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Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 446
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 - 09:43 pm: | 
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This post was going to be about distributors (Ingram and Baker & Taylor) who buy cases of books from publishers, sell the books, keep their cut, and send you the rest. I was going to ask if anyone had experience working with distributors like CB Books Distribution (http://www.cbbooksdistribution.com/) and Airleaf.
But then...
I tried to find the Airleaf website, which has been zapped into oblivion. (I remember getting something in the mail from them in '05 about how they will take your books and get them in the bookstore chains...for a fee, of course.) Instead, I found this anti-Airleaf site created by authors who were robbed of their money by the owners: http://www.airleafvictims.com/
If you read what's on the site, you'll see the owners got over like fat cats by basically taking money for services never performed. Talk about wolves and predators. They really go after writers who have the American dream of one day becoming a known author. How do these scammers get away with it? Luckily, I wasn't one of their victims but it makes me wonder if ANY of these pound-the-pavement vendors can be trusted.
So, what do you think of this particular scam artist? Also, are there any reputable distributors out there with a proven track record of selling books for publishers and earning them profits?
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Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 10792
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 11:40 am: |
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Has there ever been an era any time before in history where there was such a plethora of self-published authors??? Somebody should do a study on this subject because it seems to be evolving into a kind of social phenomenon - like "American Idol". It figures that these "dream chasers" would spawn an industy - staffed with their worst nightmares!  |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 447
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 11:49 am: |
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I think it has to do with our culture in America. If you're not famous or rich, you're considered a nobody. So the quest for fame, forture, or both manifests itself in would-be authors. Even if that fame only means a kind book review in the local newspaper, signing books at the local independent bookstore, or even an Internet radio interview, it still says 'look at me, I've accomplished something.' Even if the money only translates to gas money, a night out on the town, or even a down payment on a new car, it's a way to supplement your income when you sell a certain amount of books.
Right now, we're seeing breakthroughs in technology that allow it to be easy to have a book printed. Subsidy publishers, self publishers, and those who profit from it are taking full advantage of it. As a result, we're seeing more authors than ever before, thus the term Authorgeddon.
I'm sure this happens in any industry where the promise of fame, fortune, or both is the reward such as music, movies, and sports. We're just now talking about it here because we usually discuss books and the publishing industry.
There are pros to the ability to self publish. Just think of the hundreds of talented authors who have done well on their own, signed traditional deals, and made themselves known because of it. Sure the bad outweighs the good but having that option when the industry won't let you in is nice to have. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 10794
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 12:01 pm: |
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Yes, and all of the technology which makes self-publishing so convenient serves as an enabler for the innate human need for self-expression. |
Troy
Veteran Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 974
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 04:18 pm: |
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Emanuel, Cynique, exactly.
The same is true of web sites. Anybody and their mother can make one. People have the freedom to express themselve, but only a miniscule are visited or any good.
The trick is separative the good one from the bad ones. This is very difficult in the book world. There is no google software to scan a good and rank them against the other books on the basis of quality (at least not yet).
For books we still need people which means the process is slow, subjective and biased by attitude, money, and ability.
But the pros of self publishing definitely outweigh the bad. |
Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 448
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 06, 2007 - 09:48 pm: |
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Did I say foture? LOL! I blame the Code Red Mountain Dew.
Anyway, we kind of went off the subject I wanted to discuss: Distributors. Has anyone had positive or negative experiences with them? |
Hen81
Regular Poster
Username: Hen81
Post Number: 24
Registered: 09-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 01:08 pm: |
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The ability to self-publish is in line with all of the other avenues out there for exposure. Tila Tequila is on MTV with a show due to her MYspace exposure and 2 million plus friends. People pop up on talk shows due to YouTube videos that catch fire. Just yesterday a couple was on the Tody Show because of their Baby Got Back weeding dance had over two-million hits on YouTube.
Sure there are a lot of sharks swimming to feed off the outsized dreams of self-published authors. If they study how the buisness works with distribution, returns, POD and store placement, they would not be so easy to take advantage of. I see some of these self-published authors that have hired publicists and shake my head at the fleecing taking place.
Fools' Heaven video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ifafZEK3h8o
www.DTPollard.com |
Troy
Veteran Poster
Username: Troy
Post Number: 975
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 03:33 pm: |
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E. My only experience with distributors is on the purchasing end which is rare nowadays (I don't get terms and the books cost more that they would if purchased from the publisher).
At anyrate I have heard a lot of bad things about the smaller independent distributors. Mainly the stories surround failure to pay for books that the authors have provided. The worse of those distributors have folded.
I know one dude -- true story -- who actualy pulled a pistol on one of the cats running one of these outfits that was real slow paying. He got his money. (Publishing was indeed gangsta before the pouplarity of street lit.)
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Emanuel
Veteran Poster
Username: Emanuel
Post Number: 450
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 07, 2007 - 04:38 pm: |
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Yeah. I've heard horror stories of folks sending out cases of books to "distributors" and never collecting a penny for sales or their books back.
Youtube is amazing. If you can get the traffic, you can put together a nice little show online and sell ads. I'm actually thinking of doing a public access TV show, interviewing artistic types such as authors, and webcasting it too. |
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