What revolution am I talking about? Why, the one important to writers, the e-Revolution! What made me realize that the revolution was over? Simple.
Back in the nineties, the dinosaur age of the Internet, I used to work for a little, independent bookstore. I was also published in anthologies and magazines during this time. Fast forward to now, when I'm again being published in anthologies. And it's totally different.
How? Well, did I, while I worked for the bookstore, promote all the other authors in the anthologies I was in? Or the publisher who bought my short stories for the anthologies? Or even the publishers or their magazines? Of course not! Why would I? To what purpose? I might have signings for the anthologies, might mention to friends and family and that's it. Nobody even considered promoting another author or publisher.
NOW: Every time an author in An Eclectic Collage talks/mentions/sells the book it promotes me. Every blogger who blogs about Dreamspell Nightmares is also blogging about me. Instead of just me alone telling my friends and family about my writing, I've got all the authors promoting. And promoting authors of the publishing company that published my e-book story Changing Woman Ways, promotes my name. Why? The Internet. Connections are quick and easy to make and the more presence on the 'net the better.
Why do you think, my dear readers? And those of you who are writers, am I right? Or all 'net wet?
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13 comments:
The internet makes it much easier for writers to promote each other. And that is a good thing.
Yes, it is Carol. And it's not that we didn't care about promoting other authors, it's that there was no purpose in doing so. I like this better.
The Internet has allowed for so much more cross-promoting by authors. We see that doing it this way increases our profile ten-fold. And that is due to the Internet.
There is a danger though - typical Jim, always the voice of doom - that it's the same people who read each other's blogs. The thing we have to keep doing is expanding our contacts into unfamiliar circles so that it's not the same ol' couple of dozen people promoting each other, preaching to the choir.
Helen, yes--and I believe it helps readers find authors whose work they want to read. I know that as a reader I have found authors this way.
Jim, yes you are the voice of doom, but of practical doom. In fact that's what I enjoy about being in these anthologies--the fresh blood of the other authors' circles.
The Internet. Connections are quick and easy to make and the more presence on the 'net the better.
That says it all. Of course you are right.
(Not sure why that makes the revolution over, though - but then I'm having a senior day!)
Dave, I may not have made that clear. I still hear from other writers about "I'll never blog, I'll never be on Facebook, I'll never...and e-books are just a fad, I'll never buy an e-reader," etc. etc. But the contrast in my experience between then and now--the e-revolution has happened. PAST tense.
I heart the Internet! Not only has it helped me promote my book, but it's helped me meet so many other wonderful writers.
Yes, I think it works two ways. There's a concentration as many authors cross-promote a single anthology -- which one may hope ends up selling more books. But there's also a concatenation outward as one visits more blogs, for instance, then jumps from them to even more sites he or she might never have known of otherwise. That's the part that's interesting to me, the broadening of knowledge of the community around me, sometimes in almost random ways.
Talli, my sentiments exactly!
James, this is so true. And I also love all the fascinating things I've discovered, many of them having almost nothing, or perhaps everything, to do about writing. What's the best chocolate, for example.
The 'net gets work visible and "out there". And connections can be made easily. Connections are the most important.
Claire
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