Colorado, The Trident, for a few hours longer than my latte, but I can't imagine them covering up the electrical wall plugs with little padlocks. In fact, the Trident allows laptops, Labradors, and lollygagging - just to set the record straight. It will be interesting to see if this trend moves from the Big Apple to the rest of the country. I sure hope not. Now, I had better go order another coffee before my WiFi gets cut off.

Calling All Podcasters

I have been working with our printers and distributors this week getting contracts set up and the groundwork laid for our first set of books. This got me thinking about podcasting. Now, I have listened to dozens of audio books over the years on the long drive across Kansas, and I have participated in the podcasting experience a few times as well. Here are some initial thoughts - waiting for you, dear reader, to enlighten me. Printed books are almost exclusively delivered in full-content format today. There has been experimentation with serialization, including Stephen King's grand experiment with The Plant in 2000. Mr. King put the novel up in serialized sections, and he asked that everyone downloading the story to pay $1 either before or after reading it. Apparently, the paid response was underwhelming, and the book ended after six installments. On the other side of the coin, I would have loved to be a reader in the late 1890's when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ran his serialized Sherlock Holmes stories in The Strand magazine. This format proved to be staggeringly popular and profitable for the author and the publication. Personally, I see the serialization of full-length novels as a marketing tool - designed to generate some interest and hype. I can't imagine buying novels, either printed or electronic, in this format. I like the concept of giving away back story novellas as the best way to generate interest in a book - more compelling than providing the first chapter for free. First chapters shouldn't be marketing tools, in my opinion. Finally, the cost of a paperback book is just too cheap to make breaking it up into tiny sections worthwhile. As to podcasting, I initially dismissed the idea as the simple serialization of the audio book. The primary difference between the two is that one is sold as a subscription and the other is sold as a complete work. However, the price point between an audio book at $44.95 and a paperback book at $7.95 might be a big enough delta to make me reconsider. I have bought a few audio book clunkers, and I must admit that the wasted money bothered me. There are three requirements that I have for podcasting, however. The big showstopper for me is quality. I want my audio book read and mastered by professionals. I want the melodious voice that can take my mind away. Many of the podcasts that I have heard are just about the opposite experience. I feel like I'm sitting in front of an old-time radio trying to pick out the story from the static. Second, it has to be easy to use. I want to listen to stories for hours on end. If I have to click a play button every three minutes for the next chapter, count me out. Finally, no commercials. Commercials ruin movies, and commercials will ruin books. I'll pay for my podcast but I don't want to hear advertisements for the ShamWow.  In my mind, I might pay up to $15 for an unabridged PodCast of a book - assuming it met my criteria above.  So, to all you podcasters out there, am I crazy? I want to hear your opinions.

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

Like many readers, I was introduced to George R.R. Martin by his riveting series, A Song of Ice and Fire, which has four volumes studded with Locus, Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award nominations and accolades. For anyone who is a serious fantasy fan, this is a must-read series. I know that I have been waiting patiently since 2005 for the release of the fifth volume, A Dance with Dragons. However, like so many talented writers, there are gems in the early years that are often overshadowed by later works. Fevre Dream (1982) is that Martin novel for me. The story is set in the steamboat era of the 1850's along the Mississippi River. A down-on-his-luck riverboat captain, Abner Marsh, takes on an odd co-captain, Joshua York, who sets the boat's destination while keeping mysteriously secluded in his cabin. News spreads of strange killings happening up and down the river. The eccentric behavior of York and his growing cadre of companions keep the reader waffling between whether York is the killer himself. And why is he never seen in daylight? What really fascinates me about this book is the character development - Abner is a gruff "don't ask, don't tell" businessman whose word is his bond - haunted by a compulsion to know what is happening on his boat. The mental anguish between his hunches and his honor drive him to drink and obsession. Meanwhile, York is a tortured soul as well, eventually revealed as a vampire seeking to control the blood fever of vampires through alchemical means. His addiction to human blood is gut-wrenchingly suppressed by his commitment to his quest. Of course, not all vampires are good - enter Damon Julian, the bloodmaster of New Orleans. Mr. Martin mixes up the morality of good and evil, day and night with a masterful hand. The tension builds as steamboats chase each other on the river, murderers are revealed, and the full extent of York's plans is revealed. Fevre Dream builds tension into a frenzy - good luck putting the book down for the night. The background is lush, and the story is wonderful. While I'm told that vampires are out in 2009 - and werewolves are in, this is a book that will never go out of style. A gripping story well told.

Do You Have The Freedom to Read?

A buddy of mine asked my opinion on Digital Rights Management (DRM) yesterday, and it seems that the discussion was timely - with several "news" stories breaking about the topic in the last week. The stories are still mostly around music, although books are starting to get into the fray. I was surprised to learn that the arguments for U.S copyright for recorded sound started with the Supreme Court case White-Smith Music Co. v. Apollo Co. (1908). Of all things, this was a case about player piano rolls where the court concluded that the piano roll was a "performance" of the composition rather than a "copy" of it. However, while the court favored the consumer over monopolies in this case, the government gave the power back to big business with the Copyright Act of 1909. This see-saw battle seems to have reared its ugly head several more times in our history - with big business winning a huge victory in the 1971 amendment which allowed them to go after infringement violations. For more history, see Contested Culture: The Image, The Voice and The Law by Jane Gaines. Currently, there are two prongs to the attacks the music industry is taking against those who illegally download songs: continued legal action against rule breakers and technologies to discourage it. Which brings me to the story in the NY Times last Friday about a Boston University student fined $675,000 for downloading more than 800 songs from the internet. Now, I'm not sure that Mr. Tenenbaum is the biggest fish to fry, and I'm not sure that $843 per song is the right level of damages. It seems a bit draconian to me. However, there needs to be some punishment for violating the rights of the musician. The technology side of the equation is much more interesting, however. First of all, the concept of DRM is fundamentally flawed. Every DRM scheme has been broken by the bad guys, and it always will - there is no "perfect lock". In my mind, DRM is being used for the wrong reason. iTunes, for example, uses its Fairplay DRM to insure that their songs cannot be played on Microsoft and Creative players. It doesn't have anything to do with illegal file sharing, it has everything to do with protecting the iPod and iPhone golden eggs. As such, DRM is not security - it's marketing, and I, for one, predict that it will slowly fade away. This brings me to books. The Free Software Foundation has a Freedom to Read petition up against Amazon's use of DRM in the Kindle - sparked by the George Owell 1984 incident. They claim that "Amazon's use of DRM to control and monitor users and their books constitutes a clear threat to the free exchange of ideas." The petition goes on to claim, "Until they give it up they will be tempted to use it, or they could be forced to by governments or narrow private interests." It seems that the DRM battle for books is just heating up.

My e-Dog Ate My e-Homework

Cool weather always puts me in a good mood. I'm not really built for 90 or 100 degree scorchers, and I don't understand how anybody can live without snow in the winters. Yesterday was rainy and 64 degrees for a high. Sweet. Those are the sort of summer weather records I like to see broken. So, in the mind of happiness and humor, my trawling through the internet has brought up some gems this week. The first article was from BoingBoing entitled High school student suing Amazon over book-deletions which rendered his study-notes useless. Yes, this goes back to my earlier post about Amazon deleting George Orwell's 1984 from people's Kindles in the middle of the night. Justin Gawronski claims that Amazon messed up the annotations he'd created for the book. Wow. What fortuitous timing! In my high school days, I longed for this good of an excuse for a late paper. I had to resort to blaming our family schnauzer for the deed. Way to go, Mr. Gawronski. Green Apple Books is posting a series of humorous videos that play off paper books vs. Kindle e-books experience. They are planning to do 10 "rounds" in this series, and the first three are available on their YouTube channel. While they may not be Monty Python, successful small bookstores are really starting to take the challenge of e-books seriously. Finally, a reader sent in this clipping from Dilbert that seems to go back to my marketing posts earlier this week.  I actually don't find many writers who do this - in fact, many seem to be overtly humble.  However, this seems to fit a few agents and publishers pretty well.

I'm Giving Up Gilligan's Island to be a Publisher?

I read a great blog by John Scalzi the other day, and it is still rumbling around in my mind. The topic was from an aspiring writer who was concerned about the sacrifices they would need to make to become a successful author. Mr. Scalzi's reply was both witty and insightful, and I think it might apply to many, many fields of endeavor. As an undergraduate, I took a creative writing course from a brilliant author, Glenn Blake, who incidentally wrote one of my favorite non-geek fiction books - Drowned Moon - a collection of hauntingly dark short stories of the Old South. Dr. Blake instilled in me his vision of a writer's life which included long hours at the typewriter (yes, I typed hundreds of English lit papers on my old Olivetti). His advice was to write every day for as many hours as you could - 6 or 8 at a minimum. My impression was that to be a writer was to give up other hobbies and pursuits for the solitary life of literature. Mr. Scalzi takes a different approach. And although his credentials are no less impressive, it makes me realize that there is not a single winning formula for authors. His advice is: "Keep your job, keep your marriage, keep your friends, keep the kids. Just drop an hour of TV." If you write uninterrupted daily for an hour, then you could easily polish off 250 to 500 words a day, finishing a full-length novel in a year. His summation is wonderful "at the end of the day it's also about putting your ass into a chair and typing." While these approaches are vastly different, both authors agree on several points. Writing is a craft that must be practiced - much of your work will be kindling for next winter's fire. With consistent practice and a dedication to the writing process, however, most writers improve in their craft. In my interviews with dozens of writers, the one constant is that successful writers are driven to write - it is a compulsion that cannot be ignored. This brings me to the observation which is rattling around in my brain. It is very hard for me to do something every day for an hour - as I tend to hyper-focus on getting tasks completed. Once I get started, I really don't notice interruptions except maybe an occasional internal need for coffee. I prefer to do my writing Blake-style - in long sessions of eight hours or more. On those days when I have ten small one-hour tasks to accomplish, I end the day feeling that I didn't accomplish much. Starting a publishing business, however, has pushed me into several Scalzi-style activities. I am finding that some tasks - like building the Trapdoor social network - is something that I can spend an hour on each day before getting burned out. Looking back, Mr. Scalzi might be right - we have made huge progress in 13 weeks with over 500 members. I guess in some way, I am subconsciously following Mr. Scalzi's advice - and it seems that I really don't miss watching those Gilligan's Island re-runs.

Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Last week, I posted a review of The Eight by Katherine Neville - and its nefarious marketing ties to Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Ms. Neville's book was published in 1988 (five years after The Name of the Rose book and two years after the movie adaptation), and the publisher clearly wanted to make a connection in reader's psyche between the two. Ironically, a clever reader pointed out that the cover art for The Eight posted on my site is an updated version. It reads: "Readers thrilled by The Da Vinci Code will relish the multilayered secrets of The Eight." It seems this marketing technique is alive and well. Now, I didn't buy The Eight because of the tag line - it was actually a recommendation from a friend. However, if I had picked it up at the local bookstore, I might have been sucked in. In this case, I liked both books. Now, I would never have connected them in my mind, but the advertising didn't hurt me. In some cases, however, the advertising did hurt me - as in my May 15th discussion of the The First Apostle. So, as a publisher who is starting down the path, I would like to think Trapdoor Books will take the high road and not mislead readers for the sake of selling a few copies. I guess time will tell. The Name of the Rose is one of my favorite books of all times. Part of my love of the story might have been that I first read the story on a summer trip to England between my junior and senior year at Rice University. Traveling by train through the English and Scottish countryside, reading the labyrinthine tale of discovery, mystery and intrigue - written from the point of view of the novice Adso - was a perfect marriage between my quest and that of the young Benedictine. Being a life-long Sherlock Holmes fan didn't hurt my appreciation of William of Baskerville either. I won't re-tell the tale, but now - in hindsight - there are some interesting elements to the book which reflect on many of my thoughts about great literature. To start with, the book is dense - nearly 600 pages in my well-worn copy. This is a story that cannot be told in 200 pages (or in a two hour movie). The background is extensive in its discussion of the monastic life and beliefs, contrasting the Franciscans and the Benedictines, and the overall struggle between dogma and deductive reasoning. Eco is not afraid to spend a great deal of time educating as well as entertaining. In the final analysis, however, the book is a compelling read. Seven murders, seven days, seven deadly sins - could it be the coming of the Antichrist or a more mundane motive? The characters are rich, and the setting is so alive that I actually wiped back tears as the library burned. And finally, the language of The Name of the Rose is exquisite. Even the ending line gives me goosebumps today, "It is cold in the scriptorium, my thumb aches. I leave this manuscript, I do not know for whom; I no longer know what it is about: stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus." (and what is left of the rose is only its name...)

We Love Libraries - Even if the Affluent Don't

Trapdoor Books is proud to have chosen public libraries as our first philanthropic venture - donating books to libraries with sponsorship from patrons of literature. We are still working through the legal niceties, but it seems like the right thing to do. And speaking of the wrong thing to do... There was an article in the School Library Journal recently about East Hampton Village (read posh NYC burb) that refuses to build a children's room onto its library because, "an expanded children's collection would lead to more library usage by those who live in the less affluent areas of Springs and Wainscott." I am serious. This is the swanky neighborhood of Martha Stewart, Rudolph Giuliani, and Katie Couric. Of note, the library ranks LAST for books available per child. The expansion was proposed in 2003 and took five years to get to the stage of an open public review. The money has already been raised - this is not an economic challenge. It is simply a case of the Board of Zoning members (who are holding up the process) losing, hmm, their souls. It makes me glad that I live in a town where the local library wants to promote, gasp, literacy and enrich children's lives. However, as I step off my soapbox, it does bring to mind an IT project that I worked on a number of years ago. The goal was to enable American voting practices to evolve for the 20th century - not the 21st century, mind you. One aspect of the project was an internet voting initiative. It was rejected by the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office. I'll give you a hundred guesses why. Hint: it had nothing to do with security, audit trails, or any technical challenges. The reason was... wait for it... the reason was that too many young, working people would vote. What? "It would screw up our demographics something horrible." The goal isn't to get people out to vote - it's to get the RIGHT people out to vote. While I promise not to turn this blog into a political forum, it does kind of rub you the wrong way, eh? So, the problem with the children's room isn't that it would get kids out to read, but it would get the WRONG kids out to read. Tsk, tsk.

What Are They Saying About Me on the Internet?

I am not one to Google myself. Really. However, there are several fascinating evolutions going on in social networks and the internet in general that have me scratching my head. While news aggregators have existed for years - we used their services extensively back in my IT analyst days - it seems that the variety and volume of sources has blossomed from dozens to hundreds to thousands. Mere mortals can't be expected to track every news link and Twitter feed. In fact, Essential Writers magazine did a nice article on us today entitled Chris Matney of Trapdoor Books tells us why new writers must practice their craft to succeed. I would have missed its publication altogether if not for the dedication of Judy Darley to point out its release. Why? Not because I'm famous and get dozens of well-crafted articles published about me every day. No, there is just too much information. A buddy of mine turned me on to a cool technology today, filtrbox. It allows you to set up filtrs - basically really advanced searches (with Boolean statements, check boxes for content sources such as blogs and realtime alerts, tag cloud exclusions, etc.). These filtrs scour millions of potential sources and report back when your search criteria are met. The full version of the product allows for reporting, trending, etc. Whoa. Now, not only do I know what they are saying about me on the internet, I know it in real time! Now, filtrs are not perfect. Apparently an article on How to Build a Tree House contains the words "trapdoor" and "books". However, my basic searches found Ms. Darley's wonderful article, copies of every blog I have made, and several sources I didn't even know about. Thanks to the Walrus Club for posting an article about us as well. It doesn't look like filtrbox looks into the social networking sites - or maybe I haven't figured that part of the puzzle out yet. It would be nice to have a single aggregator to update my LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, etc. accounts. I can push information OUT to each of these, but pulling it back in doesn't seem to work yet - one Social Network to rule them all... Sounds like a title for another blog.

If I Ever Do This, Kill Me

As you already know, I have a problem with censorship. A friend of mine who has a number of children - including several teenagers - called the other day and asked me what censorware to buy for their kid's computer. Net Nanny vs. ??? My answer was simple: none. Just like the locks on your house, censorware is there to make you feel good - not provide any real protection. If somebody wants in, they can get in. If your teen wants to surf porn, there isn't much you can do about it. The way to stop this behavior is to teach them what is acceptable and create a trusted atmosphere where there is some adult supervision. In the end, my friend moved the kid's computer to the living room. There was a great article on BoingBoing yesterday entitled, Teach kids to be safe on the net by getting them to think critically about censorware, that covers the topic very nicely. However, that's not the real topic of the day. I read several accounts of Young Adult author Justine Larbalestier's new novel Liar yesterday. More specifically, the author is livid about cover of the book shown here. Why? Well, the book is about a black girl, but the cover features a white girl. Again, you may ask why? Here are Ms. Larbalestier's own words: "This cover did not happen in isolation. Every year at every publishing house, intentionally and unintentionally, there are white-washed covers. Since I've told publishing friends how upset I am with my Liar cover, I have been hearing anecdotes from every single house about how hard it is to push through covers with people of colour on them. Editors have told me that their sales departments say black covers don't sell. Sales reps have told me that many of their accounts won't take books with black covers. Booksellers have told me that they can't give away YAs with black covers. Authors have told me that their books with black covers are frequently not shelved in the same part of the library as other YA--they're exiled to the Urban Fiction section--and many bookshops simply don't stock them at all...." The full article can be found here. In my opinion, the publisher stepped over the line here, and maybe we will see an apology showing up on the net - similar to Amazon's backpedaling apology on deleting Orwell's titles. Ironic that the title of the book is Liar, eh? However, it does make a strong case for why small presses need to exist - to provide options for readers who don't want white-washed covers and content. I can see hundreds of niche publishers filling those topics that just don't fit into the mainstream publishing plans. So, while I feel bad for Ms. Larbalestier this might be a wakeup call for the industry. Even if that isn't the case, if I ever do this to an author - kill me. You have my permission.

The Eight by Katherine Neville

I wanted to spend my next two reviews discussing a pair of books that I really enjoy and that are often linked together by readers - and unjustifiably so. The first is Katherine Neville's wonderfully complex thriller The Eight published in 1988. The second is Umberto Eco's outstanding medieval mystery The Name of the Rose (1983). Now, the reason that these are linked together in so many reviews might have to do with marketing efforts to make a connection. However, the books are very different in style and content - although I recommend both highly. The Eight is particularly appropriate for our discussion as it is Ms. Neville's debut novel and is clearly a direct hit for geek fiction. The book follows two parallel story lines: one set in the late eighteenth century and the other in 1972. Both tell of the search for the mysterious Montglance Service - a chess set given to Charlemagne - encoded with symbols and mysterious powers all wrapped up in a secret code. The story is well told. The plot unfolds beautifully, and I applaud the author for not giving away too much of the "secret". It's okay to leave us hanging until the last chapter - or even to, gasp, to leave a few morsels unresolved. The main modern character, Catherine Velis is likeable. Of course, being a computer consultant with a love of mathematics and chess hits pretty close to home for me. In her plot line, Catherine is assigned an unusual case involving a trip to the Middle East to work with some OPEC clients. Compounding this is a mysterious offer by an antique dealer to make a run to Algeria to pick up some pieces of an ancient chess set. Of course, the plot takes off from there - giving both Catherine and the reader a wild, sometimes intricate, ride. The historical plot line is secondary, at least in my mind, but it provides a slowly revealed back story which gracefully blends into the modern line. It follows Mireille de Remy, a young novice at Montglane Abbey, also thrown into unfamiliar territory and tasked with scattering the pieces across Europe and Russia. Set against the French Revolution, Mireille must also use cunning and wit to survive in hostile, frightening surroundings. I must admit that one of the downsides to the novel was the introduction of all sorts of historical figures (Napoleon, Catherine the Great, etc.). This always pulls me out of a good story - and this is true here as well. That said, the story-line is wonderfully complex - like a well-constructed logic puzzle - and the action keeps the tension building. I found myself flipping pages to read just one more chapter, one more chapter... The Eight is a good read and an excellent debut novel, one which I highly recommend for your summer reading list. It is, however, not The Name of the Rose, which I will review in a forthcoming post.

Storycasting - Having Fun with Movies and Books

Today is Wednesday - too early to start planning for the weekend and too late to remember your last day off. So, I thought that some light-hearted fun might be in order. In talking with our expanding community of readers, it seems that we all like several things - books and movies. What's more enjoyable than sitting around during evening cocktails with friends and coming up with the dream cast for a movie made from your favorite book? Who would have made a better Robert Langdon - Tom Hanks or Harrison Ford? Well, it seems like somebody is taking this idea to the next level. A reader turned me on to storycasting.com, an on-line way to do just that. The idea is that you can vote or introduce your favorite actors into the lead roles of your favorite book. Then, your friends and other community members can vote on your choices, recommend alternates and discuss the topic - all in the name of fun. So, I'm looking at 1984 right now. Johnny Depp as Winston Smith - hmm, not seeing that. Hugh Laurie - yeah, that's the ticket. The site is just getting started, but it is a great example of where on-line community building efforts are going. I really like the cross-pollination of this idea as different from book reviews and different from movie reviews. In a recent discussion along a similar vein, I was speaking with a writer who wants to include a soundtrack with his book - music to listen to while reading the book, a way to again enhance the experience and put concrete visual images in the mind of the reader. While there is quite a bit of complexity to doing this from a licensing and technical perspective, the thinking is outside the box and has some merit. Maybe we need a site to match music and books to each other - Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain with Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Dancing Men, anyone?

Tremors in the Publishing Establishment?

It has been a busy week already, as I am working on finishing up a number of partially-read manuscripts and trying to find the virtual bottom of my email box. Thanks to one of our readers for passing along an interesting article about Barnes & Noble. They announced yesterday a new mega e-bookstore with 700,000 books for the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and various computer platforms. Now, most of the titles are free public domain books (already available for Sony's e-reader), but it is a stab at Amazon's Kindle - still the leader for new content. The good news for us is that new books are $9.99 each - matching the de facto price set by Amazon. This is a HUGE shift for an industry that is famous for releasing $24.95 hardbacks and making consumers wait a year for paperbacks to come out. Will this cut publisher margins? Not in my estimation - as the profile for consumers of hardbacks and e-books is not necessarily the same. Also, the cost of producing an e-book is much less than a hardback, so the margin is still there. It's a changing paradigm for publishers. While I am predicting that Barnes & Noble will eventually offer their own reader (Vegas odds favor Plastic Logic right now), this isn't the death knell for Sony or Amazon. But, it is another step forward. One thing that seems to be sliding in the wrong direction is the shelf life of books. I'm not sure that e-books are going to impact this trend, but it is an interesting one to understand. In a very old series of articles from 2003, the Oligopoly Watch discusses how long books stay on the shelf. The answer is that the average shelf life of a book (on display at a store) has shrunk from 6-8 months to less than six weeks. Since publishers have to swallow the cost of unsold books, this means that small, niche presses cannot really afford to play the game. So where's the silver lining? Apparently at Target. The NY Times reported today that Target is embracing the niche publisher, allowing new authors to at least get a shot at hitting the big time with its Bookmarked Club Pick - putting books on display in their small, but well-purchased book aisle. Selling 50,000 - 150,000 titles through Target seems like a win for everybody and certainly brings the small players back into the retail brick-and-mortar space. It would be great to see other chain booksellers following suit.

Amazon: A Digital Thief in the Den

It's a beautiful Monday afternoon, and I am getting caught up from a weekend spent away from the computer. There seem to be too many stories to comment on all of them today, but this one struck me as particularly interesting. It seems that Amazon has crossed the line - big time - in using technology for evil. How much time does it take to regain trust after pulling a fast one on a client? I guess we will find out. The story was first broken in a NY Times article by David Pogue who wrote that hundreds of Kindle customer awoke to find that Amazon remotely deleted books that they had bought and downloaded. What !?! Yup, I have already blogged about the fact that you don't "own" electronic books in the traditional sense - you can't loam them to friends, resell them or even donate them. But, Amazon electronically deleted all books by this author from people's Kindles and credited their accounts for the price. And here comes the irony... wait for it... the titles of the books deleted? 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell. Classic! "Four legs good, two legs bad" never sounded so right. The reason behind the "theft" is that a publisher specialized in bringing public domain books into print put their catalog on Amazon, and Amazon got a nasty-gram from the Orwell literary estate. Apparently, the books weren't quite in the public domain. However, Amazon made the mistake of selling the book - and compounded it by sneaking in like a digital thief and taking a book out of my den. Imagine if your local grocer broke into your house and stole back that expired bottle of mayo that was mistakenly sold to you, leaving you $1.39 on the kitchen counter. Outrageous! The article was also covered by BoingBoing as Amazon's Orwellian deletion of Kindle books, the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Orwell in 2009: Dystopian Rights Management, and Pan Macmillian's the digitalist with the title DRM Is Not Evil. As for me, I am going to rustle up my paperback copy of 1984 and read about Winston Smith as he makes information appear and disappear for the Ministry of Truth. Shame on you, Amazon.

Knock, Knock - the Publishing Barbarians are here!

BookExpo America 2009 had an interesting series of videos posted on blip.tv covering all sorts of publishing topics. The video that really struck me was one by Richard Nash talking about the future of the publishing industry. He talks about a transition of power from the old guard of publishing giants to the emerging small press hordes - "the gatekeepers get pissed when the barbarians show up".

The main gist of the video is that traditional publishing has isolated readers from authors, allowing readers feedback only by buying or not buying a book. Mr. Nash's point is that the entire ecosystem of the industry - writers, readers, librarians, and booksellers - has a mutual interest and a relationship with each other. Instead of publishers acting as "bouncers at the door, controlling who gets into the club", emerging publishers need embrace book clubs and other means of generating a network of like-minded readers. His advice: be open to readers and acknowledge they can write back. I also liked Mr. Nash's quote that the book business is a tiny industry perched atop a massive hobby. Publishers need to delve down into the hobby and not just sell books from the few authors at the top of the pyramid. His word was "nichify". I like that. With over three million geeks (and by some estimates many, many more), there are plenty of readers for Trapdoor titles without attempting to publish fiction that appeals to all readers all the time. Hmm - sounds like a geek fiction community to me. The talk has spun off a couple of editorial commentaries, also worth reading. One of those is Why Publishing Cannot Be Saved (As It Is) posted on the Publishing Perspectives website. Mr. Nash has put his money where his mouth is and started a business to promote this idea of nichified books. I guess that I have too.

LibraryThing - A Very Cool Site for Readers

It is late on a Thursday afternoon, and I must admit that my blog is behind schedule because I have just spent a couple of hours playing with LibraryThing.com. So before the day completely escapes me, I thought I would share my fascination. As I have already confessed in several prior blogs, I am a list maker. It is a somewhat unnatural fascination, but I should have been a taxonomist (not a taxidermist - I faint at the sight of blood). I keep lists of my favorite books, music, movies, etc. The internet actually encourages this - I have rated 1497 movies on Netflix, for example. However, most sites really don't reward you for doing this. Amazon.com is a perfect example. I buy lots of music from the site, and there is a "Rate This Item" feature. However, the purpose behind the rating system is to sell you more in-stock music that just happens to be on sale from Amazon. A buddy and I have a bet going as to how much Amazon adjusts prices just for me - based on my buying habits - but that is a different topic altogether. The point is that the algorithm used by Amazon for recommendations is pretty bad - hey, "we recommend all albums by Little Feat because you just purchased Dixie Chicken (also by Little Feat)". Thanks for slowing me down. These sites also don't do well with matching my tastes with like-minded shoppers. And, you will never find a recommendation for something that is out-of-print or hard to find. LibraryThing.com is the answer to bibliophiles who like to review books and get meaningful recommendations. You start by adding books to your library and reviewing them. It has many of the features of a social network as well: forums, groups, and friends. I can see which members have the same books in their library as me - and invite them to be a friend.  We can have real-life conversations about books.  Recommendations are available from both the automated engine and my friends. And, the site supports "tags" - words that describe books that I like. Since the site isn't tied to just books for sale, a vast universe of possibilities open up. When was the last time Amazon.com suggested you read Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut? Finally, it has some very cool features like "local events". By typing my zip code into my profile, I am kept up with local literary events - I see Elisabeth Hyde is going to be at the Boulder Book Store tonight. Cool. It also has reviews of pre-release books, book giveaways for members willing to write a review, features on authors, etc. As you can see, it is sufficient information overload to keep this publisher happy for hours. Now, that I have destroyed your productivity, my job for the day is done. Enjoy.

Reading books on Twitter? A newspaper for your exact location?

Okay, nobody could have seen this one coming. TechCrunch today announced that Matt Stewart is releasing his novel The French Revolution on Twitter. Yup, it's going to take him 3700 tweets and 480,000 characters to do it. Will it work? Why not. Will it be a new distribution method for books? I'm betting against it. Why is he doing it? Advertising - Mr. Stewart is looking for a traditional publisher for his book. Clever - it got my attention. But, is the book any good? Another article, this time in Wired, focuses on a pretty neat concept. We all know that newspapers are struggling with the reality that information on the internet is free. Subscription-based models don't really work because most articles get posted around quite a bit. Fine. This article discusses the fact that cell phones - an increasingly popular way to get news - broadcast their location. Additionally, cell phone users are accustomed to paying a fee for content. Combining these ideas, the article suggests that newspapers can broadcast location-specific news to consumers for a fee. It's a cool idea in many ways. My wife and I like to go driving in the mountains on the weekends - inevitably coming across a festival or event in full swing. It would be great to be able to check out the local news coverage to gauge our interest before swinging in or driving by. While these types of services already exist for quasi-static information like restaurant reviews and gas station locations, I am talking about dynamic news that takes a reporter and an editor.  Of course, the real trick for Colorado would be to get cell phone coverage in the mountains - something that the carriers seem to incapable of doing well - but that is a different blog. Sigh. A second idea that the article mentions is providing a specific electronic reader - like the one being developed by Hearst Corp. - free to subscribers as an incentive to continue their subscription. By eliminating the huge cost of printing and delivering a newspaper, the cost of doing this isn't outrageous. "I'll give you a Kindle, if you pay for a subscription to my newspaper" - this would definitely get some advertising impact. While I would hate to have a pile of e-readers to plow through in the morning news, there is a good idea floating in this concept somewhere.

Vellum: The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan

Having spent most of the last three days reading, I feel that I'm finally caught up on my backlog of new manuscripts. However, now I'm behind on getting some of my business correspondence answered - I'm sure you know that feeling. In starting a publishing business, one of the traits listed as "most critical" for success is load balancing a variety of tasks. After ten weeks, I can concur with that sentiment. That said, several of the manuscripts that I read this weekend are very encouraging. With my first conference call coming up in less than an hour, I guess a short book review would be appropriate for the day. Several of you have asked if I will review books that I don't like - and there are plenty of stinkers out there. The answer is probably not right now since I am still building reviews of my one hundred favorite books. I might undertake that mission to illustrate things that I don't like in books - such as overly stereotyped character development - but more on that in a later post. Vellum by Hal Duncan is the first of two books that make up The Book of All Hours. The book was an impulse buy at the bookstore, I must admit. It sounded like a post-apocolyptic, cyberpunk morality tale - good vs. evil, angels vs. demons, etc. - with everything building up to a huge final nano-tech battle called Evenfall. What really struck me about the book once I cracked the cover, however, is the writing. Mr. Duncan writes in a series of vivid images strung together sometimes by the thinnest of threads. The story is not linear, but it makes sense in that vague "I'm not really sure what's going on, but I love it" manner. Unlike the Illuminatus! Trilogy, which, for me, became so dissociative that I didn't care about the characters and made no attempt to figure out the story, Vellum kept building on layers of complexity and possible outcomes in a way that I found fascinating. The interplay between Phreedom Messenger, her brother Thomas, and Seamus Finnan is wonderful, allowing the characters to become tragically real in their plight across a devastated world against a seemingly unstoppable foe. Mr. Duncan also fills the books with elements of allegory and references to a wide range of existing literature. Seamus as Lucifer or Prometheus, Thomas as the archetypical victim - there are so many possibilities and so much depth. Rarely do I feel a need to read a book again because I have missed critical points that the author is trying to make. Vellum is one of those books. However, the effort is worth the reward. A word of warning, however: you will need to read the follow-up volume Ink in order to find out how the story ends. This is not light fare, so prepare to spend some time on with this book - it will be time well-spent. Kudos to Mr. Duncan for an amazing first book.

Community Writing From Slobbovia to Thieves' World

I posted earlier that my belief is that writing is a solitary endeavor - and not necessarily one that will be made into a community activity any time soon. However, several interesting posts and a long discussion between friends the other day are beginning to make me rethink the community writing concept. Ghostwriting is an honorable and ancient profession - one still used by most celebrity artists today. I love the fact that H.P. Lovecraft ghostwrote science fiction stories for Harry Houdini in the 1920's. I have even done ghostwriting in my career. However, ghostwriting is not really community writing - it is more like "substitute teacher" writing. As an old-time gaming geek, I remember stumbling upon Slobbovia in the late 1970's or early 1980's. This was a postal version of the game Diplomacy which really focused more on the country rulers telling the story of their nation than a real board game. I remember thinking that it was an odd way to play a game. A recent BoingBoing article fired those neurons again and got me thinking about roleplaying and other games, old and new, where the focus is to create an immersive story. Certainly, the advent of the web allows for these types of writing efforts to be collaborative - even to the extent that plots can be multi-authored, HTML driven and non-linear (allowing the reader to choose how the action unfolds). However, when it comes to telling a story - rather than simply creating a speculative world, I can't really find any successful examples. Then, I started thinking about anthologies of stories written around a common setting. Thieves' World edited by Robert Asprin comes to mind as my favorite novel using this approach. The book contained eight short stories including tales by Lynn Abbey, Poul Anderson, and Marion Zimmer Bradley - all centered on the action in a city known as Sanctuary. Inconsistencies were explained by the fact that different characters see and recall the world differently. The book even included a chapter on The Making of Thieves' World where Mr. Asprin goes into humorous detail about the difficulties of collaborating with so many well-known authors. However, in the end, Thieves' World and its follow-on publications never really moved past the anthology stage for me. Many of the stories were great, but they didn't build up to a climatic end - like a great novel does. The characters seemed more like they were competing for the spotlight rather than integrated into the fabric of the book. While tangential references to each other's characters abounded, each author had their own, separate story to tell. So, in the end, this level of collaborative writing didn't really change the game, in my opinion. So, while technology allows us to share documents and words almost instantaneously, I guess I'm still not sure that the technology will change the craft in a fundamental way - and I'm not sure that it should. I would love to see some great examples of community writing from you readers - send them in.

Getting Noticed on the Internet

It is early on a Friday morning, and my schedule for the day is looking pretty full. So, this blog will be brief. It has been a good week for Trapdoor Books, as our online community nears 500 followers - pretty good since our first book won't be printed for a couple of months and the website is still in transition. I have been doing some research on getting noticed on the internet, trying to evolve our on-line marketing plan. There are the obvious things that need to be done like making sure that we show up at the top of the big search engines, snagging the top links on amazon.com, etc. These are well documented and can be accomplished by paying some $$ to the right people. But, there are many, many subtle ways that a small press like Trapdoor Books can get noticed. I'm trying to figure out which ones to do first. My own online browsing habits focus on a handful of intelligent bloggers and websites to get the news that the NY Times and WSJ don't cover - see my Favorite Links. A major focus for our marketing efforts will be to get coverage from these sites, many with tens of thousands of visitors every day. Having joined a large number of social networking groups (i.e., Science Fiction Readers, Writers and Collectors on LinkedIn), these are natural gathering places for dedicated fans to discuss Trapdoor Books. Again, the trick is to balance the efforts across many groups. For general data queries, I almost always start with Wikipedia. However, I have been looking for good sites that provide that next (more detailed) level of expertise. I like the idea of "lenses" of consolidated expertise from Squidoo, but it seems they haven't quite reached critical mass. I am much less likely to use StumbleUpon or even YouTube other than for random surfing. The question is whether it is worthwhile to put up profiles on these sites. Wikipedia seems like a no-brainer, but I'm not sure about the rest. So, I'm sure that you readers out there have some great on-line marketing ideas - let's hear them. I'll leave you with something I overheard at the coffee shop the other day that made me smile. "Those who can - write, those who can't - blog, and those who can't blog - twitter." This came from someone who was texting at the time. Have a fun weekend.

Trapdoor Books Supports Your Local Library! Are You Nuts?

My wife and I like to support our local Boulder County libraries. Why? Well, we are both book nuts (obviously), enjoy the educational and arts programs that the library provides, and have benefited from a young age with frequent library trips to foster our love of reading. I was reading several blogs a week ago that suggested, no proclaimed, that publishers shouldn't support libraries - why give away for free what you can sell at a bookstore. What? Are You Nuts? Literacy needs libraries - they are the only access many Americans have to books and the internet, as a critical social component of promoting literacy and free thought. Libraries are the heart and soul of many communities and provide stewardship to the accumulated knowledge of humanity. It seems unconscionable that anybody can take up arms against public libraries - although states continue to slash library budgets despite rising usage. Pennsylvania just defeated a measure that would cut its state library funding by 50%. Setting aside the good of society, the publisher vs. library argument is bogus. Even as an avid book collector, my wife will read a book first from the library - one that she would never buy while browsing at Borders - and then recommend it to a few friends, order copies for gifts, and even buy a copy for our shelves. How's that for marketing, Mr. Naysayer? So, this topic got me to thinking about what Trapdoor Books can do to make a difference. Here is my first cut at an idea. Your comments are welcome. The Trapdoor Library Grant Program will be established for donors to enjoy the opportunity to sponsor particular publications and see the tangible results of their philanthropy supporting libraries.

• - Grantors will choose their title from the current list of Trapdoor manuscripts in the process of being published.
• - A special embossing will be placed on ALL print runs of the book with the sponsor's name (if requested) and a notation that the title is being published under the Trapdoor Library Grant Program.
• - Donations will be used for printing extra copies of hardback books which will be donated to local libraries. For example, a $7500 donation would provide sufficient copies for every public library in Colorado to get one copy of a particular title for free.
• - All donations would be fully tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Seems pretty simple. Thoughts?

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber

It's a hot, sunny afternoon in Lyons, and oppressive heat always reminds me of driving across Kansas. It is an annual summer pilgrimage for me, you see, to drive from the mountains, across the prairie, and into the suburbs of Kansas City to visit family. I have driven the route nearly a hundred times over the last two decades, but in recent years I have found the answer to making the drive fun - audio books! I always take two books with me - just in case the first one is a clunker. And, I always get unabridged versions of the story - the way the author meant for the story to be told. For me, I start the book after picking up gas and sodas at our local U-Pump-It in Lyons. Five hours later, I realize that I'm in Hayes, KS - more gas, more food. And, in the blink of an eye, I'm in KC. A good book just does that for you. I picked up Michael Gruber's The Book of Air and Shadows on a recent trip. It is a great thriller that jumps between the modern-day exploits of Jake Mishkin, an intellectual property lawyer, confounded by secret letters leading to a priceless treasure, and seventeenth-century England where the letters are being written against the backdrop of Shakespeare's mysterious past. There are shadowy figures and codes to be deciphered - what's not to like. Stephen Hoye does a great job reading the book - try to duplicate those vocal cords on the Kindle. While I like thrillers, this one stands out for the depth of the personalities involved. The three narrators Mishkin, Albert Crosetti, and Richard Bracegirdle all become integral to the tale, each adding complexity and personality to the mix. The supporting cast is well-rounded - from the family to the competitive and interwoven network of antique book collectors. The Book of Air and Shadows is a great romp from Queens through the English countryside - enough of an escape to make me forget I was crossing Kansas. I recommend plugging into this book during one of your long car trips or picking up the pulp at your local bookstore.

It's Not Always About the Kindle

One of my readers asked why I'm so fascinated with the Kindle. The short answer is: I have one. But, to be fair, it is more about the concept of an e-book reader than the actual piece of plastic and glass. Right now, Kindle is the proverbial 500 pound gorilla, so it seems to be garnering a bulk of the media attention. That said, here are some interesting bits about other e-book readers out there. Here is a complete list from Wikipedia. BTW, Trapdoor Books will support all reading platforms - paper, electronic, neural shunts (they are coming). Our focus is on providing you good content in whatever format you wish to consume it. Coolreaders Cool-er got a review in Wired last week. This is the budget e-book reader at $250. The reviewer listed the trade-offs in functionality, although these are all pretty minor except for the lack of wireless downloads on Cool-er. From a publisher's perspective, the interesting thing is the device has access to only about 5000 titles (compared to 300,000 for Amazon and 100,000 for Sony), and the cost of each book averages $17 instead of $10. With Kindle 2 prices going down $60 this week, according to a PCWorld article, competing on price might be tough. Sony's Digital Reader was covered in a review by The Mirror last Tuesday, in a more comprehensive article looking at several e-book readers. Again, there is not much of a functionality difference. The review notes that the Sony Digital Reader doesn't synch with Macs well. Ho hum. The cost is $280. Ho Hum. Even a review of the Borders eBook (made by Elonex) noted that the functionality difference between readers was "miniscule". What's the point of all these articles from my perspective? There are a number of vendors making almost identical e-book readers at almost identical prices. Assuming the idea takes off, rather than being subsumed by consumers balking at another device and deciding just to use their cell phone for electronic reading, then the winner will be the device that can provide a comprehensive library of new titles. If format wars get in the way (see this article for a bit on that), then e-book readers will languish like Blu-Ray technology - a great idea without enough content to get off the ground. As a final thought, I attended a lecture at E3 in Los Angeles a number of years ago. One of the speakers talked about hardware convergence - how many devices will we carry, etc. At that point, a number of us had cell phones, pagers, PDA - all as separate devices. Now, we have the cell phone. It isn't inconceivable that Eucalyptus, Stanza, Iceberg, Books.app, MS Reader or any of the other cell phoned-based e-book software packages will eventually become the de facto portable book format. The only thing you can bet on is that Trapdoor titles will be there.

Excuse us while we interrupt your book reading for a short advertisement. Huh?

I hope that everybody had a fun Independence Day filled with fireworks and ice cream. It was stormy along the Front Range in Colorado, but the weather cleared just in time for the festivities - hooray. Now, it's back to work and with record high temperatures on the way at least I won't be tempted to go outside. Over the weekend, Devin Coldewey published a Crunchgear article reporting that Amazon has applied for a patent on in-book advertisements. Now, I stopped watching network television for the better part of a decade simply because I was tired of advertisements ruining a good movie or show. It even killed watching sports for awhile. With the advent of the DVR, I'm back with my finger poised over the Skip button - there were some entertaining shows made during the 90's and 00's. However, I bristle at ads still - it seems to be ingrained in my nature. Now, Mr. Coldewey has told us not to panic - with overtones of Douglas Adams. He purports that this approach would be used in reduced-price books (not full retail), so it would be an opt-in type of arrangement. I'm not sure how he comes to this conclusion, but it seems that it is only a tiny step away from a very bad situation - the advertiser wanting to "control" the content of the book to make sure that it meets corporate standards. I really, really, really don't want corporate lawyers and marketing executives editing the books I read. Really. This brings me to an idea that is floating around the halls of Trapdoor Books. We want to support libraries - both to promote literacy and to make sure that well-written fiction is generally available to the public. To do this, we are considering a patronage program where a donor may purchase several hundred hard-back books in advance of its first printing, and we will stamp them with their name and donate them to libraries across America. It seems like a great idea, and I would love to hear your thoughts. However, I would never set up a program that would allow the patron to edit or change the book they are supporting. It just seems wrong in all ways. Mr. Coldeway's article does illustrate that the book publishing business is changing in very fundamental ways. If done right, the new publishing order will be better for authors, publishers and readers. If done wrong, well... I would love to hear your thoughts.

Advances vs. Royalties - Balancing the Business

It's been a fast week - funny how three-day weekends do that. I am wrapping up business this morning and taking a nice drive in the mountains to start the Independence Day holiday. Never fear, my trusty Kindle will be with me, and I'm hoping to finish reading those late manuscripts. There was an interesting trail of posts on the business side of publishing today that I really enjoyed - as each author added a few more nuggets of interest. The journey started with Susan Beth Pfeffer's blog - Advances and Royalties: The Business End of Writing. She talks about her own experiences, as a writer, working under contract with Harcourt. The blog discusses the standard advance/royalty arrangement used by most of the publishing world - using real-world numbers from her two books as examples. John Green commented on the article in his June 24, 2009 column, The Economies of Publishing. The pivotal statement in his article is "I've seen the expectations of first-time authors grow even faster than the YA market has grown." He goes on to state that big advances don't necessarily help the author, the publisher or the book business. Mr. Green postulates that a bigger royalty share instead of an advance is the better way to go. In a follow-up column, Mr. Green posted his Really Long & Boring Post about Book Advances and Publishing which is not really long nor boring. It highlights the fact that the book industry has fallen into the big pothole that has sucked up the movie industry - chasing the blockbuster. I don't have to tell you, dear reader, what hyper-focusing on blockbusters has done to the artistic and literary content of the film medium. But to the point, by taking the smaller royalty advance, the writer makes significantly more money long-term if the book is successful. And, more importantly, lowers the break-even point so that a more modest success is more profitable all around - thus increasing the chance of being invited back to the table. On the publisher's side, smaller advances lowers risk which allows for a lower reliance on blockbusters and less of a need to "excessively correct" for flops. It would also allow for royalties to be paid more frequently - currently done twice a year - which would smooth cash flow on both sides of the fence. I agree with Mr. Green that the amount of the advance does not change the marketing plan of the publisher. We want to sell books and the money will naturally gravitate towards those marketing plans that do just that - even if that means taking a loss on an advance. In poker terms, there is no value in throwing good money after bad. In reading the comments on all of these blogs, this appears to be a passionate topic for both writers and publishers. I have talked to folks on both sides of the equation, and it seems that there is a desire to shift to a relationship where authors and publishers are working together to build the right, focused marketing plan and payment model to make their novels successful. I certainly hope this is the case, as it is a fundamental underpinning of the Trapdoor Books business plan. I'd love to hear what you think.

Do Books Need A Rating System?

According to a BoingBoing article, today is the 25th anniversary of the PG-13 rating for movies - a system which I absolutely abhor. Not PG-13 specifically, the whole concept is, well, so 1922 - the year the madness started. You have probably read several of my blogs on censorship, so you might be nodding your head about now. Which movies started all the fuss? Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. Sigh. These are hardly two titles that merit consideration today. Now, I don't have a problem giving guidelines to parents who want to make sure that a movie is appropriate for their children. However, the current system does not even remotely hit that mark - and it stifles creativity in the process. American tolerance of nudity is a great jumping off place for the discussion. Our obsession with covering up the human form has always struck me as odd and at odds with common sense. One of my favorite songs is Minnie Lou by John Flynn - a commentary on John Ashcroft's tarping the Spirit of Justice statue in the Great Hall in Washington DC. Insane! It's debatable whether making something as simple as nudity into a social taboo has the desired effect - I know that the lure of the forbidden has long been rumored as a primary motivator for adolescents. So, the TV and movie rating system restricts nudity. Fine, let's cover up Jeannie's belly button so... well, I don't know why they did that. However, the movie rating system has missed the big point - intent. I have seen movies that may have strategically placed plants to block the décolletage, but the intent of the movie is clearly aimed at adults. The director is just playing a game to make the movie fit within a system that apparently has no room for judgment or common sense. Despite whether you think censorship works, the MPAA Film Rating System and TV Parental Guidelines clearly stifles creativity. I can't even watch a "made for TV movie" any more. Between the plot having to be constructed to fit into a cliffhanger every thirteen minutes to get you through commercial break and the absolute need to make every movie appeal to every viewer... Bah. However, I have always loved the cinema. Even that is changing, however. At a recent outing, the biggest, nastiest villain in the whole world used <wait for it> the d-word. Darn. Immediately, I was pulled out of the movie. Oh, the director must be saving one of his precious "damns" for later. Ughh. We are only one step away from the Ministry of Truth's movie-writing machine, my friends. So, in conclusion and to answer the question, "Do we need a rating system for books?" No, thank you. If you don't like a book, close it. We already have nifty sections at Barnes & Noble for children and young adults. Did I mention that you can close a book that you don't like and, gasp, not read it? Just don't make my books into Swiss cheese by deleting everything you personally find offensive - all in the name of protecting me from myself.  Oh, and happy Silver Anniversary PG-13.

Whiteout by Ken Follett

Maybe summer is finally coming to Colorado. It is early in the morning, but my office windows are already shut and the air conditioner is humming away. Clear skies and temperatures in the upper 80's - what's next, fireworks? I am trying to catch up on reading a few overdue manuscripts today, so my post will be brief. My morning trolling of the internet has shown that all is right with the world - there is certainly a dearth of groundbreaking news. Last week, I mentioned there are several books that I really like but many of our readers consider, well, a bit too mainstream. One of these is Ken Follett's Whiteout. Now, I'm not going to claim that Mr. Follett creates literary masterpieces worthy of comparison with Shakespeare, but the man knows how to tell a good story. This one kept me up way too late at night over the holidays last year. In this case, it is a canister of deadly virus missing from a Scottish medical research company - boy, medical researchers must be evil given the body of literature against them. Mr. Follett introduces us to Toni Gallo, a disgraced cop working as head of security at the lab, and her loveable family-in-law-to-be of misfits. I really liked the interplay between the family, somewhat painfully as some of the descriptions and antics hit a bit too close to home. The characters are interesting and unpredictable. The family is rushing home on Christmas Eve through a blizzard to their ancestral home - again, beautifully rendered in Mr. Follett's clean, crisp narrative. Enter some thugs to steal the canister, and the chase is on. The click ticks as the blizzard worsens. Like a great mystery, everyone seems to be a suspect. The lazy, lay-about brother, the domineering father... well, you get the point. This isn't just a book about a car chase, this is a story that brings in a wide range of human emotions - and makes us care about the characters. At several points, I just want to reach out and shake some sense into one family member or another. I won't ruin the ending, but Whiteout is a very good book and an excellent summer read.

Virtual vs. Real World Social Networks

I have always loved the Independence Day weekend - fireworks and a trip to our local Boulder Glacier Ice Cream parlor. It is also a day that usually brings together old friends with promises to keep in touch throughout the summer. With that thought in mind, I have some observations from several colleagues who have stopped by for a drink or called to chat during these long days in June. On reading books on a cell phone - My buddy Mark, code-named Inspector Gadget, rides the Metro train into work every morning. He also likes to read and has volunteered to review manuscripts. His instrument of choice? His cell phone. Now, I am just coming to grips with reading on the Kindle, but a cell phone? His first report: "It's going pretty well. I like the format and it's pretty easy to read, especially since my phone lets you rotate and read it in 'landscape mode'. I just downloaded a couple of new books and will post a review soon." Very cool - it really is a new age out there. On the real value of Twitter - I was trying to explain Twitter to a grognard friend of mine who just couldn't see the value. Today, the perfect example struck me - literally. I was posting a blog to the Trapdoor Books website, and all of sudden the site was unavailable. No worries - reboot, clear the cookies. Hmm. Still no site. Panic? Should I call support? Did I screw up something with the upgrade to WordPress 2.8? Then a Twitter from Scott Beale at LaughingSquid (the CEO of our hosting site) arrived: "We are having an issue that is affecting part of our DFW data center. No details yet. Will update as we get more info." Ah, in a single Twitter, I knew that the situation was under control. Five minutes later, trapdoorbooks.com was up and running. Sweet tweet. On "virtual" vs. "real" social networking - This is a question that has come up several times in my social circle, so bear with this explanation. I want to make my "human" interactions with my social network more meaningful than email and emoticons. One way to do this is by hooking up a video camera to my computer and broadcasting my office for all to see. When I'm sitting in front of the camera and you "stop by", there I am most likely typing or drinking coffee. We can chat face-to-face. If you don't know me well, you will get a personalized experience and see (somewhat) what my surroundings look like. Another way to do this is to create a "virtual" social networking environment - I like to imagine World of Warcraft except with office buildings that mimic the real world. With some of the GPS and mapping software that's available, this is not really science fiction any more. Then, I could "create" my own online avatar, decorate my office with things that appeal to me, and accept visitors that would virtually knock on my door and stop by for a chat. This seems a bit less personal, but maybe in the end, more revealing. The answer is probably the next generation social networks will be a hybrid of these two, but it is a fun question to consider. Which do like?

Writing, Like Making Whisky, Takes Time

As you know, John Scalzi is one of my favorite bloggers. As it is a busy Friday afternoon, trying to catch up from vacation earlier in the week, I wanted to pass along his comments on Why New Novelists Are Kinda Old, or, Hey, Publishing is Slow - a very humorous way to slide into the weekend. For all you writers out there, this article should give you hope – it certainly lights a fire under this publisher's posterior to get in touch with a few writers who submitted manuscripts back in May. Here’s the abridged version of his commentary. First, it takes a long time to write a novel – not just typing the words into the computer, but learning the craft. I know from my own, painful experiences in writing that going from high school journalism class, to an English degree, to publishing my one-hundredth technical article last winter – it is a long journey that has no shortcuts. And, as Mr. Scalzi points out – very few first novels are masterpieces. Most novelists are happy to crank out 250 words per day – enough to fill one 90,000 word novel per year. Given work, family, hobbies, and all the other distractions of life – believe it. Second, the process of hiring an agent and submitting the novel to publishers could take weeks or months to get a response. If answer = “no”, start over. Submitting your manuscript to most publishers who accept un-agented manuscripts will oftentimes take up to a year for a review. This is one area that Trapdoor Books is seeking to improve with its community-based Readers who help quickly review manuscripts collaboratively. While it may not be a perfect system, it at least returns an answer quickly. Finally, there is content editing, copy editing, cover design, and printing. Each of these takes time – but the end result is a professionally finished book which is almost always distinguishable from self-published works. Many publishers will then wait for up to two years to put the book into their release schedule – a significant frustrations after so much work. Here is Mr. Scalzi’s autobiographical timeline: 1969 – 1997: Time spent learning to write well enough to write a novel (28). 1997: Wrote first complete novel (28). 1997 – 2001: Life intervenes and keeps me away from fiction (32). 2001: Wrote second novel (32). 2002: Offer made on second novel, now my debut novel (33). 2003: Contract signed for debut novel (33). 2004: Editing and early publicity for debut novel (35). 2005: Debut novel published (35). 2006: Won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (37). Mr Scalzi concludes by saying that the average John Campbell Award for Best New Writer is 37. "New is not the same as young." Ah, to be 37 again - the path to become a publisher seems to be a slow one as well. I guess writing is like making whisky, they both take time.

Call the Kindle Police!

I don’t usually admit that I’m wrong – not because I don’t have to, I’m just stubborn. But, after defending Amazon and the Kindle file format over the weekend to some skeptical friends, an article posted on BoingBoing this week makes me backtrack a bit. My only defense – it was a “secret”. Sigh. The article is entitled, “Some Kindle books have secret caps on the number of times you can download them”. I guess that says it all. If you buy a book and then try to download it too many times, you run out of downloads. There are many annoying features about this restriction – not the least of which it is “secret” and made me lose an argument. First, you don’t know what the number is. According to the article, it is typically between 1 and 6. This limits refreshes across different Kindle devices – whether they are your trusty backup reader or reloads of books that your spouse accidently erased. And, you don’t even know what the number is – it’s a surprise – yee haw! Second, when trying to partake in this oh-so-illegal activity, you will most likely get no error message back – the file will simply not be sent to the device. Good luck trying to troubleshoot that problem, especially with an unknown limit on downloads. If you are lucky enough to get the error message, "Cannot be sent to selected device", it might still take awhile to figure out the problem. Secret error messages are a bad idea – period. The solution is easy, however. You must buy another copy of the book. Huh? It is unclear if the so-called DRM-free versions of books have this limitation. I’m just hoping they get the problem cleared up before the Trapdoor Books hotline starts getting calls about Kindle download issues. Don’t get me wrong – I love my Kindle and we will support the reader. I just don’t like admitting I’m wrong.

Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks

After a couple of days of ranting about digital rights management and airport security, I figured it is time to turn to happier thoughts. It is a nice, sunny day here in Lyons, and the trauma of taking a 12 on a short par-3 at Pole Creek Golf Course has subsided. It is my favorite mountain course in Colorado - although my scores would tell you otherwise. I want to review another great book today, but before I launch into that topic here are a few appetizers. I like to troll the sites of the major publishing houses to see what new ideas they are sponsoring. Mostly, it's a pretty unimpressive stroll, but I ran across a new site today, We Make Stories, by Puffin UK which is really clever. The site helps children from 6-11 to write their own stories and make their own books on line. It has some nifty tools to add graphics, make treasure maps, and the like - along with tips on how to tell a good story. You can have the books printed or send them to friends online. It may cost money, but if it promotes literacy for children - more power to you. Also, the Locus Award Winners were announced this past weekend. Not surprisingly, my favorite, Anathem by Neal Stephenson won for best Science Fiction novel. Ursula Le Guin won best Fantasy Novel for Lavinia, and Paul Melko won the best First Novel award for Singularity's Ring. Check out all the winners on the Locus website. I have a couple of favorite books which might, at first glance, be considered a bit too mainstream for the Trapdoor Books audience. One of these is Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks. Now, before you dismiss Mr. Brooks as the Shannara guy, the man can write a good story, and this book is, hands down, his best. In stepping back from his usual Tolkien-like epic fantasy, the book is a touching, insightful story of a teenager, Nest Freemark, living in the rundown Hopewell, Illinois. The setting is at once both a desperate, subsistence survival and, at the same time, a magical fantasy in the shady woods of Sinnissippi Park. The characters are deep and complex - invoking memories of people from our pasts - some who are simultaneously fearful and loving. With the bomb going off on Independence Day, the plot moves along at a frantic pace, building tension and keeping the pages turning - family secrets, goblin Feeders - it's a good twisty book. Unlike some of Mr. Brooks' more serialized novels, Running with the Demon is an unexpected joy. I unashamedly rooted for Nest - as the night wore into dawn. The writing style is clear and concise as always, and the author tackles difficult topics, such as the environment with such delicate finesse that the book is never preachy - an absolute killer in my mind (sorry Wall-E). At the end, I read spellbound watching the different plotlines eventually converge into a coherent ending. While the other books in the trilogy are good - A Knight of the Word and Angel Fire East - this is the best of the lot. A great read before the first fireworks go off on July 4th.

I Bet They Wouldn't Pat Down Superman

I returned today from a nice holiday vacation in the mountains with some old high school buddies, I was standing at Denver International Airport watching the snaking line of passengers moving slowly though the TSA security checkpoint. There is a great vantage point to watch this at the airport, and it always amazes me to see the indignity Americans will put up with for the illusion of security. The scene reminded me of a story that I read in SF Scope earlier in the month. It tickled me so much, that I have quoted it below. Enjoy. "Boom! Studios sends word that comics writer Mark Sable was detained by TSA security guards at Los Angeles International Airport this past weekend because he was carrying a script for a new issue of his comic miniseries Unthinkable. Sable was detained while traveling to New York for a debut party at Jim Hanley's Universe today. The comic series follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type "unthinkable" terrorist scenarios that now are coming true. Sable wrote of his experiences: "Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley's Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for 'extra screening'. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then 'discovered' the script for Unthinkable #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated. "The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the Unthinkable script mentioned 9/11, terror plots, and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics. "I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While Unthinkable blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of Unthinkable unfolds when the writer's scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks. "In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium." Well spoken, Mark. You are much cooler-headed than I would have been. Click here if you want to read more about Unthinkable. As a final thought, the story and watching the TSA in action makes me happy not to be traveling by plane much these days. Of course, if Mark had his script on his Kindle, they would have never found it in the first place. I hope this doesn't put me on any lists.... A last minute addendum: I thought you might enjoy another recent TSA story, this one by BoingBoing, about a case brought against the TSA by the ACLU about a man illegally detained and searched for carrying $4700 in cash.  Ouch.

Digital Vampires? Google, not e-Dracula

In starting a book publishing business, I have been chekcing the pulse regularly on what is happening in other related industries - especially magazines and newspapers. In my mind, each represents a different facet of writing with very similar challenges. Newspapers report dozens of stories and columns and ask for daily subscriptions in return, magazines print a handful of articles and short stories and do the same on a monthly basis. Book publishers print longer stories and ask for money to cover costs and pay writers on a per book basis. A recent Crain's article in which the Wall Street Journal publisher Les Hinton calls Google a "digital vampire" underscores the tension between traditional print media and the free forces of the internet. Oddly, I really don't like paying for my current on-line subscription to the WSJ - although I had no problem paying for the paper version back when it was delivered to my door. Why? Is it that digital media doesn't seem as "real" as print media? Maybe. Is the perceived value different? Maybe. I think the issue goes deeper than this - representing a shift in our way of gathering information. In the good old days, I would get my three sources of news - the WSJ, the New York Times, and the local rag. A cup of coffee, and I was off for a happy hour reading. Now, I troll a dozen sites each day - oftentimes getting pulled down a rabbit-hole of linked sites and articles. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking about having to pay a dime for each site that I visit - it might not be that much money, but my VISA statement would be 40 pages long. No, the proliferation of choices has reduced the ability of any one source to collect direct income for its information. What happens when those columns, articles and stories get propagated for free on the internet? Well, the advertising model has defrayed some of the costs, although many will argue that the promise of advertising wealth led us down the primrose path to our current situation. Now, the WSJ and NYT might have enough clout to charge individual subscriptions. And, this may work for the elite echelon of magazines as well. But, I predict that this will fail in the end mostly due to the interconnected nature of the internet - paying a dime every time a link in a story piques your curiosity is a losing proposition. Internet readers want a more interactive experience than print articles, so these traditional media sources are going to have to interconnect with the rest of us. In the last sentence of the WSJ article, Mr. Hinton is quoted as saying, "Imagine this future: the Journal is one of the many newspapers you might buy in one place and with one payment... Watch for it." On the surface, this statement makes me happy. However, cable TV has made me skeptical of an aggregator promising us one LOW price for content from multiple sources. Instead, Comcast stifles creativity, fills my TV Guide with hundreds of stations that I don't want to watch, and nickels me for upgrades they should provide for free. Hopefully, Mr. Hinton will be more forthright in his approach. In some ways, books already have an aggregator in Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, etc. Now, you can buy an annual WSJ or NYT subscription there, but the delivery is the real devil. These sites certainly provide an easy way to do one-payment shopping for novels. I guess if Google starts publishing complete works or allowing free downloads of full electronic copies of books on their site, I might also call them digital vampires. Will there ever be a time when, as a book publisher, I will feel comfortable letting people download books off my site for free - in order to fuel advertising revenue based on site hits? Not yet. It seems this might be a $1B prize waiting for the clever person who figures out a solution.

Architecting custom books just for you

I enjoyed a cup of coffee with an architect friend of mine, Brian, yesterday morning, and we were discussing our respective businesses. It seems that book publishing and architecture have quite a bit in common, which got me thinking... Designing custom homes and tract homes is a very different animal for architects - a fact that is probably obvious now in retrospect. Apparently, after an architect finishes designing a tract home, the builder typically takes the designs and starts making cuts - eliminating floor space from rooms, for example. This is done to save money, but the end result to the homeowner is an annoying room that is just a little bit too small to fit the furniture that was designed to be used in it. We have all had apartments and houses that have a room that just doesn't serve any real purpose - mostly it ends up getting filled with bikes, boxes, and other "collectables". Brian's contention is that builders can't afford to take risks adding features unless they are already mainstream and in demand. This, of course, completely stifles innovation - leaving new features only to those who build a custom home. In many ways, the creative process is circumvented in architecture and is really being driven by the delivery mechanism rather than the artist. If you have been following my blog, this is completely analogous to the book publishing industry - with the limits on what can be commercially printed and distributed vs. what the authors really intended to write. I have spent too much time in my life reading books that are just a little too small for the story that is being told. So, can we shift the paradigm in the book publishing industry? Is a day coming when printed books will be like audio books - with abridged and unabridged versions? How about multiple endings like the movie industry tried with Clue? Or would this be seen as the publishing industry trying a new trick to make readers part with a few more dollars? Certainly, e-books give the flexibility for dynamic content - on-the-fly plots that allow us to decide whether the heroine lives or dies. Personally, this sounds a bit too much like those old DOS-based computer games where you "create" the story by choosing how to react to each new encounter. I guess I'm a stickler for letting the author be the creative force behind the narrative. Until my book can "see" that I am getting bored and pick up the pace, I have to trust the author to entertain me. However, I do like the idea that small press publishers like Trapdoor Books can take the chance and put that solarium on the back of the house - make the tract home into a custom home - because a dedicated community is behind the effort. The real challenge is to find out from you, the readers, what is missing from your reading experience. To move from tract home publishing to custom home publishing will require authors and readers to communicate to a degree that isn't readily done today - and certainly not embraced by the major houses.  This feedback loop, similar to working with your architect, is the only way that this transformation is possible.  So, let us know what you want in your custom book.  We are listening. This is a good question to ponder during a long summer weekend, and by my clock, it is time to relax and read a book.

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

I woke up this morning cursing technology - my blog post for yesterday didn't get posted. Bah. Then, I had a couple cups of coffee, realized that I set the Publish Schedule wrong in WordPress, looked out the window at the sunny Colorado morning, watched the rabbits playing on my scrubby hillside, had another cup of coffee and got over it. I'm not sure if it is the coffee or the fact that it is just way too easy to get wrapped up in the details that we miss the big picture. A reader asked me my opinion of the The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown yesterday. The book was a very entertaining novel, and I thought that Mr. Brown did a good job giving us a fictional story set against the historically and culturally interesting backdrop of the Vatican. It's too bad that the book received so much negative press - which goes back to my comments above about getting wrapped up in the details. However, there are certainly other books that provide the same sort of escape that are more challenging and intricately wrought. The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason is one of those novels - intricate and yet easy to read, and cunningly wrought to make us lose sleep seeing what's on the next page. It follows the exploits of four Princeton roommates chasing down the secrets of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili - looking not only for buried Roman treasure but for meaning and direction in their lives. It has everything that I like about novels - a wide range of topics covered in some detail - from Renaissance art to codes and riddles. Now, the research is not as intricate as you might find in an Umberto Eco novel (another favorite author of mine), but it provides descriptive narrative that simply works. The plot keeps moving along - this time set against the more politically-correct background of the interwoven fabric of Ivy League society. There are murders, disappearances and enough twists that I stayed up way too late reading. The characters are dynamic, unpredictable and very likeable - each in their own way. In short, The Rule of Four should be on your short list of must-read intrigue thrillers. Well, it's time to try my hand at technology again. I am setting the Publish Schedule to release this blog at high noon. Let's see if it works. I love technology.

Why Big Brother and Social Networks Don't Mix

I have been spending considerable time thinking about social networks lately. Some of my initial concerns about starting Trapdoor Books revolved around whether we would find enough good authors and interesting manuscripts. Another was finding Readers that would be qualified and motivated to participate in evaluating the merits of those stories. Both of those are well ahead of schedule and expectations - our call for manuscripts is just now hitting full stride. The remaining concern is around our viral marketing plan - a central pillar of which is the social network. Right now, we have over four hundred people in our community, a number that I would like to see double in the next few months. So, I am very sensitive to news of stifling or censoring social networks. I have already blogged on censorship several times, but a news article coming in from Bozeman, Montana really struck a chord. If you work for the city, you are required on their employment application to "list any and all, current personal or business websites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.," This includes both userids AND passwords. Whoa! On the one hand, a good common-sense idiom is: "You should never post anything on social network that you wouldn't say to someone's face or in a room full of people". But, on the other, I like to discuss all sorts of topics - say politics or religion - with my friends that I would never discuss with a business client. Now, I agree that calling three personal references is a joke when trying to vet a potential employee. If you look them up online to find their web-presence, you get much better insight to the ‘real' person - it is public information after all. Although, using this as a basis for employment seems like a slippery slope - You play board games? Well, we won't be needing your services today... However, requiring my password so you can pick through my accounts? - Good luck on that one Mr. Bozeman City Attorney. One concern back in the late 1990's was that the government would "shut down" the internet by requiring content to be "approved". While Uncle Sam does its fair share of censoring our First Amendment rights online - see wikileaks and other sites for examples - big business makes too many big bucks on the internet to let the gravy train get derailed. Is the government trying to shut down social networks? Probably not. I'm going to chalk this up to a bureaucratic do-gooder who hasn't really taken the time to understand the issues or think this idea through. If MySpace or Twitter eventually fails, it will be because the public demand or attention has moved on. Staying relevant should be the challenge, not the local constabulary. I guess I can cross the City of Bozeman off my list of potential employers, eh? On my mind now is how to make the Trapdoor Community site the best, most relevant place to stop for a chat on your morning coffee tour of the internet. Your thoughts are welcome. Mine are coming.

Buy your used e-books here?

It has been a busy day at Trapdoor Central - I just returned from a visit to the "cavalry" for our website. Hopefully, the past mis-adventures will be quickly forgotten, and I am again excited about getting a sexier web presence that maybe allows us to - gasp - sell books. I'll keep you all posted on our progress. Just when I thought it was safe to quit blogging about the Kindle and e-books for a few days, one of our Trapdoor Readers sent me another good article from cnet that I missed during my daily trolling of tech sites. Check out my June 11 blog Say, buddy, can I borrow your e-book? Uncle Sam says ... No! to see how this thread got started. Now, I don't agree with a number of points in the article - no, I don't want to pay an extra $10 per month to have an internet browser on my Kindle. Buy a laptop or use your phone. However, it does bring up a critical piece of the puzzle. The article starts by talking about sharing books amongst family and friends. Amazon allows authorization of six Kindles on a single account allowing subscriptions and purchases to be shared. This is a good start - allowing the family to enjoy the social nature of sharing books. Then, we move on to the concept of one-time content sharing - allowing me to send an entire book (with an expiration of a day or so) or a chapter or bookmarked section to a friend. Very social - and a concept that I think has some merit. Certainly publishers like free publicity. We'll see if Amazon picks up on the idea. The final point, however, really got me thinking. Bundle a Kindle e-book (MSRP $10) and a physical book (MSRP $15) for, say, $18. Up-selling works for the publisher. It gives you a physical book to loan to friends. Not a bad idea. But what about those who don't want to have a library of paper books or a Kindle full of files? It was my brother who came up with a killer idea - the used e-book store. Before you dismiss it as the rambling thoughts of a rogue archaeologist, follow the logic. You buy an e-book for $10. You read it and "sell" it back to the authorized used e-book store for $2 in store credit. This deletes the file off your Kindle - just like buying a book adds the file to your Kindle. You can then buy a new e-book for $10 or a used one for $6. The trick is that used e-books are only available when someone turns one in - just like paper books. So, if you want that copy of the new Stephen Graham Jones thriller right now - you might have to fork over the $10. Or, maybe a used copy of a Neal Stephenson classic will do for $6. Publishers could then get a cut from used e-book sales - something that doesn't happen with paper books, if they need incentive to come to the table. The key word here is authorized. Obviously, the used e-book seller holds the keys to the bank here - they can't just "create" used e-books, allowing new e-book sales to be undercut. Hmm. Does authorized = Amazon? Any thoughts out there on this one?

What Are Your Top 100 Geek Fiction Books?

I'm not sure what it is about Top 100 lists that fascinate me - but they do. Am I compulsive, maybe? But I am not alone. Recently, I was asked to compile a list of top geek fiction books - sort of a primer for those just starting the journey. So, I started where all great research starts - on the internet. What I found scares me a bit. I found dozens of lists of Top 100 books - the World's Best Books, the HRF Keating 100 Best Crime & Mystery Books, the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century, David Pringle's Best 100 Science Fiction Novels, and even a site that is all lists of books - Sci-Fi Lists. It seems there are hundreds of Top 100 book sites out there. Many are thoughtfully and painstakingly crafted. There is even agreement between rival sites in some cases. This led me down a side path for awhile. What are the Top 100 Science Fiction Blogs? What are the Top 100 geeks that I should be following on Twitter? It seems that if 100 things exist that can be ranked then there is a site dedicated to doing this. Finally, I looked around the office to make sure I was alone and searched on Lists of Lists. Whoa. I do have to get out more. Yup. Lists of lists - and lots of them. Which brings me back to some of my favorite geek fiction books - some of which I have shared with you via my reviews. For me, good geek fiction has to have six things (here comes another list). 1. Does the book challenge me and stir my curiosity? 2. Does the book surprise me? Is it unpredictable? 3. Does the clock keep ticking? Are tension, momentum and pace balanced in the plot? 4. Are the facts in the book straight? I can suspend disbelief but only so far. 5. Do I care about the characters? Are they multi-dimension, do they grow? 6. And finally, is it a good story? This is what drives good fiction in my mind. So, think back on your favorite fiction books, and you will probably find yourself nodding your head. So, before I succumb to publishing my own list of the  Top 100 geek fiction books, I wanted to get your favorites using this simple poll.  I'll start the ball rolling with the #1 book on my list, Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.  Add your favorites to the poll below. After I get 100 titles, I'll publish the list, and we can start arguing about the order.  If you have lots of titles, just leave a comment with the list.  Happy polling! [SURVEYS 1]

Daemon by Leinad Zeraus (Daniel Suarez)

It’s a beautiful Friday morning in Lyons, and my mind is already starting to wander to the weekend. I have several new manuscripts to read, and I’m very excited about the number of new Trapdoor Readers that we’ve signed up this week. We had our first magazine article in Essential Writer on Wednesday discussing our call for manuscripts, and our first corporate Twitter follower in The Onion. I’m not sure what it says about Trapdoor Books that it is being followed by The Onion, but I’m willing to go with the flow. It’s been over a week since I have talked about some of my favorite books, so I thought it would be a nice way to slide into the weekend. Daemon is a novel that gets quite a bit of airtime from me. It is a great story about a writer with the passion not only to craft a great story, but one who is also not afraid to defy the odds and win a big publishing contract by self-publishing his first book. Plus, he was an IT consultant, used a cool pen name, and makes database analysts into action heroes. His background not withstanding, Daemon is a killer read. I won’t ruin the story for you, but the basics are this. A legendary computer programmer dies, but his legacy is a series of computer programs that start executing once his obituary hits the internet. The novel begins with mass confusion about what’s happening, the bumbling police efforts to understand high tech, and a twisting plot that keeps the reader trying to figure out what’s the motive. Daemon is a beautiful blend of action, technology, suspense and great characters, building up to a final scene where…. oops, I said that I wouldn’t ruin the ending. Let’s just say that you won’t walk through those metal detectors at the airport so nonchalantly again. It is clear to me that Mr. Suarez is a very talented writer with the background and imagination to bring tech alive. I would put Daemon on my short list to read this summer.

Say, buddy, can I borrow your e-book? Uncle Sam says … No!

It's another stormy day in the foothills around Lyons. For a town that has 300 sunny days a year, I think we are using up our 65 cloudy days all in a row. So, let's chat about a stormy subject: what can you do with your e-book once you're done reading it? In the old days of books being printed on paper, the rules were very simple. If you bought a shiny, new book at the bookstore, you were allowed to sell it or give it away as long as no additional copies were made. This allowed for the growth of used book stores, and yet provided for revenues to the publisher and author. This was called the "first-sale doctrine". After fifty years or so, the book's content would go into the public domain, which meant it was fair game - groovy. Why did this work? Well, it was too expensive to photocopy books at ten cents a page when you could buy one at the bookstore for $1.95. With the advent of e-books, our little industry is getting thrown into the same mess as the music and software industries. Today it is trivially inexpensive to reproduce copies of Microsoft Office Professional rather than shelling out $500 per copy. So, the coin has flipped. In order to keep this from happening, the music and software industries (among others) have implemented Digital Rights Management - software locks to eliminate duplication and prove ownership. Like most locks, it actually has the effect of only keeping the good people out while not slowing the criminals down at all. I haven't really seen a DRM system that works - although I am compulsive about buying copies of all my music and software - a throwback from writing and selling software for a living, I guess. All this brings us to e-books. Uncle Sam says that e-books don't fall under the "first sale doctrine". Here is a really long Harvard Law White Paper to prove it. Therefore, you don't actually buy an e-book, you are simply leasing it. This means that it can't be given away or sold. You don't own the rights. So what does this really mean? If the book publishing industry tries to lock things down too tightly, we run the risk that readers will get turned away from e-books. On the other side of the fence, how will writers get royalties from their works if one copy gets propagated into thousands for free? Clearly, our legal system is unable to deal with the issue. To me, it seems like DRM doesn't really work either. My humorous solution is to make it legal to steal e-books but require that taxes be paid on them. Then, e-book thieves have to deal with the IRS if caught - a much nastier proposition than the FBI - just ask Al Capone. Seriously, I don't think that the best solution lies in technology (which becomes an escalating, ever-changing war in which we - the readers - inevitably get caught in the middle and lose). The solution lies with a cultural shift that rewards those who follow the rules and provides peer pressure to those that don't. Hmmm. Seems kind of touchy-feely. Your thoughts?

We Like Our Books Small and Monochrome

There have been a number of articles bouncing around this week about e-readers. Since I am now totally addicted to my Kindle 2 for reading manuscripts, I thought this would be a good time to voice my thoughts and ask others for opinions. The new Kindle DX was reviewed in an article on wired.com today. One of the best features of my Kindle 2 is the ability to change font sizes - which is particularly useful as the day wears on and my eyes run out of juice. This might be the biggest advantage e-readers have over traditional, printed books - dynamic print size. While the increased font size does mean that you press the Next Page button more frequently, it has become second nature - and thus a moot point - for me. The biggest difference between the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX, however, is its larger physical size - the DX is meant to allow reading textbooks, newspapers, and magazines. It also means you don't have to press the Next Page button as often - woo hoo! Textbooks aren't really available yet and the search feature is going to make it tough to "flip through" the book looking for a particular formula or reference point. Newspapers might be a good fit, although the DX certainly isn't tabloid or broadsheet sized, and most articles would fit on the smaller Kindle 2 just fine. And finally, the Kindles display text only in black and white - magazines are color - one of their most defining qualities. Color is an interesting topic. Fiction novels are printed in black and white with glossy color covers. Why? Color = marketing = getting you to buy the book off the shelf. Rarely does the cover really have anything to do with the story, although bad covers can make a good book look, well, trashy. Black and white = less distractions for an immersive story. I am sitting here racking my brain as to why the interior of a novel would be printed in color - nope, nothing. Any thoughts, readers? Wired.com also covered this topic in a recent article. They focused on the technology which is emerging but right now suffers from a contrast problem - color e-readers are too dim for consumers right now. Technology will solve that problem, but is this a technology in search of a reason to exist? Coffee table books, magazines (certainly), graphic novels, comics? Okay, but I just don't see a trend towards color on the inside of a novel. Amazon says that color Kindles are still "multiple years away" - by then we might have figured out why we need one. As to the other features, the Kindle DX has a few that are nice: the ability to read PDF documents is probably the most relevant - everyone expected this, but it is still nice to have it implemented. Of less value is the Pivot feature which switches between landscape and portrait as you tilt the book - might be cool, might drive you crazy. I agree with author about having Next Page buttons on both sides of the device - a must for reading in bed. I think this is a design mistake for the Kindle DX which has buttons only on the right-hand side of the device. So, I guess I'm not sure of the business case for the Kindle DX.

How would you like your story?

After three foggy days in Lyons, I can finally see blue sky peeking out - my windows are open and the anticipation of sunshine is palpable. Over the last few grey days, I have been immersed in what seems like two dichotomous tasks. First, I finished reading a couple of new manuscripts last night - one of which is promising and the other is good but not my cup of tea. Both, however, reminded me of the importance of good storytelling - how fundamental it is to the human psyche. I felt very satisfied to have shared in two tales well told. On the other side, I have been actively working on the technology nuts and bolts of my social network website - fixing a problem with my Twitter feed and getting my Facebook blog to post to the right area of my profile. The potential for the social network is huge, but its construction must be done with some thought. I had, however, been considering this task as primarily a feed for the Trapdoor Book community - a way to get like-minded folks together and talking. Now, I am thinking that social networks might have a more intimate role in the long-term fate of books. I'm not sure that I agree with Bruce Sterling in his recent Wired blog on the Eighteen Challenges in Contemporary Literature who argues, "Algorithms and social media [are] replacing work of editors and publishing houses; network socially-generated texts [are] replacing individually-authored texts." The distinction between professionally-edited work and the raw output of writers is pretty profound. Even in my own technical writing, I would never consider publishing an article without having my favorite editor polish it to a shine. And, I'm not sure that the craft of writing is really very collaborative - rather it seems to be much more introspective and solitary. There are a few exceptions, but I don't think that the basic writing craft is going to change drastically after two thousand years. What I do agree with is some of his challenges for the commercial publishing industry as it stands now. In fact, many of his points are really arguments against the way literature is marketed and sold. "Media conglomerates have poor business model; economically rationalized ‘culture industry' is actively hostile to vital aspects of humane culture." I agree. Books shouldn't be "scrubbed" just to sell a few more copies - a good story is a good story - but small presses are going to force a change in traditional sales and marketing practices. Readers and the social network must control the distribution - in my mind - not the business model artifices of a few major publishers. So, the social network then becomes the driver of the distribution of books - paper, electronic, audio, or otherwise. How would you like your story?

Bloggers Who Quit Blogging

As many of you have figured out, I like John Scalzi's blog - Whatever. I even love the tagline - "taunting the tauntable since 1998." On Sunday, Mr. Scalzi discussed a story in the New York Times about bloggers who quit blogging, aptly titled Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest. Several thoughts struck me as I read both the original article and Mr. Scalzi's witty reply. First, writing is hard work. I know a number of very smart, very talented folks who have started blogs - only to have them die out after a few well constructed posts. This actually supports a general observation of writers. When I ask successful authors why they write, their answers are 100% correlated - "I write because I have to. It's a compulsion." Writing as an IT industry analyst I wrote "because I was paid by the page" - not the same thing, by any stretch of the imagination, and one of the reasons that I am publishing books, not writing them. I do find a certain catharsis writing this blog daily, however, so don't expect me to give up anytime soon. Second, I think that the success of a few bloggers has been hyped to make all of us think that anyone who pumps out a few hundred words into a blog will become an internet rock star. With 10,000,000 blogs on the internet, most of the traffic is driven by 50,000 sites. The odds are against you. Again, a strong parallel for those authors considering self-publishing books vs. traditional publishers - but that is a different discussion. Building the community - as I have said before - is the key. In fact, the role of Community Manager seems to be quickly becoming a standard job title within the internet-focused business world. It is certainly a major focus for our energies at Trapdoor Books. In putting this site together, I have connected my LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter accounts into this website using a number of dead simple technologies - Twitterfeed, OpenID, and Gravitars to name a few. It is interesting to see how the four sites are feeding off each other - as I seem to be getting equal attention all around. The technology to implement the hooks only took about two hours to implement, and I must admit that it is pretty cool to post once, read many. Now, I just need about 100,000 readers - psst, tell your friends.

Trapdoor Books Seeks Novel-Length Fiction Manuscripts and Writers

It's hard to believe that another week has flown by. It seems that I have hardly looked up from the screen (computer or Kindle) - a sure sign that a long weekend is needed. I am reading the last few manuscripts already submitted to Trapdoor Books. So far, there have been a number of very pleasant surprises, and I must admit to an itch to move forward with printing. Thanks to the dozen folks who have expressed interest in being a Trapdoor Reader, along with those who have already started submitting reviews. All of this leads me to realize that next week needs to be focused on getting out the Call for Manuscripts including getting this blog syndicated to the LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook communities. So much fun! What follows is the "official" announcement, which I will also post on the About Trapdoor Books section of the website. As an emerging small press located in Lyons, Colorado, Trapdoor Books is actively seeking book-length fiction manuscripts for publication. Founded by technology consultants with a literary bent, we specialize in geek fiction with an eye for the extraordinary. Trapdoor Books is a traditional publisher providing an independent voice for new and early-stage authors. Submit your manuscript today. Manuscripts should be original works written in the English language. We prefer novels between 60,000 and 140,000 words. However, we will consider manuscripts of all lengths. We encourage experimental topics and styles. Manuscripts should be aimed at adult audiences (no children's books, pre-teen, etc). While the geek fiction genre transcends normal industry labels, we do not publish or consider erotic fiction, romance novels, poetry, non-fiction titles, or graphic novels. Trapdoor Books encourages submission of manuscripts from any author, regardless of nationality. We welcome commercially published authors to submit new manuscripts, although we cannot accept previously commercially-published works. Self-published books can be submitted for consideration. Naturally, manuscripts must not violate any right of any third party or be libelous. For more details, click here. Have a great weekend. Enjoy. Read a book.

Launching the Trapdoor Books WordPress Blog

Taking the technology bull by the horns, I upgraded the Trapdoor Books website to the latest and greatest WordPress blogging software. This is really just a band-aid approach until the actual website launch, but it makes me feel better to have a clean, simple interface for posting my daily musings. I must admit that that the whole job (including the migration of existing posts) took only four hours to complete. That includes me fat fingering the wrong URL into the initial site signup with Laughing Squid - who has very responsive tech support, btw. WordPress touts its Famous 5-Minute Install. I'm not sure why it takes a full five minutes - I was drinking coffee after three. So far, the honeymoon is going strong with the technology, a claim that most software packages fail to recognize before the install is over. I would love to get your comments about the new look for the site - and, more importantly, how to make it better. While I don't want to spend hours honing a site that will be tossed when the commercial Trapdoor Books site launches, it is important to make a good first impression. Right, Mom? Let me know what you think. Back to the Kindle...

Glasshouse by Charles Stross

Wednesday is proving to be another cold, rainy day here in Lyons. I even had to break out a long-sleeved shirt. Of course, I could shut the windows in my office, but that would be too radical. Kimberly spotted our first hummingbird of the season, so warm weather can't be far behind. Faced with another month's delay in getting the website up and running, I am taking any and all suggestions about making this blog site useful and fun. I am also hoping that new writers will be persuaded to contact me about submitting manuscripts, and that everyone will freely comment on my posts. So, driving back from the library this evening, I was pulled over by the local county sheriff for - gasp - having a burned out headlight. It's good to know that my tax dollars are hard at work and that the constant, vigilant eye of the law is upon my every move - which reminds me of another great book - Glasshouse (2006) by Charles Stross. The story revolves around a twenty-seventh century spook/commando being tracked down by the bad guys for what's in his brain. To hide, he joins the Glasshouse, an experiment which drops him into a twentieth-century suburban neighborhood - designed to measure the effects of a pre-accelerated lifestyle. The story is outstanding - not only because it portrays the oddities of current social mores in a light which makes them look, well, absurd - but for interesting characters and a well-paced plot. Reading Glasshouse will definitely change the way you look at your neighbors. It is a great Big Brother book, in that fine, long-standing tradition.  As to having your memory selectively zapped - some days that seems like a bargain.

Google vs. Amazon – is this a Godzilla vs. King Kong rematch?

Last night, we were treated to a beautiful thunderstorm - a rarity here in the foothills of Colorado. Now, out on the plains, this is a ho-hum every day occurrence in the summer, but for us - it is a treat. This morning, the sky is steel grey and a constant drizzle is falling from overhead. Sadly, today the reality of NOT having the website up and running has finally sunk in. Sigh. In bigger news, there was an interesting post in the New York Times yesterday about an upcoming e-book publishing war between Google and Amazon. Right now, the Google search engine, when used to look up a book, provides a link to go to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble's website to buy the book - either in digital format or paper. Google now wants to grab the digital portion of that market - selling the e-books directly to you. Of course, Amazon supports the Kindle exclusively, and Google the Sony reader (among others). So, a lot of the fuss is about the delivery mechanism. Trapdoor Books supports all major readers, so this is just another way to deliver our books in the format that you, the consumer, want. Overall, I think this will be good for the industry, although it might raise the price of e-books as Amazon charges $9.99 and Google is considering charging full retail. I am less excited about the Google scanning project which has been running amok since 2003 and has recently returned to the news. Google is looking to the courts for "the right to display and sell books from authors who it can't find, and then save any profit from those for five years in case the rights holder shows up." On the surface, this doesn't appear onerous. However, these rights are exclusive, so "if another company tried the same thing, they could get dinged for up to $150,000 in fines for each copyright violation." Also, the books would require users to login to Google - which means becoming part of the engine that captures personal information, correlates browsing habits, tracks YouTube usage, etc. - a nice little monopoly. If the opportunity is available to everybody - I say "let's go". Otherwise - Whoa, Nellie!

The Boulder Writer’s Meetup

It's Monday, and I'm refreshed from a sunny weekend away from the computer. On Saturday morning, I met with the Boulder Writer's Meetup at The Cup on the Pearl Street Mall. It was an interesting gathering, and well attended by very thoughtful and sharing writers - my thanks to all of you! Primarily, I was looking for feedback on the writing contest and the general approach that Trapdoor Books was taking towards publishing. As a result, I have made several changes to the contest rules and business plan. I'm also hoping that I have persuaded a couple of writers to submit manuscripts to Trapdoor Books. As to the website, Vermilion has just informed me that the launch will have to be pushed back five weeks - making the entire web development project nine weeks! Hmm. They promised two weeks, pushed it back to three, pushed it back to four, and now they want to push it back to nine weeks? It sounds like the time has come to bring in the cavalry, so to speak. Arrgh! As my buddy Jeff says, "It makes you realize why you got out of the software industry, eh?" The truth of that statement can't be over emphasized. This puts a serious dampener on the festivities, that's for sure.

Censorship Conundrum

Another delay for the website launch - bah! It puts me in a dark mood going into what is shaping up to be a very nice weekend. At least, there is a nice sushi meal waiting for me at the end of the day at Lyons newest restaurant, Matsuri. Two articles I read over the last several days are rolling around in my head, fighting with each other. The first, reported by wired.com, told of a manga collector, Christopher Handley, who had pleaded guilty to possessing books with drawings depicting child sex abuse. Now, my sympathy for pedophiles is non-existent, and the punishment doled out in American courts for sex crimes is a joke. However, as I read the article, I was struck by the fact that Mr. Handley prolifically collects all types of manga, possessed no traditional child pornography, isn't a sex offender, etc. He simply collects it all - which doesn't really account for taste. While I haven't seen the items in question - and really don't want to - they are drawings, after all. They are not aimed for young readers, and no children were exploited in making the manga. I know that the Congress and Supreme Court have been battling over these types of issues lately, but it seems that there are probably significantly bigger bad guys out there to catch than Mr. Handley. So, high on my soapbox about this article, I read a second article about Wikipedia, my favorite on-line encyclopedia, banning the Church of Scientology from editing articles. Again, the details are a bit sketchy, but the debate between pro- and anti- Scientology groups seems to have gotten out of hand for the Wikipedia editors. With 272 notes on its Wikipedia entry, Scientology seems to be a hot topic. And, here is the conflict. Is this censorship? Wikipedia represents, at least in theory, an honest neutral source of information - for as much as humans can ever really be neutral. In reading the entry, it seems that both sides are represented, so I find myself siding with the editors. However, there is an uneasy nagging at the back of mind that I might be overlooking the censorship angle. Am I crazy here?

Puzzles and the Economy – They Go Together!

I must admit that my pacing about the office has increased dramatically today. It is a calm, sunny day. The mountains look peaceful with just a hint of snow on their peaks. And, all I can think about is launching the website tomorrow. So, I will distract myself with today's blog. Okay, so the day after the CBCRC pronounced the recession over (see my May 16 blog on The Recession is Over, Right?), the stock market dipped almost 200 points. Hmmm. It's almost like the stock market and the economy aren't really related. I am meeting with a very bright friend for dinner tomorrow night - and he has promised to tell me how to prepare for the turbulent economic times ahead. I sure hope that starting a publishing company is one of his suggestions. Speaking of good suggestions, Vermilion, the firm that is designing and building the Trapdoor Books website has suggested that in order to bring you, my dear reader, back every day to the site, that we incorporate a "Puzzle of the Day" feature. For those of you who know me - and after a month of blogging I feel that y'all should be getting the picture - you know I adore puzzles. Not so much crossword puzzles - which my Dad could complete with the best of them. Math, logic and game puzzles are my weakness. So, we will give it a try and see if y'all like to be puzzled - I'm guessing the answer is yes. While I have over a thousand puzzles lying around my office, in various forms and states of completion, I would love to get puzzle submissions from you. If you have a good puzzle that you want posted, contact me via email. Just make sure that you send along the answer. If you hate puzzles, suggest something else that you would like to see on the website every day.

The Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko

It looks like my LinkedIn community will probably crest 300 connections today. It is amazing that in 21 years of consulting, I have worked with over 2000 IT technologists, many of whom have become close friends. Some may find it even more amazing that I have kept lists of all their names, but it is just a habit of mine. If you are among the 800 that I have invited to join the community so far, welcome aboard. If you haven't been invited, you are probably still on the list. Of course, you can always contact me. I wanted to review The Nightwatch (2006) by Sergei Lukyanenko today. This is another nail in the coffin for the "good book = good movie" argument. I had seen the movie, which is forgettable, in that "mostly special effects but missed the essence of the story" sort-of-way. However, I still picked the book off the shelf at the local bookstore - Russia, vampires, and street sorcerers. Sure, why not? The book was surprisingly good. The characters were interesting, and the story turned the Hollywood clichés on their head. The strengths of the book were its unpredictable twists and an engaging description of a modern, dark Russia - with an appeal to the Romantic in us Western readers. I won't call it the best novel I've read in years, but it is a good book - a light (or should I say dark) summer fare. As a follow-up from yesterday's blog, there was an interesting article in Wired recently on the New Economy by Chris Anderson. I agree with most of what Mr. Anderson said, and I especially liked his quote of venture capitalist Paul Graham, "It turns out the rule 'large and disciplined organizations win' needs to have a qualification appended: 'at games that change slowly.' No one knew till change reached a sufficient speed." I believe that the emergence of e-books, print-on-demand, etc. constitutes very rapid change, and it gives us all a reason to be optimistic about the future of emerging, small presses.

Why start a publishing business now? The recession is over, right?

There's nothing like a long weekend to clear the brain. Well, okay, so I spent a few hours - okay lots of hours - reading manuscripts on the Kindle - so sue me. I did get outside. Kimberly and I met some friends at the Boulder Creek Festival this past weekend. They seemed shocked - no dumbfounded - I was starting a new business. This is a recession after all - save money, don't spend it. So, this morning, I read that the Conference Board Consumer Research Center today announced that consumer sentiment jumped to 54.9 from 40.8 in April. As a result, the stock market is up 200 points today. The article all but claimed that the recession is over. Not that the stock market is tied to the economy, but the CBCRC is a pretty impressive-sounding organizational name. So, why is it a good time to start a publishing company? The current recession offers an outstanding opportunity to establish a publishing business. With new layoff announcements every day, the number of technology professionals at an inflection point in their careers is at an unprecedented high - a good source of potential writers, especially those motivated to finally finish their great American novel. Demand is also expected to rise as books provide excellent entertainment value per dollar, have a low per unit cost, and provide a mental escape from troubled times. The demand for books, despite popular urban legends announcing the immanent departure of the written word, continues to rise. From my marketing research, I came up with some interesting numbers. There are about 2.5 billon books sold each year (representing 175,000 new titles) with net revenues estimated around $30B. About 420 million of these are popular fiction books sold in the United States. While the five large New York publishers account for 45% of the market share, there are nearly 400 medium-sized publishing houses. There are 42 offset book printers in the United States. Audiobooks and Kindle represent a tiny, but growing, percentage of the market. According to my best guess (consolidating data from several sources), big-box retailers account for about 35% of sales, chain bookstores 33%, online retailers 20%, and book clubs 12%. Even if these percentages are slightly off, this is a pretty big pie to slice up. And, in the end, it doesn't make any difference how slick the technology is to distribute books, the whole process starts with discovering new authors who provide immersive, interesting stories. There will always be a market for good books.

Print-On-Demand Technology

I must admit that although it is a beautiful, sunny day here in Lyons - and the coffee is fresh and hot - I'm in a dark mood. The website launch has been delayed a week. Now, logically, it doesn't really matter - what's one week in a 20 year business plan? But, I am ready to go, and Kimberly will tell you how good I am about standing in lines waiting for anything. Yes, I think that all banks should be required to have 20 tellers available 24 hours a day - just for my convenience. So, I thought it would be a good day to wrap up with a chat on Print-On-Demand technology. I have bought a few books via this mechanism - including my increasingly-valuable version of Daemon with the Leinad Zeraus pen name. And, the quality is great. Unless you are really into bookbinding, you would never know the difference. However, while the quality of the output is approaching that of traditional offset printing, per unit costs associated with the technology do not make it an appropriate approach for Trapdoor Books. This approach is meant for the self-publishing market. Consider a 200 page hardback book with a $25 MSRP. The cost of production through a company like Lightning Source is $10.68 for POD vs. $4.03 for offset printing. If you are an individual, you can sell your book through amazon.com Advantage giving up another $13.75 per book. That leaves you, the author with about $0.57 per book - and you have to do all the marketing for the title plus be writing your next novel. Ouch. Or, you can do with a lower cost distribution mechanism, but face increasing pressure to get the word out. My advice is still the same - self-publish/promote to land the big contract, but don't expect to get rich selling self-published books. I just found out that this is a holiday weekend - O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! My mood is improving already. And, I'm sure there is a Dale's Pale Ale waiting for me in the fridge.

Me and My Kindle 2

I spend about four hours every day reading new manuscripts - and I suspect that this commitment will increase in the coming months. Before the Kindle 2, I would dutifully print out reams of pages from my trusty HP printer - which has just informed me that my page count is 28,233 since 2004. Ouch. If I had the Kindle, I might have converted those manuscripts for electronic reading. The formatting is still somewhat a mysterious black box. You send off a MS Word file and get back a Kindle file that mostly resembles the original document. It is certainly fine for raw manuscripts, but there is still some secret sauce there that I'm missing. My first observation is that the Kindle 2 is very easy to read. I spend about 10-12 hours every day looking at a traditional computer monitor, so my eyes appreciate the non-backlit screen. I find that evening reading needs a bigger font than morning reading, which is a one-touch button away with the Kindle. The menu is simple and gives me access to what I need quickly. The Kindle Store is shockingly good - again, I can't wait for Trapdoor titles to be published there. Without having spent quality time with other readers, I can't compare the device to anything except paper books - which you will remember from my Small Press Revolution? blog on May 4 is a long-standing love affair. The Kindle 2 is a must for traveling - although the number of books that I have left on airplanes makes me question potentially leaving a $350 one behind. Having spent 300 days a year on the road in my past, not lugging books with me would have been nice. Now, I might have even transferred some of my personal notes to Kindle files for consulting engagements, but the process is pretty painful for doing lots of small documents or those that have only transitory use. I can't see the current Kindle 2 replacing the laptop anytime soon - and it isn't trying to do that anyway, btw. Also, the ability to flip quickly through pages is not the same on the Kindle as paper. While this doesn't bother me reading a novel, it is a must for looking up technical bits from a manual. Another downside for readers, although it may be a boon for authors and publishers, is that while I don't think twice about loaning a book to a friend for a quick read - I'm not going to loan my Kindle 2. No, don't even ask - you can look at it from afar, but no touching. And, Kimberly and I like to share books - but we only have one Kindle. Now, I'm not sure about file sharing with the Kindle - that goes back to the DRM argument. For now, I can see this as a supplement for paper books, but not a replacement. Also, without an easy way to print from the Kindle (which is fine), the line between laptop and e-book reader becomes clearer in my mind. A few more Kindle thoughts, then I need to get back to reading. The battery life is excellent - I haven't needed to read "plugged in" yet. File transfer and maintenance is dead simple. The text-to-voice is cool, although it isn't good enough to replace my audio books in the car. If it sounded like James Earl Jones with the timbre of a professional voice actor, then maybe the Author's Guild should be worried about infringing on audio book rights. Neil Gaiman has a good point on his BoingBoing blog about money being better spent not fighting this one - at least for now. Okay, back to work.

On Hugo Awards, the NY Times Bestsellers, and Publisher Associations

Yesterday was the official announcement for the Hugo balloting for 2009 - more books to read! Looking over the list, a neuron was triggered that took me back a couple of months to my research on the Trapdoor Books business plan. In addition to visiting 738 publisher's websites, I also found hundreds of writer's awards that seem to be possibilities for our books. This made me wonder, "How important is it to our authors to be submitted for these awards?" So, I called an aspiring author, who I hope will publish with Trapdoor Books, and he told me that he would forgo all payment - advances and royalties - if I could get his books reviewed by the New York Times. That surprised me. It was not so much winning the prize, as it was being recognized as an author of merit. A good thing to know, and I am curious to hear from you writers - what are your thoughts? Finally, I spent a good part of today looking at publishing associations. Again, there are dozens, if not hundreds of organizations out there for publishers. I am considering joining four: the American Association of Publishers, the Independent Book Publishers Association (was PMA), the Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN), and the Publishers Association of the West (was the Rocky Mountain Book Publishers Association). Any of you have experiences with these firms? It is not a burning question, but I like to know what I'm getting into. Well, mostly.

It’s My Birthday

Really. I was going to write about print on demand today, but that is a serious topic that can wait for a day without cake. It's a stormy day here in the Colorado foothills - a perfect afternoon for curling up with a good book and a hot cup of coffee. On a lighter note, I went to see the movie adaptation of Angels and Demons last weekend. I loved the book, but the movie was disappointing. This is a perfect exclamation point to my May 15 posting Movies vs. Books. Good book = bad movie. What happened to half the characters - CERN director Maximilian Kohler, the lusty Hassassin, and the irrepressible Gunther Glick? Bah, the movie should have been 10 hours, if that is what it takes to tell the story. On a brighter note, I was given a Kindle 2 reader as a gift - thanks, Mom. This will probably be the end of all productivity as I am busily scrambling to format the current manuscripts that I'm reading for the Kindle. I love the online store, and I can't wait to see the first Trapdoor titles published there. I will give you an honest review of the machine once I have had time to study (play?) with it. See my May 4 blog on The Small Press Revolution? for my initial thoughts on paper vs. electronic.

Scribd and Vanity Publishing

Another Monday - today's deadline is approving the final look-and-feel of the website. I came into the design process with a pretty clear understanding of what functionality I wanted. However, it is amazing to see what a professional design team can do. I'm not sure they can get things done for the May 22 mini-launch, but progress is being made. There was an excellent article Brad Stone in the NY Times today about Scribd allowing writers to sell digital copies of their books. I looked at Scribd when putting together the original Trapdoor Books business plan earlier this year. From the article, "The Scribd Web site is the most popular of several document-sharing sites that take a YouTube-like approach to text, letting people upload sample chapters of books, research reports, homework, recipes and the like. Users can read documents on the site, embed them in other sites and share links over social networks and e-mail." Now authors can sell entire books via the website, keeping a substantial share of the revenue for themselves. Obviously, I like the technology and my previous statements about "content is king" still apply. However, in talking with a group of writers recently, the topic of vanity publishing came up. I took a position which caused an audible gasp around the room. "Vanity publishing is great - if done for the right reasons." If you want to make money at writing, vanity publishing, self-publishing and print-on-demand, do not provide support most authors want and need to be successful. There is too much risk, too much expense, and you have to hit the lucky marketing button to even have a chance. However, these approaches are perfectly legitimate ways to try and get noticed by publishers - and thereby get a publishing contract and a shot at a literary lifestyle. Just ask Daniel Suarez, the successful author of Daemon (2006) - an awesome read, btw, which I promise to review in an upcoming post. However, it took Mr. Suarez two years to get a publishing contract. It is not easy, and it is not free. As to Scribd, the service seems to me to be all about speed and control. These are precisely the advantages that small presses, such as Trapdoor Books, provide over the major publishing houses. Hmmm.

Movie vs. Book

Well, I must admit that I made a total impulse buy this week at Barnes & Noble - being a fan of the The Rule of Four (2004), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Last Templar (2005), it seemed like a good pick. The First Apostle (2009) by James Becker was, however, a formulaic disappointment - showcasing one of my primary gripes about many fiction titles today. Reading the book was like checking down an outline - each section dutifully filled in with workmanlike writing - uninspired and banal. Totally plot-driven, the characters are flat. It's almost like the author was working under a deadline. Oh wait, the movie version of Angels and Demons (2000) is coming out this coming weekend - Right! All that said, The First Apostle could make a good movie. Unlike directors who are forced to condense an immersive story into a two-hour movie, this book probably has about the right amount of material for a movie script. I'd put this book on my skip list, however, unless you really needed something to kill a few hours in the airport. So, here's my revelation for a Friday afternoon when the sun is shining and my mind is already off the clock. "Movies should be as long as it takes to tell the story - just like a book. If the movie is 20 hours long, so be it. If you can't tell the story in the standard 120 minute movie window, pick a different book. Otherwise, the movie should be labeled "abridged" - which for me means "skip". Simple solution, really. This brings me to another argument for starting the business. The emergence of small presses, such as Trapdoor Books, is enabled by advances in technology which have driven high-quality printing costs down and provided low-cost distribution of electronic and non-traditional formats. These advances have enabled focused, niche presses to compete effectively with the established, major publishers. Unlike movies with average production costs around $65M, the modest cost of publishing books makes it a logical starting place for a cultural and literary metamorphosis driven by the demand of an emerging class of readers. Trapdoor Books believes that by giving a new voice to authors without imposing commercial constraints on their work, the stranglehold of formulaic writing can be broken and the world of fiction, along with the real world, can provide a better and more rewarding experience for all of us. What a nice thought with which to end the week.

Trapdoor Writing Contest - Best Debut Novel

I have decided to run a writing contest to discover new writers and populate an initial slush pile of manuscripts for the company. I spent most of the last two days researching the topic with some dizzying results. My idea is simple - I'm just not sure it is going to work. Put up a prize of $1000 for the best manuscript by a new author, find a credible judge, and post the contest to the website. Whoa, Nellie. It seems that the #1 priority for running a writing contest is to convince writers that you aren't just trying to scam them. I'm not sure what that says about our society - but it can't be good. Let's see, looking over my notes I want to assure writers that Trapdoor Books does not provide literary agency services, editing services, for-fee-publications, vanity publishing services, vanity anthology services, critiques, marketability analyses, awards banquet scams, etc. In other words, Trapdoor Books is a traditional publisher - period. For any author we select for publication, we pay real cash advances and a real percentage of sales. Additionally, Trapdoor Books respects your privacy and will never provide your name or access to your manuscripts to other companies. That should do it! Here's some copy of the proposed contest, Comments? The Trapdoor Award - Summer 2009 - Best Debut Novel Trapdoor Books is running a contest to discover new manuscripts and writers. The theme for this summer is "best debut novel". This contest is open to any writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a commercially-published novel. The Grand Prize winner will receive $1000, and Trapdoor Books will be working with the top entrants to secure publishing contracts and launch new writing careers. The contest ends August 31, 2009 - so get your entries in today. Obviously, I have several pages of rules, guidelines, etc. Those will have to wait for the website launch. I do like the concept, however.

Demon Theory by Stephen Graham Jones

My friends kid me about liking bad horror movies. You are kidding, right? But, truth be told, it is a genre that I adore. There is so much richness and potential to the stories. I love being scared, but it is a rare book (or movie) that can really get my heart pumping. One such book that I read recently was Demon Theory (2006) by Stephen Graham Jones, a professor at the nearby University of Colorado. Here is my two cents worth: An outstanding read: intellectual, unique and unapologetic. While most suspense/horror novels attempt to distance themselves from popular culture by pretending that we all haven't watched Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978), Scream (1996), etc., Demon Theory embraces the tradition. The book is written in the style of a screen play with a storyline and characters that keep the pages turning - very well done with an eye toward the dramatic. Stephen Graham Jones doesn't strike me as a man who is afraid to kill off your favorite character and then twist the knife a bit. My favorite aspect of the book, however, is the copious footnotes - over 400 of them - which puts the literary references into context. While I knew many of the references, it amazed me how really rich this genre is. BTW, several of you have asked me to provide movie reviews. I just checked my Netflix account and realized that I have reviewed over 1500 movies - and those are just my rentals. Hmmm. I must not get out much. As to movie reviews, that sounds like a whole separate undertaking. Maybe I'll stick to books.

On Trekkies and the Community

I saw the new Star Trek movie over the weekend. It was a very good flick, certainly a significant step up for the franchise. I could give you a full review, but what really struck me was not the movie, but the audience. As we were standing in line, everybody was chatting about what they hoped would be in the movie, ideas that turned them on about Star Trek, etc. Driving home, I was struck by how different that experience is than most trips to the theater where you stand quietly in line, not daring to strike up a conversation with your neighbor. The difference is that Star Trek has created a community. This same concept is a driving motivation for Trapdoor Books. Most major publishers shield you from their authors. Sure, you can go to an official book signing and try to get in one witty comment to the author when you get to the front of the line, but - for the most part - there is a wall, the Cone of Silence. This is one thing that makes Trapdoor Books different. Here is another blurb which I will probably pull out and put on the About Us page. In an age where blogging about your breakfast reaches hundreds of your friends, manufactured corporate isolation between authors and readers seems an anachronism. We embrace the community with a common forum for discussing, well, anything. Think of it as a virtual book club, sitting down to chat with your favorite authors and peers about what you love - the hottest new book, your newest gadget, or technology that will save the world. This is a forum for both readers and writers to have their voices heard. The community is the heart of Trapdoor Books. It is what differentiates us from our competitors. We encourage the free exchange of ideas and seek to involve our authors, readers, friends and staff in an immersive conversation about what moves us. Whether you are interested in posting an occasional blog comment or are seeking to become a serious reader or full-time editor, we whole-heartedly welcome you to the community. Joining the community should be simple and free - it should take less time than making a cup of coffee. The plan is to allow friends of Trapdoor Books to post their own blogs or subscribe to any number of services to receive this blog automagically.

Halting States by Charles Stross

It must be Monday. The phone is ringing, and I am now under the gun to approve the final company logo. How can I be expected to undertake such an important task when I can't even tell you what the color wheel looks like? Instead, let me leave you this fine morning with another great book to read, Halting State (2007) by Charles Stross. Rarely do I stop reading a book, pick up a telephone and call a friend to tell them how good the book is. I usually have the self-control to wait until the end. Halting State is one of those books that gives me the (good) creepy feeling that the author knows me and is writing exclusively for my entertainment. And, I had to call my gamer friends who have spent way too many hours collecting virtual gold in a virtual world - to tell them that the bank might get robbed. Since reading Halting State, I have become a fan of Mr. Stross - his stories are fast-paced, intelligent and refreshingly original. This is a must read for all geeks everywhere.

Taking It Easy

The weekend is finally here. It has been a productive week, and I promised Kimberly that I wouldn't spend every waking moment fretting about the business. And, I found a column (albeit a month old) by Michael Arrington on Techcrunch, one of my favorite daily sites, which makes me smile on a Friday afternoon. The column is entitled "Grok This: Forget the Business Books, Go Sci-Fi To Stoke Your Imagination". The article purports that great businesses are fueled by innovation that doesn't come from reading textbooks, and the author recommends reading some of the classics of early sci-fi. I couldn't agree more. Maybe this is a good start to a summer reading list. There was even a book on the list that I haven't read, The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (1984). Anyone out there read it? Have a favorite? Let me know. I'm also wondering about the daily sites that you visit. I make my early morning rounds to Wired, TechCrunch, and John Scalzi's Whatever - in addition to my addiction with on-line new sources like the NY Times and Wall Street Journal. Let me know where you go with that first cup of coffee in the morning.

The Geek Fiction Genre Defined

Wow. Working on marketing plans must make me foul-tempered. Yesterday was a bit of a rant. I spent this morning drinking coffee and refining my definition of geek fiction - which may apply more to the audience than the book itself. I will probably move this section of the blog to the About Us page on the website, but I would love to get your comments on the concept. Technology, intellectual promiscuity, and scientific thought are becoming increasingly appealing to a wider audience of sophisticated, socially-connected readers. These readers have higher-than-average IQs, advanced educations, and are looking for intellectual challenges and extraordinary entertainment well beyond the "lowest common denominator" content that is so often provided through mass media outlets. Trapdoor Books publishes well-crafted fiction that transcends traditional genre boundaries, providing both literary character development and an interesting plot. Geek fiction, in our minds, breaks the boundaries of formulaic writing. It introduces intellectual acumen - anything from Assyrian history to plasma physics, and provides a thoughtful, entertaining diversion for the reader. While the settings can be niche - mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, gothic/horror, science fiction, etc. - the best geek fiction challenges readers and surprises them with well-paced, well-researched and compelling stories. Now, the first thing to remember is that I am a geek. I have degrees in Astrophysics as well as English Literature. I worked for 21 years as a consultant in high tech, as my LinkedIn profile shows. One thing that always amazes me about geeks is the wide variety of their interests, and the passion which they have for knowledge. So, in defining geek fiction, I am really talking more about the audience than the books. Trapdoor Books is a reflection of those traits. As an aside, I did read an interesting book on marketing recently, Microtrends (2007) by Mark Penn. This is a great reference for pinpointing niche markets - like-minded groups with at least 3 million people - enough to start a small business. With more than 70 groups listed, I found myself nodding at a number of the classifications. The book opened my eyes to how mainstream many of the "fringe" groups in the US are - Video Game Grown-Ups, Social Geeks, Long Attention Spanners, etc. The section on Social Geeks shows how the stereotype of geeks as loners living in their parent's basement has been broken, and it demonstrates that the time has come for geeks to have their own publishing genre.

Short Thoughts on Short Books

Ironically, today I'm pretty busy working on my viral marketing plan, so my post will be brief. I was challenged by a friend today who agrees with Mr. Elgan (see The Small Press Revolution? blog on May 4) that books are going to become much shorter and timelier in their content. This is one trend that I will bet the farm against - well, I guess I have already placed that bet. I hate the fact that many publishers are wrangling authors into writing formulaic fiction that is between 280 and 320 pages long, published every October, blah, blah, blah. If that trend goes to 120 pages or 80 pages - Uggh! I want immersive stories, well-rounded characters, and properly-paced plots. Some stories can be told in 90 pages - others take 900 pages. The story should dictate the length of the book. Period. This gives me two more topics for future consideration. I would love to hear your opinions, before I voice mine. First, I believe that this exact type of thinking is threatening the movie industry - currently hyper-focused on timeliness with a de-emphasis on content and depth of story and characters. Second, I don't want to read a mystery novel where the big key to solving the crime by Googling terms on the Internet. This doesn't make for a very interesting plot, and that's what I do for work - give me something creative when it's time to play.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

A number of you have asked me to list examples of fiction titles that represent the type of stories Trapdoor Books expects to publish. So, as promised, I will post short reviews of books that I think are outstanding reads. I also won't give away the plot - I'm sure the Cliff's Notes are available somewhere. What better way to start than with Neal Stephenson. I have read all the books that Mr. Stephenson has written (I think). Cryptonomicon (1999), Snow Crash (1992) and Diamond Age (1995) are my favorites - although The Big U (1984) and Zodiac (1988) are keepers as well. As to Anathem, this book seems to be on everybody's list of "books that I wanted to read this year but haven't yet". My advice: read it. Sure, it's a significant undertaking - 900 pages of rich, dense reading. But that is part of the beauty of Neal Stephenson. He is not afraid to write until the story is over. Think of it as counting for three or four "fluffy" thrillers - if you are so inclined to keep track of your summer reading list. The characters in Anathem are richly painted, Arbre (the world) is fascinating, and plot keeps twisting you to the next page. This book is truly an epic of, well, epic proportion. While I have been a fan of Neal Stephenson since the beginning, his writing style has developed significantly and his storytelling is impeccable as always. The book is well paced and immersive. A must read, in my opinion.

The Small Press Revolution?

I was re-reading Mike Elgan's predictions on the e-book revolution in Computerworld over the weekend. The article is a few months old, but it sticks with me as very insightful in many ways. First of all, let me give you my personal thoughts on the matter. I have always had an unnatural love affair with printed books - a phenomenon that might explain why I own thousands of them. I like the smell, the tactile enjoyment of flipping the pages, I like the heft. I cannot imagine a world with only electronic books. That said, I can't really understand why it has taken so long for this revolution to happen. Despite my earlier comments about 1984, I'm not sure that I'm buying into the concept of digital rights management being completely evil - feel free to comment on that one, BTW. In my mind, the content of the book is king - the physical (or digital) format it's published in is irrelevant. Let the readers decide how they want to read the book - publishers should focus on providing great content. I strongly agree with Mr. Elgan's statement: "The new generation of e-book publishers will leverage social media, contextual advertising and other innovations. For anyone who spends time online, specific e-book titles will increasingly be advertised and marketed and integrated into other content. E-books, now mostly invisible, will soon be everywhere." Now, I'm not sure about reading books on my cell phone - although until the iPhone moves away from its AT&T-exclusive contract, those of us in Lyons won't have the option to switch. Bah! on cell phone providers. Feel free to comment on that one as well. The only point of contention with Mr. Elgan's article concerns self-publishing. Now, I agree that it shouldn't take months (or years) to publish a book. And, I agree that the publishing industry is backwards facing. However, the writers that I'm talking with on a daily basis want to WRITE. They don't want to edit, design covers, and market their books. In fact, they don't want the distraction of having to coordinate others to do these tasks. Maybe this is the start of the Small Press Revolution. In fact, just treating writers like people might be a great start for some major publishing houses.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

What an appropriate date to incorporate Trapdoor Books. The Mayday distress signal translates from the French to mean "(you) come help me." Please take that meaning literally - although I want to take a minute to thank several dozen friends that have already helped nurture the concept of Trapdoor Books to its current state. Expect more calls for help in the coming days. My revelation today on starting Trapdoor Books really takes me back fifteen years to when I started my last company - in the heady, high tech days of the mid-1990s. I remember having to buy an "incorporation kit", fill out the paperwork, get it notarized, and mail off the papers. About a month later, an official-looking document arrived to tell me that the company was legal. Today, it was three clicks of the mouse; fill out an online form, and less than five minutes later an email came back from the Colorado Secretary of State that everything was done. Ah, instant gratification. Maybe there is something to instantly downloading e-books, after all (and much more on that later).

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

For a couple of days, I have pondered what words I would use for an opening salvo for Trapdoor Books. Then, I realized that I am not a writer, but a publisher. Why try to write a great opening line, when there are already thousands of them out there? "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen," is - as you may remember from high school - George Orwell's opening line in 1984 (1949). BTW, the American Book Review has 100 of the best opening and closing lines here. Let me know what your favorites are. It is both bright and a bit nippy here in Lyons, the temperature is hovering around 50 degrees, but my office window is open, as I am willing the arrival of spring. But why a quote from 1984? As you will find out by reading this blog - and I can't really hide it - one of my pet peeves is censorship in all its forms. I don't believe fiction should be written to the lowest common denominator, avoid subjects because they make us uncomfortable, or be reworked by overzealous publishers utilizing the Ministry of Truth's novel-writing machine. It is ironic that 1984 is itself one of the most challenged books in American literature. One of the goals of Trapdoor Books it to discover new writers and publish good literature that is not mainstream - just entertaining and maybe a bit thought-provoking. BTW, I must admit that "A screaming comes across the sky", Thomas Pynchon's opening to Gravity's Rainbow (1973), is what I'm hoping for with the launch of the website next month. Until then, there are a few things that need to be done.