C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

02/22/2011 • 4:59 AM 5

Paper book nostalgia

Today I passed another dead bookstore. It seemed fitting that above the “For Lease” sign, the old sign advertised that it was a “Shoppe.”

I’ll miss bookstores and paper books. Oh, sure, you’ll still be able to get them if you’re willing to pay more, but in general? Bookstores will be coffee stores, merchandise stores and ultra-specialty stores.

Take a last look back here.

FYI: in England, 50 pubs (the beer-swilling kind) close every month. That’s mostly because they’re non-smoking now and the population moved on to drinking wine at home.

Borders and Bookstores (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
Bookstores are disappearing. Time to sell my book collection. (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Bookstore chain Borders, as currently constituted, goes belly-up (shortformblog.com)
“Two or more bookstores…is an indication of actual civilization.” (slog.thestranger.com)

Filed under: Books, bankruptcy, Bookselling, dying bookstores, E-book, publishing

02/11/2011 • 3:52 PM 8

Writers: Self-publishing links

Patricia Benesh writes in the Huffington Post about the five questions you should ask yourself before going the self-publishing route.

At Self-publishing Central there’s a blog post about the journey to publication and finding peer support along the way.

Eoin Purcell‘s blog writes about the state of the traditional publishing industry and how it’s not all bad news. In fact, libraries are trending up.

And Jeff Bennington over at The Writing Bomb writes a compelling post evaluating Lightning Source versus Create Space. Do check that out!

Related Articles

Writers: Are you skeptical about self-publishing? (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Writers Top Ten: Why blogging about publishing is important (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Writers: How to Publish on Smashwords (by Guest blogger Rebecca Senese) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Writers: DIY vs traditional publishing (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, blogs & blogging, Books, DIY, ebooks, self-publishing, Useful writing links, web reviews, Writers, writing tips, Business, Create Space, Create Space versus Lightning Source, Do it yourself, E-book, Huffington Post, Lightning Source, Publish, publishing, Publishing and Printing, self-publishing, writer, writing

02/11/2011 • 5:24 AM 4

Writers: How to Publish on Smashwords (by Guest blogger Rebecca Senese)

Image representing Smashwords as depicted in C...

Image via CrunchBase

Firstly, thanks to Robert for allowing me to do a guest post on his blog. This is my very first guest post and I’m thrilled to “be” here!

This is an exciting time to be a writer, full of opportunity and scary possibilities. It’s easy to become paralyzed. I know I felt like that for some time over the past year as I watched the e-book market explode. I knew I wanted to start putting up my back list of pre-published short stories but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. I decided to jump right in.

One of the sites I decided to post my work on was Smashwords. According to their website, they claim over one billion words published. That’s a lot of typing!

Of course, the very first step is to create a free account at Smashwords. Make sure to print out and read their publishing agreement. This is true for any site you wish to publish on. When you load up your work, you are effectively acting as your own publisher and need to know what kind of agreement you are making with the site that is acting as a distributor. Take the time to print and read the contract before putting anything up. Remember to take responsibility for your own writing career.

Next I downloaded their free style guide. This guide, written by Smashwords founder Mark Coker, provides a step-by-step manual for formatting your book to meet Smashwords’s requirements.

Once you’ve completed the proper formatting, Smashwords takes your single format file, processes it through their Meatgrinder software and outputs it into approximately 10 separate ebook formats, including ePub, PDF, Mobi (Kindle) and RTF among others. There’s no trying to figure out how to do it yourself. Smashwords’ Meatgrinder does it for you!

I created my cover page and formatted my first short story according to the style guide and I was ready. From the top menu, I choose Publish. This took me to the upload area.

Section 1 “Title & Synopsis” included Title, Short Description (400 characters allowed), Long Description (4,000 characters allowed) and Language of Book with a part for adult content.

Section 2 is Price and Sampling. Unlike Amazon, Smashwords allows for free content, readers set the price (with a note that Barnes & Noble no longer accepts books with this option), or with a price set from a minimum of 0.99 cents or up.

Sampling allowed me to choose the amount of my work available for a reader to download to review before buying. I chose 40% as an option, to give readers a good chance to read my work. I have downloaded e-book samples that don’t even go past the table of contents page before the sample is done. I never got a chance to even taste the author’s writing. That’s not a book I would buy. Sampling is the equivalent of being able to pick up a book and crack it open to take a look at the writing. It’s a good idea to give readers a real opportunity to see if they like your work and also to get hooked on your story. Give them enough to really get into it and they’ll want to buy to find out what happened at the end.

Section 3 is Categories which open up to the right, from general categories to more specific subjects.

Section 4 is Tags that I used to tag my e-books.

Section 5 is eBook Formats and the default is set for all of them. I left all the defaults in place. My thinking is that the more formats, the better for a reader to find one that works for her.

Finally, Section 6 Covers and Section 7 Select File of Book to Publish are where I was able to upload my cover and my e-book file. Section 8 is the Publish button. Once I pressed this, my file was uploaded for processing.

My first e-book took about twenty minutes to upload. Others have taken as long as four to five hours. It seems to depend on how many other books are being uploaded at the same time as yours.

After uploading my first ebook, I created my Smashwords author page under My Smashwords tab. Here I uploaded a photo, a small bio and was able to link to my website, blog, Twitter account, Facebook and LinkedIn. On this page, all of my uploaded e-books are listed with a tag cloud at the bottom of the page.

Smashwords includes a Dashboard tab where you can obsessively track your sales or sample downloads. As one writer suggested online, the best thing to do with e-books is to publish and forget it. It’s very tempting to check on the Dashboard every day or every few hours and become disappointed when you aren’t rivaling Amanda Hocking’s sales. The best cure is to keep writing and keep publishing. The more e-books you have available, the more chance you give the readers to find you and like your work. When that happens, they’ll look for more.

That’s my plan as I continue to move forward into this new world of publishing. And I’m sticking to it!

Rebecca M. Senese is a writer of Horror, Science Fiction & Mystery. Now that you’ve read about how she uploaded to Smashwords, complete your research and go by her stuff!

Website: http://www.RebeccaSenese.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RebeccaSenese
LinkedIn: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/RebeccaSenese
Blog: http://RebeccaSenese.wordpress.com

Writers: Action Items and Mega-links! (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
EBookNewser interviews Smashwords’ Mark Coker on e-book pricing, costs (teleread.com)
Smashwords – Ebook Publishing and Distribution Made Easy (smashwords.com)
Writers: The short form is roaring back (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Smashwords renegotiates deals with publishers, ups royalty rates, adopts agency model (teleread.com)
Smashwords year in review, plans for 2011 (teleread.com)
Smashwords 2011 Predictions for Book Publishing (teleread.com)
Smashwords Adds Longer Book Descriptions (smashwords.com)
Smashwords Author Brian S. Pratt to Earn over $100,000 in 2011 (smashwords.com)

Filed under: authors, DIY, ebooks, publishing, self-publishing, Useful writing links, Writers, writing tips, DIY, E-book, Mark Coker, publishing, Rebecca Senese, self-publishing, Smashwords

02/09/2011 • 5:00 AM 4

Writers: Action Items and Mega-links!

Image by ifindkarma via Flickr

Most to-do lists are torture devices that never stop. You make your list too long. You never get to the end of the list and, to assuage your guilt, you start adding things to said list that you were going to do anyway — and possibly couldn’t even have avoided—just so you can cross it off. ~~Put on hat. Took off hat. Sit down. Cogitate~~. ~~Sit on toilet~~. ~~Cogitate more.~~

But, after my recent Writer’s Union of Canada symposium on the state of publishing (the movie poster tag line would read: Brace Yourselves! It’s the End of the Beginning!) it’s time to commit to a plan.

Out of the blue, I have been approached by an agent. Agents are useful for lots of things (more on that in another post) but since that’s all theoretical so far and may come to naught or be complementary…

I’m going ahead with these action items:

1. ~~Switch my browser to Opera.~~ (Already had Chrome and that’s recommended, too. Migrate away from Internet Explorer. IE is inferior. I also like the way Opera remembers my tabs for quicker zipping around.

2. ~~Get Dropbox.~~ Dropbox is a free tool that keeps your data safe across multiple servers (AKA The Cloud.) It uses the same security tech your bank and the military use and the system’s more stable than say, one server in California. I’m replacing my fee-for-service backup software with Dropbox and I’ll be able to access my files across multiple computers. I don’t plan to use it for file sharing with others, though that may prove useful in the future.

3. Learn more about HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets, a formatting language.) Boo, scary.

4. Find a web developer capable of putting up an interactive, standards compliant website for me that looks good, works and can sell stuff. Also get said website hosted through one of these top three services: Rackspace, Dreamhost or Slicehost.

5. Most important: finish the polish on my WIP. By April 15th goddammit. I’ve been dawdling through perfectionistic tendencies. I have other books already written and more ideas for more books. As writers, we have all sorts of ideas but time is trouble. This is a time management, make short-term money working on other people’s long-term plans. I’m grateful for the work, but Ive got to find the balance and get it all done!

6. On completion of #5, simultaneously get new work (short stories, fiction, non-fiction) on website to sell using Smashwords. (I’ve heard one bad review of Smashwords and several good ones. Guest blogger, the fab Rebecca Senese, will be telling us about her Smashwords experience soon.)

7. Research blogging a book, using Create Space and podcasting a book. Blogging a book through a service like Blurb is a cool idea. I’ve heard about it but haven’t explored in detail. Basically, it’s a cheap and fast way to make a book out of the blog content you already have. I joined the Create Space community to hang out and see how it’s working for them. I will do the same with ~~Kindle’s Writer’s Cafe~~ (a good tip I picked up from Mike Plested’s podcast over at Irreverent Muse. Plus, Mike has asked me to join him on a podcast. Can’t wait to do that after I get the majority of this list done.) For podcasting — radio across the Internet for those of you who aren’t on board yet — I have a book and people I can consult about that.

8. Start using Posterous for blog posting. It’s described to me by writer and self-publishing guru Ross Laird as a “pre-built content management application” that posts everywhere you want in a single, elegant click.

9. Explore alternatives to word processors (like VIM). I posted about this a few days ago. What? You missed the bit about dumping your word processor?! (Don’t get annoyed. The link is just below this post.)

10. Live free and love hard, keep rockin’ the mic and the black fedora, keep connected and reach out to give to get, fight The Man, love what’s to love and transcend what’s to hate, make fun of the hopelessly powerful, pity the stupid as long as they aren’t in power, do: do not wish, bring comfort to the afflicted, chocolate every day (non-negotiable), help the poor by not being one of them, embrace the human zoo experience and ~~stop to smell the coffee!~~

Well, I’ve got most of it covered…

And, yes, I have fancy plans and pants to match—

nod to Mr. James James, the man so nice they named him twice.

And if you get that reference, I love you, you big freaky nerd you!

Ahem. This is a good start.

Related Articles

Writers: Dump your preconceptions (and your word processor) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Tip: Save Any File on the Web Directly on Dropbox (shankrila.com)
EBookNewser interviews Smashwords’ Mark Coker on e-book pricing, costs (teleread.com)
Obscurity is a greater threat to writers than piracy (teleread.com)
Smashwords Author Brian S. Pratt to Earn over $100,000 in 2011 (teleread.com)
How To use Dropbox to organize your startup’s documents (revenueloan.com)
How to Automatically Backup your Files with Dropbox (labnol.org)
Use Dropbox to Sync Your Pidgin Profile Across Multiple PCs [Dropbox] (lifehacker.com)
How and Why I Use Dropbox (ducttapemarketing.com)
Unleash the Web with Opera (devicemag.com)
Writers: Are you skeptical about self-publishing? (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Fast and Efficient: Opera (auntiehathaway.blogspot.com)
Writers: Self-publishing resources (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: ebooks, getting it done, publishing, Rant, self-publishing, This Week's Missions, Writers, Writing Conferences, writing tips, action items, Cascading Style Sheets, Dropbox, E-book, publishing strategies, self-publishing plans, Smashwords, Time management, web developers, websites

02/08/2011 • 11:03 PM 3

Writers: The short form is roaring back

Image by gharness via Flickr

I met The Fab Rebecca Senese (I think of her as TFRS at all times) at the Writers’ Union symposium. We went to Tims and went through that excited decompression phase. You know the one. It’s where you are packed with new information to mesh and meld with your old data and you talk fast to get it all out and solidify new, useful neuropathways.

She made an observation that really got my attention:

Amid the hubbub, TFRS said that e-books were a sure opportunity for the short form to make a strong comeback. Got a short flight or need a distraction over lunch? Read a short story or two. If you just want to gulp down a tale but don’t have time for a whole book, enjoy a novella after work.

Makes sense to me. I love short fiction. For instance, it’s a mystery to me why people say they love Ernest Hemingway‘s books, but I do like some of his short stories very much.

Short stories have been relegated to the back of the bus (read: unread literary journals.)

Until recently people have been buying books by weight, so publishers laughed at their puniness and demanded big doorstops they could sell. Length is an issue with paper, constrained as it is by the strictures of the printing press and bookstore manager’s expectations.

Novellas are ignored by many professional critics who often don’t take it seriously because they think the short punch packs less heft behind it. As if we all feel that way all the time.

A good short story takes talent to write and in some ways is a different skill set from the novel. (These critics must be those same twits who scoff at Twitter just because they can’t put together one clever coherent thought in less than 140 characters.)

Now with e-books, the answers to those objections are: Who needs publishers for that? What’s a professional critic and what is this “newspaper” thing you’re babbling about? And lit journals? What’s that? Is all this stuff available online?

Click this link to see Rebecca Senese’s short fiction.

Please do take a look.

Death of a Short Story (writeanything.wordpress.com)
The Art of A Short Story (writeanything.wordpress.com)
The Story Problem: 10 Thoughts on Academia’s Novel Crisis (themillions.com)
The Danger of Writing Flash Fiction (writinghood.com)
Writers: Are you skeptical about self-publishing? (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, blogs & blogging, Books, ebooks, self-publishing, short stories, Twitter, Writers, Arts, book, E-book, Ernest Hemingway, fiction, Literature, Online Writing, Rebecca Senese, self-publishing, short stories, short story, Twitter, writer, Writers Resources

01/27/2011 • 10:46 AM 1

Writers: So-called experts & the digital revolution

Image via Wikipedia

I plan to attend a Writer’s Union of Canada publishing conference in a week. Industry experts will be talking about being a writer in the middle of publishing’s digital revolution. I’m really looking forward to attending, but I’m also prepared to take it all in with the cliched grain of salt.

At a previous publishing conference (different group, not Writer’s Union) I ran into publishers who were very resistant to e-books. Their opinions were so far off I have to wonder if they believed what they were saying. Some said the market shift to e-readers wouldn’t happen from five to ten years!

Meanwhile, I said e-readers would blow up on Christmas morning 2010 and soon got obnoxious and gloated about how right I was. E-reader sales did go crazy. E-book sales are climbing despite the industry’s growing pains.

This is bad news for bookstores. I bought my vast collection of books at bookstores, but no more. I use my library for some reading, but generally, I’m a buyer. I entered a brick and mortar bookstore for the first time since Christmas last week to buy reference books. The cost of paper books is such that I just can’t justify the cost of buying paper novels anymore. That’s what my e-reader is for.

Here’s the kicker: Sony obviously underestimated their own sales. They sold out of e-reader covers before Christmas and Sony won’t even receive new covers to ship until March.

The Writer’s Union conference is next weekend. Yes, I shall report what the experts have to say. I’m hoping this time it lines up with current reality.

A World Without Borders: One Author’s Fear (dailyfinance.com)
E-readers: I told you so (an indulgent post of self-congratulation) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Bookstores are disappearing. Time to sell my book collection. (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Writers: What really happens in book marketing meetings (Plus: What sells books) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
My Day at Digital Book World (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
Publishing: Change or Die (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
E-Book Invasion to Eliminate Brick and Mortar Bookstores? (blogcritics.org)
The wide-spread destruction of UK bookstores, potential lessons (ireaderreview.com)
Writers: Why self-publishing sucks (and what you can do about it) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
What if we view the changes in Publishing as a revolution? (ireaderreview.com)
How long before this indie author takes over the #1 spot? (ireaderreview.com)

Filed under: Books, ebooks, self-publishing, Writing Conferences, Bookselling, bookstores, E-book, e-reader covers, publishing, Publishing and Printing, publishing industry knowledge, publishing predictions, Sony

01/24/2011 • 7:15 AM 5

Publishing: Change or Die

Cover of "Change or Die: The Three Keys t...

Cover via Amazon

I read a fascinating book called Change or Die recently. It documents what makes us change and what makes us resist change. Quoting heart disease and lifestyle specialist Dr. Dean Ornish, “People don’t resist change. They resist being changed.” But change is coming and it’s happening faster than so-called experts predicted just a few months ago.

The premise is that for people to adapt, they must harness the power of community, process and engagement. Leaders must lead by example. Facts and fear don’t change people, even in dire circumstances. The author looks research showing how heart patients and career criminals made real positive change and adapted. Real change is collaborative.

What’s interesting about the changes that are happening to publishing is that, despite a long history to draw on, the changes are still happening to publishers. Publishers are harnessing the awesome power of denial to affirm that they are still on top and will always be on top. We’ve heard this tune before and you know it ends with a swan song.

For instance, in Change or Die, we can see the same pattern with GM. GM insisted their cars were superior despite facts. GM execs even changed the scale of how they measured their success (i.e. number of car defects) to protect their illusions. Throughout, they would not acknowledge the superior reliability of foreign cars. GM had to lose a fortune before they began to see they sucked. Arrogance nearly killed them. Thanks to a huge reality check and huge government checks, they got saved from themselves. (Publishers aren’t too big to fail though, so we’ll see many big publishers disappear or become micro-publishers soon. Well, that’s really already happening.)

Traditional publishers have had market dominance so long, many still think it will last forever. They take the facts—self-publishing and ebooks are going through growing pains—and affirm their eternal dominance. Nevermind all those people buying e-readers! Nevermind the expansion of self-publishing and DIY due to technological changes. The e-book ad POD problems aren’t a sign of their demise. That’s growth. No technology emerges in its final form. There is no final form until we’re extinct.

The market is changing under publishers. They aren’t, on the whole, acting in a proactive way. And yet, we can’t scare them into believing the revolution is here. Facts don’t work, but fear doesn’t, either. (I’m not writing this to scare anybody, though inevitably it will scare some.) The publishers and agents of the traditional structure will survive long-term when they decide these aren’t problems but opportunities.

When they turn from despair for the old models to hope, then they can begin to adapt to new market conditions. Then they can change and thrive. There will be room for everybody. There are more readers reading more (but they are reading in new and fractured media.)

As a writer, I see the opportunity to promote my work. I might sell part of it myself and go the traditional route with other parts. (No, publishers can’t assume they get all the rights anymore. I’ll have to work harder and diversify and they’ll have to accept less or get nothing. Everybody gets to take part in the adaptation process and it won’t all be fun, but how much of business is all fun? Suck it up, writers and publishers.)

As an editor, I see more opportunities to work with diverse authors on their self-published books. I don’t have to live in Toronto anymore to work in Canadian publishing. In fact, where I am isn’t at all relevent. (Loved T.O, but I like raising my kids in a smaller city.)

As a reader in an electronic world, I can get easier access to books I never would have been aware of in my local bookstore. Yes, there’s more curation to do, but there’s always been curation to do. Now I can find out from friends and trusted blogs new stuff to read that isn’t on a top ten list.

Digital books are easier for me to access and eat. Digital books are easier for me to produce. E-books are easier to edit. Oh, look, I’m a curator, too! Look at all those links to check out!

And now you have another book to buy: Change or Die by Alan Deutschman.

Digital publishing should put design above file conversion (radar.oreilly.com)
The Felicities of New Publishing (or Why Traditional Publishers May Someday Die) (seedlingsinstone.blogspot.com)
Two mistakes Publishers keep making (ireaderreview.com)
It’s enough to make me cynical from Whitehall ParaIndustries (whitehall-paraindustries.blogspot.com)
Is Publishing Dead?: Wubbit’s Founder Says No…and Offers Five Key “Edits” That Can Revive the $40-Billion Industry (prweb.com)
Writers: Why self-publishing sucks (and what you can do about it) (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, book reviews, Books, ebooks, Editing, Editors, links, publishing, Rant, self-publishing, Change or Die, changes to publishing, Do it yourself, E-book, Print on demand, Publish, publishers, publishing

12/30/2010 • 8:08 AM 1

E-readers: I told you so (an indulgent post of self-congratulation)

Image via Wikipedia

UPDATE about the Big Picture

The trend is up. The sales of e-books outpaced the expectations of many industry experts through the fall. I have trumpeted the arrival of the e-book future here to the point of pedantry. And yes, I received an e-reader for Christmas. I’m pleased and impressed with my Sony reader. I predicted that e-readers would sweep consumers off their feet on their gift-buying sprees. I’m sure I can now predict the numbers bear me out.

Today I went out in search of a protector for my e-reader. I visited several stores. They were all sold out.

Oh, sure, now it looks obvious. It didn’t look so obvious when I was telling everyone about it last summer.

“Ha!” I say, and “Ha!” again.

Kindle is Amazon’s all-time best-selling product; Kobo and Nooks sell out during holidays (techvibes.com)
Are E-Readers Greener Than Books? (doyourpart.com)
40 million readers are looking for help, are you letting them know you are there? (nancydowd.wordpress.com)
eReaders bought in 2010 might create an ebook explosion (ireaderreview.com)
Santa Brought an eBook Reader! (librarianbrain.wordpress.com)
E-reader can tap library shelves (dispatch.com)
Library shelves open to e-readers (dispatch.com)
5 E-Book Trends That Will Change the Future of Publishing (mashable.com)
How to Upload Your Digital Book to Kindle, by Nancy May (artistmarketingsalon.wordpress.com)

Filed under: Books, ebooks, publishing, Rant, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, book, Christmas, E-book, Nook, Sony, Sony Reader

12/27/2010 • 2:44 PM 0

Techies: Writers need an ebook curation app

A piece of sulfur burning with a blue flame th...

Image via Wikipedia

TiVo figures out what you like and makes television programming suggestions. What if there was an app for that?

A modest proposal for book marketing – The Shatzkin Files

Brilliant idea. Until the robots rise, we’ll have to do it for ourselves.

On blogs like this.

Uh-oh.

Obsolescence, dear fellow-bloggers, smells sulphurous.

12 Days of Blogging 2010: 3 Ebook Tips (blogworld.com)
Curate Your Expertise for Enhanced Value (jeffkorhan.com)
Bookish Techy Week in Review (radar.oreilly.com)

Filed under: ebooks, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, authors, book promotion, E-book

12/19/2010 • 3:38 PM 5

Writers: DIY vs traditional publishing

Figure 1:Conceptual Model of Philosophical Com...

Image via Wikipedia

Last month I posted a piece in appreciation of director Kevin Smith after attending one of his Q&As.

Today I ran across Alex Greenwood’s guest post, Shoot the Gatekeepers on Shelly Kramer’s blog. It reminded me again of that indie spirit I love to see.

I’m not telling anyone to go independent exactly. Going rogue is not for everyone because not everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit.

You can find the knowledge and tech support you need to make it happen, but if you don’t want to do all that in the first place, it’s not for you. I guess that’s why I straddle the line here between traditional publishing and going indie. I talk about how to get an agent and a publisher. I also talk a lot about maintaining control of your work, DIY, and marketing yourself to the world. Authors from both sides of the coin need many of the same skill sets, anyway. For instance, even if you’re a traditionally published author, you’re crazy to depend on your publisher to promote and publicize you much at all and none of those efforts are sustained.

It’s frustrating when one entrenched camp mocks the other for their choices. It’s especially bad when those opinions are not so much informed as they are outmoded dogma. For instance, once again today I ran across writers and editors who fail to make a distinction between vanity publishing and independent publishing. I gritted my teeth. Then I found the link above, took a few deep breaths and smelled the roses of someone who gets it. Thanks for a solid post, Mr. Greenwood. I love the indie spirit.

Here’s the shameless plug: If going alone is for you, I’m an editor so I can help. However, if you’re going the traditional route, I’ve been on the inside, so I appreciate what you’re going through and can help with that, too. (At my business site you’ll find more information on getting editing help for your manuscript or web content.)

Here’s the crux: I love books, no matter how they’re produced. It’s about story! Love of story is at the heart. Contrary to what you’ve heard, the medium is not the message. I care much less about a book’s process to publication than I do its narrative. Sometimes I think people who fetishize paper over electronic books love stories much less than they think they do. They’re worrying too much about how the story go to their brains. Dump that worry. Just get your art out there!

Write your story. Make it the best you can. Send it to agents, publishers or directly to fans. Whatever. Just commit to art and the value of your creativity.