My E-Book Road: Introduction

For all those snoots who look down their noses at self-publishing, hey - I understand. My first thought is visualizing the horrid yellow backwater paperback offered up by a proud "author" at a local writer's group: 340 pages of a rambling, rhyming epic detailing the life of his beloved, and very dead, cat. Nine lives and all that, you know.

Meanwhile, over at my simplicity blog (Everyday Simplicity), I get lots of traffic going to the same subject matter -- and lots of email asking questions -- on basically three or four topics. Over time, the requested information has delved into a lot more detail than a blog post can - or should - handle.

The answer, I've decided, is an E-Book. I'm expanding these high-traffic topics, compiling a lot more information into a hopefully helpful publication that meets the needs of these readers in a way that Everyday Simplicity cannot.

Little did I know that this decision, once made, isn't so simple to implement. I'm learning all sorts of things as I undertake this endeavor - and I thought this blog post series would be a good idea. I'll share what I learn, as well as keep track of my progress and what info I've accumulated.

My E-Book Road. Here goes.

Wal-Mart's Purge of 1000 Magazine Titles

When I first read about Wal-Mart's decision to discontinue sales of a huge number of magazines, I wrote about it and promised to update that post with the actual purge list once it was released.

Today, I updated that post with the latest info I could find on the actual magazines that have been culled from Wal-Mart shelves.

Meanwhile, I've been pondering the known titles on the list, such as:

The New Yorker
The Economist
The Robb Report
Town & Country
Ski
Saveur
Forbes
Fortune.

Here's my big question -- at the store that brings us the Four Dollar Prescription Program and the WalMart PrePaid Debit Card "...for the underbanked...," how many of its customers actually BOUGHT these titles anyway?

Thinking About This as a Reader

I admit to wandering into the nearby Wal-Mart occasionally (for one thing, it's the only place that sells bags that fit my garbage compacter). I also know that I would never buy The New Yorker at Wal-Mart, although it's a magazine I've read for years, and I might easily pick up a copy at Barnes & Noble on a Sunday afternoon.

No, I haven't dedicated much time to analyzing why that is ... but I have thought about it long enough to realize that maybe this purge list isn't the big hit to magazine publishers and writers that it's being made out to be.

And, yes, I do wander through the magazine and book section of the store. I have bought a magazine or two, as well -- I clearly remember Wal-Mart was where I first saw Rachael Ray's new magazine debut. Maybe my magazine purchases at Wal-Mart are tied somehow to the store's environment, or my reason for being there (organic foods, compacter bags, a space heater to put under my desk)? It may be telling that I am somewhat surprised that Better Homes & Gardens and Ladies Home Journal have been booted.

What Does the 20% Really Mean to Us?

I recognize that MediaBistro is reporting that Wal-Mart is responsible for more than 20% of retail magazine sales in the United States.

I sure would like to know what magazines make up that twenty percent. And, I'd like to know more about that sales figure -- is this reflecting sales made to Wal-Mart, or sales that Wal-Mart made to magazine readers?

It's as a writer, not as a reader, that this news concerns me

As a reader, and magazine buyer, this purge list isn't causing me concern -- it's only from a writer's perspective that I'm spending any time on this topic.

I'm thinking that maybe Wal-Mart is simply cutting out magazines that were gathering dust on its racks and if that is true, then it's an understandable move.

And, I'm still chuckling that the Robb Report and The Economist were being sold at Wal-Mart in the first place. I mean really.

Getting Paid As A Writer

Note to self: next year, remember the Christmas slump where no one wants to finalize content and everyone wants to delay paying their invoices until January.

Being a writer is very different from being a lawyer. As a lawyer, being pushy is simply assumed. Your client would probably worry about you if you weren't a tad demanding, on a continual basis. As a writer, it's a different story - pardon the pun.

I've had a last minute e-mail, just as I was starting the project, with the message "hey, can we go on hiatus this month, start up again next month?" Of course, I said yes. This is a good client, and it's very interesting work, and there was more to the story than I'm going to post here. Still, my budget took a hit that I had not foreseen.

I've had invoices ignored, and I've had to develop a level of diplomacy (it goes way past that general term of "tact") that no lawyer in their right mind would ponder.

And, I've had companies tell me to deal with their client directly, after a contractual commitment with them (and a corresponding rate) that has been in existence for years. They're supposed to pay me, not ask me to be their collecting agent.

No, no one has shafted me any money - I'm blessed that slow pay is not the same as no pay.

It's still a whole new ballgame, though: receivables in a writer's world are so very, very different from receivables in LawyerLand. And, I'm still learning all the rules....