Bob Mayer talks to Indie eBooks about the modern publishing world

When talking about ebook publishing today the conversation always comes around to self or indie publishing. That conversation will include names like Konrath, Hocking, Locke and Eisler.

In the forums where these writers hang out you will also hear the excited congratulations for other celebrated authors like,  Victorine Lieske, Sibel Hodge, J. Carson Black and Bob Mayer.

These names have all become synonymous with writers that have taken control of their work, deciding for themselves; what, when, where and for whom they will publish. It seems that even J.K. Rowling has joined the ranks of those who at the very least are using a new hybred model to release their work to the world.

It is a very exciting time indeed and today I have the pleasure of sharing with you the Q & A that I did with Bob Mayer recently.  

Bob has started his own publishing company,  so the first thing I wanted to do was find out more about that endeavor.

Nadine Earnshaw: How did Who Dares Wins Publishing come about?

Bob Mayer: Jen Talty and I were talking about my backlist and she’d been published by an electronic press, so she had some experience. At first we were just going to do my backlist, but then we added Kristen Lamb and her original title, We Are Not Alone: The Writers’ Guide to Social Media. Since then we’ve added five more authors, primarily in nonfiction, but we just republished part of bestselling author Marius Gabriel’s backlist, which are thrillers.

Nadine Earnshaw: Do you see a permanent place for this type of publishing alongside Traditional Publishing?

Bob Mayer: Certainly. While I think a lot of authors are going for it on their own with self-publishing, there’s so much work involved beyond writing the book, that it takes a team. We give the highest royalty rates I’ve heard of, 50%, and our authors all cross-promote each other. I just saw a tweet from a conference where an editor on a panel said they are so much more picky with what they acquire now (like they weren’t before?), that it almost has to be a ‘sure thing’, which is odd, because there are no sure things in publishing.

I think self-publishing is perfect for those writers who got close—they had an agent, the agent loved the book, but publishers couldn’t see how to ‘market’ it. They key is that authors have to market their own books, regardless of it’s indie or trad published, so they know the market.

Nadine Earnshaw: How do you see this fitting in with Amazon entering the Publishing arena?

Bob Mayer: My only concern is if Amazon ever decides to change their royalty rate system. I don’t see why they would, but it’s always a possibility. Also, if they ‘favor’ their authors over others, that could be a problem. Of more interest, I’m wondering how Apple is going to handle the iBookstore versus the Kindle app. Right now, Apple isn’t really a player in the e-book market, but that could change if they ban the Kindle app from their operating system. As of end of month, they’re allowing the apps to stay, but they have merged their bookstore with iTunes.

Nadine Earnshaw: Having been a traditionally published author you must have many friends who are still have relationships with Traditional publishers. Did people take your self publishing seriously to start with, are they taking it seriously now? Lost any contacts over it?

Bob Mayer: Most people think it’s a good idea. Actually, most want to know more. Initially some people scoffed at self-publishing, but now that there are enough people doing it successfully, that tune is starting to change. It’s another option and more options are good.

What I’m seeing is a lot of authors doing both. Pushing forward with their traditional publishers and bringing out their backlist on their own. It’s a win-win situation. I was told flat out by an editor at Random House that they can barely promote their front-list never mind their backlist. But authors can promote their backlist. Random House gave me backs the rights to my Area 51 series, and it’s really gaining traction, especially with the release of Super8 this month. I can also cross-promote it with my Atlantis series, which I had written under a different pen name.

Nadine Earnshaw: When you make your living from writing it means you need the support of your family to make a serious change like moving to self publishing. How did that conversation go over at home initially? How big a chance have you taken?

Bob Mayer: I’ve always said publishing is a very iffy way to make a living. A publisher can always decide not to renew your contract, and you are in essence out of work. I always planned three years ahead at least and always stayed a manuscript ahead (writing one that wasn’t under contract while also fulfilling my contracts). That’s the only way I stayed alive in the business for over 20 years. I really like the fact that I control more of my fate now. What’s also interesting is that I get steady paychecks. Every month we get a check from Amazon, Apple, LSI, etc. Each day, if I want, I know exactly how many sales I have and how much revenue is being generated. That’s the polar opposite of traditional publishing.

The other great thing is we’re in a market that’s always expanding. In several ways: more people will buy e-readers, that’s a given. But also, Amazon just opened in Germany and we’re in the process of translating some of our books for that market. We believe Amazon will continue to expand in other foreign markets, so we can do that also. We’re translating the first book in my Area 51 and Atlantis series into Spanish, which is a huge world-wide market.

It’s a risk, but the big thing is I have such a big backlist, that we still haven’t published everything I have the rights to. I’m currently going through the last 6 of my Area 51 books and making sure they’re ready to be published, updating things a bit.

For a new writer, my biggest piece of advice would be to look to the long haul and build up your list. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Nadine Earnshaw: Thank you Bob for sharing your expertise about publishing. If anyone has further questions please leave them in the comments area.


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