Reading my award winning flash fiction.
This coming Tuesday, March 10th, from 7:30 to 8:30 I'll be teaching a one night class in Navigating the New Publishing World for the Boise Community Schools. It will be at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho. The fee is $8.95, cheap! Details and sign up here: Navigating the New Publishing World.
So this is a bit of a teaser for the class, but also two of the main secrets new authors need know while path finding a way through this amazing new biz of publishing.
First secret: The huge majority of well-selling self-published authors are those authors who already have name recognition, a distinct brand, a platform and a large fan base. Such an author may have been traditionally published, popular in another media, or excellent at marketing, or in a very few cases, just plain lucky. But for almost all new self-published authors the way to sales is a difficult path.
Second secret: If you have sold your manuscript to a publisher, you have lost much of your control of that manuscript. The publisher is the one who edits to their standards, provides a cover and publication date, and sets price, including when/what and where to have the title on sale. True, many small indie publishers now allow authors to have a lot of input on much of this, but it's not the same as having total control.
Though these two "secrets" may be discouraging, the truth is that authors have more opportunities than ever before for success. We'll talk about those in class.
Now, I suspect that some of my author friends may be of a differing opinion, or may want to add to what I've said here. Please comment away!
2 comments:
Ack! Straight to the heart and through it. Actually, you are so right on target. I wish I were in town for your class because I know how knowledgeable you are of the industry.
Sorry I didn't respond sooner. Too many guests, too little time!
Thank you, Kathy, for the kind comment! You, too, are quite knowing about this world.
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