I Can't Believe I'm Saying This

I've been working my butt off today.

I created a PubIt! account - uploaded "Let's Do Lunch" tweaked the formatting until I couldn't look at it again. Kicked around the Nookboards, Kindleboards and - gasp - Authonomy.

I've had a bee in my bonnet all week about my sluggish e-book sales. I re-joined Authonomy because I feel that I lost a lot of visibility when I left. At the time, I couldn't stand the bullshit. I lurked from time to time, checked out the new system, and wondered if going back would reconnect me to potential readers.

I just posted this little gem on the forums, I'm posting it here because I think I should look at it from time to time, and recall why burning bridges sucks. The idea behind Authonomy was golden. The original algorithm sucked. I still don't give a damn about the Editor's Desk. But the community is priceless.

I don't see the big publishing companies going anywhere. They will lumber around and eventually figure out a way to keep going just fine. Best sellers will still hit their stride and leave the rest of us envious. Celeb's will still give us the shudders.
Amanda Hocking and Zoe Winters sell oodles of paranormals and are banner examples of 'Yes, it can be done.' I admire the heck out of those gals. I don't know Amanda, but I've 'talked' to Zoe. She's an astute business woman as well as a good writer. She's gonna break out all over the place, because she's a hard worker. I'll bet Amanda is equally as hard working - but not as colorful - as Zoe.

There are still going to be plenty of writers taking the tradtional path of agents, editors, publishers and so forth. This economy has slowed the industry down a lot. Indie writers are coming out of the woodwork because the new technology has allowed them to take their best shot. Eventually this will all shake out.

I don't agree with those who yell that 'Publishing is Dead!' I think that fiction has taken a big step forward in a market that adores $0.99 e-books 'cause everybody is broke and the books are cheap. I think this is a great time for mid-list writers to upload their backlist. I think it is a tremendous time for those who can afford it to take the plunge. (The cost is time, IMO, which is more dear than money.)

But I very much doubt that everybody here is going to jump on the $.99 novel bandwagon. Heck, I don't want to jump on that bandwagon. But guess what - I may end up there.

What is going to hurt everyone - Best Sellers, Mid-listers, back-listers, new Indies and all - is if people who don't have a top-notch manuscript self-publish. The Kindle store is NOT the place to send your rough draft! You are going to get slammed on Amazon Forums as a poster-child for self-published fungus-eating morons. The trolls will leave only scraps, like teeth and toe-nails.

Which is what makes Authonomy a great proving ground. I was able to do a lot of work on my second manuscript because of the people who reviewed it - (t)here. Now, everyone may want to take a turn on the ED. They can spam for backings all they like, because the important thing is getting the help revising the manuscript so you can decide what to do with it from there.

I think I'll get off my soap box now.

I know that I've got a good story in 'Swallow the Moon' - as the time comes for me to 'pull the trigger' on it (love that term!) I'm getting antsy.