A Self-Publishing Roundup

A while back, I did a short series of posts about self-publishing ebooks, starting with this one and followed by this one and this one. There were others after that, but frankly, even these seem a bit out-of-date.

Since I'm a pretty lazy busy person these days, I thought I'd point you to two really great sites, if you're thinking about self-publishing your work. First, here's a list of helpful sites for self-publishers provided by the very successful indie author Karen McQuestion. I highly recommend you peruse the list of resources she's provided. Pay attention, folks! Karen's signed with Amazon Encore and had her work optioned for film, so ... we're talking major success here, people.

Second, some advice on indie e-publishing from also majorly successful indie author Elisa Lorello. Again, I urge you to read and pay attention. Elisa is another Amazon Encore author. So, between the two of these gals, we're talking major awesome!

Oh, yeah, and while I'm at, can you believe a bookstore that would stock books by SELF-PUBLISHERS??? Whoa!!!

One more thing. If you're going to self-publish ebooks, don't forget about PubIt!

Quotation for the Week of March 27

"1. Never tell everything at once."
-- Ken Venturi

Everyone Must Choose Their Own Path

There's no one right way to make a living as a writer. And even though I might be critical of the publishing industry's business model, that doesn't mean I want publishers to fail.

If I've chosen to be an indie author that choice was made because it seemed like the most logical and efficient way to get my work out to readers, not because I was trying to destroy anybody. (As if I alone could do such a thing. Ha!)

Since I've started down this self-publishing road, it's become an increasingly popular and even respectable option, for newbies as well as traditionally published authors.

Up until now, self-publishing ebooks has mainly been the purview of: 1) midlist authors with recovered rights to out-of-print works; and 2) new and emerging indie authors (such as moi :)).

I guess it was just a matter of time before a REALLY big deal like the Barry Eisler story happened. Walking away from half a mill offered by a Big Six publisher is causing a whole lot of jaws among my peers to drop. (For the record, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. But that's me.)

You can read the details in a great big long post on Joe Konrath's blog right here.

Oh, yeah. And while that was going on ... guess who was looking for a traditional publisher?

Like I said, everyone must choose their own path. And, frankly, print isn't dead. Yet.

Quotation for the Week of March 20

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

-- Hunter S. Thompson

Random Publishing News and More eBook Stuff

Don't you love my headlines? So specific. Anyhow ...

During a time when bookstores like Borders are filing for Chapter 11 (and B&N could follow suit -- maybe), news like this can hardly be considered welcome. Of course, we all know that Target and Walmart carry books, but Urban Outfitters? Hmm ... interesting.

Onto ebooks then ...

Did you know that Random House UK won't be adopting the agency pricing model? Did you now? Well, okay. Fine. Next!

Here's a wild notion. Form a fan club. Then mobilize it. Or to be more specific, network and mobilize it. The article speaks of an app called FanTrail that was set to debut this month. About said app, the article says as follows (quote):

Like MySpace or Facebook, FanTrail, which also has an Android version in the works, gives artists a simple template for creating an online home, in this case a free mobile app to keep in touch with fans. But FanTrail also includes several innovations that reflect the entertainment industry’s growing need to control the white noise of social networks.

One function, called LoveMail, allows musicians to record short audio messages to fans, a touch that the company, also called FanTrail, sees as more personal than artists’ sometimes ghostwritten Twitter feeds. Another feature, LoveMeter, ranks fans’ loyalty by measuring their activity in buying music and checking in at concerts.

All that love has real dollars-and-cents value, and for Joel Rasmussen, one of the developers, FanTrail solves one of social networking’s most persistent problems: distinguishing true, money-spending fans from all the rest.

On older social media platforms, the artist “doesn’t know if you friended once on Facebook and then walked away, or if you’ve been to every show and know the producer on every album,” said Mr. Rasmussen, 40, who produced and co-wrote a 2006 documentary about the industry’s problems, “Before the Music Dies.”

“This gives artists and fans a new tool to build that relationship to a level that hasn’t been possible before,” he added.

Now, call me a complete nut case (yeah, it's been done :)), but could something like this be adapted to serve author needs? Am I total visionary or just an idiot? Yeah, yeah, probably the latter ...

Meanwhile, according to this source, the European Commission confirmed that it raided several companies involved in ebook publishing.

It seems to involve the alleged violation of antitrust rules and ebook pricing and such. Apparently.

And speaking of ebook prices, would you pay $238 for an ebook??? Good God!!!

And, in conclusion, never piss off librarians. Period.

Quotation for the Week of March 13

"Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century."
-- Dame Edna Everage

Basic Writing and Social Media Guidance

I've got only two items, but they're choice.

The first one is Unsuck It -- a database of business jargon that you can either browse or search, in order to find the real, non-jargon word(s) to use instead of the sucky, jargony version. (And hat tip to The Irreverent Freelancer. Thanks, Kathy!)

The second is possibly the best guide to using Twitter that I've ever read. Bar none. My thanks to D.B. Grady. Who, I might add, has a blog of note, in my humble opinion.

Quotation for the Week of March 6

"There's an old saying about those who forget history. I don't remember it, but it's good."
-- Stephen Colbert

Piracy on the eBook Seas!

Avast, ye mateys! I bring you news of ebook piracy.

CNET reports a big increase in Kindle ebook thievery. Oh, my God! So is the sky falling or what?

I don't think so. I found this out via GalleyCat, which (among other things) provided a list of the Top 10 pirated ebooks. Check out the list. I don't see LEAST WANTED, IDENTITY CRISIS or FIVE UNEASY PIECES on there. In fact, even if I cared about it, I suspect my books are flying well under the piracy radar. So, for my own part, I'm not concerned. Are you? What say ye to these scallywags who would abscond with ebooks as booty?

Anyway, if your books aren't about sex, wealth, Photoshop, math or toilet paper, I'd say worry not. :)