While cleaning up some of the unpublished drafts on this blog, I came across this interesting post which I wrote in August 2011 but never published.
At the time, I had just published my second novel, Bringing Stella Home, and was very much committed to the indie career path. Self-publishing was still a very new thing, however, and most of my writer friends thought that I was crazy. Sometimes, I couldn’t tell if I was crazy or if everyone else was, and I was the only sane one. Because self-publishing had such a stigma, I actually lost a couple of friendships over this. That’s probably what prompted this post.
Looking back, this was the reason why online self-publishing communities like KBoards were so important. The ebook revolution was in full swing, and self-publishing still required a massive leap of faith. No one really knew how things would turn out. Writers who had chosen to stay the traditional route of querying agents saw us indies as subversives and heretics, and every week saw a new article go viral bashing either indies, or Amazon, or ebooks in general. It was pretty wild.
Those days are over now. We won. Self-publishing no longer has its stigma, at least in the mainstream, and it’s considered perfectly normal to forego submitting to agents and editors altogether. According to some reports, indies control more than 30% of the ebook market.
But back then, everything was still very much in the air. It was in that vein that I wrote this post.
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1) Ebooks will radically change the way we read, write, and think of books.
Nothing has demonstrated this more to me than owning a Kindle. It is truly a revolutionary device. Not only do I have instant access to practically any book I want to read, I can hold my entire library in the palm of my hand and take it with me wherever I go. I can see what others are saying about any given title, and interact with them as well. It’s incredible.
For writers, the changes are even more profound. Printing, shipping, and warehousing costs are nonexistent in the digital realm, and with increasingly ubiquitous internet access, distribution is no longer a problem. Put simply, ebooks are game changing–this is nothing less than a technological revolution.
Where are we going? No one really knows, but I find that exciting.
2) Not all major publishers will survive the change.
For numerous reasons, the old publishing system is being rendered obsolete, and I’m not convinced that all the major publishing houses are adapting rapidly enough to weather the changes.
How many will go under, and which ones? I have no idea, but since I don’t want my book rights to get tied up in a bankruptcy case, I’m forgoing traditional publishing for a year or so until I have a clearer picture.
However, please note: this is a business decision, not an emotional one. I have nothing against any of these houses; in fact, I’m quite grateful to them for providing me with so many good books over the years. I hope they make the necessary changes to succeed, but until they do, I’d rather go it alone.
3) To succeed, it is critical that we acknowledge and embrace these changes.
This is why I focus so much on issues that can be so controversial. Change can be frightening, but I think that it’s important that we engage in an open, honest, and critical discussion about what’s going on. Doing this will help us to adapt to the new world and take advantage of its many opportunities.
4) Writers and readers are more empowered than ever before.
This excites me more than just about anything else. If I want to read a quirky science fiction story that most people would find strange and bizarre, I can find it. I don’t have to rely on tastemakers to tell me what is literature and what is crap; I can decide for myself. And frankly, for someone who loves science fiction as much as I do, that’s quite liberating.
Perhaps this is why I come across as antagonistic of traditional publishing sometimes: I tend to believe that they’re under-serving the science fiction readership. But if I am upset, it’s more with the top-down corporate system than any house in particular. I love what Tor, Baen, Pyr, and Night Shade Books are doing, and will keep reading their titles as long as they’re still around. I just wish they’d put out more of them, and at lower prices.
5) The future is bright.
There’s a lot of opportunity for creative types right now–not just writers, but illustrators, game designers, programmers, and a host of others. That’s why I don’t buy into the doom and gloom arguments, and perhaps I can be a bit overzealous about it at times. However, if I had to err, I would rather be an overzealous optimist than an overzealous pessimist.
Well, this post is getting a little long, so I’d better end it soon and get back to writing. I just want to say that if I come across as a jerk sometimes, it’s not because I’m trying to tear anyone down–quite the opposite. My message to my fellow writers is to not be afraid, but to recognize some of the really cool ways in which things are changing, and what that means for you and your careers.
