Keith Raffel: Doubling the odds in book publishing

It's not an easy thing to find lasting, lucrative success as a novelist. So this year Palo Alto mystery/thriller author Keith Raffel is trying to double the odds.



After publishing two books (both set in P.A.), Keith was ready to put out new titles. This time, he decided to go in two paths at once. "This spring I found myself with two finished manuscripts in hand and decided to practice a little literary portfolio diversification," he told me in an email. "I sent one to my agent for submission to publishers. We are still awaiting word. In the meantime, I myself e-published 'Drop By Drop' on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Smashwords."



There's something to be said for e-publishing: immediacy. "I uploaded the manuscript and -- poof -- it was available to readers," Keith said.



And, no butting heads with the publisher over the cover. Keith just briefly worked with a designer for the book, which is about a Stanford professor who loses his wife to a bombing at SFO, then heads -- steely-eyed and grieving -- to work against terrorism through the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington.



If you're driven enough to get two books written at once, it makes sense that you'd be enterprising as well. I salute Keith's effort. So, where is "Drop By Drop" now?



The author says sales are slower than they were for his earlier book "Smashers" at this stage, perhaps in part because he's not getting the reviews that he did for his traditionally published novels.



It's an interesting phenomenon. Why would publications such as newspapers decline to review an ebook when we ourselves are doing so much more non-print printing? Perhaps they're concerned more about the self-published nature than the medium; many self-published books could use a better editor, although Keith's looks pretty clean. (The Weekly hasn't reviewed "Drop By Drop," but not due to any concerns about the medium. We just don't have the resources to review more than a very few of the books sent to us.)



Still, many bloggers have noticed "Drop By Drop," and Keith had already garnered name recognition for the positive feedback for his first two titles.



"The tricky part of e-pubbing your own book is finding a way to stand out from the pack of tens of thousands. There, I was lucky," he said. "Because my first two books were published in paper-and-ink format, I had a following I could build on."



Menlo Park author Barry Eisler has also built on his following with these dual paths. After traditionally publishing several best-selling thrillers including the popular John Rain series, he's also been active in the ebook world. For instance, he's self-published several short stories as digital publications, and plans to continue doing so. "There's no cost-effective way to distribute a short story in paper today," he said on his website.



As for Keith Raffel, he added that prices are better for digital editions, making them more accessible to buyers. "Drop By Drop" sells for $3.99, as compared to his traditionally published books, which sell for $13.95 or $14.95. He said he still makes more in royalties in eland.



"By going the ebook route, I'm convinced I'll sell more copies, make more money, and help blaze new trails as compared to my first two books. My agent has quite a challenge on his hands with Book #4 to top all that," he said.



But Keith still hasn't left the charms of paper behind on the trail. (Nor have I, surprisingly enough.)



"I still do love holding a book in my hands, visiting bookstores and seeing someone on a plane reading one of my titles," he said, adding of his agent, "I'm rooting for him."



I'll be watching with interest to see what happens. Will Book #4 sell, and if not, will Keith choose to self-publish it as an ebook? If so, then how will Book #5 be published?



Pictured: Author Keith Raffel, in a photo from his website, keithraffel.com.