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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Self-publishing is getting a whole lot easier for authors who prefer to go the ‘indie’ route and avoid the hassles of trying to get the ever-more-evasive traditional publishing contract. Espresso Book Machines (EBM) are paving the way not only for indie authors, but also indie bookstores as well – who must compete with the likes of Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Amazon.

The EBM is basically a mini-self publisher all wrapped up into one machine. You select the book you want printed, and it prints the entire book (nifty covers included!), binds, trims and spits the newly printed book out for you to enjoy.

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If you are going to be in San Francisco on July 18 then you might want to consider going to the InStock Conference. The one-day event focuses on ‘the business and marketing of self-publishing.’ Here’s the press release that was emailed to me a few days ago:

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In this tight economy, the gatekeepers of the publishing world (i.e. agents and large publishing houses) are keeping their gates closed a little more. This is sad news for unpublished writers who have dreams of seeing their words in print. Is the system fair? No, not by a long shot. Even in a good economy, the chances of getting your book published aren’t good. Just the sheer number of writers out there ensure that most of us will live in obscurity.

However, this doesn’t mean there is no hope. Advancing technology and a number of high-profile success stories have really lit a fire under the world of self-publishing. Being a successful author doesn’t mean hitting the New York Times bestselling list, or even selling millions of copies of your latest masterpiece. By self-publishing your writing, you can be a successful author and also make a tidy profit.

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The online self ebook publisher Smashwords has announced the beginning of their affiliate program, which will let bloggers, publishers, authors, and website owners promote ebooks sold on Smashwords in exchange for a commission on each sale. Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

“Our mission at Smashwords is to help authors and publishers publish, promote and sell their ebooks,” said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. “The Smashwords Affiliate Marketing Program will help authors and publishers expand their digital shelf space while providing affiliate marketers the opportunity to profit from the rapid rise of electronic books.”

According to the Association of American Publishers(AAP), ebooks are the fastest growing segment of book publishing today. Ebooks experienced a compound annual growth rate of 58 percent per year for the last six years, versus an overall industry growth rate of 1.6 percent. In recent months, the growth of ebooks has accelerated to over 100 percent while print books have declined, according to the AAP (source: http://www.publishers.org).

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