Into the Fire

Lately, publishers and booksellers fear the consequences of a diminishing economy just like anyone else providing and competing for the entertainment dollar.

Suggesting—or perhaps imploring—you, the reading consumer, to purchase books for Christmas gifts is their way of marketing their product. And I’m all for buying books for presents. That’s precisely why I wrote my “commercial” for my own novel several days ago, identifying the best audience for the book. It’s also why I spent four days giving specific recommendations and descriptions of novels in various categories so you might spot potential targets for the books, possibly easing your shopping conundrum.

Here’s my only dilemma with book buying today. There’s not a lot of bang for the buck. Three hundred pages or less for a novel hardly warrants a $13 or $14.99 price tag. Not in my book (pun intended).

Let me point out certain quibbles I have with today’s publishing. The desired length for novels is a word count of 100,000 or less. Many of them are closer to the 80,000 word count. With that number of words the “template” is usually chosen to give the look of a one and a half inch spaced manuscript—in other words, a fair amount of “white” space on the pages. When I chose the template for The Famous One, I chose their “tightest” template—and there were eleven examples to choose from. This puts the words on the page without a lot of white except in the border spacing, reducing the actual page numbers. I’ve shared in other posts about the enormous size of my first novel Hope Of Glory and how there is very little white on those 744 pages.

When you’re translating word counts to page count, there’s a standard measurement for formulating price per page which is 350 words per page. Well, if you look at the real 350 words per page, the only places you see this is in a children’s book, a gift book, something with illustrations/photographs on the same or side-by-side page, a large print book, or a novella. Three hundred fifty words per page is not a lot of words, but it is a standard of measurement. And based on that measurement, certain costs are determined regardless of the chosen template (the actual words per page).

So what am I saying here? I’m saying that as far as reading pleasure goes, a skimpy three hundred page novel, with a “loose” or wide-open template, for $13-14.99 is a rip-off, quite frankly. Yes, we can get them for less online, even “like new” for cheaper yet, but sometimes when you desire to buy a nice novel for someone, you can’t take a chance on the lesser offerings. If you don’t have a coupon from your local Christian bookstore or Barnes & Noble or Borders or wherever you shop for books, it can be a disappointment to have to pay those prices for these skinny little novels which might take you or whoever you’re buying them for about a day to read. And I don’t see the prices for books coming down anytime soon with all the postulating about the rising costs of paper and printing. Cheaper paper and cover material can be used, but those books won’t hold up well.

I’m a bit surprised at the choices some publishers make for first releases into hardbound copies. We all know they cost more to buy because they cost more to produce. I find it especially interesting when a publisher features a first time author with a hardbound release, but that might just be my logic which asks why am I going to pay more for an experiment with a new author when I can pay less (in soft cover) for one of my favorites?

At our local discount “Supermall”, we now have an outlet Christian bookstore. They often have the first releases at a reduced price, but the majority of the books have been out for a few months or are even older. There are some fabulous deals, lots of half-price or less first rate—and like any store not so first rate—novels. Needless to say, I’ve gotten some good deals and good books there. I also support my two local Christian bookstores but mostly with their mailer coupons now because I don’t want to pay full price for these short novels. (**A sidenote: The Famous One will be appearing on the shelf at the outlet store any day now, and I just sold four copies to the county library system yesterday.)

In the current economic climate I’m looking for more bang for my buck. I’m not interested in paying exorbitant prices for what I consider smaller offerings. Yes, I prefer the larger novels but not just because they’re large. I want them to be in-depth stories which tell me details about who and what I’m reading about. Take me inside their heads, their circumstances, and their lives. If the story is plot-driven, make it complex, and then tie it together. I don’t need overly ambitious plots, just intricate ones. Make the story worth my time . . . and money.

Father, what a gift it is to be able to read and especially to read the works of your people who strive to honor you with the craft you’ve given them. Thank you for each one who gives it their all in obedience to you. Bless them for their efforts. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.