The Best Book No One’s Ever Heard Of
Here’s the thing that blows my mind about publishing: it’s not a meritocracy. Terrible books get published all the time and hit the bestseller lists, and good books go unnoticed because they’re not mass marketable. For a long time I’ve been thinking about this, about how television only really got good when the cable nets started working outside the box, about how the big studio movies tend to be horrible, but there’s loads of good indie work out there. Maybe it’s not blow-your-socks off blockbuster, but maybe there’s more to real, quality creative work than making the biggest bank. Let’s talk about Dr. Horrible. Let’s talk about the great work that happens when competition is split wide open, when new companies with new ideas and very little overhead can put out creative work that is good, if not mass-marketable. And I’m sorry, but good counts. It matters, more than the money or the numbers.
Anyway, this has to happen in publishing. Indie publishing is the wave of the future, I believe it. I desperately want to start it, but I have no idea how to make a business like that actually work. My mind doesn’t work that way. But I just read a book that’s got me so fired up, I might just do it, if I can’t get someone in traditional publishing to take it on.
The book is Need to Know by Christine Merrill. I’ve known Christine for years, she’s been publishing fabulous regencies with Mills and Boons for ages, and I read an earlier version of this book that I loved a few years back. I gave her my feedback, recommended her to my agent, and from there it just sort of faltered. Christine had trouble selling it because it wasn’t exactly a romance, not exactly a comedy, not exactly a thriller or a mystery, but it has elements of all of those things. Hard to sell to a mass market. Now, years later, Christine gave up on traditional publishers and put it out herself on Lulu.com. It’s well-written, fabulously plotted, excellently characterized, and sexy as hell. It’s a thriller/mystery with romantic elements, and absolutely no one has heard of it.
Drives me insane.
Look, this is a good book, and as someone who has wasted way too much time reading bestsellers that stunk, I wanted everyone to know about it. Go get it (there’s also a Kindle version on Amazon) and read it, then head over to the Wiffer Forums, and let’s talk about what you thought. I’m really interested to know. And please, if you like it, tell your friends. Tweet it, blog it, get the word out. Because if she doesn’t make enough money off this thing – and I completely understand, girlfriend’s got mouths to feed – there will not be a sequel.
And I don’t know about you, but I need this sequel. So help a girl out, huh? Just read it, and if you don’t absolutely adore it, then consider it a kindness done to a quality author in the spirit of the season. But if you, like me, MUST have the sequel, then pimp the hell out of this book. Because it’s too good to be brutally slain by the mass market.
Edited to Add: Here’s a link to an excerpt of the first couple of chapters. Fabulous, no?
Argh, don’t have an ebook reader and hate reading on the computer screen. Any plans for a print on demand version? Will buy.
I bought it a couple weeks ago and haven’t read it yet, but you’ve bumped it to the top of my list. I also have to read it on my computer screen, which I don’t like doing, but for the right book I will.
I met Chris at Cherry Con and loved her sense of humor. I’ve since read some, but not all, of her romances and loved them to pieces as well. This book sounds fabulous!
Georgina, I think at this point she’s reserving first print just in case it gets sold traditionally. There’s an excerpt on her site (I’m waiting for the link; she says it’s there, but I haven’t found it) and maybe you can print out those pages, see if it’s for you, and then see if you can stand reading on the computer. I say it’s worth it, but read the excerpt and decide for yourself.
Jenifer – let me know what you think! I’m excited to be able to discuss it!
For those without Kindle’s but with PC’s don’t forget that you can use Amazon’s Kindle PC application. You pay the Kindle price to read on your PC. Unfortunately, this isn’t available for Mac’s yet – they say ‘soon’ though. Just thought I’d pass this on as I’m off to check this out on my Kindle PC.
Oooh, good point, Steph. The Kindle version had some funky formatting problems. Christine published this on her own and hasn’t quite figured out what’s going on with that. But it’s worth it, even with the funky formatting. However, if you’re going to read it on the computer anyway, I’d recommend the straight .pdf. It’s a bit of a smoother read.
I sat next to Chris at the Cherry dinner in Atlanta couple years back and absolutely adored her. She’s funny. When I got her first book, a Regency, I read it but went “meh,” just because I’m not a Regency-reading kinda gal. THIS sounds awesome. I’m off to figure out how to get it for myself.
At some point, publishing is gonna break wide open like TV did a few years back. I think all of us with good stuff waiting in drawers will be thrilled to see it happen!
The kindle version does have some funky formatting issues but can I just say that I am wanting much, much more and I’m generally pretty jaded about CIA stories, having grown up in the shadow of Langley. Seriously, who do I have to kill to get the sequel LOL [Sorry - I'm still in character from spending the rest of my day reading this great book.]
Beki – I agree. I think the thing that publishing does, for the reader, is provide a sort of quality control system. But because of the nature of mass market publishing, it fails a lot of the time. I think that’s at the heart of starting up a solid indie epub – that it’s all books that meet a certain quality criteria, and then are marketed by genre. It won’t appeal to everyone, but the readers who like those books know that they’ll like most of what that publisher puts out. I don’t know. I’m still thinking about it…
Steph – OMG, I’m so glad someone else has read it! I LOVE that book, and I’m also dying for a sequel. Tell EVERYONE you know about it. Get the word of mouth going!
I hate reading novels online but I’ve downloaded it and the first few paragraphs look promising enough to make it worth the extra effort.
If I enjoy it as much as I hope I’ll mention it on my blog.
I’d also avoid reading novels on my computer, so I’ve downloaded it to my iPhone. I adore the Kindle app on my phone and have now read several that way. I love how I can read even in the dark this way…
Georgina, give the ebook a go – I’ve never tried one before either, but this one made me late for work this morning, and having spent a week at work staring at a computer screen and hating it, I actually rushed back to spend a few more hours staring at a screen to get to the end – it’s that good. I still far prefer an actual paper book, but this one is so good, I’d read it if it were printed on till receipts.
I took a quick break from paying work to read the excerpt and was impressed enough to buy. Thanks.
I finally got my review up. I’ll probably go back in and fix it since my brain is dead tonight but here’s the link:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-27560-Richmond-Romance-Novel-Examiner~y2009m12d15-Need-to-Know-by-Christine-Merrill
Curse you. Now I have to wait for the sequel too. I sat and read it at all on my computer this morning and even when I knew I should quit and get something done, I’d tell myself, “Just one more chapter.” Just one more chapter, yeah, right.
Thank you for the suggestion. I might complain but really, I could waste my time in so many less enjoyable ways. This was excellent.
Just finished it! Thanks for the great reccamendation Lani. I expected to feel cheated by the ending because something I wanted to happen did not occur. It must be a sign of an amazing author that even without the payoff I wanted I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I enjoyed it. The portrayal of what a real government agents job might be was very interesting. I loved that Bob was so forgettable and harmless looking. I am also looking forward to a sequel. Liz’s ability to turn the tables on a ruthless, highly trained spy even seemed realistic.
Thanks for pointing me to the book. I read the excerpt on her site and was hooked. I just bought the ebook. Can’t wait to read it!
Oh, I also added the excerpt page to StumbleUpon for good measure.
Read it. Loved it. Must have the sequel. You tell her.
Oh, and if I ever manage to get something published, I am getting that tattoo. Is that narcissistic? I don’t care. I’m doing it.