The Digital Book World
conference is over and attendees are digesting the big issues.
Their
comments and ongoing discussions about where publishing is heading in 2013
range from ‘we are over the worst of the transition...things are settling down’...to
Batten down the hatches... this ride is only just beginning!
It does behoove* the author to keep an
eye on what is happening in the wider world.
First up for
comment...this from inside the conference, What Authors Want.... It seems that a third of authors want to self publish their next book...
Porter Anderson dives
into Ether for Authors looking at the big issues from DBW
including What authors
want...Hugh Howey...and Hybrid** is your new model.
More authors are being
offered Wool like deals! News filtering through Twitter today. (oh joy...maybe
this will be the big happy news for authors this year.)
To take advantage of
publishing's current state of flux...authors are thinking Hybrid is the way to
go. (A mix of Traditional and Self/Indie publishing.)
Dean Wesley
Smith has been saying it all along...Dean wraps up a series of blog posts
looking at crunching the numbers of the new Hybrid world and how you should
approach the business of writing. As always check out the 97 comments!!
The next big talking
point was Why online book discovery is broken and how to fix it...This article
from PaidContent has many people quoting, dissing, upholding...but no one is
ignoring it. I have been seeing it quoted all over the publishing blogosphere along with Brett Sandusky’s Elephants In The Room post that I linked to last week. Lots of other
juicy posts in last week's blog are still being chewed over.
Also being hotly
discussed...the Tools of Change conference coming up and a keynote issue Piracy, Does It Really Harm The Author?
Publishing
Perspectives has 5 Trends to watch for in trade publishing...
Roberto Calas has an in depth look at how to work/write/live Kindle Serials on Lyndsay Buroker’s
blog...Boy oh Boy...this is a post that will have your head spinning...but
incredible A++ for effort! Dickens followed this model of publishing...(I think
he may have been a hybrid...) so maybe we're just going back to the good old
days of 200 years ago...
Agent Sarah La Polla
has a look at Literary vs Commercial and the reasons for figuring out where
your MS lies.
In Craft,
Alan Rinzler takes a
look at Character...when you walk in their shoes you write with authenticity.
If you are in the
synopsis business...check out this great how to do it...one of the best I have
seen.
In Marketing,
Maximising the potential of your Facebook Author Page...some very interesting strategies here.
Catherine Ryan Howard
looks at Book Distribution and how she has made an important discovery...Hybrids take note!
To finish,
Two posts that rocked
me today...You can decide whether I was Buoyed up*** or Aghast****
The numbers proving
that print still matters in discovering books
and The New Yorker on
Slicing and Dicing The Content of Books...The new model of
discoverability....coming soon to a Search Engine near you.
Oh and if you want a
nifty little post to bookmark...try this one 5 other online dictionaries...***** effort!
*To be necessary or proper for: It behooves you at least to
try.
**Something
of mixed origin or composition.
***become
more cheerful
****Struck
by shock, terror, or amazement.
maureen
Pic: This
is a Hybrid Plumeria...Isn’t it beautiful. Image courtsey of
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepbackcabin/7578181360/
