How does DIY publishing pay for research and development? This is the question posed by Porter Anderson over on Jane Friedman's blog this week, and I find it fascinating on many levels. The general idea of the article - and I do recommend reading it all - can be...
The Business and the Art
I think we all know that there's two halves to making a living as an author: the business and the art. The art, of course, is the basic skill of writing; the forging of narrative out of raw inspiration, which takes years of practice to truly master. The business,...
The Nature of a New Medium
Something quite interesting popped up on my Twitter feed today - an article from Writer Unboxed on the recent brouhaha over some Things That Were Said by a contingent of professionals connected to the traditional publishing industry. The full summary there is quite...
What Makes a Good Blurb?
Strange but true: it's entirely possible for an author to write a fantastic book, but when it comes to the blurb, something goes very wrong and they can't quite make it pop like it should. Is this a defect? A quirk of the art? No, something far more simple - creative...
Indie Authors and the Problem of Piracy
In mainstream publishing, there is a definite worry that piracy is looming problem that must be guarded against and ultimately defeated. They fear the so-called 'Napster-ization' of their industry, similar to what happened to the music industry and the movie industry...