Take it away Kirby -
Well, in my neck of the woods (SW Oregon), the booksellers are not the problem.
Our local Walmart recently had a makeover and moved a bunch of stuff around. While they did knock out a bunch of bookshelves and eliminate some genre sections, Westerns still have a well stocked section. (I really thought they were going to be gone). There are mostly well known names on that shelf; L'Amour, Gray, Cotton, Kelton and the stuff brought in from the major publishers, but you'll also see a lot of Leisure W
esterns in there. Our other "new book" store is Oregon Books, a really great locally owned book shop. In addition to specializing in local and regional non-fiction, not only are the shelves well stocked with Westerns, but they are well stocked with books on the Old West too.Our library is on its last legs (we have the only public library system in the U.S. that doesn't receive federal funding) and though the shelves are heavy with books, operating funds are the problem.
Beyond that, our used book sellers still carry A LOT of Westerns. Our best used bookstore actually belongs to one of my mother's friends and she has told me several times that Westerns outsell everything else.
I also know that a lot of everyday people are still interested in reading new westerns. My own site, www.western-stories.com has some pretty high search engine rankings and though I don't get as many hits on a daily basis as I'd like to see, I do get a lot of e-mail from people who read my work and I get new subscribers for my opt-in newsletter on almost a daily basis (sometimes more than one a day). That's despite not making a great big effort to attract potential readers - yet. So there is still interest out there for Westerns.
From a personal standpoint, I believe that the real issue is that editors/publishers have this weird idea that the Western is dead. With the exception of Leisure, who still devote a large portion of their Western line to reprinting work by folks long gone, mass market publishers just don't seem to be interested. Agents are not interested.
To make matters worse, there is no Western small press movement to speak of. If you're a writer and you look at fiction markets like Ralan.com and others pretty regularly, you know what I mean. The markets to sell (hell, even give away!) your Western work are barely existing. By contrast, when I wrote horror under a pen name, when I made a moderate effort, I could get work into over 100 markets in a year.
Those of you in the UK are lucky in having Hale around, but here in the U.S., we have no equiviliant to Hale's Black Horse imprint. But even then, Hale's reach is still limited and doesn't really extend outside the UK.
We've got to come up with something all of this.
So what did I do for Wild West Monday?
Well, it's still Monday here in the Far West. The day isn't over yet and so there is still time for me to do something.
That "something" is an idea that I have been hashing over for awhile. For a long time I have beeen saying that what the Western really needs is a small press movement. Some of you writers who frequent here know that I have a little bit of background in the publishing world.
With that in mind, I think it's time to launch a Western small press specializing in traditional length Western novels (100 to 140 pages), as well as anthologies of Western short stories and getting new books out to readers. And why not non-fiction about the Old West too?
Those of you who are interested, please drop me a note:
kerby@western-stories.com
I'll be interested in hearing not only from writers looking to get their work out there, but also from readers who just want to read more Westerns. For the writers, to start out, we'll be looking at copy + royalty share for anthologies and a small advance + copies + royalties for full length works.
If you own a blog or website, please cross-post this or slap together a little news brief.
Thanks Kerby - check him out HERE
3 comments:
That's great news and I believe absolutly correct. I'm definitely signing up over there. I wouldn't mind writing a western myself. I've wanted to for a long time.
Thanks for posting this here, Gary.
Here's an update on this subject:
Six Guns Westerns
Six Guns Westerns is devoted to keeping Western fiction alive and well in the 21st century.
We are currently accepting submissions of western fiction, as well as non-fiction pertaining to the Old West, for our new anthology SIX GUNS.
SIX GUNS is a periodic print anthology of Western fiction, interspersed with related non fiction. During 2009, we intend to publish at least two volumes of SIX GUNS and possibly as many as four.
If you would like to submit your work to SIX GUNS, please consider the following guidelines:
Genre: Western fiction set West of the Mississippi River between 1830 and 1915. We are seeking well written, short fiction with historical accuracy, compelling characters and fast moving plots. There are no word limitations and no set themes beyond the fact that your submission must be a Traditional Western. (Sorry, no space cowboys or time travelers, though we will accept stories with a supernatural element. Tales of ghosts were popular in the Old West). No excessive language, sex or gore beyond what is necessary to define the characters and to further the story. We are also seeking related non-fiction. Reprints are okay. We have no word count maximums.
Pay: If your story/article is accepted for publication in SIX GUNS, we are currently paying one contributor copy, plus an equal share of royalties from the profits of each sale.
Response Time: We try to respond to submissions as soon as possible, usually within 2 to 4 weeks.
Format: Please send your submission in .rtf format or in the body of an e-mail. We cannot accept submissions in MS Works. You know the drill: submissions should be proof read and free of spelling or punctuation errors, etc.
Longer Works: At this time, we are also accepting submissions of longer works in the guise of western fiction ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 words (about 120 to 140 pages), as well non fiction books (no word maximum), for stand alone publication.
For Western fiction, we want fast moving stories with historical accuracy, believable settings and compelling characters.
Non fiction submissions can cover a wide range of topics, including local interest, just so long as it's about the period of the Old West. Photographs are considered a plus for non fiction projects.
At this time, we pay an advance of $75, plus five copies of your book for longer works upon publication. We also offer a royalty rate of 15% of all profits.
In addition to our titles being listed on Amazon.com and other online sellers, we will also actively be seeking brick and mortar distributors of our books, mostly in the guise of Western interest and book stores.
Please e-mail your submissions or queries to: kerby@western-stories.com
I like this idea! Can't say I'm much of a fiction writer myself, but I wish you the best in this endeavor.
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