Celebrating Independent Authors
Whoooooosshhh!
“What was that?”
“That was 2012, that was.”
“What? And it’s gone – just like that?”
“Afraid so.”
“So what’s next?”
“Well, 2013, of course.”
“Oh, right. Will it go just as quickly as 2012?”
“Yes, so don’t oversleep, or blink, because you might miss it…” Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Christmas Edition”
As the year draws to a close, numerous publications, blogs, and authors are beginning to take stock, heave a sigh, and wonder if next year will be the same rollercoaster ride as this year has been. One of the best posts I’ve come across so far is here, where Anne R. Allen gives a neat overview, delivered in an accessible and enjoyable tone, of the many recent and rapid changes. While I’m no fan of the word “dynamic”, it is difficult to think of a more appropriate word to describe events in the two main parts of the same publishing industry: Mainstream and Indie. Continue reading “Indie News Beat:
Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?”
Sometimes you come across a press article which is written in such a way that it makes you wonder where the journalist has been living for the last five years. Then, a moment later, the thought hits you that maybe not everyone in the rest of the world is a self-publishing author like you (although it usually feels like everyone is).
We’re off to The Miami Herald this week, for one of those stories that starts as though it was written in 2007. However, get past the headline and first couple of paragraphs, and an interesting and sobering story emerges of self-publishing successes – and the potential for failure. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Miami Dice”
With a ubiquitous presence, sky-high brand recognition, and customer-first ethos, it’s been a while since “Amazon” only referred to a geographical feature, and the adjective “Amazonian” used to mean a certain type of woman.
If you’re an Independent Author, you’ve either got your stuff on Amazon or you’ve got it nowhere. So when Amazon changes the way it does business, we all need to sit up and take notice. After the hullabaloo with sock-puppet reviews this summer, over the last few weeks a number of authors suddenly noticed reviews going missing from their book pages on Amazon. This led to emails and calls and questions, but one of the first hard-and-fast pieces of evidence to turn up in the media was here, where Amazon sent an email to an author confirming deletion of his reviews of another author’s book because, in Amazon’s opinion, there is “competition” between the two authors, which thus breaches Amazon’s rules. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Amazon is Redefining Ownership”