As those of you watching the digital book revolution know, the world of e-books is changing faster than any of us can comprehend.
I’ve been following the developments for several months now, and want to share the groundbreaking news that’s occurring daily within the publishing industry.
To help keep my friends up to date with all of the changes, I’m introducing a new feature to my blog. I’m calling it Wednesday’s e-Watch (and no, this has nothing to do with my soon-to-be-published novel, Watcher 🙂 ).
In the e-Watch, I’ll recap the latest news in e-publishing, including self-publishing, e-book technologies, and the digital marketplace.
One of the sources I use is Publisher’s Marketplace. I subscribe to the daily Publisher’s Lunch newsletter and pay to have full access to the Publisher’s Marketplace website. That access gives me links to the headlines mentioned in the Lunch newsletter, and I’m constantly amazed at the information I find there. The speed with which the publishing industry is embracing digital is incredible–and lately, there have been major announcements nearly every day. Being able to keep up with at least some of the developments is well worth my subscription fee.
Another source of good information, as you all well know, is blogs.
I follow the blogs of popular indie authors such as Joe Konrath, Barry Eisler, Amanda Hocking, and Zoe Winters. Other important self-publishing blogs I pay attention to are The Creative Penn, Self-Publishing Review, Write to Publish, and E-book Endeavors.
But I’m also reading industry blogs like one I just found through Publisher’s Marketplace called FUTUReBOOK. This European blog on publishing has some eye-opening posts today that give a great snapshot of where the industry is racing at lightning speed.
My blog will be getting a facelift within the next couple weeks, and I’ll be refreshing my blogroll to make it easier for you to check them out.
I hope you all enjoy e-Watch and that it helps you to weather the publishing whirlwind that is upon us. Those writers who pay attention to what’s happening and do their own research will have the best chance of finding a safe harbor for their writing futures.
The storm isn’t coming…it’s here NOW.
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Here’s a couple posts from FUTUReBOOK that take a two-sided look at the state of the industry as it stands today:
Is it the end for publishing – or a new beginning? by Victoria Barnsley – the publisher’s perspective
A brief reaction to Victoria Barnsley’s speech by Nick Harkaway – an author speaks up
In tomorrow’s inauguration of Wednesday’s e-Watch, I’ll recap some of the monumental events in e-publishing that have taken place in recent weeks.
And one last note:
The thing I love about blogging, both reading and writing, is the sharing of information. My research in e-publishing at this point has barely begun, and I’m sure some of you out there who’ve been at it a little longer have your own awesome resources.
PLEASE – for all of us struggling writers – SHARE them. Help us stay informed. Let me know about your favorite blogs and websites that cover e-pub happenings and I’ll be happy to pass the info along to my readers.
The only way any of us will ever be published, whether it’s self or traditional, is by educating ourselves and forging ahead with our eyes wide open.
Now…go write.
I’ve got the first watch.
I’m so glad you’ll be doing this! I’ll be checking in regularly. I read PL and many of the blogs you mention, but you’ve found a number I didn’t know of., like FutureeBook. So I’ll rely on you to do some of the research I don’t have time for.
I’m glad you’ll be doing a re-design. This color scheme is great for dark fantasy, but it’s awfully hard on the older eyeball.
I’ll be posting more bloglinks and other resources in upcoming posts. And as I mentioned, if you have any favorites, please pass them along!
As for the re-design…
I’ve seen a number of blog recommendations to avoid black backgrounds. The blog will be undergoing a bit of a tune-up for now, but won’t be traded in for a new model until later this year. In the meantime, I hope increasing the font size will make it a little easier to read.