The indie author movement started to take off because traditional publishers shut so many authors out. Most unagented, unknown authors can’t get close enough to the inside of a publishing company to even slide their manuscript under a door. And, most agents won’t touch these authors because they’ve never published or sold a book. This loop of frustration continues. As technology advanced, it became easier for these formerly shunned authors to publish their own books. Some authors choose to use the services of a self-publishing company and some choose to handle the process on their own. It’s like building a home. Some people choose to have a home builder handle everything including sub-contractors. Others choose to act as their own general contractor. In the end, the house gets built.
Traditionally published authors (and their publishers), for the most part, look down on indie authors as not being “real” authors. We all know how untrue that is. Why do the traditionally published look down on us? Because, they are (play the clip now):
Paperbacks used to be the cool, younger brother of a hardcover. People invited paperbacks everywhere: planes, buses, trains, beaches, bedrooms, living rooms, and family rooms. And, who didn’t want to hang out with a paperback? They are easy-going, light-weight, and much cheaper to be with than their hardcover older sibling. Why pay $24.99 when you could wait a few months and have the exact same experience for $14.99?
Paperbacks had it going on. But, starting in mid-2009, they started their descent from letter jacket-wearing jock to science club geek. [...]
It seems like nearly every new author I’ve spoken to watched The Field of Dreams the night before our conversation. You don’t just upload a book to Amazon, sit back, and wait to get rich. The very few who got rich by doing that (Amanda Hocking) did one thing that m0st authors don’t do — they worked it and hustled their books, be it through blogs, blog tours, events, selling a small book fairs, etc. And, they didn’t stop, if they hit a bump in the road, like spending all day at a book fair and selling one book.
A great place for new and/or yet-to-be-published authors to learn about what fellow authors are doing to promote their books, is to follow some on Twitter. On indie author who should be on the top of your to-follow-on-Twitter list is Rachel Thompson[...]
Mick Rooney cares about self-publishing. Not 90-year-old actor Mickey Rooney, but operator of the excellent site/ blog, POD, Self Publishing & Independent Publishing. The site has great information for those considering self-publishing.
Over the years, I’ve had a lot of reviews done about various editions of my book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. The fourth edition of my book officially releases tomorrow. Last night while in bed, I was watching the news and reading Twitter feeds on my iPhone. I follow Mick. He tweeted that he had just reviewed my book. For a million reasons, it’s a bad idea to read a review about anything involving you before going to bed. Like any normal person, I couldn’t wait until this morning to read the review.
Mick wrote the most honest, thorough, complete, critical, yet wonderful review of my book. Read Mick’s review of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.[...]
I asked one of my employees what she thought of my last blog post. She said, “It’s funny at first, but you say the same thing over and over, and it becomes not funny.”[...]
In the summer of 1985, I was a counselor at an overnight camp where I had this amazing camp girlfriend. It was all s’mores, making out down by the lake, and late nights star-gazing and talking about our future. [...]
What Does This 1980′s Vidal Sassoon TV Spot Have To Do with eBooks?
Hatchette Livre, the parent of Hatchette Book Group, announced that ebook sales has increased the company’s share of the US book market to 23% in terms of volume since the beginning of the year from 10% or 8% in value in 2010. www.thebookseller.com/news/hachette-livre-us-e-book-sales-nearly-25-total.html
This ebook thing is for real. Like the microwave, the VCR, [...]
I recently released the 4th edition of my book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. I have the luxury of being the CEO of a publishing company, so when I publish a book, I have a lot of help. This edition was the most intensive [...]
Like everyone else who writes a blog, I hope to have a Sally Field moment. My fantasy doesn’t involve public adulation. Instead, someone in the world of the Traditionals validates my existence (if you don’t know who the Traditionals are, read my first blog post). And, my posts are so witty and compelling that someone from one of the Traditionals reposts the link on her Facebook wall saying something like, “OMG, this guy is totally telling it like it is.” (Actually, I doubt anyone at a Traditional utters “OMG.”) [...]
Follow the Revolution