Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Out With the Old-In With the New

Two things happened yesterday. First, I got a letter from my old publisher bearing news that one of my first (and favorite) books is going out of print. This is one of the worst moments for a writer. It is a heartbreaking loss of something loved. It’s happened to me before and it will happen again, but it’s still so hard to bare. No more books available ever!! How can that be? How many copies do I have in my basement and how do I decide how to distribute them? They are rare and precious commodity now—even though they obviously aren’t popular enough that anyone wants to buy one. But, what if I—gasp—run out completely and never see the book again?!! It will be like it never existed! Despair and devastation!

Two hours later UPS delivered a padded envelope from my new publisher. Inside were three brand new spanking-shiny ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies. aka, galleys) of my picture book that is coming out early 2011. This is one of the best moments for a writer. The book looks like a book! It smells like a book! The pages are smooth and soft. The colors are vibrant. This means the book is actually going to come out and the publisher isn’t playing some cruel joke on me after all. The book was finished so long ago, that I’d actually thought it had come out and then gone out of print already, but no I’d merely forgotten that I’d created it. Ah, I have a future after all! Joy and jubilation!

So the old book is out of print, the new book is about to emerge. In the end what excites me most is the book I get to work on today, the one still in progress. That is what matters. Everything comes and goes, but if you keep working there will always be something on the table to get you excited, even with the despair and jubilation that may come all at the same time.

11 comments:

  1. So happy/sad. I wish more publishers would set up POD with Amazon so readers could still buy books that aren't getting traditional print runs.

    What a day of mixed emotions!

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  2. The circle of life in a day in a single day. What a roller coaster. And what a good reminder that it's all about sitting down and doing the writing everyday. That's what we can control.

    And congrats on the new book! Can't wait to pick it up for Anders!

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  3. When I was just seeing Bianca and we weren't (obviously) married, I was talking to her father one day. He was 60 or so; I was 40 or so. Somehow the topic of his girls' (5 of them) boyfriends came up and he said when the kids were younger he didn't try too hard to keep the admirers' names straight because "they come and they go."

    That's pretty much my attitude about my books. I tend not to mourn their demise. They come and they go, and there's more where they came from.

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  4. Lisa, I'm just happy the publisher kept you up-to-date on the POD thing -- some don't do that.

    Is there some way you could buy a ton of copies of your book at a super-reduced rate from the publisher? Then sell them at book signings at a rate that will give you a decent profit. You'd actually be making a better deal with your books this way! See if your agent can wrangle something for you.

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  5. Lisa, after I read your post, I went fishing on amazon.com to see the availability of a couple of my older books that are now out of print. I found a few used copies (most ex-library books) selling for less than $10. The big surprise was a new copy of my first book that was listed at $182.00! Another book was listed at $63.00, used. It sure makes me wonder how people set their prices. I'd like to meet this person who thinks my book will sell for $182.00.

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  6. Oh, and I should add that I have a few copies on my shelf at home, and I think the price just went up! :)

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  7. Hey Debra, if you like, talk to Hans over at Spivey's Books in KC if you want to know how used booksellers set prices, esp. for OOP hardcovers. Tell him I sent you.

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  8. Ah, Lisa. The out of print thing is so horrid, but I'm glad you got something shiny and new the same day. Here's to the great work ahead.

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  9. Wow, it is pretty potent to have those two events on the same day. Sunrise, sunset...

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  10. And on a Monday, no less.
    Cheers for the new books: The soon-to-be and the WIP.

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  11. Which book is it? I want to go hoard a copy while I still can.

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