J. A. Konrath quotes:

+1
Share
Pin
Like
Send
Share
  • I have turned off Google Alerts and don't Google my name or my pen names. I don't go on message boards. I don't read my book reviews.

  • Writers aren't in competition with one another. It isn't a zero sum game. If you have a good book, a good cover, a good product description, and a low price, you can sell well.

  • Of course, Jack Kilborn is better than both of us combined and mixed with a side helping of the Bronte sisters.

  • I know dozens of authors who have had a lot of books published by New York, and they won't ever take another Big 6 contract since they've gotten a taste of the freedom, control, and money self-publishing offers.

  • Publishers vet books, and they do a good job keeping out the low quality. But they also miss some good quality.

  • We each take up one virtual space per title... Virtual shelf life is forever. In a bookstore, you have anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to sell your title, and then it gets returned. This is a big waste of money, and no incentive at all for the bookseller to move the book.

  • I don't care what people are saying about me, good or bad, in blogs or on Twitter or in the media. There will always be people who don't like you and don't like your books. Ignore them.

  • A company doesn't have to compete with Amazon. A company can instead innovate in sectors Amazon doesn't presently care about.

  • Every tomorrow has two handles we can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith If you can quit, quit. If you can't quit, stop complaining - this is what you chose.

  • Amazon is not a monopoly or a monopsony, and even if it were, that by itself isn't illegal.

  • I love bookstores and booksellers. In my novel 'Dirty Martini,' I thanked over 3,000 booksellers by name in the back matter.

  • The publishing industry is an archaic and inefficient industry.

  • I enjoy writing. Publishing... not so much. I've been lucky to work with some very talented people in the publishing world, and the print industry has allowed me to write full time.

  • E-books are preferable to paper; they can be delivered instantly. In many cases, they're cheaper; you can buy them with the press of a button.

  • There's a word for an author who doesn't give up... published.

  • I can hire out for editing, proofreading, formatting, and cover design, and those are fixed, sunk costs. Once those are paid, I can earn 70% on a self-pubbed ebook.

  • If you can quit, quit. If you can't quit, stop complaining - this is what you chose.

  • No one was interested in picking up a midlist series, even though I have a decent fanbase and respectable numbers.

  • Before you make the key, study the lock.

  • Because we self-published 'Draculas,' we control the rights. Not just for now, but forever.

  • If you can't be smart or funny, be brief.

  • Time is the ultimate long tail. Even with a big wad of money up front, if something sells forever, the back end is what ultimately counts.

  • My grandchildren will be making money from the stories I write and sell as eBooks because they will continue to be making money.

  • We all need to focus on our writing. Because the millions of readers out there don't care about your blog.

  • One of the greatest journeys in life is overcoming insecurity and learning to truly not give a shit.

  • The business model - where books can be returned, and where a 50% sell-through is considered acceptable - is archaic and wasteful. Writers get small royalties, little say in how their books are marketed and sold, and simple things like cover and title approval are unheard of unless you're a huge bestseller.

  • I doubt I'll ever have another traditional print deal.

  • Fate is a future you didn't try hard enough ti change. If you want things to go your way, being smart and being strong are helpful, but you still have to work your ass off.

  • I really think it is possible to make a very nice living by writing and not worrying about anything else.

  • You can't be both happy and ambitious.

  • As writers, we can do whatever we want to. We're only limited by our imaginations. What an amazing, incredible time to be alive. How lucky we all are.

  • Never having something is different than having something and losing it.

  • All you need to know about plotting is twofold. 1. Give your characters goals. 2. Don't let them reach those goals.

  • Write the best book you possibly can, then dedicate yourself to getting people to read it.

  • Writers are essential. Readers are essential. Publishers are not.

  • There's a word for a writer who never gives up: published.

  • Back in August, I wrote a post about the supposed race to the bottom with ebooks, refuting some nonsense written by an establishment bonehead. This meme won't die. People are still convinced that new ebooks are going to be priced at ten cents, and writers will starve, and this will cause a second Great Depression where banks will close and people will be forced to buy Kindles with food stamps, and then the earth will enter another ice age where all the bunnies will freeze to death.

  • Some people are born with a fire inside them. The will to succeed. It isn't a learned behavior. It's just some unknown biological factor that makes them try harder.

  • Fate is a future you didn't try hard enough to change.

  • Sorry to hear about your Dad." He shrugged. "He was seventy, and we always told him fast food would kill him." "Heart attack?" "He was hit by a Pizza Express truck.

  • Sir, this lane is for ten items or less. I'm counting thirteen items in your cart, including that hemorrhoid cream. And while hemorrhoids might give you a reason to be nasty, they don't give you a reason to be in this lane.

+1
Share
Pin
Like
Send
Share