by Darrell Bain

Before ebooks came along tried to write. In fact, when I got my first computer, an old Radio Shack Tandy, I wrote my first novel, The Pet Plague, on it. I did this without knowing the first thing about writing fiction, or much about grammar for that matter. I hated school as a youngster and never went past the ninth grade in high school. When I eventually managed a degree in my thirties I hated the college English course I had to take, too. All I really had going for me was a life-long love of reading but despite my anti-school attitude, I did think I was a fair hand with the language.

After completing The Pet Plague I looked for an agent. I bought a copy of a book which had hundreds of literary agents listed. It was as if the Gods didn't like me. The agency I chose turned out to be a pair of the worst scam artists in the business. Years later and many dollars poorer I realized how badly I'd been took. In the meantime I had written several other books, all represented by that same pair of crooks. After they went to prison I didn't trust agents for a while and tried sending my work to the major publishers. They were singularly underwhelmed and ignored me. I just about gave up any hope of ever becoming a published author.

One day I was desultorily browsing and ran across a place on the web where authors could post their work for publishers to look at. Having nothing to lose at this point I did post several books. To my amazement, within a matter of weeks all were accepted by something new on the literary scene -- ebook publishers. They were producing books to be read on PC computers and laptops and back then, sold mostly on disks or as downloads.

My first royalty checks were barely enough to buy Betty and I a hamburger, but discovering ebooks did induce me to go back to writing. And although it actually took place over a period of years, it seemed to happen all at once: my books began selling. Before I knew what was going on I had become one of the most popular authors in the ebook world. I was selected as Fictionwise's Author of the Year (with such popular authors as Bujold and McAllister as runnerups), saw my books listed among the best selling ebooks of the year, won Eppie and Dream Realm awards and on and on. I also began getting fan letters. It was an exhilarating experience then and still is today. And it was all due to ebooks! That's where I got my start as a writer and it is still the source of most of my writing income.

With very high ratings from fans at the ebook stores I began trying the major publishers again but had no luck. Eventually most of my books did go into print, some with Lightning Source and others with Twilight Times, a small to medium but very good publishing house. My print books still don't do very well but I think part of that lack is my inability to travel much for promotion purposes. Or so I tell myself. At any rate, I gave up on the major print publishers and decided to stick with ebooks. I also settled down with two publishers, Double Dragon, primarily an ebook publisher and Twilight Times, a regular print publisher (but like most print publishers now that ebooks have exploded into the public's consciousness, it also complements its print with ebooks).

For a number of years science fiction was the best selling genre in the ebook field and the genre I most often write in. Due to that popularity most of my books traveled to the top of the ebook best selling lists but gradually romance, erotica and dark fantasy assumed the dominate roles, just as they have in print publishing. Many ebook authors can support themselves on their ebook writing income in those genres and some have gone on to become best selling print authors. Today, it's relatively rare to find a science fiction novel staying long on the best selling ebook lists. I still have a good following for my science fiction, and my books do make it to the top of the best sellers list, however, they don't stay there as long as they used to with all the new competition. Just about every publisher, including the big ones, have jumped onto the ebook wagon.

Promotion is an important part of keeping an author's name in the mind of readers regardless of the venue where the books appear. Since I don't travel much, I joined the blogging crowd with a monthly newsletter entitled Bainstorming. It is in its fourth year now and has gradually become a popular read. I think that's because I fill it with a lot of items unrelated to writing to keep readers coming back out of curiosity as to what I'll come up with next.

How much can a person earn as an ebook author? I believe today it depends on the genre, the amount of writing and the popularity of the author. You can write great books three times a year but until you get a following you won't earn all that much with ebooks. I usually make two or three thousand dollars on a book the first three years it's out. Some more, some less and until recently turned out an average of three books a year.

My advice to anyone in the field is to be patient, keep writing and try to learn. That's what I did. I still fault myself for waiting so long to do a bit of studying on the nature of fiction writing and the little tricks authors use to keep the readers reading. Some of my earlier, and even later, works reflect this lack. I can look back on them and shudder at all the mistakes I made and yet…some of those books continue to be popular years after publication. I guess with all the mistakes I still told an interesting story.

One thing is certain: if you like to write and have failed to interest the finicky major publishers, you'll have a better chance with the ebook pubs. Not that they are less discriminating, but they are more willing to go outside the bounds the NY houses usually set. Regardless of what you write, if you put it together well, you can probably find a buyer for it among the ebook publishers. But don't expect to just fling some words on paper and sell your stuff. It doesn't work that way anymore.

I was lucky to be around when ebooks began gaining a readership. Today's authors have much more competition in trying to get noticed and they must turn out a pretty clean manuscript as free of typos and mistakes as possible. Lack of good editing was one of the biggest complaints about ebooks in the beginning. I contributed my share of them, I know, but ebook editors are generally pretty good today. During some of the earlier years a number of my books and those of other authors were published just as they were written…and they show it. You won't find it as easy to get away with uncorrected manuscripts today.

Just like any other industry, many of the earlier ebook publishers folded for the simple reason that they didn't research the field well enough before getting into it. There have been vast changes as ebook publishers came and went. Several of the ones I was first published in are no longer in business. Standards are stricter, readers more demanding, and competition fiercer. Nevertheless, with the chances only one in several hundred of your book being picked up by one of the major publishers, the ebook field is a very good alternate and the chances are a lot better. Ebooks gave me my start. I've never been sorry to be known primarily as an ebook author. I see an even brighter future ahead for ebooks.

Darrell Bain
Shepherd, Texas
February 2010