Sunday, May 13, 2012

Authonomy

I've taken the plunge.

I've uploaded my novel, The Great Escapes Of Danny Houdini, to Authonomy.

This is my one concession to e-publishing. I've resisted all other e-outlets due to my own misgivings and stick-in-the-mud nature. To be fair some of those misgivings have been fuelled by accounts of some agents not being fully on board with writer's who have sought to self-publish. You can see why after all... it potentially puts them all out of business.

I always judge it better not to bite the hand that may one day agree to feed you.

So on the whole I am going to pursue the trad route: postal / email submissions to agents that are open to new writers.

But Authonomy, run by Harper Collins, seems a sensible alternative. It sure as hell can't do any harm.

You can log in and read The Great Escapes Of Danny Houdini by clicking on the picture above or following this link: http://www.authonomy.com/books/44092/the-great-escapes-of-danny-houdini/ - if you're already on Authonomy then if you'd kindly rate it / back it / add it to your "bookshelf" then I'd be eternally grateful.

I must admit, I'm not entirely sure what to make of Authonomy at the moment. It seems very friendly but also a little desperate and frenetic. It seems you have to do a lot of backscratching to get your book rated highly enough to be deemed worthy for consideration by the professionals at Harper Collins. And the backscratching comprises reading a lot of other people's books.

To be honest, I just don't have the time to dedicate to such a full-on project. Fine if I was at home all day with nothing better to do but I have a full time job, a family and a desire to write and only a small amount of time to do all that in.

Authonomy seems to me - and this is just first impressions - to be a little like The Apprentice. Everyone taking part needs the help of everyone else to win but at the same time you don't want your colleagues shining too brightly lest they eclipse your own luminescence. Do you scratch your colleague's back less hard than he's scratching yours or more?

So. I'm not sure how it's going to go. I've been on Authonomy 1 day so far and rose 8 places over night only to slip down again 6 since daylight. To get anywhere it seems you need to be permanently wired up to the system.

Must be great for Authonomy's web stats though... no?

Call me a cynic but I'll keep going with the envelopes and stamps. To that end I have just revamped my synopsis following some fabulous on-line advice ferreted out by the brilliant Sunny Side Up. If you're a writer you might find the following advice on synopsis writing (the bane of every writer) useful:

http://www.writing-world.com/publish/synopsis.shtml

http://www.annemini.com/?cat=1070

Other than than, The Great Escapes Of Danny Houdini is out there and available to be read by all those that care to. If you have the time to leave a review, well, I'll be your best friend until I inexplicably slip back down the rankings again.

Thanks.

22 comments:

Being Me said...

I am so hopeful for you. Fully appreciate (and share) all the reservations you mention. BUT am getting more and more confident with each pass-through I make on my own ms and synopsis. Call me silly, but I the stamp & send method feels more productive.... even if the result of the productivity is going to return all no's, one day it will surely return a yes.

Go forth, D-D-D-Danny & Co!

(p.s. the brilliant label is praise too high! But.... thank you ;-)

Unknown said...

Wow, better get on with the reading now... : )

Steve said...

Being Me: just finished revamping my synopsis and am much better pleased with it... it's actually fun to read it through now rather than a bit of a chore. That's got to be a good thing, right?! And yes - definitely, definitely "brilliant".

Hannah: your support is much appreciated.

Gorilla Bananas said...

If you're going down this route you should follow the blog of this lady, who seems to have made a career of being an e-author. She also owns a pet iguana.

Steve said...

Gorilla Bananas: is lizard love essential to e-success?

Katriina said...

You betcha I'll read your book, Steve. Wishing you every success. You are a great writer and you deserve it.

Steve said...

Katriina: that's immensely kind - thank you.

the fly in the web said...

Duly ticked the boxes on authonomy...best of luck.

Wylye Girl said...

Hi Steve, you are absolutely right about the amount of work needed to rise in the rankings on Autho - in the end, it's as much a popularity contest as anything else and not always the best books that reach the ed's desk. What is is good for is critiques. La Vie en Rosé has improved so much with the advice I've had from other writers. It's worth slogging a bit at first, then once your book is 'out there', you don't need to do as much work. I think most of the writers do the stamp and send method too and the forums are good places to find out about agents/publishers, etc Definitely try to get up into the 200s as that seems to be where the agents/publishers look. Good luck

Steve said...

The fly in the web: I noticed and am honoured - thank you.

Wylye Girl: thank you so much for all your advice... so nice to have a contat who is "in the know". I've pretty much written off the idea of aiming for the "editor's desk" but, as you say, a ranking decent enough to be noticed would be worthwhile. I just wish I understood a little more about how the rankings work - I seem to have climbed 188 places in the last hour!

Suburbia said...

Good luck Steve

( I know you sent it to me some time ago but circumstance overtook and i failed to have time to read it - sorry. Glad you have some exposure this way now though)

Steve said...

Suburbia: thank you. And there's still time - never say never!

Owen said...

Have just created an account on Authonomy in order to review and comment... So, you are off and running there now, crossing my fingers for you that it takes off and goes far !

Vicky said...

Well done Steve. You sent me a draft a while back and I got half way through but due to other things getting in the way I never finished it..... My mission is to now do so :)

Steve said...

Owen: that's immensely kind - thank you, good sir!

Vicky: I hope you enjoy it!

Unknown said...

So... I started reading... and super great I'm in... but WHY can't I scroll down to the bottom of the page?? is that just a temporary error? :(

Unknown said...

Good look in the hunt for someone to publish. They damn well should because I'm waiting to be able to read it in a real hard copy!

Steve said...

Hannah: the site should display one full chapter per page and at the bottom should be links to the next chapters. Other than that it may be a problem with your browser. Failing all else I am happy to email you a copy of the book if you want to email me via my Blogger profile...

Livi: you'll get a signed copy if that ever happens. I promise!

Unknown said...

I'm fine thx, I can read it on my phone fine :) Google Chrome didn't like it though! x

Steve said...

Hannah: hurrah for phone technology! Never thought I'd be saying that...

Keith said...

I hang my head in shame for not having got around to reading it yet. Just too much world on my door step.

Will you ever forgive me ?

Steve said...

Keith: I am wounded, sir! Wounded.

But yes. I forgive you.