Spaghetti on the wall

"Throwing spaghetti at the wall," ark Coker made the comment in a conversation on Late Night Library, and as such a brilliant description it stayed with me, the red glutinous mass, straggling strands of pasta slowly pulling and sliding down the wallpaper before the whole lot comes off and hits the ground with a squidgy splat.

Mr Angry

Mr Angry was a character on the BBC Radio DJ Steve Wright's afternoon show some years ago, one of a number of characters who would respond to various prompts in the format of the show; his was a half throttled voice on the edge of screaming, the pent up rage evident through the strain on his vocal chords, and then there is the classic scene from Fawlty Towers; John Cleese beating his broken down vehicle and pouring out his anger and frustration at life's persistent little defeats.

I didn't become that angry, but reading a writing magazine article a few weeks ago did notch up the blood pressure. The continuing discussion about the merits of taking the self-publishing route occasionally throws out some odd remarks and one touched a raw nerve. I closed the magazine and stuck it back on the shelf with a few uncharitable thoughts running through my head. The comment, oh, yes, the comment was that the self-published independent author had more to prove than the traditionally published;  frankly the remark pissed me off.

So what do we have to prove; that working by ourselves or with a smidgeon of carefully selected professional assistance paid for out of our own pockets we can produce a book of the same quality as a multinational conglomerate with a huge workforce and  a marketing budget that looks like a telephone number. Duh, yes, that's the challenge thrown down by the Trads, and a lot of Self-Pubs do just that.

There is no point the traditionally published being high minded about standards and quality when they're already dining with the demons of Vanity, sidling up and buying them out, taking a cut of the harvest and shoring up their defences against the sea change taking place all around them.

OK, I keep banging on about smashwords, and why not, they've helped me reach further than I thought possible when I published Iceline almost two years ago, and I have a great respect for Mark Coker and the staff of smashwords. I read his indie author manifesto when he posted it at the smashwords blog and agreed with it, all of it.

The sea change is startlingly simple, the shift has nudged traditional publishers into partnerships they would have avoided with a ten foot barge pole a handful of years ago because the old gatekeepers have been bypassed by the Internet.

The Internet revolution in self-publishing  has changed the landscape as much as the introduction of the printing press. Small independents are laying the foundations of more than a game changing situation. This is digging up the sacred turf and carting it away then dismantling the stadium and rebuilding it, and that is what they are doing. Independent authors/publishers are doing the groundwork of a whole new way of reaching the public and giving them what they want; good quality writing, equal to any.

This is happening and the roll of Hugh Howey, Amanda Hocking, John Locke and others is the proof. The independents with a brand and a readership in place, the prospect of more books on the way, with an established franchise that can be marketed and backed by an already existing word of mouth promotional network spreading the word makes a better sounding investment than the old method of taking a chance. Let's be fair, if picking a bestseller was easy we would all be doing it, and the truth of it to quote Mark Coker in an interview with LateNightLibrary  "is like throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks."

Not the best method of picking your next big thing, and the greatest shift between the independent authors and the traditional is cost effective print on demand and distribution, a way forward for the self-published without the snares of Vanity publishing. The manuscript stored electronically and printed when a copy is needed may generate slower sales but without the constant jostle for shelf space the factor of time over sales dissipates.

Does any of this mean that the independent author has more to prove than their traditional counterpart? No. absolutely not. The challenge; traditional or self-published, bought in store or delivered by post, is that the end product should be of the finest quality across the board.

Hachette Job...?

A lot of time and effort has been spent over the last week or so discussing the current discussions between Amazon and Hachette with a number of viewpoints being aired, David Gaughran explores the situation on his blog here  from the point of view of the publishing house; Hachette is one of the biggest publishers in the market and Amazon. Mark Coker at Smashwords here considers the impact the outcome may have on independent authors. A main point is the use of the agency model where the publisher sets the price of the book, the model used by Smashwords in agreement with its distribution channels giving the choice of price to the author/publisher.

Smashwords to Distribute 250,000+ eBooks to txtr

Smashwords: Smashwords to Distribute 250,000+ eBooks to txtr: Smashwords today announced a distribution agreement with txtr, an ebook retailing and e-reading platform based in Berlin. txtr operates ebook store for Foyles iconic independent UK based bookstore and two European mobile networks

Smashwords and OverDrive to Bring 200,000+ Indie eBooks to 20,000+ public libraries.

Smashwords: Smashwords and OverDrive to Bring 200,000+ Indie E...: Imagine if your indie eBook was purchasable by thousands of public libraries around the globe.  Now imagine no more. Smashwords announced a deal with Overdrive, the world's largest library eBook platform.

You asked for an update - What You Ask For

The latest update for the Nanowrimo winner What You Ask For has just been uploaded at Smashwords.com.

Check out my other books and enjoy a good read. Browse through Smashwords and sample some of the creative talent emerging from independent authors and publishers. Smashwords authors have featured in two recent Breakout book promotions on the Apple ibookstore, in Canada and Australia.

A radio broadcast made last December on the late night library, one of a pair focusing on independent authors, publishers and booksellers and featuring an interview with Mark Coker had interesting points about the spread of the ebook. With over a billion smartphones already out and more and more entry level phone having smart capabilities, each one is a bookstore in a bag or pocket.

The growth of eBook sales over the last few years has been largely centred on the USA, now the focus is shifting and the trends of ereader use and ebook sales are moving to a global level. The interview with Mark Coker can be heard at latenightlibrary.org and was originally broadcast in early December, the following interview with Oren Teicher CEO of the American Booksellers Association covers the agency pricing model and the growth of eBook sales through independent booksellers.
I think both interviews are worth listening to, downloadable as podcasts to be savoured and enjoyed again and again.

Very much like a good book.

Where are we going now?

Recent posts from the Office of Letters and Light - the people behind Nanowrimo - Self-Publishing vs Publishing: How To Choose Your Path by Lynn Viehl, and Mark Coker at Smashwords have discussed the ongoing debate between traditional and self-publishing.

Lynn Viehl considers the options as either or and perhaps both depending on the circumstances and the writer making the choices. Mark Coker's posting after the San Francisco Writer's Conference, where eBook publishing held the centre stage referred to a constantly and rapidly changing landscape in the publishing world. His presentation, How The Ebook Revolution Will Transform Your Career, explores ten trends in publishing and how they impact on the traditional and eBook sides of the story. In an earlier post at Smashwords blog and an interview on NPR Mark Coker remarks on the shift in perspective where self-publishing was considered the option of last resort. The refuge of the vain and the desperate, and now the goal posts have been uprooted and appear to be wandering around the pitch. Writers are deliberately opting for self-publishing as a first choice not the last chance saloon, and traditional publishers are trawling through e-published works for the next best seller - the Fifty Shades spectacular last year - eyeing up the also viewed and most download Stats at sites across the net.

Whatever lies in the future and considering the changes that have taken place in the last five years that is a movable feast of the most magnificent proportions; the old way is gone forever. Books will continue to be created and enjoyed, cherished and loved, published and read with every emotion that reaches out from the written word. We will argue over which is best, discourse and discuss the words on the printed page, the iPad, Kobo and Kindle screen, in whatever format we have or favour, and is the truth of it not that we love books -  though undeniably true - rather that in any shape or form we adore stories, and the people who create them; the Writers, of million sellers or for a select readership. The story is what counts and today, writers, along with publishers (self or trad), agents and book sellers are the characters in a story as profound as the impact of the movable type.

Worth a look at - reposted from Smashwords blog

An interesting review of the last twelve months from Mark Coker founder and inspiration behind Smashwords, a lot of  thought provoking stuff in there on how he sees independent publishing developing, and the value of the potential in the writer. Have a look for yourself;

Smashwords: Smashwords Year in Review 2012 - The Power in Publishing is Shifting to Authors
reposted from Smashwords.blog

Our authors know that every writer – every one of us – is special, and those who doubt this truth will become the dinosaurs of tomorrow.  You can’t truly honor the culture of books without honoring the writers who create them.  You can’t truly honor the value of books if you measure their value by perceived commercial merit alone.  You either value the human potential of all writers, or none at all.
Mark Coker CEO and founder of Smashwords.


I am biased, I am a Smashwords distributed Indie Author; you probably guessed that already.