Laer Carroll
November 27th, 2011, 03:07 PM
Shapechanger's Birth has been up at Amazon and B&N for almost three weeks now. Several fans of ShapechangerTales.com and family and friends have bought a copy - or say they have.
But several have said "I bought it to support you but I won't be reading it. I don't have a Kindle/Nook."
I point out that they can read it on their computers and smart phones and tablets. Most of them are tech savvy - some even work in tech-heavy fields - and most are heavy users of smart phones, etc. But many still say, "When can I get a book?"
Honestly, I think that would be my question, too, if a friend told me they'd done what I have. A cheap paperback can be literally thrown into my car without fear it will be broken. Or my car window smashed by a crack-head with a brick to steal it. And I can take it to my bathtub or to the beach or other tech-unsafe place. I can toss into a recycler or give it to a friend or give it to my library for their every-day used-book sale.
Because, face it, naifs. (My new low-impact insult. Much better than my first impulse, idiots!) The print publishing industry is not going away any century soon. It's in peril now? It has ALWAYS been in peril. It has ALWAYS been a low-margin, high-risk business. It has ALWAYS had to adapt to new conditions.
Printed matter is a high-tech sophisticated product which has many advantages over electronic "print." It is just that all that is hidden from tech enthusiasts and even most tech professionals like myself. By familiarity, and by centuries of tech evolution to make print consumption almost seem as if it's a natural biological process like eating or breathing.
So I'm faced with a problem. What vanity press do I use to create a printed book for me to use to create publicity copies? Amazon pushes CreateSpace (https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/). A friend suggests Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/). Their web sites claim they are for-profit publishers, but I think only naifs will believe that.
Another possibility is a copy service. I think some of them offer a book-publishing service.
Someone is bound to suggest a small press, likely using that oxymoron "indie" press. I've been investigating them. They may be small, but they are still publishers, with most of the baggage of larger publishers. Including an excruciatingly slow time between submitting a book and getting copies out that I can give away.
Also, going small-press has the problem that I may (MAY) get agents or larger publishers interested in handling my Shapechanger Tales book series. I plan to begin querying both in a few months once I've put perhaps three books online with Amazon and B&N.
So that's one of my concerns during the (online) post-publishing process. Which as I expected is a long hard process, but one which writers must endure. Creating a book is only part of a writer's life. Like birthing a child, most of the problems come afterwards.
Any help you can give me with bringing up my babies will be appreciated.
But several have said "I bought it to support you but I won't be reading it. I don't have a Kindle/Nook."
I point out that they can read it on their computers and smart phones and tablets. Most of them are tech savvy - some even work in tech-heavy fields - and most are heavy users of smart phones, etc. But many still say, "When can I get a book?"
Honestly, I think that would be my question, too, if a friend told me they'd done what I have. A cheap paperback can be literally thrown into my car without fear it will be broken. Or my car window smashed by a crack-head with a brick to steal it. And I can take it to my bathtub or to the beach or other tech-unsafe place. I can toss into a recycler or give it to a friend or give it to my library for their every-day used-book sale.
Because, face it, naifs. (My new low-impact insult. Much better than my first impulse, idiots!) The print publishing industry is not going away any century soon. It's in peril now? It has ALWAYS been in peril. It has ALWAYS been a low-margin, high-risk business. It has ALWAYS had to adapt to new conditions.
Printed matter is a high-tech sophisticated product which has many advantages over electronic "print." It is just that all that is hidden from tech enthusiasts and even most tech professionals like myself. By familiarity, and by centuries of tech evolution to make print consumption almost seem as if it's a natural biological process like eating or breathing.
So I'm faced with a problem. What vanity press do I use to create a printed book for me to use to create publicity copies? Amazon pushes CreateSpace (https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/). A friend suggests Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/). Their web sites claim they are for-profit publishers, but I think only naifs will believe that.
Another possibility is a copy service. I think some of them offer a book-publishing service.
Someone is bound to suggest a small press, likely using that oxymoron "indie" press. I've been investigating them. They may be small, but they are still publishers, with most of the baggage of larger publishers. Including an excruciatingly slow time between submitting a book and getting copies out that I can give away.
Also, going small-press has the problem that I may (MAY) get agents or larger publishers interested in handling my Shapechanger Tales book series. I plan to begin querying both in a few months once I've put perhaps three books online with Amazon and B&N.
So that's one of my concerns during the (online) post-publishing process. Which as I expected is a long hard process, but one which writers must endure. Creating a book is only part of a writer's life. Like birthing a child, most of the problems come afterwards.
Any help you can give me with bringing up my babies will be appreciated.