Author Doug Clegg Making News. Again.

Author, and my buzz partner, Douglas Clegg is offering the specific rights only for the limited edition of his new novel The Abandoned on eBay. The mass market edition of the book will be out in May.

This is, as far as Clegg knows the first time an established author coming primarily from New York publishing has put the rights to one of his books up for sale this way.

Clegg has no expectations with regard to how much money or what publisher is going to buy the book. Rather this is, to him, something like an art installation.

"I want to see how it is taken by others. I think observing the eBay auction creates a perspective on books and the business of selling rights that may not have been looked at prior to this."

The very process of a rights offer on eBay will, Clegg hopes, educate a few writers new to the process in just what's in a contract at the small press/limited edition level. "Given that some of the presses that have expressed interest publish Stephen King and Dean Koontz, among others, I think there's a natural curiosity among aspiring writers -- and this gives a bit of a window for them," he said.

Additionally, he hopes the very process of offering the specific rights to The Abandoned will be in and of itself an event -announcing an upcoming novel.

"Ultimately I wanted to create excitement, around my name and The Abandoned; around my book in December from Signet, called Afterlife; around the publisher who wins the auction; and around the horror genre and the small press which are vital and creative parts of the book business," Clegg says.

Clegg feels -- and many of us agree -- excitement is key. "The business needs more excitement -- more of a sense of possibilities for ways to reach readers and consumers as well as the publishing and bookselling trades with those ideas and innovations that get you looking at books and their presentation in new ways," he said.

Independent and small press that publish primarily limited edition hardcovers in the genres of horror and suspense -- like Cemetery Dance Publications, Gauntlet Publications, Wildside Press, Necro Publications, Nightshade Publishing, and others -- might be among those bidding on Clegg's book. Most of his limited edition hardcovers sell out in advance of publication and
In the horror genre, the limited edition market is very healthy.

How's the auction going?

The first day, a thousand people have viewed item. Given that a limited edition has to reach somewhere between 300 to 1,500 book buyers to sell out the limited, Clegg think this really spreads advance word among those who might give the book a whirl -- thus making the act of the offer of rights its own advertising and promotion for the book (since preorders for the book will probably begin within a few days of the auction ending.)

Clegg says the auction makes him feel as if he's participating in the beginnings of the 21st century" I felt that way with Naomi, too, in 1999 -- that by writing a novel, week-by-week, in serial form in email, that something would grow from this for other writers, whether it was an increased awareness of ebooks, or that other novelists would follow in that path I'd gotten on and try experiments with the presentation of fiction to keep the reading of books alive."

Comments

[The Zero Boss]

Very cool. Hope this attracts attention and opens some doors.

[bill crawford]

Cool idea...

We'll yack about it on our radio show,

E-Auction-Air, your online guide to online auctions and more...

KJCE radio 1370 AM Austin, Texas 7 - 8 PM Sunday night...

Congrats... Bill