Do Page Counts Matter with Ebooks?

Boy is this a moving target now with the rise of the ebook revolution.

Let's take a peek at what the standard word count range is for Print Books - especially if you are trying to pursue a Literary Agent then a publisher.

However, its best to break it down by genre - in PRINT Books:


Overall for Adult books:
80,000 – 89,999 words

Chick lit
70,000-75,000 words


SCI-FI AND FANTASY
90,000-100,000 words

MIDDLE GRADE
32,000 – 40,000 words

YOUNG ADULT
55,000 – 69,999 words

MEMOIR
80,000-89,999 words

PICTURE BOOKS
500-600 words

NOW with the rise of the ebook all of the above is different if you DON'T PLAN ON PRINTING the book.

Short Stories: 
25,500-45,000

With short story formats in ebooks rising many authors don't need to hit the higher word counts above for adult books in order to make the reader happy.

WHY THE STRINGENT cap on word count?

Well as authors we love to get lost in the story, but for a publisher to PRINT a book and EDIT a book the cost to benefit rises by page/word count. Therefore the Publisher has to pay more to print the books which means the PROFIT hurts with the larger word novels if the publishers wants to COMPETITIVELY PRICE the book for sale with other books in the genre.

As a SELF-PUBLISHER or SMALL PRESS does this matter?

Yep, it does, because you still want your print release prices to be competitive and the lost in prices as the page count rises isn't worth it for a small press just starting out. HOWEVER, if you only plan on releasing a book in ebook you have much more flexibility.

by: LM PRESTON
www.lmpreston.com

Growing An Indie Small Press - Your Own Way

You heard that saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Well it's true about ANY business and most businesses take about 3 years to show what their true potential is. Three years to know it's market, to fine-tune it's product and to be comfortable with who they are.

FIRST STEPS

When we started our small independent press I was super excited. But my partner made it clear that we would take it slow. Create a business milestone for each year. Our goals for our first year are different than many small presses or indies are that you see around on the internet who start off as mainly small or indie ebook publishers. We had big dreams of breaking into the 'trade' and establishing ourselves as a small press that had books in bookstores, libraries, and other outlets.

How did we do that? Well we joined Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and started networking, learning how to build in that direction. We had to give our business a presence of its own and Phenomenal One Press was beginning to gain that. In addition we decided to wait before presenting our company's product to the trade via Publishers Marketplace and Foreign Rights fairs because we wanted to have more products available for presentation when bringing up our publishing page on Publishers Marketplace, PubMatch, and pursuing subsidiary rights or Foreign rights sales.

Another friend of ours started theirs small indie publishing company focused on the end consumer (reader) market and started publishing their content or books in only ebook formats since that format was cheaper for publishing. Then they waited until their books gained popularity before offering Paperbook formats. Since then she now offers her book in hardcover formats and audio books. But she added a format each year.

LEARNING TO WALK

Most serious businesses start with a business plan - or goal sheet for what they hope to accomplish. Ours was initially a tall order for our first year. Produce 2 books in non-competing genre, promote them and become known in our regional area as a small press. You know what ... we did it. Not only that, we did more. But the great part was, independent book publishers were becoming more visible and there was a realization that they all weren't bad.

Also, with being a member of IBPA, Maryland Writers Association and Mid Atlantic Book Publishers Association I began meeting people who owned small independent presses like mine or that 'self-published' like we were doing and they found considerable success and acceptance within their markets by doing so. That was the support that our small independent press needed.

WALKING UPRIGHT

This year we are starting our two-year establishment plan. We finally think we are ready to present our products more seriously to the trade. Now we are on Publishers Marketplace. And this year will be pursuing sales of our books for Subsidiary Rights and Foreign Rights. Which we've been studying up on for the last year.

Also, now I am the Vice President of MBPA (Mid Atlantic Book Publishers) and I believe whole-heartedly in sharing the knowledge. And am working with our board members to have a Subsidiary Rights Fair we are planning for June 2nd the weekend before BEA to prepare our members for the coming Foreign Rights Fairs coming up later this year. Our president, Mary Shafer did an amazing feet and invited some very knowledgeable people to our meeting to teach us about pursuing these exciting avenues towards sales.

Now we are walking taller. We've come a long way. In the next year we are hoping to add additional authors to the fold. 2013 proves to be exciting. But we still have some growth.

SO, if you SELF-PUBLISH, start a SMALL PRESS or want to,
DO YOU HAVE A PLAN?

Goals on how you are going to grow your business? If you don't join others that can help you, mentor you, and encourage your business. And remember, a PUBLISHER is someone that edits, prepares, and presents items for sale.

by: LM Preston, Middle Grade and Young Adult author, www.lmpreston.com

Writing for Teens But Pleasing Adult YA Readers Too?

This is a struggle that many writers of Middle Grade and Young Adult literature must have. We see it in the movies all the time. You take your kid to see a Disney Movie like, TANGLED or SNOW WHITE and find that there is entertainment value for both adults and kids.

Is YOUNG ADULT and MIDDLE GRADE WRITING FOR KIDS?

Considering that most authors have to go through a vetting process of getting their manuscript to a Literary Agent who then reads and re-pitches it to an editor at a Publishing house. The editor at the publishing house reads it and then re-pitches it to the publisher to purchase.

All of these adults are reading your book that you meant for a Young Adult or Middle Grade kid to enjoy. And trust me kids and adults have very different reading perspectives.

KIDS like it but ADULTS don't

There are many cases where my kids love a book or a movie that I dislike because doesn't have the same type of substance that I'd want. There are also certain types of things I enjoy in which they read because it has a little something in it for my adult self also. Whether it's the adventure, the action, the young romance or the intelligence of the character.

THE TRUE MARKET of YA and MG

In order to meet that TRANSITION status of super love from both your audiences - because as a YA and MG author I've realized now that I have two audiences - I have the adult audience that reads YA and MG. Then there is the actual audience of Middle graders (11yrs-14yrs) and Young Adult (14yrs-17yrs) to focus on.

How does one author find that same mix?

DO IT LIKE DISNEY?

Should we? Put a lot for our kid audience in there -and consider a bit for our adult gatekeepers? Adult readers that want to relive their youth in books? What is the proper mix?

Honestly, I can't say I've figured it out yet. My teen beta readers (of which I'm lucky to have a good number) want action, adventure, a smudge of romance and more action. My adult readers want a slower pace in order to catch on to the story, figure out where they are and to savor the moments.

WHAT ARE YOUR ADULT EXPECTATIONS OF MG? or YA? and HOW DOES YOUR TASTE DIFFER from the intended audience of the genre of books you read?

Just remember while writing you will never make every reader happy, but as an artist of words we authors do try :-D

by: LM Preston, Young Adult & Middle Grade author, www.phenomenalonepress.com

http://www.amazon.com/Flutter-Of-Luv-ebook/dp/B0088ELXE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356245413&sr=8-1&keywords=flutter+of+luv