The publishing revolution is over and we have won.

In a recent post, I talked about the digital revolution in the publishing world. Since then, I joined the Indie Book Collective. I think I needed a waiver to join because I have a publisher, and my novel, Unholy Embrace, was published as a softcover. In joining the collective, I became a full-fledged member of the revolution. What does this mean? In the short-term, I will be selling packages of my short stories on Amazon, Smashwords, and other Internet sites. Hopefully I will make some money from this endeavor.

The long-term consequences of joining this revolution are very important. When I finish my second novel, I don't have to worry about finding a publisher. I will publish it digitally at a time of my own choosing, with a price that makes the most sense for me, not a publisher. Isn't self-publishing a meaningless effort to bolster one's ego? Not anymore. Authors are making money, and more importantly, reaching significant numbers of readers without a single tree being chopped down. The picture to the left is like the "Don't tread on me," flag that flourished early in the Revolutionary war for Independence. I think that's a good analogy. Imagine yourself as an author. Which would you choose: to have an attractive hardcover edition of your book that few people buy and read, or published digitally and have a significant number of people buy and read your book.? Rhetorical question.

But what about getting a novel reviewed? Isn't it true that most reviewers will not touch a self-published novel? That depends on which reviewers we are talking about. The reviewers tied to the hardback and paperback trade will most likely continue not to review self-published authors. Fortunately, there are a significant number of reviewers who only review indie books. While none of these reviewers works for midsize and major newspapers, or has a national reputation (at the present time), they have readerships that are interested in reading good books not traditional reviewers.

Authors can get their books properly digitalized by submitting them to a site such as Smashwords. This will likely become a more competitive market. So, I write the novel, I published the novel, the novel is reviewed, and hopefully people will buy the novel so they can read it. Isn't that what it's all about?

New Age of Publishing Books is Now

If, the world is flat as Thomas Friedman says it is, then the world of publishing is becoming paper thin. There was much ado when Amazon said it was going into the publishing business. Authors can make their pitch to Amazon and get the best deal possible. So what's the difference, you ask? Amazon has a fraction of the overhead  of traditional publishers. Amazon can afford to let the public make decisions about what he wants to read. Traditional publishers can print books and have them collect dust.

Amazon is only the beginning of the revolution, sort of the tip of an iceberg that's coming dead on a ship too slow to move out of its way. For those authors that don't like dealing with Amazon, there are other alternatives. Take a minute to visit Smashwords. On their website, you can buy novels, novellas, and all sorts of short stories. Probably the low end stuff many people would say. Most people don't know that John Grisham sold novels out of the trunk of his car. Stephanie Meyer's overly large manuscript was read by an assistant to the literary agent who probably would've immediately tossed the 125,000 word sumission into the circular file. The old publishing model was failure avoidant. Accumulate as many best-selling authors as you can and publish their novels until the readership disappears or the ink dries


If Amazon is the publisher, it will want to sell the novel on its site, not competing websites .Smashwords will sell your novel, short story, etc. on its website, but it will also place novels at Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, and any other site that sells novels and pays their bills. Barnes & Noble has entered the publishing business. I'm not a shill for Smashwords. I haven't put my first short story up for sale there, yet. But it will happen soon. Most importantly, I know it will sell. It's about vampires and werewolves, two lovers, and a battle that makes the gunfight at the OK corral seem like a tea party at Buckingham Palace.
This post is based on what I've learned in the last two weeks. Most assuredly, there are many things I don't know about in the new age of digital publishing. But I hope to have fun learning them. This is the first of at least two posts on this subject. The next post will focus on the changing nature of the relationship between the writer and the reader