This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology which now constitute the slave of man - if man is not enslaved by it.
~Jonas Salk, Polio slayer
Good morning, and happy Monday. It’s an exciting week, good stuff on tap.
Today I’d like to take two previous posts from other writers and cook them up into a delicious Writer Dad dish. First off, Hunter Nuttall previously discussed the varying values of an Ebook. Second, a few weeks ago, Men With Pens were discussing Real Authors. Harry said, “If you write, you’re a writer. If you have a blog, consider yourself published. If you create an ebook, you’re an author.”
Harry, you’re dead on.
Though I know it seems like we’re already drowning in a sea of Ebooks, we are really only at the foot of the mountain, eyes turned skyward, searching for a peak that, at present, is only a suggestion. And as the world keeps shifting, traditional publishers will find themselves on the fault lines.
In the middle (dark) ages, information was controlled exclusively by the church. People learned only what they were allowed, and things were generally pretty grim. In 1439, Johanas Gutenberg invented movable type. By doing so, he diverted the traffic of information between the overlords and the masses.
Tomorrow’s history isn’t much different.
The internet took the ordained from our living room, and dropped them in the ring with intelligent men and woman around the globe who had nothing but opinions and an internet connection. The same will happen to publishing.
Here’s the math:
I’ve got a pile of children’s stories sitting on an agent’s desk. They are now on their sixth week of an eight week stay, where at the end, I may not get so much as an email saying, “Thank you, but no.” I do not take this personally. They accept five new clients a year, and they get three-hundred submissions a week.
Best case scenario?
We sign, and the ball starts rolling. I’ll get partnered with an illustrator and the book will go into production. A year later, I’ll see it sitting on an end cap at Barnes and Noble with a jacket price of $16.95. 10% of it mine.
Now before I move to the future, allow me to clearly state. I love traditional books and always will. They will be here forever and I will buy them as long as they are. They are beautiful and romantic and absolutely perfect in design. Even if I’m rejected by the agency’s deafening silence, I have nothing against them or the industry in which their gears must turn.
But I can smell milk when it’s starting to sour.
Okay, back to the future.
We have the internet - the great equalizer, standing stolid against an industry of saber rattling, in a war that’s already over. It makes me think of the battle between Blue-Ray and HD DVD.
Either victor is the last of his tribe.
My kids aren’t going to be carrying around hard media; their world will be digital. They’ll have versions of their favorite books in whatever media boxes we’re all carrying around in another five years (remember, technology years to regular years = dog years to human).
When I was a kid, my sister plowed through every Babysitter’s Club book there was. She loved them. By the time Mia is reading her version of the same, she’ll be carrying her collection around in a digital format, like charms on a bracelet, even if she has a dog eared copy sitting on the shelf at home. It’s difficult to imagine that within a few years of our immediate future, we won’t be seeing digital copies included with every hard purchase.
This goes for all media. It’s simple to do and makes perfect sense. Fox, wisely, already does this with many of their films.
If I want to write what I want to write, then I’ve entered the perfect situation at the perfect time.
I’m sure that at some point, I’ll have books that go the traditional route. I am simply too big a romantic to discard the notion of finding my work pulled lovingly from a shelf, purchased, then traded from one lover to the other, or handed from a mother to her son.
My Grandma used to say, and she was right, “There’s a place for everything, with everything in it’s place.”
When I leave my day job behind, I want to write. Chapter books and picture books; children’s adventures and long winded novels; short essays and long works of engaging non-fiction. Some of these books will lend themselves very well to downloads, some of them would serve better as POD books, sold through a company like Lulu or Amazon.
Yes, the price for the hard product is more if I do it myself, but there is no risk because there is no inventory, and I’m catering to my own audience that I can speak to everyday. To me, that is a remarkable situation that has not been possible before. How often do you think great writers have simply fallen off because they’re either trying to duplicate a prior success or hitch a ride on the perfect ebb of the current market flow.
Now, a writer can build a small but loyal audience who will be happy to see what he or she might pull from their brain next.
I love this model: deliver a new project to a loyal fan base frequently, and keep the creativity dancing.
As far as value, I’ll try to find a price point that balances how involved a project was from conception to delivery, with value to the reader. Some projects might be worth $2, others $20. Right now, I’m toying with the idea of charging $100,000 for my novel, once it’s finally finished. I see it as win-win. I’ll only need to sell a single copy, and I will not be to open to ridicule.
I’m sure someone could afford it, and the guy who does will declare it as genius, just to keep himself from looking like an idiot.
Anyway, this coming Friday, August 15, I’ll be announcing the title and release date of my first project. I’m pretty excited.
Writer Dad
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Emily 08.11.08 at 5:39 am
I’m looking forward to it!!
Chase March 08.11.08 at 7:04 am
It’s a brave new world but I’m a bit of a chicken. I know that the nature of books in changing but I’m not ready to change. I want to read real books and I want to be published traditionally.
Maybe I am just old school, I don’t know. Maybe I am a walking contradiction becuase I blog and post up stories on my website.
But I think you are right. Everything will be available digitally in a few years. But I think traditional books will always be around. They are a comfort and comfortable to so many people. I don’t see that changing.
Congratulations on your latest project! That’s great news.
Tina Kubala 08.11.08 at 7:19 am
I started blogging in order to attract my neglected muse so I could get back to my youthful ambitions of novelist. I didn’t expect I’d fall for blogging. I’m a blogger. I’m published. I’m read. Therefore, I’m a writer. I still think I have a book or two in me, but if I never am published traditionally, it won’t break my heart.
Graham Strong 08.11.08 at 8:02 am
I’ve come to the conclusion that being read doesn’t necessarily affect whether or not you are a writer. Whip off a thousand pages and hide them in the bottom of your closest where nobody will ever see them — and you’re still a writer.
Now being read certainly does affect your measure of success as a writer. But as I recently commented, Paris Hilton is a much more famous writer than I. Does this make her a better writer?
Ultimately, being a writer is a state of mind. Yes, if you write a story and post it on your website, you are a published author. But does it have the same feeling as if you have a short story published in The New Yorker or the Atlantic Monthly?
(BTW, if you said yes, you are a very lucky person — go out a publish some more!)
My bottom line — and something you touched upon — is that your worth as a writer should be measured within you. If that means self-publishing, go for it. If it means writing an Oscar-winning screenplay, go for it. If it means pulling in Stephen King numbers, go for it.
For me, it is making a living at writing, which is why I turned to corporate copywriting. Yes, I’d love to live in Stephen King’s house, but I’m not willing to gamble food on the table for it. One day, when the kids have moved away, that may be a very real pursuit.
But for now, coming down to my office everyday to make a bit of money doing what I love is all the success I need.
~Graham
Harrison McLeod 08.11.08 at 8:56 am
WriterDad: That was an excellent post and I’m going to have to read through it again (still early here in Vegas and no coffee yet) and savor it a bit more.
However, I will say this was my favorite part:
I love this model: deliver a new project to a loyal fan base frequently, and keep the creativity dancing.
Evelyn Lim 08.11.08 at 9:07 am
Great attitude you are having, even while your manuscript sits on your agent’s desk for some weeks already! May things work out - I sure wish you all the best!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..7 Wise Confucius Sayings
Writer Dad 08.11.08 at 9:08 am
Emily: Yay! That’s two people officially looking forward. We can only go up from here.
Chase: Traditional books are far too comforting to leave behind. This new medium should be embraced as an addition rather than a substitution.
Tina: Every time you hit that publish button, you’re published, and having a blog keeps you practicing every day. If you’ve always wanted to do it, get that book out of your head - in whatever format it needs to leave.
Graham: Very well said. King was able to make his living writing the way he loved, despite the literati never taking him seriously. No matter what you write, there will always be someone around to say that it could be done better. Only we know what makes us happy. And once we know, it’s negligent to ourselves not to listen.
Harry: Thank you. It’s nice to see you here.
However, I’m in California, and we share the time zone. It isn’t early.
Harrison McLeod 08.11.08 at 9:13 am
@WD: It is when you’re up half the night from a roommate across the hall who has a nasty cold!
Harrison McLeods last blog post..Cutting Back on Posting Frequency
kittytown 08.11.08 at 10:28 am
I think a lot of the appeal of digital writing is that it is interactive. You can read other bloggers words and then write about them yourself, linking back to the original. In this way nothing digital is ever really definitive. . . the audience becomes a co-author. Can an E-book ever really be “finished,” when its audience will be continually adding their own e-comments?
Digital anything will NEVER have the romanticism of its real-life version. The feeling of somebody putting out an artistic endeavour and you getting to hold the final product in your hands can never be matched by zeroes and ones. Give me an analog book any day . . . something I can bend back the pages of and pour over the words, lie on the ground and repeat passages or make my own notations, with never a worry about battery life.
Besides, that digital crap hurts my eyes. And my head. I can look at a computer screen for 45 minutes tops.
Mia will always have analog books because her curmudgeonly old auntie who still prefers vinyl albums will get them for her.
P.S. when you sent me your stories, I didn’t read a single one on the computer. . . I printed them out to hold in my hands.
Sal 08.11.08 at 11:06 am
Writer Dad,
I can’t wait to see what your project is about. I would love to be the first to review, and I will make sure that when it does come out, it will have it’s proper place on my blog.
I have never thought about having a blog means you are published, but it all makes perfect sense. If it is out there for everyone to read, then it is published. It is funny that publication comes from the latin ‘publicatio’ which means to confiscate. Anyway, yet another great post from an inspiring Dad. By the way, can I call you Dad? : )
Sals last blog post..TV vs. Movie
Al at 7P 08.11.08 at 11:32 am
One of the reasons I’m following Amazon’s Kindle is to see whether it will do to books what iPod/iTunes did to the music industry.
Al at 7Ps last blog post..The Hero with a Thousand Jobs
Vered 08.11.08 at 12:02 pm
Very well said.
I can’t wait for your announcement.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only blogger on the Internet who didn’t start blogging as an outlet for creative writing. I started blogging because my boss asked me to look into blogs as a marketing platform. Once I looked, I fell in love with the medium, and immediately started my own blog. I didn’t even know what I wanted to say - I just knew that I wanted to have a blog.
To me, a blog is about expressing my IDEAS (the writing is less important to me), and interacting with readers, in a way that is just perfect for my busy lifestyle and short attention span. I think writing a book would bore me to death. I really do think some bloggers are not “writers” in the traditional sense - they are perhaps communicators, or connectors, or whatever you’d like to call it.
Vereds last blog post..I Am Watching You
Bamboo Forest 08.11.08 at 12:31 pm
I blog for many reasons. But mostly for world peace.
That being said, blogging is fun. It’s fun to try to become popular in a sea of so many other blogs out there. It requires honing ones writing skills, learning copywriting, and capitalizing on opportunities.
Come to think of it, you really do learn a lot of valuable skills when you run your own blog. It’s an education in of itself.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..The Frightening Truth about Bloggers
Writer Dad 08.11.08 at 12:39 pm
Harry: Touché
KITTYTOWN!! Yes, an Ebook can be an exact digital duplicate of the original analog copy. But you are correct, it will NEVER come close to the feeling of holding a book.
You’re also right that it’s nowhere near as pleasant for our eyes, and I’m glad that Mia has you to keep her from being techno washed by her daddy.
That is very sweet that you printed them out. I’m touched. You still need to tell me if you liked any of them.
Kittytown is sibling kin to Writer Dad. Hopefully, one day we can get her to start a blog of her own. In the meantime, we should all be lucky that her wit has not melted our hard drives.
Sal: Just don’t call me surely. I would love a review. I had not thought about that, but it will be fun and actually gives me an idea for the Friday announcement. Thank you.
Al: I don’t think the Kindle is it, but I do think it’s the closest we’ve come. Honestly, I think it will be something released by Apple in the next year or so. Maybe it won’t be anything different than a Macbook that uses a touchscreen, but I don’t think that Ebooks are missing the mark solely because of the screen. I think readers want a tactile response as well. Imagine turning imaginary pages. It’s right around the corner, and that simple change will help to bridge the gap.
Vered: Thank you for your anticipation. You are correct, blogging is more about ideas than it is writing. My father bought me a book about blogging three years ago. He told me that he thought it was something I should do. My response then was, “What could I possibly have to say that anyone would have any desire to read?” Once I started writing, than I wanted an audience for my practice. As you have seen, it didn’t take too long before the ideas did a leap frog. The writing is what made me register the domain, but the IDEAS are what have enlivened the experience.
Bamboo Forest: I too blog for world domination. It is absolutely an education. I learned more installing Wordpress to my server than I did in high school.
Lance 08.11.08 at 1:31 pm
The Internet really is the great equalizer. And I love it!
Writing is a powerful experience for me. Something I didn’t do that much of for “fun” - until I saw the movie “The Bucket List”. When I really thought about it, writing was on my “bucket list”. And it has been a great ride, and a great learning experience. The learning has not only been the Wordpress kind, but also the “who am I?” kind.
August 15th…I’m waiting in anticipation!
Lances last blog post..5K Race Report - Hills Edition
Marelisa 08.11.08 at 1:39 pm
A lot of people predict that printed books will go the way of the VCR, but I for one love books. I think reading is more of a sensuous experience if you can see the book up on the shelf, hold it, turn the pages, and then put it back. Seth Godin had a very interesting post on his blog where he said that Kindle should come with social media so that people can write comments about what they’re reading, highlight the best parts of books, send parts of the book to their friends with a note attached, and so on. That would be interesting. I’m also looking forward to your announcement
Ellen Wilson 08.11.08 at 1:43 pm
Writer Dad,
Let me know how it goes with the novel. Maybe I’ll do the same with mine. Wouldn’t that be a scream! $100,000. Put that little button on the side.
I’m a romantic, too. I want to see myself in print. Plus, I just like print books better. You can take them to bed, to the john. You can have a relationship with them. It’s not the same with online works. They just don’t seem as cozy.
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..Don’t Cut the Horizon in Two
Sal 08.11.08 at 1:47 pm
@Ellen: I agree. It isn’t as easy to cuddle up with a great laptop? I was thinking about this the other day. I wish they (Microsoft, Dell, etc.) would create a little handheld tablet that could connect to the intranet and download e-books so that you can take them anywhere instead of having to lug around a huge laptop (plus, for a student like me with books online, I don’t have to lug around a text book and highlighter all the teme). That might make them a little more warm and fuzzy.
Sal 08.11.08 at 1:48 pm
@writer dad: I know the feeling, just don’t call me late for dinner. : )
Sals last blog post..TV vs. Movie
Writer Dad 08.11.08 at 2:09 pm
Lance: You’re correct. Nothing will get you to know yourself like writing. All of a sudden your fingers are saying things that you didn’t even know you knew. It is very, very cool.
Marelisa: Regular books aren’t going anywhere. They’ll be around as long as people. But there will also be new alternatives. Seth’s idea is brilliant, and I’m sure one day will be the standard. Thanks for being excited.
Ellen: Few things are as cozy as a book. I love my Mac with an almost unhealthy affection, but I could never call it cozy.
Sal: The ipod of books is coming. It’s just not yet here. And surely, I will never call you late to dinner.
Stacey / CreateaBalance 08.11.08 at 2:10 pm
Thanks for visiting CreateaBalance.com and joining the conversation. I am also looking forward to Friday’s big announcement.
To play on your words “keep the creativity dancing”…..What I love about blogging is the ability to do my own creative dance, send it out to the universe, and then have others (who comment) join my dance. It is an exciting time to be online.
Stacey / CreateaBalances last blog post..I Love You….Your Turn
kittytown 08.11.08 at 3:45 pm
What I meant by there being no definitive version is that if something exists online and you do a search for it, you are bogged down with not just the thing but everything anybody else with internet access wants to say about it. This can’t help but color your perception of the item you were originally looking for. Whereas with an actual book, you have a crisp, clean, edited definitive version…. just as the author intended it. It’s the difference between reading the original version of a book and an annotated copy (muddied up with footnotes and discussion questions). Both ways to consume something have their value, but they are not the same and one should not replace the other completely.
brightboy 08.11.08 at 5:00 pm
Writer Dad,
You are an inspiration. I can’t wait for your announcement.
Watch my finished film here:
http://www.filmaka.com/my_films.php?user_id=17690&film_id=34af0496-b8e8-102b-8633-00301b4506f4&sid=
The quality is kind of shite on the site, but I’m working on getting the HD to come through. You’ll get the jist though.
Love to you and the fam.
brightboy
Writer Dad 08.11.08 at 6:57 pm
Stacy: I agree. I’m excited to be doing what I’m doing right now.
Kittytown: You’re absolutely right. I have a big nose.
Brightboy: Thank you. I’ll watch it tonight.
Robin 08.11.08 at 11:08 pm
Hi there Mr Dad!
I think books will stay around - I loved they way you put it about books being handed down from mother to son.
Some people forget that reading books is a tactile experience - the feel of the paper, the look of the artwork in different light, sitting in a favourite chair underneath a window (usually not possible with a laptop) - and so on - an emotional experience that is more than the information contained.
Robins last blog post..Letting Creativity Just Slip In
Barbara Swafford 08.11.08 at 11:49 pm
Hi Writer Dad,
How great it is for you to have a blog where you can continue writing while you wait, and wait, and wait. I wish you great success with your books, and look forward to your big announcement.
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..NBOTW Authors - Where Are You Now
Alex Fayle 08.12.08 at 1:40 am
My only worry with ebooks is that Amazon through some pretty nasty tactics will become the defacto standard (kind of the way Windows did) without actually being very good for the authors.
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2008/03/victoria-strauss-use-booksurge-or-die.html
Especially since they also control Kindle, which I’ve heard good things about so far.
I for one won’t go digital until I can take an ebook into the bath with me.
Alex Fayles last blog post..Commitment to Growth: Tina Su Interview
James Chartrand - Men with Pens 08.12.08 at 5:07 am
I dropped in to see what was up, and damn, dude! Look at your comment section go!
On a related note, our ebook isn’t in print form. But it followed the same process as a print-published book and also has a registered ISBN number. The only thing that’s lacking is the emotional feel and tactile sense involved in holding a book in your hand.
Writer Dad 08.12.08 at 6:45 am
Robin: Until they get the tactile part figured out, digital will have a slow crawl. If someone can figure that out (and I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it happen sooner rather than later) than we’ll see exponential growth.
Barbara: Yes. I felt like I had to do something to keep myself engaged while waiting. I didn’t want to go crazy.
James: The comment section has been a big surprise for me Really rewarding, and fuel for my fire. That doesn’t surprise me about your book. It seems like you and Harry do everything to the nines.
Dube 08.12.08 at 9:20 pm
This is such a great post. It’s given me inspiration to think outside the traditional box for future projects.
Dubes last blog post..Someone damage your faith? Now you too can be filthy rich
Linda Abbit 08.13.08 at 5:11 pm
Looking forward to your announcement on Friday, WD!
I don’t think I’ll ever give up old-fashioned, hard cover or paperback books when it comes to pleasure reading. Although I am reading more and more blogs these days.
Writer Dad 08.13.08 at 9:31 pm
Dube: Thank you. My ideas are crystalizing further. Please be there tomorrow for sure and Friday if you can.
Linda: Thank you. Me too. I’ll never give up old fashioned books either. I think the two can compliment each other.
Matthew 08.30.08 at 12:01 pm
I have a little love/hate relationship with technology. I love it and have been in IT related jobs for the past five years. I see great opportunities in the Internet. It is the great equalizer.
However, I also love solid tactile things. I just got a old hardcover copy of Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth from Bookmooch.com and I’m so glad to be able to hold a book that has such history in my hands.
Writer Dad 09.07.08 at 2:38 pm
Matthew: I’m with you. I can’t imagine ever being willing to leave the tangible behind. I can’t conceive of a technology that would be worth it.