"Holly Lisle - Mugging The Muse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lisle Holly)


And because sell-through remains constant, the chains will sell three-and-a half
copies of your third book, and will also show a three-book pattern of dwindling sales.
The fact that they and their computerized ordering system caused this pattern will not
be brought out in your favor. The fact that your books are still selling through in
great percentages will not be brought out in your favor. Only the fact that the
computer has been ordering less and less of your books will ever be considered
within the chains. So after three books, all things being equal, you are probably
doomed. The chains wonтАЩt order your titles. Your publisher wonтАЩt be selling enough
of your books to make it worth his while to publish you. And you can go forth to
write under a new name, or you can go back to work as whatever you were before.

You as a reader are the key that can break this destructive chain. If you can, buy the
books you want locally. Special-order them if they arenтАЩt in stock. Tell the
booksellers that these books and this author, whichever books and whichever author
it might be, need to be in stock. This may be futile with chain stores (nothing seems
to slow the onslaught of the chainsтАЩ computers), but you might be able to get through
to someone somewhere. It cannot hurt to try. Special-ordering the books you want
HOLLY LISLE
9
MUGGING THE MUSE: WRITING FICTION FOR LOVE AND MONEY

and recommending titles to keep on the shelves will definitely be helpful with
independents.

For your consideration of this vital issue, you have my thanks. This is something that
you do for me and every other writer like me . . . and it is something you do for
yourself, both as a reader who wants to see your favorite writers keep writing, and as
a writer who wants to make a living in this tough environment.

Keep writing, keep believing, and never give up on your dreams,

Holly Lisle




HOLLY LISLE
10
MUGGING THE MUSE: WRITING FICTION FOR LOVE AND MONEY




Preface

IтАЩve been self-supporting as a novelist since the end of 1992. I wonтАЩt say that IтАЩve
always managed to support my family in style, but IтАЩve never had to quit writing and
get a day job in order to feed us. Writing is a challenging profession тАУ writing fiction
full-time is an exercise in lunacy. But itтАЩs great fun, and if itтАЩs something youтАЩve