Found in the Publishing Attic: Dangerous Gifts

by Mary Jo

Ten days ago at the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference, I gave a speech about the changing landscape of publishing.  (Putting that talk together was a real chore, because really, who knows???!!)  But today’s blog is about some of the interesting things that can be tossed up by the eddies of the new publishing river. 

Years ago, Jo Beverley and Karen Harbaugh and Barbara Samuel and I did an anthology called Faery Magic—historical romance novellas involving faeries.  It was the first of three anthologies we did together, and a whopping great amount of fun, as author generated anthologies so often are.  We go wild with world building and bouncing ideas off each other and a good time was had by all.  Much time was spent discussing the usages of faery, fairy, and Faerie.  (Okay, so maybe one has to be a word wonk to enjoy such discussions. <G>)

Faery Magic was published in 1998. and reissued with a new cover several years later when it became ripe for the reversion of rights to the authors.  In those distant days (around 2004), authors were generally very happy to have books reissued.

But when reversion time recently rolled around again, the publishing landscape had changed.  Any author reclaiming her rights can now indie publish a novella in e-book format, and maybe make some reasonable money. 

I’ve indie published backlist novellas before: I have a four novella holiday collection called Christmas Mixchief , and my one contemporary Christmas novella, A Christmas Fling, is available as a free standing story.

So I asked for reversion of rights on my story, Dangerous Gifte.  But this is where the twist came in.  Kensington said they were starting a new e-only line and would like to publish my story as part of that.  I was torn.  I’m very possessive about my stories (MINE, MINE, MINE!!!!), which is why I’ve always been quick to revert rights when possible, a habit which has stood me well in the new age of indie e-booking.

But Kensington is also my principal publisher and they’ve done very well by me.  After much indecision and further coaxing by my editor (imagine trying to lure a feral cat to hand), I decided it would be an interesting experiment to have my publisher put out a novella electronically.  So as of last Thursday, Dangerous Gifts is available from all the usual downloading places, including the Kensington site. Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. 

Dangerous GIfts is a Regency riff on “be careful what you ask for.”  I reread the story a few days ago, and remembered how much I enjoyed writing it.  A faery lord, Ranulph of the Wood, becomes enamored of the enchanting harp music of a girl who plays in his woods, which are on her father’s estate.  He wants to bring her into Faerie so he can always have her music, but there are rules about how this can be done.  So he offers her a faery bargain: the greatest wish of her heart in return for her performing any one of three simplel tasks. 

The plain, lonely daughter of elderly parents, Leah Marlowe yearns to be beautiful and beloved.  Such a dream seems impossible until a handsome, well dressed London gentleman magically appears in front of her as she plays in her favorite glade:

 “I am Ranulph of the Wood, a lord of Faerie," he said softly.  "I can give you beauty so great that it will bring all mortal men to their knees. Wealth, fame, the love of heroes—you can have whatever, or whomever, you most desire.”
     She gaped at him.  He was mad; there could be no explanation. Or perhaps she was merely dreaming.  
    “This is no dream.”  Ranulph took her right hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a cool kiss on her tense fingers.  “It is a sign of your own magical gift of music that you can see me.  Usually only sorcerers or simple country people can see the Folk, but sometimes artists and poets and musicians can also.”  
    She pulled her hand away, beginning to wonder if by some wild chance this encounter could be real.  The woods around her had always had an uncanny reputation, and the villagers avoided the area.  Leah came to this glade to play because the music inside her was always most powerful here.  “If you’re a faery, prove it.”
     He shook his head sadly.  “So skeptical, you modern mortals.”  He reached inside his coat and drew out a small looking glass.  Then he extended it to her, his fingers trailing sparkling light.  “See what you might be.”  
     Leah looked into the glass, and almost passed out with shock.  The image revealed was stunningly beautiful.  Her mousy brown hair had become a marvelously thick, glossy mane streaked with sun-kissed blondness, while her nondescript, gray-green eyes were a striking shade of green.  Her fair skin seemed almost to glow and her features had been refined to exquisite perfection.  Yet eerily, the face was still hers. 
     The image shimmered, and suddenly it showed plain Leah Marlowe again.  She gave a small whimper of protest at the loss of that vision of loveliness. 

Will true love survive the dangers of a faery bargain?  Trust me. <G> It’s a fairly long novella and includes more than one romance, a dazzling female faery from India, and a magical cat with long, fluffy black fur. 

A great advantage of e-pubbing is that stories like Dangerous Gifts that have been buried in old anthologies can become readily available.  Readers who are completists and want to glom all of a particular author will find it easier to do.  Me, I’m just glad to have a favorite story available again.

What do you think of this new trend for e-publishing long lost stories?  Have you pounced on some that you’ve long wanted to read?  Are there such stories you’d love to see e-pubbed? 

And if you’re a stalwart print fan—I’ll give a print copy of Faery Magic to one person who comments on this blog between now and midnight Tuesday. 

Mary Jo, wishing everyone magical cats of their own <G>

 

Comments

[Janice]

I think ebooking older titles available now only in used - sometimes extremely used - paperback editions is a terrific idea. People can sample many terrific writers who, unlike our Wenches here, are no longer writing, or writing in the same traditional regency genre as they used to. I have many keepers from the old days, of course, but it's been nice to load up my kindle with Barbara Metzger, Carla Kelly, Jeanne Savery, Georgette Heyer, Alicia Rasley, Elizabeth Chater, Blair Bancroft Anne Barbour, Candice Hern, Diane Farr, Mary Kingsley and Mary Balogh. I am genuinely happy that these authors' books will be read and appreciated by a new audience.

Being a writer these days is a tough, tough racket economically. We hear all about the handful of people like JK Rowling who have made millions from their work but only a handful of writers ever cash in to anywhere near that extent. Most writers are scufflin' to pay the bills and make a decent living from their work, just like the rest of us. I think it's terrific that they now have a way to make their work available at prices we readers can afford yet yield them more than the pennies per copy they got before.

Off now to find Mary Jo's story and download it, because I am pretty sure I have Faery Magic around somewhere, but who knows where :)

[Janice]

Poor Mary Jo :) I just looked at the one review of Dangerous Gifts at amazon, by "Rosie", who gave it one star. Her chief complaint seems to be that there aren't enough cliches in it :) I thought of posting a comment myself, but everything I might have said would have been along the lines of 'how dumb are you, really?' -- and that would have been rude, as well as counterproductive!

I remember this story now and I remember liking it at the time for its clever contrast between the human and faery worlds.

What impact do reviews have at amazon? Do people really pay any attention to the dopey ones like hers?

[Tiffany]

I love the idea - but I haven't caught on to the e-reader trend just yet. I think I will eventually - but for now I just can't put down the book. If it means I have to in order to read out of print books, then I guess I'll be taking the plunge sooner rather than later!

[Kate]

I don't have the technology to gather e-books. I also prefer the print versions. I like putting it on the shelf and being able to handle it. It is also easier on my eyes which have always been pretty weak.

[Minna]

I prefer ink and paper books, but due to the lack of space (among other things) I've started to buy some of my old favorites in e-format. Now I only need to buy an e-reader as well so that I wouldn't have to read my e-books on computer screen.

[LilMissMolly]

I an old fashioned girl and prefer print copies. I've tried a Kindle, but after working all day on a computer and texting my teens all day, I want to give "electronics" a break in my free time.

[Janga]

I remember this story. I still have my often read copy of Faery Magic on a keeper shelf.

I love my Kindle, and a big reason is all the previously OOP books that I've been able to buy, including many to replace paperbacks that were literally falling to pieces from having been reread so often. I was particularly delighted when Carousel of Hearts became available in electronic format. I'm thinking of buying a second reader since I've almost filled the one I have. And most of those books are old favorites repurchased in eformat--sometimes for less than I paid for the originals.

As a blogger, I also love being able to talk about older books and refer my readers to sites where they can actually buy the books instead of just wishing them good luck at the UBS.

[Mary Jo Putney]

** Most writers are scufflin' to pay the bills and make a decent living from their work, just like the rest of us. I think it's terrific that they now have a way to make their work available at prices we readers can afford yet yield them more than the pennies per copy they got before.**

SO true, Janice! Great, timeless stories are available again, and authors are in many cases making for that they did the first time around. The traditional Regency genre is getting a new lease on life. It's all good. *G*

>>What impact do reviews have at amazon? Do people really pay any attention to the dopey ones like hers? <<

Sadly, reviews can make a big difference. Some potential buyers won't read the reviews, just see the number of stars and decide something isn't worth their trouble.

I NEVER read Amazon reviews because they can make you crazy. Some people will post one star reviews on books they haven't read. Or because they don't like a price the publisher is charging. Or because they don't like some other weird thing.

If you can't bring yourself to write a responsive review *G*, you can click on the "Not Helpful" button by the reviews. That's a way expressing disagreement that's quick and easy.

I'm glad you have fond memories of the story!

[Diane]

I like reading my favorite books on my Kindle. I have a lot of trouble with my hands, and it is easier on them to hold a Kindle than to try to read while forcing the book to stay open at the page I'm reading. Exerting that constant pressure is a killer. And I like being able to carry my favorite stories with me. However, Kindle prices do slow down my acquiring them. And there are many more I would buy if the publishers would allow a lower price, or have periodic sales.

Given all that, I am not ready to give up my paper copies. No way! I like having books around me, and the older ones are not (and maybe will never be) available in E book format. I also find I am ordering the brand new books from my library. I wouldn't buy a hard copy (no room to keep them), but I might buy the paper copy or e-book version later on

I can see that being an author these days is a lot more than writing books. But thanks for writing them anyway. You make life so much more interesting for all of us.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Tiffany--

Sadly, most older books that are out of print will mostly only be available in e-editions, if at all. On the plus side, you can wait to get a reading device since the e-books will be available indefinitely, and the longer you wait, the better the variety and prices of the reading devices as new ones come on the market. Silver linings. *g*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kate--I must admit that I still prefer print. But e-readers are great on vacations, and being able to blow up the type sized is REALLY useful. I think that many of us will end up being part print, part e-edition--and isn't it nice we have teh choice???

[Mary Jo Putney]

Minna--

I believe that a number of tablets coming on the market can download books from a variety of sites, and some are really light, as well. So there are good choices coming.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LilMissMolly--I TOTALLY get that one can have way too much screen time! I mostly only use the Kindle when on vacation and not spending as much time staring at my monitor.

But truth to tell, I still prefer print. I'm a Luddite.

[Jane]

Mary Jo, I would love to have a copy of this book! I really enjoy stories that meld the realms of the real with that of faeries or other such creatures, especially since there are so many different takes on this. And, any story that contains a magical cat is a keeper!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Janga--

I can see the advantages of e-books for bloggers--so nice to be able to send people directly to a story you're discussing. As for filling up your reader--cloud storage? SD card? Unsettling to realize that even with e-books, one can run out of space!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Diane--

There is something very comforting about having one's books around, isn't there? Like a squirrel with enough nuts for winter. It's nice that readers are getting lighter. My Nook--an ancient to years old--is on the heavy side. Some of the new tablets are really, really light.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jane--as I'm sure you know, all cats are at least a little magical! we all loved playing with Faerie and blending it into our historical novellas. Fun!

[Kathleen Lynch]

I'm delighted that rights are reverting to you, Mary Jo. I've enjoyed re-discovering books-loved-and-lost through the magic of e-books. I've also enjoyed novellas which might never have been published but for the electronic world. While I have a Kindle, the bulk of my e-reading is done on an I-phone or on my laptop. Holding a book OR Kindle is increasingly tough on arthritic fingers, but I love clicking that page-advance arrow!
Run out of space in the cloud? My husband will roar with laughter, having teased for years as he built yet one more bookcase for me that we were running out of walls!

[Minna]

For those who are old fashioned and prefer ink and paper books and want to find old print books, I recommend BookMooch! Although I now buy some of my old favorites as ebooks, there are lots of out of print books I haven't read and those I rather get in the old fashioned format, because if I don't like the book, I can swap it for another book. If I do like it, I can either keep it or get it as an ebook later. And there are some books I much rather have as old fashioned books.

http://bookmooch.com/

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kathleen--

I've run out of walls. *g* I need to figure out how to download apps for my iPhone so I can read on it, but sadly, I have zero interested in playing with technology so I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Minna---

I'd not heard of Book Mooch, but it sounds like a great example of the kind of resource that didn't exist ten years ago. So useful!

[LouisaCornell]

How could I not have this book?? I checked my collection on LibraryThing and it isn't there! I LOVE the excerpt!

I generally use my kindle for books that are only available as ebooks. I am a "dead tree" book junkie and I am constantly tracking down used copies of books friends have suggested if I can't get new copies. I always look long and hard for a way to buy a book new before I resort to the used book thing because I want to make sure the author gets paid!! As a result I have purchased a number of reissued e-books by my auto-buy authors.

And I am definitely one of those people who is comforted by wall to wall bookcases filled up with old friends!

And I happen to have three magical cats. They can make large portions of kibble disappear in the blink of an eye. They can unravel and shred an entire roll of toilet paper and vanish to the other end of the house before I discover it. And they can make the most miserable day at work disappear with a single chuff or purr.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL about your magical cats, Louisa! Mine have very similar abilities. *G* It shouldn't be hard for you to find a used copy of FAERY MAGIC, and that way you'll get all four novellas, not just mine. It will be well worth it for a dead tree fancier!

[LouisaCornell]

Already on the hunt, Mary Jo!

[Ella Quinn]

I've been an ereader convert since my husband bought me a Kindle for mother's day a couple of years ago. I am so looking forward to it.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Ella--

What a nice husband! Of course, he probably realized you were running out of walls for bookcases, too. *g* Don't we all run out of bookcase space eventually???