tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post4582428683447724309..comments2017-02-25T13:48:18.864-08:00Comments on <b>Smashwords</b>: Nietzsche and the Downfall of Big PublishingMark Cokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-45092203295410572502011-03-28T14:25:49.663-07:002011-03-28T14:25:49.663-07:00Writers do die. They commit suicide. The story of ...Writers do die. They commit suicide. The story of Kiana Davenport, brought back from the brink by the hope of self-publishing, is a case in point. I&#39;m sure there are many more we never hear.<br /><br />http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/depression-and-writers.htmllabyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13843426891451691056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-82445939720016856982011-03-08T12:36:05.675-08:002011-03-08T12:36:05.675-08:00Until you are so passionate about this that you ar...Until you are so passionate about this that you are willing to stand in front of a publishing house and douse yourself in gasoline over it, you are not in a comparable revolution.<br />That is not PC it is a fact. Complaining about it is not a revolution.Dinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570593199573539742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-74667665282976879102011-03-07T20:08:48.518-08:002011-03-07T20:08:48.518-08:00PC ninnies!PC ninnies!Oswald Bastablehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11828229103486326473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-14441767939296862952011-03-07T14:53:15.267-08:002011-03-07T14:53:15.267-08:00Well Said Ms. Walker!!!Well Said Ms. Walker!!!Dinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13570593199573539742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-19219027437037339982011-03-07T13:57:02.937-08:002011-03-07T13:57:02.937-08:00The parallels exist in your own mind, or because y...The parallels exist in your own mind, or because you chose to draw them.<br /><br />Lives lost. People unable to publish their works traditionally.<br /><br />I&#39;m afraid I&#39;m NOT seeing a similarity there. Nope. Not seeing it.Shiloh Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07785046046157000126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-42104587720532105932011-03-06T18:57:41.473-08:002011-03-06T18:57:41.473-08:00Shiloh, I&#39;m sorry this post struck you as offe...Shiloh, I&#39;m sorry this post struck you as offensive. <br /><br />It&#39;s horrible lives have been lost in these revolutions, and it&#39;s even more horrible the decades of oppression, torture and murder these people faced by their regimes. In that light, yes, I can understand why you or others might consider my comparison in poor taste.<br /><br />I thought long and hard about these issues before I decided to compose the Powerpoint, which started this, and then the post to accompany it. I bounced my ideas off of several people before sharing them because I wanted a reality check. <br /><br />In the end, I decided the parallels were too important not share.<br /><br />While nothing can ever equal the tragedy of lost lives, I think the conclusions I draw are fair and reasonable. <br /><br />How many thousands of talented writers throughout the centuries have had their souls crushed and dreams destroyed simply because they were unable to share their writing with readers? <br /><br />How many cultural treasures have been lost to humanity for all time? To me, books and the authors who create them are precious. I truly believe, as I&#39;ve mentioned many times in my talks over the last three years, that books are essential to the future of mankind. As the world gets smaller and more volatile, books help promote cross cultural understanding, and understanding promotes peace and compassion.<br /><br />Books must be saved, and I believe the current system of Big Publishing was on course to cause great harm by squandering the potential of books. <br /><br />This is why I&#39;m so excited - you might call it sensationalist - about the opportunities that lie ahead for authors. I&#39;m building this business to help authors realize their full potential. I pinch myself every day that I have the honor to be a small part of this. <br /><br />The believe the coming publishing revolution is important to humanity, and on that count it deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with other great revolutions.<br /><br />I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I don&#39;t expect to change your mind or your opinion. At worst, I hope you understand my motivations a little better.<br /><br />thanks,<br />markMark Cokerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05039664167177159146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-15120220354277185142011-03-06T17:00:48.939-08:002011-03-06T17:00:48.939-08:00Since 2002 I start looking for a publisher; and I ...Since 2002 I start looking for a publisher; and I live in a third world country named El Salvador, big publisher had only retailed agencies in my country, and they do not accept material from authors.<br /> <br />The internet was my option and soon. I discover that Self publishing was the solution.<br /> <br />I made a co-edition agreement with an editorial in the US that did not work OK, but at least I could have my books, register in the US Congress.<br /> <br />I continue investigating all e-book&#39;s systems and try a few, but the multiple formats where the limitation that stopped me. So I continue writing and publishing by myself in paper.<br /> <br />The year went by and finally I found that a guy name Mark Coker, with the same frustration I was carrying; It invented a system for Self Publishers,that will include all the e-books available formats. And the cost was CERO; this was incredible.<br /> <br />I decide to go through, and it took me some time until I publish my first work. Now I have four books of my own and have helped a lady poet friend to publish here work. Can you believe this?<br /><br />Furthermore, there are not shipping fees or border to stop my books and be available to my niche market &quot;Salvadorians living around the world&quot;, and also important, we publish causing no harm nature.<br /><br />I was realized; but a few years later Mark gave us another great news: the Premium Catalog, and now my books are in Barnes and Noble, Apple and Sony Books and soon in KOBO, DIESEL and AMAZON. This was awesome.<br /><br />Without entrepreneurs like Mark, there is no way my dreams could survive.<br /><br />To day the MEGA Editorial had absorbed every little specialize in a company. The bigger they grow the farther away they are from novice writers. Here is where many writer&#39;s dreams ended. Of course they all are now selling e-books in big quantities; as the use to work, they&#39;re ending is announced.<br /><br />It is clear the skyrocketing in sales of E-books, in first world countries, where people read more and had more computers per capita. This is not happening in third world countries, this mean we have a lot of work to do.<br /><br />Thanks MarkErnesto Panamá S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01993645211304608950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-25787177627826892622011-03-06T16:23:28.147-08:002011-03-06T16:23:28.147-08:00While publishing is certainly changing, I think it...While publishing is certainly changing, I think it&#39;s rather tacky... NO... VERY tacky, and outright disturbing that you&#39;d use the revolution in North Africa (where how many have died?) to open your post.<br /><br />Sensationalize much?<br /><br />And before anybody decides to harp on me being one of those authors who &#39;fear&#39; change-I was an epublished author before a lot of people even knew what ebooks were. I&#39;ve got books by traditional publishers, ebook publishers, and I&#39;ve done several of my own. I believe in doing what works best for me as a writer... period.<br /><br />Your opening left a bad, bad taste in my mouth. Is publishing changing? Yes. But it&#39;s unlikely authors will die in the process. People, many of them did die in Egypt-I have friends there as well.<br /><br />Publishing will change-it has to. That&#39;s how things are-what doesn&#39;t change and grow will die. Some traditional publishers will weather the storm, whether anybody here wants to acknowledge that and plenty of readers are happy for it, because they still want those traditionally published books. The publishers that survive will be better for it. Those that don&#39;t survive? That&#39;s business.<br /><br />Call it a revolution if you will, but comparing this &#39;revolution&#39; to that one? No lives were lost in this &#39;revolution&#39; nor are they likely to be.<br /><br />In North Africa? Lives were lost.<br /><br />The words you used were thoughtlessly thrown out, IMO, in a sensationalist manner, which happens. But this was cruel. And it shows a marked lack of compassion for human life, IMO, Mr. Coker.Shiloh Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07785046046157000126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-9970400800046739452011-03-06T08:36:46.309-08:002011-03-06T08:36:46.309-08:00What a fabulous discussion! Thanks for sparking, i...What a fabulous discussion! Thanks for sparking, it Mark! <br /><br />And thanks, too, for the shout out in your presentation! Smashwords has opened up worlds of possibilities for me and for so many other authors. I can&#39;t thank you enough.<br /><br />I also want to thank Delle Jacobs, who commented here. Like me, she&#39;s a well-heeled romance writer who did everything right. We learned our craft and were repeatedly judged by our peers to be worthy of finaling in RWA&#39;s premier contest for unpublished romance writers (though Delle did it far more often than I did!). Yet to get published or stay published by mass market publishers seemed an impossible dream. Delle had the courage to strike out into these Indie waters, and I was inspired by her success to try to follow in her path. She has also mentored countless other authors, helping them to do the same. <br /><br />There *is* an appetite for our stories. And thanks to the platform that Smashwords gives us, our books can sit on the same virtual shelves as a New York Times bestseller.Norah Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01151103954061826427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-38462168790855141382011-03-05T18:06:44.983-08:002011-03-05T18:06:44.983-08:00At the risk of turning off &quot;Non-Indie&quot; r...At the risk of turning off &quot;Non-Indie&quot; readers, I believe that indies will rise and become a serious threat to big publishers. They seem to be, to many, many writers, a king taxing poor writers from across the ocean without proper representation. With traditionally published books becoming more dependant on the blockbuster hits, overlooked authors such as myself and best-selling indies, have no other choice but to make a run on our own, and be our own publisher. Why wait? Why depend on the gatekeepers when there is an open range of affordable publishing opportunities out there. <br /><br />Of course the road ahead will not be smooth. It will be filled with potholes and steep mountain cliffs and cold winters in the learning curve. But I cannot help but to shove aside the urge inside of me to give up and hold out one, two, three or four more years until that one agent and that one editor decides my work is good enough for that one publisher. Life is too short. I have too many books to write to wait and see them in print AFTER I&#39;m dead and burried. <br /><br />Now is the time to throw off the shackles. Now is the time to overthrow the King. Now is the time to declare our indie-pendence and plod through the muddy road of publishing, giving all we have and our very best to win the hearts of readers. <br /><br />As in times past, the human spirit has declared over and over that it will make its way on its own and be all the better for it. The Kindle, the Nook, the PC and the iPad are all devices that have introduced game changing technologies that have unlocked our chains, releasing writers from the tyranny of the publisher - paying scraps for those who produce the products of their riches. The writers of the world are now free.<br /><br />Dinosaurs are dead for a reason. <br /><br />Jeff Bennington - Author of REUNION (Coming May 1, 2011)Jeff Benningtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846791553554124991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-35293073543982709982011-03-05T15:32:11.340-08:002011-03-05T15:32:11.340-08:00I loved this post, and it speaks to exactly how I ...I loved this post, and it speaks to exactly how I am feeling about publishing. I have been wanting to write a book for ages, but after receiving copies of book proposals from a friend, I lost all interest. The proposals were books in themselves. I&#39;m excited about putting my book out there to see where it lands. It truly is a revolution.Nancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13178290697351352495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-61572503023520392212011-03-05T15:20:36.095-08:002011-03-05T15:20:36.095-08:00Hey, what can i say. It aint rock n roll if it ain...Hey, what can i say. It aint rock n roll if it aint a revolution.jestinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09978267462910058767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-25066317856084060772011-03-05T10:29:23.709-08:002011-03-05T10:29:23.709-08:00Big publishers as gatekeepers kept a lot of would-...Big publishers as gatekeepers kept a lot of would-be authors from ever getting published. This may not necessarily be a bad thing. Doing so helped ensure readers were provided with products they could be reasonable sure met minimum quality standards. This was done by creating an efficient machine run by professionally trained editors, cover artists, marketing and sales gurus, management and accounting staff, and technology experts to...<br /><br />1) Choose and edit books to be engaging and well-written<br />2) Package books in enticing covers that matched their marketing venue<br />3) Develop and maintain marketing venues to attract and service readers looking for worthy books.<br /><br />When Amazon and Smashwords and other services provided a quick and cheap and easy way to get books published, average-Joe authors suddenly gained direct access to make any book – no matter how innovative or terrible – almost instantly available to readers. This effectively eliminated the big publishers as gatekeepers ‘standing in the way’ of all the average-Joe wannabe authors out there.<br /><br />However, distribution services like Amazon and Smashwords do not provide the publishing house production services of editing and cover art, nor do they provide any marketing beyond the basic web site product sales page with inherent category search. When it comes time for average-Joe author to figure out how he’s going to get his book professionally edited and formatted, and his cover professionally produced, he has two choices. He can either buy all the necessary software and learn how to do it all himself, or he can pony up a couple thousand dollars to pay others to do it. Which option will average-Joe author choose? For most people who want to get published, the do-it-yourself route (done right) looks like way more trouble than it’s worth and way more expensive that it’s worth. So most people will either throw up their hands and give up, or just pick the quick-easy-free way to get their book published, which involves no editing and just a rudimentary ‘freebie’ self-designed cover. To justify this, average-Joe author rationalizes that readers don’t really care about typos on every page, or whether the story makes sense, or whether it’s interesting, or whether the cover looks like a two-year-old did it with Crayons.<br /><br />Once in the marketplace, average-Joe author’s book will have no respected reputation of a big publisher to stand behind it and promise the reader that it’s going to be worth the time and money to read. And not only will average-Joe author’s unknown-quality book be competing with way more books from other average-Joe authors, it will be competing for attention and money from a slowly shrinking readership that is shrinking due to other entertainment options (video games, TV, and other electronic distractions). Thus the average reader will be overwhelmed by a flood of books by unknown authors without any reputation whatsoever to promise that their books are worthy products.<br /><br />Getting published or going the self-published route both take a tremendous amount of time and effort. With one, you have to sell your work first, then wait a long time to get your work published. With the other, you have to publish your work, then wait a long time to sell it. Either way requires perseverance and a tremendous faith in the work. Anyone who is easily discouraged will give up before success is realized. Anyone who looks for the quick and easy solution without taking pride in their work to ensure it delivers in both packaging and content will fail because the product will be perceived as inferior. Anyone who thinks it will be a piece of cake becoming a successful author – and in this reference, ‘successful’ means selling more than 5,000 copies of a title – is in for a disappointment. Only the author who has good product and sticks with it to look for great ways to publicize and sell that work will see the kind of success the ‘exceptions to the rule’ appear to be now enjoying.<br /><br />Penumbra Publishing<br />http://penumbrapublishing.comPenumbra Publishinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00029755714841711031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-3734882664347395422011-03-05T05:43:02.299-08:002011-03-05T05:43:02.299-08:00I&#39;m an Indie ebook author and my paperback pub...I&#39;m an Indie ebook author and my paperback publisher is PublishAmerica, a hybrid POD. My books might not be on the Times Best Seller list, but people enjoy them. Paperbacks are expensive no matter where they come from.<br /><br />When I started, I was dished out nothing but the &quot;big publisher&quot; retoric. All I had to do was sit and wait for their eventual doom. It&#39;s a joke, a farce that talent is wrapped up in &quot;brick and mortar&quot; ideals. Now its our turn. This is a revolution worth joining. <br /><br />I remember when ebooks came on board. Ohhhhh....no.....ugh.... Geez..Barnes and Noble has to go exclusively ebook. What is a book to do? Long live Indie!bluebear0z8http://www.blogger.com/profile/18098049027984038934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-18791253961406690982011-03-05T01:51:30.511-08:002011-03-05T01:51:30.511-08:00Hi Mark, Thanks for speaking the truth. I&#39;m al...Hi Mark, Thanks for speaking the truth. I&#39;m also grateful that you still allow indie authors to post our &quot;Freebies&quot; for free. I&#39;m publishing my supernatural thriller, REUNION, on smashwords in a couple weeks and can&#39;t wait. I have a 45 day blog tour scheduled and have had to work really hard to develop my own platform without the help of a trad publisher. If I&#39;m responsible for doing that anyway, why on earth would I hand over higher royalties for the favor of getting published. Looking forward to working with you.Jeff Benningtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846791553554124991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-40346246764473665962011-03-05T01:06:08.678-08:002011-03-05T01:06:08.678-08:00I’m old enough to have seen this revolution severa...I’m old enough to have seen this revolution several times before. I’m not a rap fan, for the record more a connoisseur of R&amp;B and New Age. But I watched the revolution take place in music, specially rap music right here in Houston where a bunch of street hustler (Scarface and the Geto Boys) started selling forbidden CD’s out of the trunks of their cars. This was music none of the major labels would touch because they were the power brokers and “Knew” what was best for the market. <br /><br />Russell Simmons is the third richest figure in hip-hop, having a net-worth estimate of $340 million. But he started his record company, Def Jam, because every single record label turned him down. Their antiquated business model told them there was no market for this kind of music.<br /> <br />Of course, we parents were hoping they were right. But they weren’t right. They had lost touch with the end user. So have the big New York publisher. Thank God for Smashwords.<br />Leander Jackie GroganLeander Jackie Groganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10449646128474532622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-48868343736783516672011-03-05T01:03:38.627-08:002011-03-05T01:03:38.627-08:00Great blog post from Amanda Hocking: http://amanda...Great blog post from Amanda Hocking: http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2011/03/some-things-that-need-to-be-said.html<br /><br />Similar topic to this discussion.missymaximhttp://missymaxim.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-22908088836202446372011-03-05T00:28:24.049-08:002011-03-05T00:28:24.049-08:00Thanks for the excellent post and presentation, Ma...Thanks for the excellent post and presentation, Mark. <br />They&#39;re thought provoking and that&#39;s exactly what everybody needs - to think about where the publishing is heading for.<br />I&#39;d like to add another association about big-vs-self.<br />Traditional publishing is for authors like applying for visa to a dreamland. Only few get visas, out of which only few become residents.<br />The most fantastic thing about self-publishing is that you don&#39;t have to apply for visa any more. You can create a dreamland without leaving your home.<br />In my opinion, the publishing industry dynamics is more about abandoning old destinations rather than uprising.<br />And this is good. Big publishers will have to be more innovative in finding opportunities outside the old model.<br />There&#39;s a huge energy and hidden driving power in self-publishing. The sooner we find ways to embrace it, the better.<br />I&#39;ve described it in detail in a presentation for Ebook Lab Italia Conference - http://bit.ly/ebooklabnizejpodpisanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14358014403114118789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-70056663487027891852011-03-04T23:06:48.855-08:002011-03-04T23:06:48.855-08:00Yes. This revolution will change the face of publi...Yes. This revolution will change the face of publishing forever and place the power where it belongs: in the hands of the individual authors. <br /><br />Our writing careers will be our individual responsibility, which is both exhilirating and scary. <br /><br />This is an exciting opportunity to escape the limitations and oppressions of the Big Publishers, but the freedom we gain as authors must be handled with care. <br /><br />To overcome the traditional stigma attached to &quot;self-published&quot; authors (which I suspect has a lot to do with the publishing powers&#39; attempts to keep control - readers only want a good book, they don&#39;t really care who publishers it!)we, as indie authors, need to set the standards bar as high as we possibly can for our stories. Our complete final product must be the best we can make it. <br /><br />If we responsibly self-monitor our work to give the readers value for money, then we can keep the freedom we have. The biggest danger present in this birth of a new era for authors is the possibilty that the self-publishing arena wil have to impose rules and regulations to prevent abuses by its authors. At that point, we will become the very thing we have broken free from.<br /><br />As the power in Egypt and Libya shifts to the hands of the people, I hope that the power of publishing continues to shift to where it belongs: the authors. <br /><br />And I hope that that power is used wisely and responsibly by every self-published author.<br /><br /><a href="http://judycroome.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Judy (South Africa)</a>Judy Croomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17455755011354905278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-31782160452370335682011-03-04T21:27:29.326-08:002011-03-04T21:27:29.326-08:00I agree that Kindle, Smashwords and ebooks in gene...I agree that Kindle, Smashwords and ebooks in general are revolutionizing the industry. Much like twitter and Wikileaks have helped spread democratic urges in the Middle East, digitalization has created a new playing field in media. It has helped us get out of the control of editorial boards and committees who knead and reshape &quot;publishable&quot; novels so that they adhere to a &quot;target&quot; audience of readers. With sites like Kindle and Smashwords we are able to read books that are more like what the author had intended. This may sound contradictory, but what we are able to purchase is &quot;real&quot; fiction: not reshaped by a team of editors. To top it off, we are able to enjoy these &quot;real&quot; books at a fraction of the cost of &quot;corporate&quot; or &quot;mainstream&quot; products. <br /><br />Kenneth Wayne<br />Clip<br />http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/42946.Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09000529619193903947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-12058973626838756972011-03-04T21:01:30.658-08:002011-03-04T21:01:30.658-08:00Although I had some titles which were published by...Although I had some titles which were published by &quot;traditional&quot; houses, I also turned to independent publishing for many of the reasons other professional authors have cited. <br /><br />One of my main issues continues to be the disdain which many review groups and others view &quot;self-published&quot; titles. Many will not accept any self or independently published titles. This lead me to begin my indie review/interview site <a href="http://flyingwithredhaircrow.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">&quot;Flying With Redhaircrow&quot;</a>. <br /><br />Just since the time of its creation 31 October 2010, I&#39;ve been privileged to read and review some excellent work by Smashwords authors. My comparisons? I do reviewing for two &quot;traditional&quot; review groups which receive mainstream, commercial, and other fiction of all kinds. By majority, Smashwords authors can stand up to those, equalling if not surpassing &quot;regular&quot; writers. <br /><br />As a writer myself, I&#39;ve experienced the biased, stereotypes and brush-offs others have experienced. You know what I&#39;m talking about. Your work is not inferior. You care about it deeply and it&#39;s a part of you. You reread, edit and revise to make it the best you, but in many cases are not recognized for it. I think that should continue to change. <br /><br />It is harder and harder with so many titles flooding the market, but there is a fallacy that just because it is indie, it is less than others. There are strong elements of elitism over indies. There are many other variables, pro- and anti-, but I do not believe someone should be dismissed just because they took personal initiative to publish, market and advertise their own work.Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10560786713243853962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-33860706182725013482011-03-04T18:56:24.063-08:002011-03-04T18:56:24.063-08:00Not only is the print book on the way out, so is t...Not only is the print book on the way out, so is the paradigm of selling books itself. Every day readers are less willing to buy content---any content, whether news, film, music or fiction. <br /><br />What is more, the concept of the book as a unit of writing is itself as outdated as the printing press.<br />Wattpad.com bills itself as &quot;The most popular ebook community.&quot; Their free fiction downloads are not &#39;books.&#39; They are more like tweets with a dozen or so installments of two or three paragraphs each---must less taxing on shrinking attention spans. These are the unedited writings of those who have never studied the craft---and they have up to a half million readers. Wail and beat your chest all you want, but this are the future of publishing.daiofalltradeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01069281702786938558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-14816329829208558942011-03-04T18:20:36.773-08:002011-03-04T18:20:36.773-08:00Like so many others here, I&#39;ve moved from trad...Like so many others here, I&#39;ve moved from traditional publishing to indie publishing, largely with my backlist. After re-acuiring the rights to my books, I put them up on Kindle, and then discovered Smashwords. I&#39;ve only done reasonably well on Smashwords, but Kindle, my book sales have gone through the roof, and I npow have four books selling at a rate of 10,000 copies a month. The other small-press books are reaping the glory from the indie books, and are also picking up steam. <br /><br />I&#39;m hearing other authors say they are doing far better on Barnes &amp; Noble or Smashwords than on Kindle. I think that&#39;s because most readers are tied by their devices to specific distributors. But I think that will also change in the future.<br /><br />For me, this is a success and fame I never thought would be mine because Big Publishing, no matter what awards I won or how fabulous my reviews were, didn&#39;t want my kind of story and, I&#39;m sorry, I just can&#39;t write the kind of story they wanted. But it&#39;s clear to me now there are thousands of readers who really do love my stories. Without the e-revolution in publishing, I would never have known that. No matter how much I believed in my stories, I would have always believed I somehow just didn&#39;t get it. <br /><br />I don&#39;t know if the new generation of readers is different, or if they are the same ones who, somewhere around 1990, gave up going into bookstores because they couldn&#39;t find the books they wanted to read. Maybe, now that they have a new way of reading and a new source of books, they&#39;ve come back to us. And they&#39;re not afraid to try new authors or books.<br /><br />I will agree, though, for all indie authors, the hardest part is getting visibility. With so many authors taking their own publishing career into their own hands, it&#39;s hard to be found in the first place.Delle Jacobshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551688823035092802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-35284475106052226722011-03-04T12:27:39.062-08:002011-03-04T12:27:39.062-08:00I agree with much of what has been said here. As ...I agree with much of what has been said here. As someone who has been published both ways, I’m thrilled with the direction things are taking. One thing I wanted to emphasize is the ‘gatekeeper’ concept, and how the new dynamic is changing that. <br /><br />I remember years ago being in a writers group at a college. One writer set her piece in Afghanistan (this is before 911). I remember the teacher telling her that the ‘trads’ would not be interested in acquiring anything set in that locale. Another writer who had set their story in South America received the same caution. I remember also being at a party for an author who had sold his first book. His agent came and talked to the group, mostly writers. She was asked if she ever rejected something that she felt was deserving of publication. She told the story of a manuscript that came to her, in which a writer made a compelling case for capital punishment, in a beautifully written, compelling novel. She rejected it. Why? Because she didn’t believe in capital punishment.<br /><br />This re-inforced feelings I’ve had about the gatekeepers for years. What personal biases does a story have to overcome to see light of day? And not just the agent’s, what about the editor, the big city daily reviewer, the chain buyer? Good books, writers’ dreams, being slaughtered and crushed before they reach a single reader. It&#39;s a crime. But with the new publishing dynamic it will happen less and less. So this is a parallel benefit of the new dynamic. Not only can writers begin to finally make money from their work, but now works that might be controversial or politically incorrect can rise, giving their authors’ a voice. <br /><br />Oh happy day!<br /><br />Paul Clayton, author of White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanokecallingcrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11040749754676759012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7436915084701775452.post-31963821797731648662011-03-04T10:54:24.671-08:002011-03-04T10:54:24.671-08:00Do I hear the strains of La Marseillaise in the ba...Do I hear the strains of <i>La Marseillaise</i> in the background?<br /><br />Over the past 4+ decades, I&#39;ve had over 30 books published by traditional publishers, and never achieved a status beyond that of midlist author. I don&#39;t want to do that any more. If I&#39;m doomed to be a midlist writer, I might as well do it on my own terms.<br /><br />One fact that&#39;s been implied but not explicitly stated in all these comments is that the definition of &quot;success&quot; is changing in the new paradigm. Traditional publishers have <i>huge</i> overheads. They must maintain suites of offices (usually in New York) with hordes of employees and all the incumbent expenses. To be considered successful in that world, a book must pay back all those expenses (plus expenses for the unsuccessful books as well) and make a significant profit besides. Anything that doesn&#39;t is considered marginal at best, a failure at worst.<br /><br />As an indie publisher, my overhead is vastly smaller. I can survive with far fewer sales. I can be happy in the niche markets the Big Boys curl their lips at. Like the tiny mammals that ran around in the grass at the feet of the dinosaurs, I can thrive quite happily without being as big as they are.Phantom Koalahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13388882902703996894noreply@blogger.com
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