I’ve always had a crazy dream of self-publishing a book, filling the trunk of my car with as many cases of my books that will fit, and drive around the country selling them to anyone and everyone. I’d hit as many craft fairs and county fairs as I could. Heck, I’d even set up shop in parking lots.

The logistics of a dream like this would be a nightmare – not to mention bankrolling the drive around the country. It’d be hard to break even. But the thought is still nice because it embodies the independent spirit that many of us have pulsating through our veins.

Continue Reading

I love books. I love reading books. There’s nothing more satisfying than finishing a good novel, especially one that keeps me thinking about the plot and characters long after I read the last page. But sometimes I like having more than just the story. I’m always pleasantly surprised when the author includes notes, written interviews or any other ‘extras’ that can illuminate the story even more.

On a simple level, all of you have seen this before (especially those with young kids). When you buy a kids book, the book has the written story, but it also has illustrations that complement the story and bring it to life in a way not possible with just words. Some childrens books even have accompanying stuffed animals and other toys (sold separately, of course).

Continue Reading

The past 10 years have seen a lot of changes in the publishing world. The biggest change of them all is ebooks. 10 years ago ebooks were a still a novelty enjoyed by mostly techies/geeks and were a popular product for online multi-level marketing schemes where ebook topics dealt mostly with get-quick-rich marketing methods and the like. The ebooks were of poor quality and filled with grammar/spelling errors. This probably did more to damage the reputation of ebooks than anything else.

Fast forward to 2009 and ebooks are becoming much more mainstream (still a small segment of the publishing industry, but growing) and publishers are now scrambling to figure out how to deal with this new form of consuming our favorite literary works. Add to that the family of ebook readers from Sony, Amazon and now Barnes & Noble, I think it’s safe to say that ebooks aren’t going anywhere.

Continue Reading

This is Part 2 of Why indie authors will break traditional publishers. In Part 2 I talk about what indie authors can learn from the music industry, the one advantage traditional publishers have and how indie authors are countering that advantage. You can read Part 1 here.

Independent ebook websites like Smashwords and Feedbooks are giving indie authors an unprecedented advantage by letting these authors distribute their work without the gatekeeper of traditional publishers. While the digital domain has not been perfected, indie authors are coming out of hiding and setting their writing free into the world. Continue Reading

I think large publishing houses are scared, and for good reason. They’re faced with an enemy that they see as a threat to their business. I’m talking about the growing number of indie authors – those who totally bypass the large publishing houses and self-publish their books in print and digital format. Indie authors aren’t afraid to trek out on their own and play by their own rules.

Indie authors have several advantages over authors who go with a traditional publishing house. And it’s these advantages that could be the downfall of  the traditional publishing business.

Continue Reading

I’ve always been in love with short fiction. It’s precise like poetry, yet can take you to new worlds like the novel. There was a time when the short story was a popular form of entertainment. But the last few decades have seen a decline in popularity of short fiction, to the point where writers get paid mostly in contributor copies. Now, the short story is making its grand comeback. Continue Reading

Today I had the privilege of giving an interview on the radio show Conversations LIVE with Cyrus Webb. I was contacted a few weeks ago by Mr. Webb as a result of a blog post I wrote (Author sells self-published book one copy at a time) about Christopher Herz who hand sells his book on the street to individuals. My interview focused on that and more.

Continue Reading

Anyone who thinks a writer should take a passive role in marketing and promoting of his/her work to concentrate on writing needs to talk to self-published author Christopher Herz about the importance of self-promotion. Herz quit his day job in advertising to concentrate on selling his book The Last Block in Harlem to one customer at a time.

Continue Reading

Today we have a special treat – an exclusive interview with author Wayne C. Long, who owns and operates LongShortStories, a website where he sells his short fiction as a subscription-based service. I first met Wayne back in 2008 after he sent me a message advertising his site – which I first wrote about in this post.

I’m going to keep this introduction short because I think the interview speaks for itself, and I hope you find Wayne’s answers as inspiring as I do. And when you get to the end of the interview, you might find a surprise!

Continue Reading

Ebooks can be more than just files you download onto your ebook reading device. They can come in many different formats and be used for a multitude of purposes (i.e. entertainment, tech manuals, etc). And one of the biggest draws of ebooks, at least for me, is the flexibility one has with distribution methods.

Continue Reading