tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post6583583802217108491..comments2023-07-30T03:47:19.745-06:00Comments on Aaron Patterson's Blog: Guest Post: Vincent Zandri. From Zero to Hero.Aaron Pattersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11147714545040369509noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-85665430423364860322011-09-08T19:36:41.100-06:002011-09-08T19:36:41.100-06:00I have similar story. And if my highs aren't a...I have similar story. And if my highs aren't as high as Vincent's, my lows were probably lower :)<br /><br />In July 2003 my fantasy novel (Thagoth) was published as an ebook by Ballantine. See, it won the Del Rey Digital Online Writing Workshop First Novel competition. Between the time it won and the time it was published, a regime change of sorts took place at Del Rey, with new people in and old people out, and all us ebook ‘winners’ (I think there were six, total) were sort of left to twist in the wind. Truly horrible covers, absolutely no marketing, nada, as Del Rey shifted their focus, from my purely subjective but absolutely dead-on view, to movie tie-in books. I was basically told in a ‘nice’ way that they were no longer interested in pursuing ebooks, with the unspoken being they were no longer interested in me. I was kinda crushed. My first novel- an award winner! a competition winner!- was in essence consigned to the scrap heap of corporate restructuring. Ebooks were relegated back to afterthought status, ‘also available as’. A bitter pill, because I was never going to get the book in print unless I pulled off major sales on the ebook. And that was the longest of long odds given the sales hurdles I was quoted for ‘consideration’ for print publishing.<br /><br />I don't even want to think about the depresion that followed, much less write about it. I've done enough of that elsewhere. Suffice to say there's a reason I've only published one thing since then.<br />Now it’s 2011. A few days ago, after reading about Amanda Hocking, I let my facebook friends know that I had a novel out there in ebook format for $2.99 as an experiment. In 36 hours it jumped 353,134 spots on Amazon to #45,093 (yes, I know about Amazon’s weird algorithm issues, but still). It jumped 144k spots on B&N.<br /><br />The moral of the story: Times have changed. Electronic self-publishing is a real, viable alternative to jumping through the traditional publishing hoops. It’s certainly not longer odds than finding an agent who will find a publisher etc., because let’s be honest, hundreds if not thousands of damn fine writers out there fail to find an agent or a publisher every day. If they turn their back on the established route in frustration or disgust and self publish, and fail to ‘make it’ a la Hocking, are they any worse off than if they shelve their writing aspirations after the hundredth rejection slip?<br /><br />I look back on the changes of the last eight years with a sense of amazement.Michael McClunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-2150061089824767032011-01-08T09:16:33.757-07:002011-01-08T09:16:33.757-07:00Excellent article! And very eye-opening.Excellent article! And very eye-opening.K.C. Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04084745163332121642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-32338102981689889702011-01-06T06:24:45.173-07:002011-01-06T06:24:45.173-07:00Goes to show once again--and near-tragically--the ...Goes to show once again--and near-tragically--the giant schizm between the publishing biz and actual, ya know, READERS.SapphireSavvyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10294309785185391359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-4433799504518350732011-01-05T19:24:30.636-07:002011-01-05T19:24:30.636-07:00Great piece. And big congrats to you. Putting the ...Great piece. And big congrats to you. Putting the story telling back in the hands of the story tellers is a great thing.jenny milchmanhttp://suspenseyourdisbelief.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-32933654141971516302011-01-05T19:04:30.586-07:002011-01-05T19:04:30.586-07:00Great article. Wow! A $250,000 advance. They mu...Great article. Wow! A $250,000 advance. They must have really believed in your book. I think the sales have shown they were right. Did the first publishers ask for the advance to be paid back?Debra Burroughsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-32868976856514577482011-01-05T17:41:58.750-07:002011-01-05T17:41:58.750-07:00I am glad to see you survived,Vincent. May 2011 be...I am glad to see you survived,Vincent. May 2011 be even a better year for you and your publishing partners.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16391660618856607784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-27818155700532894402011-01-05T15:49:34.449-07:002011-01-05T15:49:34.449-07:00Write it and they will come--thanks to Kindle and ...Write it and they will come--thanks to Kindle and publishers with vision (there actually are a few out there).jrlindermuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09204855909246670628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-48655016563773063892011-01-05T15:46:42.138-07:002011-01-05T15:46:42.138-07:00Fantastic article. I am a firm believer that ever...Fantastic article. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I read and reviewed most of Vin Zandri's books in 2010 for my blog and because of his pehnomenal writing style, he has pushed out my #1 all time favorite male author and now holds that position. The only thing negative when it comes to his books is this, once you are finished, you want and need more!! KUDOS Vin!!!!CMashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02127437807115591580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-84182550017147599272011-01-05T15:40:00.183-07:002011-01-05T15:40:00.183-07:00What a story! It could almost be a novel ...What a story! It could almost be a novel ...Tracy Krausshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05066853243062725525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7693503672686441477.post-11730130187831242972011-01-04T18:20:35.822-07:002011-01-04T18:20:35.822-07:00Hey Aaron, good for Vincent! What a comeback story...Hey Aaron, good for Vincent! What a comeback story and well deserved.Evanoreply@blogger.com