Guy Kawasaki on Self-Publishing
A good interview with Guy Kawasaki about self-publishing and his new book:
via Minnesota Public Radio.[…]
The Big Six Goes Self-Publishing
Via the New York Times:
[…]Big publishers have been tentative about entering the market, partly for fear of tarnishing their brand by allowing content they have not reviewed to be published under their name.
But Simon & Schuster has gotten around that problem by teaming up with Author Solutions Inc., a company based in Bloomington, Ind., that already has a robust self-publishing business. Author Solutions also has partnerships with several smaller and niche publishers including Harlequin, which specializes in romance books, and Thomas Nelson, which focuses on Christian books.
The two companies have created a separate house called Archway
I Like Self-Publishing Again
It’s odd that the recent firestorm about paid reviews and unscrupulous self-publishers has actually rekindled my love of self-publishing. Ever since Amanda Hocking, the vibe around self-publishing has been money, money, money. On the one hand, I was grateful for this because it put self-publishing on the map: money talks. On the other hand: this is the worst determination of value and pretty much what’s wrong with the world, and publishing in general. The reason that I fled traditional publishing (after having a series of agents and traditional contracts) was because of the overemphasis on marketing and past sales. Publishing […]
Epitaph: Paying for Reviews
Full disclosure: SPR charges for reviews. People hate this, and don’t necessarily differentiate between paid good reviews and paid reviews in general, especially with the current controversy of paying for 5-star reviews. Since SPR started charging, we’ve been able to review many more books than before, and pay reviewers for their time. So I do think there’s a difference between what Kirkus, or SPR, does, and guaranteeing a block of 5-star reviews without even reading the book. Even so, people are now decrying the entire paid review model. This may seem like self-protection, but I don’t think the paid […]
Lendink: The Age of Knee-Jerk Vigilance
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
If you are new to the Lendink story, here’s the lowdown. A website that lends out ebooks was shut down by a gaggle of indie writers who thought this was an example of piracy no different than Napster. Really, it’s totally legitimate, as lending ebooks is part of publishing on the Kindle. Books aren’t downloaded, they’re lent for a set period and the writer gets paid. In short, it has nothing in common with Napster.
It’s understandable if writers are a little twitchy about piracy. It also makes sense that people like being […]
Invaluable Reddit AMA from Author Hugh Howey
There’s a huge amount of self-publishing wisdom in this Reddit AMA from Hugh Howey, author of the Wool series (here’s the lowdown on a Reddit AMA). The main takeaway is that writers need to be patient. With all the overnight successes in self-publishing (Amanda Hocking), one might be led to think that’s the way you become successful as a self-publisher. But that’s not really the case. It’s not even the case for the heavyweight JA Konrath, who’s been writing and publishing for years.
Really, self-publishing isn’t much different than traditional publishing. Some people get lucky with a 6-figure book […]
Should Authors Comment on Reviews?
Taleist has a nice posting asking the question: Should You Comment on Amazon Reviews?
My books’ pages on Amazon aren’t my pages, and readers don’t go there to find me. In my opinion readers should be able to browse a bookshop without bumping into authors fussing and preening next to their books; thanking kind reviewers and gently pointing out errors in less good reviews.
But sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder about my decision in the case of the factual errors. I’d hate to think someone wasn’t reading my book because they read something untrue.
Personally, I’ve come pretty close. […]
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It expires March 31, 2012.
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