Thursday, December 30, 2010

My Bright Idea

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging.  (wait - don't go - it gets better - theoretically ...)

Here is the "bright idea":

I am going to chronicle the journey as I write a novel from scratch, self-publish it on Amazon's Kindle platform, market and advertise it, and report the sales results, lessons learned, etc.

I got the inspiration for this idea from reading this excellent post from J.A. Konrath about self publishing.

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/12/you-should-self-publish.html

Not only his postings on the subject, but the comments his posting garnered, have generated some very interesting discussions and ideas.

Does it make more sense for a new writer to hold out and go the traditional brick and mortar publishing house route?

Is there a "stigma" associated with not truly being "published" in the conventional sense of the word?

Can a new author create success for their books without any previous publishing experience?

Many new authors may hold out - hoping for that traditional publishing deal - book advances - book tours and signings - etc., etc. - solely so they can feel that satisfaction of walking into a bookstore or library and pulling their novel off of a shelf.

One of the phrases that really caught my attention was "do the math".  Royalty models in traditional publishing MAY indeed end up with the author earning less - in some cases MUCH less - than self publishing through something like Amazon's Kindle DTP or Smashwords.   Mr. Konrath makes some very good points here with regards to it actually "costing" many thousands in lost income potential - while a new novel might make its way through publishing houses, agents, etc., etc.

The ebook reader market is exploding.  Literally and figuratively.  Sales are through the roof and Amazon (among others) have traditional publishing houses shaking in their collective boots.

Check out this article from yesterday's L.A. Times - an interview with Amazon executive Russ Grandinetti.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-kindle-qanda-20101229,0,3286073.story

Technology can be a wonderful thing - but it certainly is changing the face of many businesses - and those who do not recognize this are destined to be left behind.

Should be a very interesting year for bookstores, publishing houses, Amazon, e-readers, etc.

I hope to make it an interesting (and profitable) year for this want-to-be author as well.
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