Publishing etc...

[drksideofthemoon]

With all the talk of people submitting work to online publishers, it leads me to ask the question, am I the only one here who has no real interest in becoming published?

 

[Liar]

Yer not.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Yer not.

Glad I'm not the only one...

 

[starrkers]

Concept had never occurred to me till I saw this board.

 

[damppanties]

Concept had never occurred to me till I saw this board.

And now that you have?

 

[jomar]

With all the talk of people submitting work to online publishers, it leads me to ask the question, am I the only one here who has no real interest in becoming published?

Why not if you can make a little extra (Or do I recall you mentioning that's not an issue in another thread). Might it just be fun to see what happens?

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Why not if you can make a little extra (Or do I recall you mentioning that's not an issue in another thread). Might it just be fun to see what happens?

No, making money is not an issue...It seems like a lot of work to go through to just have a very few readers look at my work.

 

[jomar]

No, making money is not an issue...It seems like a lot of work to go through to just have a very few readers look at my work.

I don't know what all is involved in getting it published, but it looks like your stories are well received, so.... Maybe I'm approaching it from the opposite end. I'm writing a story that seems to keep expanding, and my thoughts are 'If I'm putting this much into it, maybe I should see if it's publishable.' If I can get through it , that is.

 

[jomar]

Concept had never occurred to me till I saw this board.

I had no idea that e-books were so big. At least it seems that way looking at what people here have done.

Did I see that you got published starrkers, or am I mistaken.

 

[glynndah]

No. I send them out into the ether and let them float free. I delete them from my computer and usually don't even check on them after that first heady week of submission.

 

[starrkers]

I had no idea that e-books were so big. At least it seems that way looking at what people here have done.

Did I see that you got published starrkers, or am I mistaken.

Me? Hardly. Haven't written enough, well enough or long enough for that caper. Not even sure I want to take that route (though my SO is keen )

 

[drksideofthemoon]

I don't know what all is involved in getting it published, but it looks like your stories are well received, so.... Maybe I'm approaching it from the opposite end. I'm writing a story that seems to keep expanding, and my thoughts are 'If I'm putting this much into it, maybe I should see if it's publishable.' If I can get through it , that is.

I know many of the literary elite on this site will disagree with me but, the fact that your work has been submitted and put online at this site means that you are published. Whether you want to go further and become commercially published is something totally different.

 

[gauchecritic]

I know many of the literary elite on this site will disagree with me but, the fact that your work has been submitted and put online at this site means that you are published. Whether you want to go further and become commercially published is something totally different.

Published is having someone other than your SO/friends having read it. Publish means: to make public.

Not many places are as public as the interweb.

 

[Chantilyvamp]

I dont write anything to get it published and was quite shocked lit even accepted my stories/poems.

However, I damn sure am not turning down money if someone happens across any of my stuff and decides it might be appropriate.

(Which I find highly unlikely as I need to seriously find an editor again because as my coursework shows I'm shit at common grammar or at least English grammar and they get highly pissy when you spell American in my Uni classes!)

 

[impressive]

With all the talk of people submitting work to online publishers, it leads me to ask the question, am I the only one here who has no real interest in becoming published?

I wasn't interested initially, either. But I realized that if my life was going to take the path I desired, I'd needed to find a way to independently support myself. The bit of web work I do/did barely supported my coffee & sex toy habit.

So, I applied the adage: Find something you love to do, and then find a way to get paid to do it.

I now find myself interested in other aspects of the business & can foresee a time when I add "publisher" to my list of labels. I'll continue to write, though. It's part of me now.

 

[S-Des]

With all the talk of people submitting work to online publishers, it leads me to ask the question, am I the only one here who has no real interest in becoming published?

Nope.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

I wasn't interested initially, either. But I realized that if my life was going to take the path I desired, I'd needed to find a way to independently support myself. The bit of web work I do/did barely supported my coffee & sex toy habit.

So, I applied the adage: Find something you love to do, and then find a way to get paid to do it.

I now find myself interested in other aspects of the business & can foresee a time when I add "publisher" to my list of labels. I'll continue to write, though. It's part of me now.

Coffee and sex toy habit...early morning coffee spew...LOL...

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I wasn't interested initially, either. But I realized that if my life was going to take the path I desired, I'd needed to find a way to independently support myself. The bit of web work I do/did barely supported my coffee & sex toy habit.

So, I applied the adage: Find something you love to do, and then find a way to get paid to do it.

I now find myself interested in other aspects of the business & can foresee a time when I add "publisher" to my list of labels. I'll continue to write, though. It's part of me now.

I can't see supporting myself with epublishing. Maybe people do it... but I think, just like in print publishing, it's probably rare to make a ton of money in the business. Publishing, though... rather than writing... I could see how you could make money. BUT there are soooo many upstart epublishers out there trying to get on the bandwagon. There are some that take off like rockets and some that fizzle and die... you just never know. A lot of it is, frankly, luck.

And there are aspects of e-publishing that I had NO idea existed. All the promotion, etc. You wouldn't believe the amount of of time an author spends on promotion (rather than actually writing)... A lot of it is marketing, name recognition, etc.

At the moment, I'm having fun... when it stops being fun, I'll stop doing it.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

And there are aspects of e-publishing that I had NO idea existed. All the promotion, etc. You wouldn't believe the amount of of time an author spends on promotion (rather than actually writing)... A lot of it is marketing, name recognition, etc.

At the moment, I'm having fun... when it stops being fun, I'll stop doing it.

That's probably the one thing I don't have....is time for any of the other stuff...

As long as you are enjoying it, that's all that really matters...

 

[RogueLurker]

I don't know if I'm interested in publishing per se. I've submitted something (and never heard back ) to an anthology, but that was something I stumbled on and thought "why not".

I doubt that what I write is particularly marketable. I prefer short stories - a limited market to be sure - and can't imagine myself ever completing something that is novel length. When I write a story, I have a definite idea of what I want to do with it and when I finish, it's finished. I don't think I could expand it or fluff it out to make a longer piece.

I also tend to write lesbian stories which is another limited market. From what I've heard, a number of e-publishers don't want same sex (female) unless there's a guy involved somehow. And there's only so many lesbian anthologies that make it into print.

So I will write what I like or want and if there happens to be an opportunity or call for submission that I think might be a good match, I'll submit. But I'm not writing to publish or directing what I write to "sell" to a market. If something gets picked up - I'll be happy.

 

[impressive]

I can't see supporting myself with epublishing. Maybe people do it... but I think, just like in print publishing, it's probably rare to make a ton of money in the business.

I crunched the numbers once -- and determined that you'd need roughly 700 eBooks (novella-length) in circulation at any one time in order to earn a livable wage. That's based on decent first 3 month sales & new releases on a regular basis to keep your name "out there."

Publishing, though... rather than writing... I could see how you could make money. BUT there are soooo many upstart epublishers out there trying to get on the bandwagon. There are some that take off like rockets and some that fizzle and die... you just never know. A lot of it is, frankly, luck.

There are a lot of ePublishers that don't even go to the trouble/expense of getting ISBNs for their contracted works, which puts a damper on 3rd party distribution (FictionWise, etc.). I won't submit to an ePub that does not have the ability/inclination to take its best sellers to print, either.

And there are aspects of e-publishing that I had NO idea existed. All the promotion, etc. You wouldn't believe the amount of of time an author spends on promotion (rather than actually writing)... A lot of it is marketing, name recognition, etc.

Promo is a huge time sink, especially at first (before you get a feel for what's working). At lot of the chats, Yahoo!Groups, MySpace stuff, is just authors trying to sell to other authors (and a few readers hoping to score a freebie). IOW, largely a waste of time from a selling standpoint.

Reviews and interviews are good publicity. Spending 30 minutes a day surfing industry & reader blogs ... and commenting when so moved ... does more for name recognition than anything I've yet encountered. Entering writing contests is also terrific promo (and you have something to show for it -- something, perhaps, that you can sell -- when finished).

RSS feeds are big, too. They make you show up better in search engines.

Okay, I'm soapboxing now. Time to get back to work ...

 

[rgraham666]

Thanks for the tips, imp.

As far as making a livable amount of money goes, I don't think that will be too hard. I've been living on about $8,000 Cdn for a decade now. Not hard, I hope to beat that.

 

[English Lady]

I crunched the numbers once -- and determined that you'd need roughly 700 eBooks (novella-length) in circulation at any one time in order to earn a livable wage. That's based on decent first 3 month sales & new releases on a regular basis to keep your name "out there."

There are a lot of ePublishers that don't even go to the trouble/expense of getting ISBNs for their contracted works, which puts a damper on 3rd party distribution (FictionWise, etc.). I won't submit to an ePub that does not have the ability/inclination to take its best sellers to print, either.


Promo is a huge time sink, especially at first (before you get a feel for what's working). At lot of the chats, Yahoo!Groups, MySpace stuff, is just authors trying to sell to other authors (and a few readers hoping to score a freebie). IOW, largely a waste of time from a selling standpoint.

Reviews and interviews are good publicity. Spending 30 minutes a day surfing industry & reader blogs ... and commenting when so moved ... does more for name recognition than anything I've yet encountered. Entering writing contests is also terrific promo (and you have something to show for it -- something, perhaps, that you can sell -- when finished).

RSS feeds are big, too. They make you show up better in search engines.

Okay, I'm soapboxing now. Time to get back to work ...

Always thankful for free advice imp, love


Yeah, I'm on the publisher path now and I love it. It's a total thrill and it is hard work, definitely hard work but well worth it.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

BUT there are soooo many upstart epublishers out there trying to get on the bandwagon. There are some that take off like rockets and some that fizzle and die... you just never know. A lot of it is, frankly, luck.

That's the basic problem with E-Publishing. It's rather like the computer manufactures back in the days of the 286 machines. There are suddenly lots of them and more every day. Next year there will be fewer. The year after that the market will have 10 or so.

Then you have to consumers (readers) who have to find them. They leave the marketing to the writers because they don't really have the defined marketplace that the paper publishers do (book stores, grocery stores, etc). I keep hearing that e-publishing is the wave of the future, but that only seems to come from the e-publishers.

 

[rgraham666]

That's the basic problem with E-Publishing. It's rather like the computer manufactures back in the days of the 286 machines. There are suddenly lots of them and more every day. Next year there will be fewer. The year after that the market will have 10 or so.

Then you have to consumers (readers) who have to find them. They leave the marketing to the writers because they don't really have the defined marketplace that the paper publishers do (book stores, grocery stores, etc). I keep hearing that e-publishing is the wave of the future, but that only seems to come from the e-publishers.

It is. But the future is somewhat in the future now.

I believe it's going to depend on places like Fictionwise or Amazon. Third party sites that people can go to to shop for e-books.

It's also going to depend on decent e-readers, devices small enough and light enough to go anywhere, so you can read on a plane, in the tub etc.

They're also going to require a widely used method of payment, some sort of e-cash. None of the other methods of payment quite cut it these days. Credit cards are too expensive. Things like PayPal are of limited usage.

But the day of e-pblishing will come.