Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Nicholson
Well, if you have watched publishing for the last 20 years, this current era is the Golden Age. I can make a 70 percent royalty on my work now. I set the price. I decide what it looks like and how it is marketed. I can follow my instinct that I know my audience better than anyone else on the planet. How can this be anything BUT the best time to be a writer?
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I've been avoiding this thread for a while after seeing it turn into another pirate attack.
But - let's get back on track for a minute here.
What Scott said couldn't be further from the truth. This is almost a magical time. I've googled my name, and set up an alert or two. The real kick in the ass for me came when I found out there's another indie author out there named David Alexander who isn't me. Dude's even got his own wikipedia page. Then again, I have yet to sell anything or market myself. I'm in the hobbyist phase. After being away from writing for almost six years, I came back in November and it still has that new car smell. I'm enjoying my time, I'm not killing myself working. I have a life, I have a dayjob. Would it be nice to make thousands upon thousands of dollars selling books? Oh hell yea.
But, the reality (as proven time and time again) is the current paper book market is dying. It all started when the local distributors were bought out by the big boys. Grocery store novels and local business owners that knew their market were sucked up by the super mega blockbusters.
The publishing industry is still operating as if television, video games, and the internet don't exist. I can't speak on a global scale, but it's my belief that American intelligence is pretty much in the shitter. And so are attention spans. Things that take creators days, weeks, even years to produce, are consumed in an almost minute-by-minute scale. What's hot one minute is gone the next and sitting in the recycle bin or the garbage.
Seriously, I picked up a Lee Child book because I couldn't stand to see it get thrown out (which was where it was going once the reader/original purchaser was done with it) Did I pay for it? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes, enough that I bought another one or two.
We're in this weird global internet thing now. People are finding that it's easier than ever to publish content. Some of the quality is debatable, but still. Those that choose (or are chosen) to walk with the small timers pretty much take their career in their hands.
Marketing is the ONE thing that makes or breaks a best seller. Would Dan Brown be a mega superstar if 60 Minutes and the sewing club didn't get all pissed off that he challenged established religion? Seriously. I don't think anyone bought Deception Point until it was reissued in MMPB after Angels/Demons broke big.
I've listened to best selling authors tell me that their sales were absolutely CRUSHED by the flavor of the week.
Authors are their worst enemies. We write. That's what we do. We're not marketers, illustrators, typesetters, etc.
Ask an author what his publicity plan is. You'll get blank looks, or spammers.
Look at Jeremy Robinson, Scott Siggler, and JC Hutchins. What set them apart? Robinson was a marketing genius. Hutchins was a controversial journalist.
What worked for them may work for another indie, but probably not. People get bored easily. Viral marketing was the thing to do for a while (Cloverfield) but that's old hat now. People are looking for the new "COOL THING ZOMG!"
Do I think it's a bad time to be a writer? No. Do I think it's an interesting time to be a writer? Yeah. Is it much different than the past? Probably not.
Look at all of the "Greatest novels of all time"
They've all had their moment in the sun, and what worked for them was that it was their time.
Dan Brown came out right at around the same time the church was going through its child molester phase.
Twilight came out during a time when the news was reporting a spike in teenage dating violence.
Dickens had the industrial revolution
Hemingway had the great depression.
Moral of the story: Fiction always mirrors reality. We've got all sorts of crazy things going on in the world today. This is an excellent time to be a writer. But, you need to realize the pitfalls of the pen.
You are your worst enemy. You are your best friend. Your career is in your hands. If you're not making the sales you want to make, reassess your goals. Are they realistic? Do I want to be a multi million dollar best selling self published author? Probably unreasonable.
Do I want to be able to pay the internet bill with the internet publishing? Maybe a little more reasonable. Find your stride.
Where am I missing money? Who's my demographic? Am I marketing to the right people? Do I need to spend a little money to make a little money?
You get the idea
