Our first stop this edition is at Publishers Weekly, and their report on the highly-trailed “Author (R)evolution Day” earlier this month. That rather pretentious title at once makes me suspicious, and I didn’t have to read far before slamming into a trite platitude. Step forward Kobo’s Mark Lefebvre with this message for struggling, self-published authors: “Don’t wonder how you will get discovered – think about what you are going to do to deserve being discovered.” Yeah, thanks. And the conclusion? That we have to adapt to changing social media, and of course we shouldn’t forget the importance of word-of-mouth recommendations. Really, Holmes, you astound me. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: (Re)Stating the Obvious”
Category: Indie News Beat
Our Indie correspondent from Poland, Chris James,keeps you up to date with Indie news from around the world.
Indie News Beat: Is there a publishing industry or isn’t there?
We’ve lots of places to visit in this edition of Indie News Beat, beginning with a neat article headlined There Is No Publishing Industry, in which John Cavnar-Johnson suggests that what we generally understand as the publishing industry can now be broken down into four distinct “information delivery” industries, which are each advancing towards digitalisation at their own speeds. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Is there a publishing industry or isn’t there?”
Indie News Beat: Indie Superstar Hugh Howey and Wool
If you haven’t heard of the novel Wool by Hugh Howey, then it’s likely you will at some point in the near future. It has been hailed as science fiction’s answer to 50 Shades, although only in the way that a self-publishing author has broken out, rather than any similarity in content. Wool began as a short story of just 60 pages, first published in July 2011. By the end of that year, Howey had added a further four parts to bring the story up to the generally-accepted idea of novel length. Momentum kept building throughout last year, to the point where today Howey enjoys all the trappings of a successful, A-list fiction author (Ridley Scott has the film rights, Random House are handling the print editions in most territories, and the book’s Amazon page now boasts over 3,300 reviews).
So how did he do it? Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Indie Superstar Hugh Howey and Wool”
Indie News Beat: Christmas Edition
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”