Year One AP (After Print)

Okay. Let’s do a little think tanking. Let’s talk about year zero. We don’t know when it will be we only know its arrival is inevitable. Might be in ten years, might be in thirty, but, as stated in a recent Newsweek article, the train is on the tracks and screaming toward the print publishing industry. Year zero is the year that the last two print pubs collapse (has to be two - it takes two to Tango) under a burden of debt and a business model that is older than plane travel and automobiles.

 

Sure. There will still be pint books. They’ll be consigned to the same arena as cigarettes. They’ll be special order, only for those that can afford them, and rarely seen. The print industry, the one discussed in the trades, the one that the e-pubbed New York Times will still be naming the e-best sellers for, will be found in cloud networking and the world wide web.

So there it is. E-book is the norm, the standard, not the exception. Each year there will be more new books than ever. Just like YouTube and their bevy of garage (read bedroom) recorded original works and covers, anyone that wants can stick their toe into the river of electronic books and get their name out there.

And a new revolution lurks just over the horizon for e-books. Sound, movie clips, pictures, and links. Imagine turning the page on a Stephen King book, the part where the kids are sneaking into the cemetery late at night to do whatever Mr. King has bid them to such a place to do, and the soft sound of crickets, breaking branches, rustling leaves, and wind can be heard. Or the heroine is standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sunset. The waves of the Pacific pounding against the rocks below can be heard. Kids playing. Gulls windsailing just out of reach.

Links to other books, other characters in other books, covers of other books, internet ‘places of interest’ that can bring a new dimension to the reading experience…if the reader feels so inclined. A faded video, like a ghost, runs as the watermark of the page just barely visible with thirty second loops of highlights for that particular page.

Books will become multi-media events and not just words on a page.

 

 

The price of a book will be somewhere around a dollar. The pirate wars will have been fought and won through technology. Sure, just like the print pub industry, the pirates will be out there, but there will be an entire navy of industry ships sailing their seas (because the electronic book industry is now one of importance – just like movies and music) and freeing books held hostage on some ass-talk server in the Ukraine will be a priority. Maybe the publisher everyone wants to be with will be the one with the lowest pirate to sales rate.

So. Here we are. Year zero (which is actually year one as years are counted. The date may be 2009 but we’re in the twenty-first century.

Now what? What will it be like for us, the lowly of the lowliest? The wanna be writer struggling to get our books seen on Fictionwise when the likes of Brown and King have taken over the front page.

Year one could be as close or as far away as we make it.

What do you see year one AP (after print)?

 

Thanks for dropping by.  Leave me your thoughts.  Who knows, I might write a book about them. 

 

Roscoe James

Where Did I Put My Buggy Whip

When was the last time you used a buggy whip? Let me be clear here. When was the last time you used a buggy whip outside the bedroom? Been a while for most of us. I’d venture a guess there are a few out there that wouldn’t know a buggy whip from a bullwhip (that’s the one Indiana Jones uses). I ask because there will be a day in the not too distant future (as in our children’s lifetime) when someone will be posting here at the blog with a new question along those same lines. They’ll be asking when the last time was you cracked open a book made of paper printed with words and was perfectly bound. Just like the buggy whip, books will still be around. But just like the buggy whip there will be people that can safely say they’ve never opened one in their life.

I had a great aunt who died in 1986. A wonderful person full of stories and pictures of the past if you took the time to get her talking. She was born just before the turn of the century. A time when Fischer made horse drawn carriages and everybody knew what a buggy whip was. And more importantly, how to use one. Even outside the bedroom. She was a woman that was born under a sky that didn’t have jet trails and roads were just paths of customary use that were occasionally strewn with rock and gravel to fill up the pot holes.

But she was also a woman who learned about the Wright brother’s historic first flight as a recently passed current event in a one room school house. Prop planes were the big thing when she was dating. That and the latest fad in personal travel – the automobile. She was born without a telephone and died with a wireless handset that, if the sun was right and it wasn’t raining, would actually reach up to the second floor deck. Well, when the battery wasn’t dead. She watched the funeral of an assassinated president and men walking on the moon on a black and white television set. She watched the first shuttle launch on a color console with a beautiful maple cabinet.

Oh. And she always drove an Oldsmobile. A new one every four or five years. When’s the last time someone showed up at work in their brand spanking new Oldsmobile?

Does this mean reading will be consigned to the lost art box along with handwritten letters and drop biscuits made from scratch? Hardly. I actually believe people will be reading more. I also believe that, just like the music people are collecting today, downloaded and licensed, that the personal libraries of the future will stay with a person their entire life. They might even become a point of contention in their last will and testament. Now there’s a cartoon to mess with your mind.

When I look at e-books and e-readers today compared to where they were just four years ago I see this photograph in my head that gets flogged around a lot of black boxy cars belching smoke fighting for space with horse draw wagons and carriages on the streets of Chicago (or maybe New York). Some guy on History Channel talks about the tons (yes tons) of horse manure that had to be cleared daily. Then I look at how long it has taken us to get where we are today and the evolution and impact of the automobile on the world. Not all of it good but certainly better.

Then I think about Moore’s law concerning the advancement of computing power. Basically it said (and the law became a driving force to the outcome as much as a prediction) that computing power would double every eighteen months. And it has. And recently I read an article that discussed re-vamping Moore’s law. Twelve months should do the trick.

So if the Kindle, Sony reader, and whatever Microsoft and Apple finally put on the table in the next six months, represent the prop planes of my great aunt’s era, I can’t wait to see what we’ll have in the next five years.

Then think about getting all those horse manure littering wagons off the road and imagine where our reading technology will be in ten years.

Printed literature, pulp fiction, and text books have seen the Wright brothers of e-readers take flight. You might even say we’re all Charles Lindbergh guiding the publishing industry on its first solo flight across the vast ocean of the best seller. Okay. Some of us are Lindbergh and some of us are Amelia Earhart. But we’re all involved in the same thing. Not just the pioneering moments of a new industry and the technology that will support it.

We’re all involved in defining just how soon someone will get to ask the question – when was the last time you cracked open a book made of paper printed with words and was perfectly bound.

How about we all go out and buy an e-book today? I’d love to be around to see the comment page on that one.

Thanks for dropping by.

www.roscoejames.com

Read Something Different… Bastina’s Necklace

The plan was simple. Evacuate the entire population of a planet orbiting around a dying sun to a terraformed world created just for them by the Galactic League of Planets. At least it was simple until Princess Anleen of Bastina decided the biggest and fastest space vessel ever built could be put to better use. She needed to recover the key to the ancient map. It didn’t matter that the most important relic of the Bastinan people was the good luck charm of an earthling who fancied himself a pirate on the high seas of space and traded in only two things--gold and women. Fair maidens when possible.

When Captain Dirk Roberts, ex-Corporate Space Fleet colonel, now independent space freight hauler--a man who doesn’t always have his papers or his life in order--seeks safe haven at the doomed planet Aznate, he’s only looking for a hot shower, a drink or three at the last spacer bar on the edge of known civilization, and repairs for his ship. What he finds instead is more intriguing than any tale of Blackbeard’s adventures and more beguiling than the fair maiden Guinevere of Arthurian legend.

From a hijacked ark to a plundered heart to the writing of the final Chapter in the ancient children’s fairytale of the legend of Bastina, only Haark, the god of the Bastinan people, knows how the story will end... But that doesn’t stop Princess Anleen from trying to rewrite it.

Buy Here

Thanks,

Roscoe James

Trying Something New

I have a new laptop and discovered a new program – Windows Live Writer.  So I thought I’d give it a try.  This isn’t just about Live Writer.  I do have a quandary I’d like some help with.  So here ya go.

 

Do you prefer the romance between the two main characters blooms out of two Alpha personalities that are in each others face, defensive, agressive… blablabla.  Or would you rather have an Alpha/Beta character set for the leads?

 

That’s really all I have right now.  I think I’ll add a photo just to try it out.

Thanks for dropping by.

 

 

Roscoe James

www.roscoejames.com

Trade Reviews - Orion by Roscoe James

Three reviews.

Reviewing site : You Gotta Read
Rating : You Need To Read
Reviewed by : Heather

Amid the towering monuments of Manhattan's concrete jungle, Pamela Wilkinson wasn't looking for a white picket fence and roses. She didn't yearn for silk sheets and gentle caresses. She wanted something else. Something different. Something good girls aren't supposed to crave and good boys know nothing about. She wanted more than the pull of rope against her wrists, the smell of leather in her nose, and the loud clang of the dungeon door slamming shut on her heart. She wanted the forbidden dance of master and submissive.

Horatio Sloan, wealthy eccentric and not easily denied, demanded more from Pamela than just her body. From a small art gallery in SoHo to the cold marble floor of his study, he would take from her more than her soul, demand more than just her heart, and possess her darkest, most secret place...

Her mind.

In Orion you follow Pam through her journey of finding and experiencing a new way of life. You watch her struggle with knowing what she wants while knowing that most people would find it completely insane. In the opening scenes of the book, Pam tells you that she doesn’t want just the average sexual relationship but someone to dominate her mind.

I was mesmerized by Pam’s journey into submissive. I was one of those people who would look at the pictures of leather, chains, collars, etc and think… Nasty. James puts your mind into another frame, allowing you to understand what is going through the mind of a submissive. It’s not about the sex or kink, but about pleasing your mate.

Anyone that is interested in BDSM really should read Orion. This book was thought provoking to say the least. James has created a world in which you are allowed to learn the inner workings of the mind of a submissive and a dominant. Following Pam through her journey, her decisions to become a submissive, the struggle of finding a Dom, her inner turmoil, and eventually her trial as a Dom will keep you intrigued and turning the pages.


Orion
Contemporary
CinLee
Loose ID
May 19, 2009
9781596329737
http://www.roscoejames.com/
4.5
E-BOOK

After spending an interesting evening at an erotic photography show, something deep within Pamela Wilkinson was stirred. A fantasy, a desire that she is just now aching to have realized. But all of her dates are complete failures at giving her what she needs and even her best friend doesn't understand what Pamela wants. During her birthday party, her friends give Pamela a dog collar and leash, which she promptly puts on. After teasingly leading Pam around on the leash, her best friend hands off the leash to a stranger while she powders her nose. Jolie has no idea what she has set in motion.

Horacio Sloan is immediately fascinated by the drunken woman at the end of the leash. He even warns Pamela that someone might take her seriously, but she doesn't deny that at all. Each week he finds himself at the bar, flirting with her across the distance until finally one week he brings his assistant along. Soon Pamela finds herself in a limo with a man who is a complete stranger and ends up spending the night at his isolated mansion. Frightened and fascinated, Pamela knows this is the one man who will give her fantasy life and he would not disappoint her.

I'm still catching my breath from this one. Each word flickers like a flame from the heat between Pam and Horacio. Horacio is a definite alpha master yet shows a gentleness in his handling of Pamela that borders on the exquisite. Pamela is a well fleshed out character, showing her internal struggle of wanting her fantasy at the same time as fearing it. If you like your stories hot, ORION by Roscoe James is not to be missed. The BDSM D/s elements are very strong in this book and elemental to the story but are written very well.

Wild and hot, you won't be putting this book down. ORION by Roscoe James is an exquisite story you won't want to miss.

Title: Orion
Author: Roscoe James
Publisher: Loose ID
Publisher URL: http://www.loose-id.com/
Reviewer: Amanda Nelson
Rating: 5 stars
Heat level: O

Pamela Wilkinson knows she wants more from a man, but that man is hard to find. While visiting an art gallery in Soho, she finds what she is missing…someone to make her own. So far, none of her dates seem to understand what she is seeking, until she meets the man. The man has been watching her every Friday night, up until the night. It was the night that Horatio Sloan came to complete her. She did things that she never thought she would ever do, and not only did them but found herself to be totally turned on by them. Horatio took her on a journey that began with a single word.

I was totally blown away by this book. Mr. James has managed to intrigue, entice and mesmerize me with this story. Instead of being the usual punishment and reward book that so many BDSM books are, this one showed me what a true Dominant/submissive relationship should be. Mr. James had the terminology and the action that made me fully believe in this relationship and what love can do to a person who craves this lifestyle. When Pamela was without Horatio, I felt her pain and when she was with him, I felt her total obedience. The characters, plot and scene playing were all so well written that I was able to totally lose myself in the story. The analogies used throughout the book were totally unexpected in an erotic story, yet they fit like a glove. The sex was everything that I would desire in a D/s relationship, the anticipation was very exciting and the climax was even more so. If all of Mr. James’ books are like this, I have a lot of reading to catch up on. I can’t say I’d recommend this book for light summer reading, but I would highly recommend this book for some late night titillation.

Amanda Nelson
Just Erotic Romance Reviews

You can get your copy here.

Thanks for dropping by.

Roscoe James

Author Interview by Lydia Hirt (give her a warm welcome)

Lydia Hirt has been told she hides her nerdiness well and has been frequently reprimanded for correcting the grammar of superiors. With an obsession of books and the written word (and a secret skill at the Set® game), Lydia renounced the Chicago advertising world to join the publishing realm. Currently freelancing at Lake Claremont Press, she’s attempting to whittle down her pile of 22 pair of shoes to spend the summer in New York City, attending the New York University Summer Publishing Institute. Thrilled to join the Publishing conversation and keeping her fingers crossed on finding a job in Publicity, Lydia can be reached at novelwhore at gmail dot com or http://www.novelwhore.wordpress.com/.

Lydia recently interviewed me for an article she wrote for Beneath the Cover. She was kind enough to allow me to post the interview here. The full article can be read here. And I highly recommend it. Give her a thumbs up and add your two cents worth with a comment at the end.
So…on with Lydia’s interview.

How did you get started in writing romances? I decided I wanted to take a serious run at writing as a career. Breaking into fiction writing with one of the big publishing houses (or even finding an agent) is less likely than being struck by lightning (a statistical fact). E-books provide the structure and discipline of a traditional publishing house without the print side (though some are doing that as well). The most sold genre in e-book is erotic romance. So the answer is pretty simple. I’m here to hone my craft and build a resume.

Given the recent shakeup in the print industry - restructuring, rethinking of the print business model, drop in sales, and growth in the e-book industry to the tune of 100%, I firmly believe I’ve chosen the right place at the right time.

On a more personal note (evil grin) I like it. There is no more challenging genre. Romance is timeless (Romeo and Juliet) and plumbs the depths of mankind’s most intimate place. The heart.

Why did you choose the erotic vs. more mainstream genre? Again, access. The readers are there and the publishers are servicing the market. They’re always looking for new talent. But I must ask, why not? Eroticism goes hand in hand with romance – the natural next step that could be left at the bedroom door with a scene break. Erotic romance might be considered the ‘Director’s Cut’. Where romance walks through the bedroom and discovers what happens next.

Here are the opening lines to a book of mine that will be published shortly. Maybe you’ll find the answer here. I can’t take full credit for the idea of these words. I’ve adapted the thought from an author unknown blurb I came across. But it says very well what we all know to be true. The most active sexual organ is the mind.

He whispered in the dark.
“Tell me where to touch you so I may drive you insane.”

She smiled.

He blew on her ear.
“Tell me where you find the greatest pleasure.”

Her skin exploded in a million tiny bumps.

He trailed his finger down her spine and insisted.
“Tell me of your most intimate place that I may rape and ravage you beyond all reason.”

She kissed him softly and whispered back.
“Touch my mind.”

Orion by Roscoe James - http://www.loose-id.com/


How long did it take to get published? In 2000 I wrote a full length mainstream novel (95K words). In 2002 I sent over 260 queries to agents. All rejected. My writing career ended. In October of 2006 I decided to give writing one more try. I started investigating the publishing industry in 2007 and discovered e-books midyear. I spent time on the loops, forums, and blogs narrowing my selection to a specific publisher. In September 2007 I wrote a 45K novella and subbed. It was accepted in Jan of 2008.

Feeling you had when your first book was available? Great! Hard to explain. There is a feeling of accomplishment that comes with being part of any of the arts that is very fulfilling. I wrote 310K words last year and, good or bad, they all carry that same feeling of creating something from nothing that you’ll never find in a traditional nine to five job.

Ebooks vs. physical books? The future. I just checked. I have seven paperbacks on my nightstand. When I finish reading them what should I do with them? I much prefer an e-reader to a stack of paperbacks. If we are realistic about paper use, buying habits, and convenience, there is only one way books can go. Electronic. When we consider the average weight of a book bag or backpack carried by students to, from, and at school is around fifteen pounds, e-readers make even more sense. Take the backpack away and give our students an e-reader. FYI – I don’t have an e-reader yet only because the two big names (Sony and Kindle) do not allow downloads in Mexico. The first one that opens up their market will get my business.

What do you see as the future for the romance genre? Growth. Constant. Matters of the heart will always be first and foremost in the minds of modern society. After my complete failure in 2002 I discovered something that surprised me. The number one purchasers of fiction books (as a category) are women. The reason? Romance. I was in the dark on that one. I also believe romance (whether comedic, heartbreaking, or erotic) is one of the few genres that will stand on its own and endure. If you look at my DVD shelf you’ll find Matrix, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings (all of all of them) - and every one of those movies has a romance thread. You’ll also find Out of Africa, You’ve Got Mail, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Notting Hil. There are no more dark and mysterious places than the hidden rooms of the heart. We may not all own a light saber or be saving the world from evil but we all have a heart and experience desire.


Publishing overall? The traditional business model that has dominated what and how we read for over a hundred years is under attack. Cumbersome, limited, and costly are some of the words I’ve seen used in recent months to describe that model. When we consider music, movies, and encyclopedias (with current search engines when was the last time you cracked open an encyclopedia to learn something?) we can easily see the spread of entertainment and learning into the electronic business model. My real question is – what is the publishing industry waiting on?


Is this the career path you dreamt of? Writing? Yes. Did I believe I would ever have the opportunity to pursue that dream? No. Why? The industry business model. The e-publisher has opened a lot of doors for a lot of new authors and every month you’ll see an e-author offered an opportunity with a print publisher.

What are your biggest struggles? Craft. Not telling the story but putting the story on paper. I find my vocabulary is limited, my grammar atrocious, homophones a mystery, and my comma use appalling. However, if you were to read through my small body of work you would find constant improvement. I work at learning my craft. When reading a book we want the printed page to disappear leaving only a movie in our mind. That’s where craft comes in. Ask a million people and nine-hundred-thousand will tell you they have a story and could write a book. The reality is another.

Do you find yourself having to defend your career? (I assume you’re referring to the erotic nature of my work) Nope. The family and extended family are well aware of what I do and support me completely. The first thing someone studying art and painting learns to do is to draw the nude form. When studying photography you study… the nude form. Rodin did blatantly erotic sketches when not creating sculpture. Should I mention D. H. Lawrence? I could go on. My work is not about its erotic nature. My work is about the story. The writing.

What’s the impact of being male in a female dominated genre? Good question. Right off the top of my head a word comes to mind – challenging. There are, in fact, some publishing houses that will not accept romance or erotic romance from a male author. Any book for any genre must be written to appeal to that genre’s readership. Every group of readers has expectations. I have no doubt that I am still learning what those expectations are.

Why do you believe your books are popular? The same factor that makes me work harder to understand what my reader wants is also my greatest asset. My writer’s voice. I bring a unique perspective and voice to romance. Through his eyes becomes very real when reading my books (even when writing from the heroine’s point of view). When I finally place my finger firmly on my reader’s pulse that unique point of view and voice will keep me in the forefront. This is why my pseudonym is male and you’ll find my picture, not some avatar, on most my web sites.

How do you reach out to your target? Reach has a lot to do with site traffic as determined by your publisher. People are becoming more accustomed every day to purchasing on-line. As an author your best asset is the exposure your publisher has developed over the years. But you’ll also find me on MySpace, Twitter (wait, you did, didn’t you), my blog, my author web page, different forums, group loops, and other writing forums. You look for opportunities where you can. The best advice I’ve had to becoming known as an author was simple. Write, write, write. I work fulltime at that.

You post excerpts, blurbs, covers. You look for exposure and make sure your name is coming up on the search engines.

How have you found success? Discovering what the reader wants to read and writing it. I have a book coming out the 19th of this month with Loose Id. A sub-genre I had never considered writing. Actually, a sub-genre I knew little about six months ago. This book started as a six-thousand word post at MySpace that I wrote for the sole purpose of entertaining my friends. The small post was so popular and drew so much attention that a publisher took interest. That post is now buried somewhere in the middle of a 56K word novella about BDSM and the Dom/sub lifestyle. The publisher is so excited about the book that it was fast tracked from first author full to published in two months. A very short turnaround. I’m working on the follow up as we speak.

Any endeavors that have failed? Sure. A lot. Biggest failure to date has been the wholly male point of view approach. I did that with my two earliest books because, frankly, it was safe ground for me. And while the books have a very passionate fan base I’ve learned that the female romance reader wants to hear from the heroine as well. They want the person they identify with to have a voice.

What is the most satisfying aspect of your career? One morning I started by day by checking my e-mail. I discovered a mail from a reader that pretty much sums up the satisfaction of writing. A woman (I assume – only signed with initials and I couldn’t tell from the address) wrote after reading Forever’s Not Enough. To paraphrase she started out by calling me a bastard. Then she explained that I’d kept her up until four in the morning because she couldn’t put the book down and I’d made her cry twice. That’s what romance writing is all about.

But a better answer might be - Having taken the journey.

Thanks for dropping by.

Roscoe James

Pirates of the crazy-bein'

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