Text version of April 2000 newsletter
Greetings
From The
Amazing Authors Showcase
April 1, 2000
It looks like spring is upon us, folks! <EG> Well, for SOME of us anyway. I guess that’s our April Fools joke on those of you who are still mired in ice and cold weather in the far reaches of cyberspace. But our April Fools effort pales in significance compared to the one Stephen King pulled on the entire publishing world with the release of his first ebook, Riding The Bullet, which we are featuring this month on the Showcase.
Why are we featuring Stephen King and this new ebook this month when he has written so many great books in the past? That’s easy. NOTHING like this one has ever been attempted before, because it is the first major Ebook release in history. That’s right--this book only exists in cyberspace. There are no print versions, there are no planned print versions, and you can’t even print out the text that you download--that’s how serious the publisher is about keeping this one strictly an ebook.
Is this significant, or just a marketing ploy on their part? You bet it’s significant. It may even be one of the most significant events in recent publishing history. Ebooks are about to become the cash cow of the publishing industry’s future, in my opinion. Downloads will rapidly become a way of life for us all in the coming years. Costs for producing a new book in cyberspace are relatively small, once the structures are in place for distribution, and that means bigger profits and faster releases for the publishers.
But the biggest advantage for writers is that the traditional publishing arc is reduced from a year or more to a matter of months, and marketing is virtually instantaneous, with no worries about returns, damaged books, shelf life or stagnant sales. Even the ultra conservative Brits, it is rumored, plan to make all 150 million items in the British Library available on the Internet. Talk about instant sales and distribution!
Stephen King’s publisher, Simon and Schuster, has laid claim to Riding The Bullet being the fastest selling book in publishing history, with sales topping the 400,000 mark after a mere 24 HOURS of availability. The bad news is, most buyers didn’t actually get their online copies that quickly, but that turned out not to be such a big problem after the cyber smoke cleared.
Some people had to wait as long as three to four days for the privilege of downloading this newest King story. For the most part, though, consumers didn’t seem to mind waiting since they didn’t have to leave home, and the downloads were quite fast in the formats chosen for this initial offering.
According to Keith Titan, online marketing manager for Simon and Schuster, some of their ebook vendors reached customer capacity within a matter of minutes of the opening bell at midnight March 13th, for this watershed event in the publishing industry. With some vendors calling it a KING-sized jam in cyberspace, an Amazon.com spokesperson estimated that Riding The Bullet was ordered 1.5 times a second for hours on end after it was first made available. This was a first time effort at digital downloading for a book of any kind through the Amazon site, and, like everyone else, they weren't expecting the intensity level this new format brought with it.
If it’s true that all good stories ultimately have a great ending, then this one should too, right? And it does. Everybody who wanted a copy was able to get one and for the astoundingly low price of $2.50. That beats the going price for a Stephen King hardback by about ten times. Oh, and don’t bother rushing out to your local bookstore if you failed to place an order for the cyber version of Riding The Bullet. It’s available online only, and is supposed to remain that way.
Thus it would seem that Riding The Bullet pulled the ultimate April Fools joke on Amazon and everyone else in cyberspace. That mades us very happy here at the Showcase. It gave us a great lead for this issue of the ezine, and it proves almost conclusively what we’ve been saying for the last three years, “Ebooks are here to stay, people. Get used to the idea.”
For all of you aspiring writers out there, that means ebooks represent a HUGE opportunity to get noticed. The two dozen or so top notch epublishers are all looking for new material. Several have their production queues booked solid for the coming year, but don’t let that stop you from submitting. Now is the time to get on the ebook train and ride your own bullet to success.
In King’s words, “There's this space on the Internet, this infinite space, for people to publish, for the midlist to be recreated, for people who have been disenfranchised by the shrinking lists of publishers, to actually do their stuff." (Stephen King - Time Magazine, March 20th, 2000)
We couldn’t agree more, Stephen! Readers, if you’re ready to take a leap of faith in this new technology, then check the links in our resources section for some timely information about ebook publishers. Then get your best finished novels together and start making the rounds. Who knows, maybe this time next year, YOU can pull a KING-sized April Fools on us all!
BIG NEWS IN THIS ISSUE
The Amazing Authors Showcase is privileged to offer our readers portions of an exclusive interview with Stephen King in this month’s ezine. Much of Janet Beaulieu’s (Gwerllyd@aol.com) one-on-one interview with this fascinating author has never been made public before.
For you devout King fans, this is a terrific opportunity to get a glimpse of what makes the man do what he does so well. Read it today and send us your comments, which we will make every effort to have forwarded to Mr. King himself.
When you’ve finished with that interview, follow the other links for some superb new writers, books, outstanding book reviews and contributed articles, along with a host of things to tickle your funny bone in this April Fools edition of the ezine. Remember, almost everything you’re reading right now can be freely distributed to your online buddies, but if you use something out of the ezine, please properly credit it to us or the original author. And while you’re at it, tell your friends about the Amazing Authors Showcase, including your "real world" buddies, or send them the following url so they can come to visit:
http://members.aol.com/df4pepper/writers.html
NEW AMAZING AUTHORS THIS MONTH:
We've added a number of exciting new writers to the Showcase since the last issue, including a Featured Author you will likely recognize. Drop by the authors’ pages and leave a note in their guest books, or send them email and let them know you read their stories.
FEATURED AUTHOR: Stephen King
Need we say more? You all know this man by reputation, and now you know that he holds the record for the single highest first day sales of a new book in history. Check out his Featured Author pages for a lot more intriguing information and if you’ve not done so already, click on the Riding The Bullet links on this page to order his fantastic new ebook. It’s a $2.50 download, and not that we need the money, but the Showcase does get a commission off every order placed through our links, so tell your friends where to buy it.
Joe Amon (joe_protagonist@yahoo.com)
Joe Amon was born in a small Canadian mining town in Northern B.C. and is now pursuing his education in a larger, Southern B.C. tourist town. He has been making up stories since he was five, but only recently realized that other people actually liked to read them. His newest story, Discover, is included here on the Showcase for your reading pleasure.
Morgana de Guerre (voodoo@premier.net)
Morgana de Guerre is a freelance writer who lives with her husband and daughter in southern Louisiana. She was raised in a home where magic and the occult were the norm. Eventually, her husband took pity on her and agreed that she should write full time. She has been writing happily ever since. Read a chilling excerpt from The Vampire Slayer on her Showcase page.
John W. Irwin (TallonJke@aol.com)
John spent 31 years in the military. Schooled in Special Forces Operations and Intelligence, Strategic Reconnaissance and as an Intelligence Analyst, this author has the background and experience to take readers inside the world of secret operations. His new book, The Power does exactly that. Order it now through links in our bookstore or directly from B&N.
Bill Riepe (GloBill3@aol.com)
Four years of military service as a combat infantryman in World War II and the Korean War, and thirty-two years as a firefighter conditioned Bill Riepe to some of the harsher realities of existence. Since retiring he has chosen to explore other aspects of the human condition with his writing. His story, The Girl At The Top Of The Hill featured here on the Showcase, is just such an exploration.
Pete Wegener (Peteweg@aol.com)
Pete Wegener was born in San Francisco in 1936. He received the Bank of America award for mathematics and science before entering Santa Clara University. Among his works are Modern Parables, Paint Vermont Black and 4:31 A.M. Pete's wife is also a writer who is now featured in a monthly national magazine.
SHOWCASE BUSINESS NEWS:
Excerpt from Publishers Weekly: Article dated 20 March 2000. http://publishersweekly.com/articles/20000320_85394.asp
"With more than 130 of its titles available as downloadable electronic editions, St. Martin's Press plans to release many more of its titles simultaneously in print and electronic editions.
SMP announced a list of 28 titles currently scheduled for publication throughout 2000 that will be released in paper and digital formats. And Steve Cohen, senior v-p of finance and administration at St. Martin's Press, told PW the house has 300 to 400 titles that it could conceivably release in both forms. "Eventually, every SMP title will be released simultaneously in print and in digital form," he said.
*****
To Amazing Authors Showcase & Ezine:
“Thank you for your application to become a SoftLock Affiliate. We are pleased to inform you that your application has been approved.”
“We are also pleased to inform you that you have already been approved as an Affiliate to Simon & Schuster and you will be receiving a SoftLock Link-kit which enables you to carry Stephen King's newest story Riding the Bullet on your web site. This Link-kit will be emailed to you no later than Saturday, March 11th. Please read the instructions in the Link-kit carefully to maximize the effectiveness of your Stephen King Riding the Bullet promotion.”
ACCOLADES TO AMAZING AUTHORS
From: Bill Riepe
I'm very excited about being in the Showcase, and very pleased with the design of the pages. I'm busily promoting the site as fast as my pudgy little fingers can hit the keyboard. Thanks for giving me the opportunity, and please express my appreciation to the staff for a job well done.
...Everyone is very impressed with the design and layout of the site. I couldn't have hoped to get this kind of exposure anywhere else. Thanks again, and all best wishes for your works in progress.
THE BOTTOM LINES:
If you have news of your own writing exploits or something you think will be of value to the Amazing Authors readership, please send the information to be included with the next ezine to AmazingAuthors@aol.com. That issue should be on site sometime around the first of May. Until then, we wish you great success in your writing and creative efforts.
The Staff of the Amazing Authors Showcase
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Copyright © 2000 Pepper Raines
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