Tag: Self-Publishing

8 Marketing Posts for Proactive Writers

There's been a notable spike in new traffic here lately, partly from Twitter and partly from the blog being favorably cited recently by Editor Unleashed and ASMP's Strictly Business Blog. (Thanks!) In light of my last two posts being a bit more ranty than usual, and my schedule next week being crazy, I thought it … Continue reading 8 Marketing Posts for Proactive Writers →

Will eBook Exuberance Kill Publishing?

"Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine. We started to market it that way, and it just took off." --Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs … Continue reading Will eBook Exuberance Kill Publishing? →

Get Serious About the Business of Publishing

A book's success is too important to entrust to somebody who doesn't have a stake in it. Editors are already fierce enough advocates to have persuaded their bosses to let them acquire the books in the first place; why not let them keep on advocating? --Ron Hogan, "Hey Editors! Less Max Perkins, More Billy Mays" … Continue reading Get Serious About the Business of Publishing →

Is Social Publishing simply Vanity Publishing 2.0?

"Yes, Sir, there are many happy people here. There are many people here who are watching hundreds, and who think hundreds are watching them." Samuel Johnson, Quotes on Vanity "Digital publishing", "ePublishing" and "social publishing" are the buzzwords du jour; Web 2.0 business models based on the idea that eBooks are the next big thing … Continue reading Is Social Publishing simply Vanity Publishing 2.0? →

Crowds vs. Gatekeepers: Not a Zero-Sum Game

"It's bullshit! Crowds have terrible taste... If you let the people decide, then nothing truly adventurous ever gets out. And that's a problem." --Christopher R. Weingarten (@1000TimesYes), #140Conf Speaking at the 140 Characters Conference -- a brazenly opportunistic affair best described as "a meeting of Twitter Early Adopters Anonymous" and the "biggest circle jerk of … Continue reading Crowds vs. Gatekeepers: Not a Zero-Sum Game →

Tone Deaf Publishers Need Savvy Writers

In response to a question about lessons they'd learned from the failure of a book to sell as well as expected — something that was acknowledged several times as being the norm not the exception — one offered an example of an unnamed book that the stars had seemingly all aligned for: it was a great book the editor loved, that their publisher believed was going to be a hit, that got great reviews from all of the major mainstream outlets... and it flopped. In the final bit of unacknowledged irony, one of them briefly noted that examples of successful self-publishing were rare and magical.

Building and Curating Your Community, Part I

With all of the negative news of late about the collapse of the publishing industry and the "death of print", combined with the report that Captain America, Chesley Sullenberger, "scored a $3.2 million two-book deal with HarperCollins' William Morrow imprint" for a memoir and a book of inspirational poetry, one might understandably think that jumping … Continue reading Building and Curating Your Community, Part I →

Your Entitlement Slip is Showing

Among the most tiresome memes dominating the publishing world right now -- memes that I've admittedly contributed to at times -- the worst are the self-righteous rants about self-publishing, Amazon, and the long-rumored death of print. There are the writers who think their publishers should be doing more for them while smugly looking down their noses at the writers willing to do it … Continue reading Your Entitlement Slip is Showing →