Category: Publishing

Jul 03 2013

Freedom isn't Free—5 Common Tactical Errors in Self-Publishing

Here’s the thing. Self-publishing, in many ways, just allows us to accelerate the career path of the author. Even in traditional publishing, it usually takes about three books to gain traction. In traditional publishing, this takes three years because we are dealing with a publisher’s schedule.

In self-publishing, we can make our own schedule, but it still takes THREE BOOKS MINIMUM. I know there are exceptions, but most self-published successes hit at about book three. The ability to offer multiple titles is a huge part of why John Locke became successful.

May 23 2013

Steve Jobs and 5 Tips for Being a Successful Author

In a world that has an increasingly shorter attention span, we must stand apart from the crowd. As writers, we are artists thus we have the power to create art in our work, not just some tired copy of something else. Be different. Be excellent. Put in that extra effort to stand apart from everything else.

Apr 11 2013

LOVE Trumps Laws–A Final Rebuttal to Turow

The hard truth is that we will always be open to people who want something for free and yes, technology can exacerbate this. Making more laws or making e-books more difficult to download or pricing them the same as hardbacks doesn’t deter thieves. In my opinion, it only encourages this kind of behavior.

Apr 10 2013

Let Them Eat Cake—The Slow Death of The Old Paradigm Author

What Turow doesn’t appear to grasp is that technology, particularly communication technology exacts sweeping cultural change that cannot be reversed (short of war or global apocalypse). Most modern humans aren’t going to trade in their flatscreens and XBoxes for a “good old-fashioned story told by the fire.”

“Technological change is neither additive nor subtractive. It is ecological. One significant change generates total change.” (Postman, Technopoly, 18)

Jan 11 2013

Agent Secrets–Do Writers Need an Agent in the New Publishing Paradigm?

Hey Guys! I know it’s a wild and crazy world. Indie and self-publishing are exploding while traditional publishing is struggling to reinvent itself in the Digital Age. Yet, here’s the thing. Even if you go it alone, it is still a good idea to have an agent. There are contracts and film rights and foreign …

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