The dynamically changing nature of the publishing business is creating new opportunities for writers to eliminate the publisher and go straight to the reader directly. This week, Litopia After Dark considers just how easy – or otherwise – an option it is to make a living by doing it all yourself.

As the Harry Potter trial wraps up in New York, we spend some time thinking through the arguments and implications of what might be termed a literary weep-off. We also ponder some new opportunities for authors’ revenge against reviewers. And – do you really need to go to the expense of travelling to a country merely to write a travel guide about it?

This week we are delighted to welcome as our special guest author and self-publisher Darren E Laws, whose company is Caffeine Nights Publishing. Joining him on the panel are Donna Ballman, Beverly Gray and Dave Bartram.

There was no sobbing chatroom on Ustream at 8pm (GMT), thankfully. You should join us next week to find out what you’re missing.

Tears Before Bedtime

In a Federal District Court in Manhattan this week, one of the world’s richest women came face to face with a humble former school librarian – JK Rowling vs Stephen Vander Ark. The characters involved all sound like they stepped straight out of Harry Potter Book 8 – The Curse of the Courtroom.

Anaemona Horticullis (New York Times)…

…he portrayed the famous writer as his idol, his true literary love, who had been unaccountably bewitched by the evil, money-grubbing forces of publishing, like one of Voldemort’s vassals. One day, he testified, Ms. Rowling was singling out his Harry Potter Lexicon Web site, out of “hundreds of thousands” of Potter fan sites on the Web, for praise; the next, she was accusing him of plagiarism for wanting to turn it into a book.

Professor Wu (Columbia Law School) …

Once it dawned on media companies that fan sites are the kind of marketing that they usually pay hard cash for, they generally left the fans alone. But things turned sour in the fall, when the Harry Potter Lexicon Web site announced plans to publish a book version of its fan-written guide to the Potter world. Author J.K. Rowling and publisher Warner Brothers have sued the Lexicon for copyright infringement, exposing the big unanswered question: Are fan guides actually illegal?

In the Daily Telegraph, JK herself…

It had left her unable to continue work on a new novel, she told the court, and “decimated my creative work over the last month”.

Dale M Cendali (JK’s lawyer)…

…the guide could hurt Ms. Rowling’s ability to sell books and Warner Brothers’ interest in marketing movies and merchandise related to Harry Potter.

If the guide were published… …she envisioned readers saying: “‘You know what? I guess I don’t really need the rest of the Harry Potter books because I just read the big giveaways.”

Ms. Cendali joked that the harm could even fall upon lawyers. “Whether that means our bills will now be paid, I don’t know,” she added.

Marc J Randazza (Barry Institute of Law)…

I used to think that the worst British exports were, in this order, Rick Astley, The Royal Family (the worlds wealthiest welfare recipients), and the Spice Girls. Since the Spice Girls were at least hot, they’re off the list, and J.K. Rowling now tops the list.

So, Dark Side, Light Side? Voldemort or Harry? Which is which? And most importantly who’s gonna win?

Where Next For Travel Books?

On Monday, the travel book publisher Lonely Planet said that it stands by the accuracy of its travel guides following news reports that one of its authors claimed he plagiarized and invented sections of the books.

In the Australian Herald Sun the author was quoted as saying…

“They didn’t pay me enough to go to Columbia,” he said.

“I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating who was in an intern in the Columbian Consulate.”

Whatever the truth of the matter, we look to the bigger issue as we contemplate a cloudy future ahead for the traditional travel guide.

Authors Behaving Badly

On Galleycat this week is an astonishing revelation regarding an author’s revenge on an Amazon reviewer of her book.

Sure, a negative review can hurt deeply- and may even seriously affect books sales, and therefore our income. But how far should authors go in seeking retribution?

DIY 4U?

We are delighted to be joined this week by Darren E Laws, who set up, Caffeine Nights Publishing an independent publishing company.

We produce, I think, books that will sit in any bookstore and no-one will know the difference. The quality is there in the cover, the quality is there, I believe, in the writing, if I didn’t believe in myself then, I’d be a fool.

One of the things that goads me a little bit is the term Vanity which I hear bandied around only in the Publishing Industry. It is in no other art form that I can think of. No one talks about Vanity music, no one talks about Vanity film makers, they’re Independent Film makers. It’s a term I find abhorrent.

Is this a stepping stone to a contract with a mainstream publisher? Could this be a route to market? How much work is involved and what problems do small independent publishers come up against? And how are they resolved?

From formats and design to publicity and selling, if you’re looking for advice or information about self-publishing your work, Darren gives some fascinating insights into the business.

Darren’s website is at Caffeine Nights Publishing, his blog is at Caffeine Nights Publishing Blog and you can buy his books from The Fiction Store

Download the show as mp3 file

Photo by ‘Lil

Filed under Litopia After Dark. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.