Category Archives: Publishing

May 30, 2013 · 8:00 am

Join me at BEA today at 2 p.m.!

The Book Expo America is once again taking over New York, and seeing as I have a book coming out and such, I figured I’d take part. I’ll be helping out at the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America booth today — yes, one day only! — and will be doing a bit of a thing at 2 p.m. The SFWA booth is #2625, which is right near the 3E entrance on the exhibit hall floor. Here’s a handy map.

That thing I’m doing at 2 p.m….well, it was supposed to be a signing, but given the delay of The Daedalus Incident into the summer, I’ll basically be handing out Special Commemorative Flyers (printed front and back) and talking up the book. Yes, I’ll be taking questions. Except regarding that incident in Bolivia which, well, I really can’t talk about. You know how it is with sanctions.

Anyway, if you’re around, stop by the SFWA booth and say hi. I’ll also be roaming about and Tweeting as well, so you can live vicariously through me if you can’t attend and really like books.

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May 15, 2013 · 10:13 am

Library Journal names Daedalus SF/F debut of the month!

I admit, this floored me.

The Daedalus Incident has been named the science fiction/fantasy debut of the month by the folks at Library Journal, complete with a starred review. Their verdict:

Martinez’s debut is a triumph of genre-blending, as steampunk adventure merges with modern space opera. With a cast of superbly drawn characters, Martinez’s title is a mesmerizing tale of two universes that briefly cross paths, leaving both worlds forever changed.

I have no words for this one, other than thank you, Library Journal. Just…wow.

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May 11, 2013 · 10:17 am

Updates, travel and musings

This is gonna be one of those blog posts made up of stuff that’s too long for Tweets, but too short to warrant their own separate posts.

First off, no official word yet on the Skyhorse/Start purchase of Night Shade Books’ assets. There’s not a heap I’m comfortable saying publicly, other than I remain encouraged by developments. While a bit of uncertainty remains, I expect it’s more a question of when than if at this point.

Folks who have pre-ordered The Daedalus Incident on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble may have noted that the release date has been changed from May 7 to June 11. This was news to me, and I’m not sure if that’s the official date or if it’s just a placeholder. Some pre-order customers at Amazon got e-mails updating them, others have not. Either way, you can still pre-order the book, and it’ll show up on or shortly after the official release date…whenever that is.

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April 22, 2013 · 6:51 am

The Daedalus Incident reviewed on Fantasy Faction

I don’t think waking up to good reviews will ever get old. This one, though, is pretty special.

Dan Hanks took on The Daedalus Incident over on Fantasy Faction this morning, and really liked it: he gave it nine out of 10 stars. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say.

The HMS Daedalus sails a ballsy, brilliant and at times breathtaking universe and you get to tag along for the ride. I can’t speak highly enough of what the author has created here. Don’t hesitate in signing up.

What makes this review special is that Dan really nailed the strengths and, yes, the weaknesses of the book, to the point where I have to wonder exactly how long Mr. Hanks has been in residence inside my writer-brain. Also, Dan lives in England and yet did not see fit to dock me for mucking about in his nation’s long and glorious history.

Fantasy Faction is an excellent genre fan community, and if you’ve not checked it out…why haven’t you? Thanks to Dan and Fantasy Faction for a thoughtful, awesome review!

Now if we can just get a release date nailed down, we’d be all set!

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April 18, 2013 · 7:00 pm

Daedalus delayed due to ongoing Night Shade acquisiton deal

While not strictly official, I figured it was obvious at this point, so I’ll put it out there. It’s all but certain The Daedalus Incident will not be released on May 7 as scheduled. While not ideal, it’s also not necessarily a bad thing. If all goes well, it actually could work out nicely.

As I posted a few weeks ago, Skyhorse Publishing is in the midst of acquiring the assets of my publisher, Night Shade Books. The contract for Daedalus is one such asset. While the deal has yet to close, and may still fall through, I’m cautiously optimistic that it’ll happen…just not in time to meet our original release date.

The Daedalus Incident was slated for release last fall, before the financial troubles that have plagued Night Shade for years finally came to a head. (For a really interesting take on Night Shade’s woes, I’d point you to Justin Landon’s excellent piece over on Staffer’s Book Review.) Skyhorse and Start Media came in to buy the assets so Night Shade’s owners could avoid bankruptcy.

Naturally, this occurred a month before Daedalus was due to be released.

The deal requires Night Shade authors to agree to the transfer of assets. I can’t and won’t speak for other authors, but I agreed to it, as it seemed the most likely way for Daedalus to hit shelves in the most timely manner possible. Timely, however, isn’t the same as on time, and that’s to be expected.

Here’s what I can say about a new release date as of right now. Continue reading →

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April 15, 2013 · 9:44 pm

Me and my agent: the Writer’s Digest writeup

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know full well that I consider my literary agent, Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency, to be truly awesome. I’m really lucky to have her in my corner, especially with all the stuff surrounding Night Shade Books of late.

The story of how she became my agent is a pretty good one, and it’s featured in the May/June issue of Writer’s Digest, in the magazine’s regular “Breaking In” feature. It’s both exciting and a little humbling be in a magazine devoted to writers and writing, especially as a newbie. And Sara deserves all the kudos she gets for her hard work and good humor.

Of course, I would suggest that you run out and get a copy of the magazine, especially if you’re an aspiring writer, because it has lots of good stuff on writing and publishing besides my little bit. But I’ve also scanned the article in here because, well, I’m pretty stoked about it, and the cover of The Daedalus Incident just looks so nice in print.

Also, if you’re interested in how literary agents do their jobs and what goes into their decision making, you should follow Sara on Twitter. She does a lot of insightful, useful things there. Because, again, she’s awesome.

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April 14, 2013 · 9:30 am

First review of The Daedalus Incident!

A Tokyo street scene. For real.

Nothing beats jet lag like a great review.

We’re back from Japan after nine days in the land of the rising sun. It was definitely an amazing experience, and it came with the added bonus of catching up with one of my oldest friends, Andrew Logan Montgomery, who teaches English in Yokohama. If you’ve not read his writings, you should.

I was halfway into my second cup of coffee this morning to find the first major review of The Daedalus Incident had hit the Internet over on The Founding Fields, courtesy of Starhawk (a.k.a. Abhinav Jain). I won’t give it all away, but I will pull this snippet to whet your appetite.

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March 16, 2013 · 2:35 pm

Member, SFWA

With all the application details ironed out and membership fee paid, I’m proud to say that I’m now a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Big deal, you say. Well, yeah, my excitement is probably out of proportion to the actual thing. But you know, I don’t care. Here’s why.

One, I’m qualified to join an organization that includes several New York Times bestselling authors, plenty of Hugo and Nebula award nominees and winners, and writers I’ve read since I was a lad. Know that bit about the company you keep? I’m in fine company indeed. And many folks within this group are quite generous with their time and advice, which is quite valuable to a n00b like me.

Two, I just voted for the Nebula Awards. That’s just cool, you know?

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March 10, 2013 · 4:27 pm

On the business of publishing

SFWA vs. Hydra: An early image of the smackdown.

There’s been lots of good, righteous anger aimed at Random House for the contract terms offered by their e-book only imprints, namely Alibi (crime fiction) and Hydra (SF/F). Long story short, they are bad terms indeed. The author doesn’t get paid squat until the publisher recoups every last dime of cost for getting the book out. For more, I suggest reading John Scalzi’s screeds on the topic, both for the information and the entertainment value.

Why are these contracts such a problem? Because authors and publishers have a partnership in both product and the risks associated with selling it. The author has already risked a great deal of time and energy in writing the book — a book that, sadly, may not sell enough to justify said time and energy. The author must also rely on the publisher to — at the very least — ensure that the book shows up at all major retailers and in all agreed-upon formats, online and off. The author typically has little control over whether this is done adequately or not, and likewise has little say in how the publisher will spend its marketing dollars on the book.

Of course, publishers carry risk as well, in terms of the investments necessary to produce the and distribute the work, which are often substantial. That’s why most contracts leave the bulk of gross sales money to the publisher. The author typically gets an advance against royalties, and then gets a relatively small piece of each book once the advance is earned out. (In other words, the book needs to sell a certain number of copies before the author sees additional money.)

With all that said, should we be surprised that publishers like Random House are trying to shove more risk off their books and onto authors? Absolutely not. And here’s why.

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