The Wild West of Books
One of the very best things about the new publishing landscape is that the readers are now in control. I know that frightens those whoíve made their living by determining what books are available, but for readers, itís a boon. We've grown up--we can decide for ourselves what we like and what we don't.
Lots of indie authors are self-published. In that case, they decide on cover art and editorial input. I've self-published one book, Sleight of Heart, and I'm really happy with the cover. Plus, I hired a professional editor with 35 years of experience as a magazine editor, Elizabeth Flynn. The book turned out very well.
Most of my books and stories, though, are through indie publishers. This is sort of the middle ground between The Gatekeepers of NY and self-publishing. Prairie Rose Publications is an indie publisher. The owners, Livia Washburn Reasoner and Cheryl Pierson, pick and choose quality books and stories, not having to worry about the massive overhead of Manhattan rent or a hundred employees' salaries.
What does that mean? It means they can take chances--chances that benefit readers. It means that readers have books available with quality covers and that have been well edited. It means that all the stories are coherent, the characters are developed in a logical fashion, and the setting is plausible. PRP takes a lot of the gamble out of buying an indie book.
It also means that sub-genres that have been given short shrift by New York are now thriving. One of those sub-genres that's doing well is western historical romance. And that's what Prairie Rose Publications gives us--a down-home good book set in the Old West. Take a look at the website and you can see new releases by Sara Barnard, Tanya Hanson, Cheryl Pierson, and the English Rose, Gil McDonald. Kathleen Rice Adams has a novel on the verge of release that I can hardly wait to read, too.
Another benefit of both the Wild West of publishing and ebooks is that it's now feasible to release short story anthologies. Five years ago, you couldn't find a short story. Now, theyíre quite popular. PRP has both a Chrismas (Wishing for a Cowboy) and a Valentine's Day (Hearts and Spurs) release, the first with eight stories and the second with nine stories. Itís so great to read these stories when weíre on the go but still want our Happily Ever After fix. Short stories were made with Little League baseball practice in mind. (wink)
PRP has many more anthologies in the works, so saddle up your Kindle. Prairie Rose Publications plans to take you for a quite a ride!
Contact Jacquie:
Jacquie, all of this is so true! It's really a boon for readers, I think, that ebooks have "opened up" the publishing market to writers with stories that otherwise might never have been told. Somewhere, there are readers for almost every book.
ReplyDeleteI was over the moon when Livia and Cheryl decided to take a risk and launch Prairie Rose Publications. And just look what they've accomplished! Despite the traditional wisdom in New York and Hollywood -- "westerns don't sell" -- western historical romances are thriving. The only reason they didn't sell before is they weren't being published. YEE-HAW!
Tex, you can imagine my puzzlement when a NY editor told me to take my cowboys to Regency England. Um, cowboys as we know them didn't exist then! That just goes to show how knowledgable she was about the Old West. I'm a whole lot more comfortable turning my stories over to those who understand and love westerns as much as I do.
DeleteTake your cowboys to Regency England? **snort**
DeleteThat's what I thought.
DeleteJacquie, you are so right! When I think of how the entire world was held hostage for so many, many years by a handful of people in the publishing world, it just makes my blood boil. When people live in NYC and think that's the only place there is (I noticed that David Letterman's announcer has quit saying, "From New York City, the GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD..." -- I turned it off everytime that came on.) then OF COURSE there is not going to be a place for things like westerns. I could go on and on, because I think a big part of why they didn't want to publish westerns, and said, "The western is dead" is because they really envied the west. But that's another blog topic. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this shout out for Prairie Rose Publications, and we are so thrilled that you have thrown in with us in the anthologies--your special brand of humor is so welcome and really sets your stories apart.
E-books have really opened up the reading world for everyone. Yes, there are some "bad books" out there, but look at all the great ones that would never have been seen if not for this new and exciting venue we have--the E-READER!
Great post. We're so excited to be in the midst of it all and to be able to bring some wonderful stories out, both in short story form and novel length that will entertain so many people.
Cheryl
Honestly, I think the biggest problem is that they don't understand either the Old West or our genre because they, personally aren't interested. Subways and skyscrapers interest them. But those things don't interest me.
DeleteAs for "bad books," there have been a lot of stinkers released by the major publishers, and as for editing, I don't think I've ever read a book that didn't have one typo somewhere. I've read plenty of books that were either rushed, or had an extra episodic chapter at the end in order to conform with word count. Isn't it great to be able to write a story and just let it be what it's supposed to be? The digital age has made that possible, and storytelling in general is stronger for it.
As a reader of old west themed romances, I consider myself lucky for having stumbled on Jacquie, Cheryl, Kathleen and the other PRP authors. It is one thing to read great stories (which yours all are), but to also be able to correspond with you all on a personal level is beyond cool.
ReplyDeleteAs a future (hopefully) author working on her first WIP (old west romance) I've been told more than once that my preferred genre is dead, But, with houses like PRP, I might actually have a chance at getting published.
Keep up the great work!
That's another benefit of the digital age--communication. We write books because we want to entertain people, and in my case, to put smiles on readers' faces while they sigh at the Happily Ever After romance. It's so rewarding to be able to interact with readers who enjoy what we do. You'll find out when that book of your gets published. Best of luck to you, Alisa!
DeleteAlisa, get crankin' on that story, woman! Don't let anybody tell you westerns are dead. Write the story you want to write, and as long as it comes from your heart, it will find a home. Hang in there, sweetie. You'll make it! :-)
DeleteThanks Jacquie & Kathleen. Your comments mean a lot.
DeleteThe landscape as you say is changing and I think overall it will be for the better. As with all new endeavors and ideas it takes a bit of time for the ideas to take hold. The fact that they are moving so quickly I think bodes well for the health of the industry. Best to all the authors. Doris
ReplyDeleteAnd, just as in the Old West, the strong, the stubborn, and the lucky will do well. Some will pack up and go back East. :) Thanks for stopping by, Doris.
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