Colorado is entering what I call the Teasin' Season. We have two of those. People—who don't live in Colorado—often refer to them as Spring and Fall. Right now we're getting teased from summer into winter. We're probably looking at our first freeze next week, but we've enjoyed many Thanksgivings in short sleeves. Looking for all four seasons in one day? Check out Colorado.
I love Teasin' Seasons. Change holds promise. An opportunity to start with a clean slate. I like Mondays for the same reason, call me crazy.
The changes in publishing are almost overwhelming. In a weird way, I've been kind of glad to not be personally involved. At least I'm not personally involved at this minute. I'll be happy to figure out the lay of the land when I'm actually walking on it, ya know? Why get all nuts over something I have no control over? I don't have a dog in the fight . . . today.
Is publishing teasing into another season? Probably. But no one knows for sure what that season is going to look like. I sort of think it's going to be fantastic. A mixture of traditional and alternative. Something for everyone.
And parity. More informed people than yours truly are the ones to look to for information on this part of the change, but that doesn't mean I can't feel it in the wings.
What we're going through now is the shake-out. The leaves falling to make way for new buds.
Some of those buds won't open. To me, those are the people who haven't learned the craft, who haven't paid their dues. People (I can't quite call them writers) who have shifted from vanity press to the electronic options. They'll figure out they need to invest more time, or they'll move on.
Is it an accident I'm using the analogy of budding trees to the e-book industry? I wish I could say not, I figured it out a split second before I asked the question. But I have been called a tree hugger once or twice.
This entire post actually came about because I had the opportunity to read what I'm calling the E-ARC for a book scheduled to be available in November. This author has not yet been published, but she's paid her dues and studied her craft . . . and made the decision to take control of her own destiny. I'll be talking about her a little more as we get near the release date, but make a note to be looking for Widow's Row by Lala Corriere online next month.
CR: The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver.
It's all better with friends.
Peg, I wish you could've been at the panel I hosted last night as part of the Writing Matters series! It was called "Brave New World: Publishing a Book in 2010 & Beyond" and publishers, agents, and editors all weighed in with such wisdom...One of the things they said is exactly the topic of this post, that change is clearly in the air, but we just don't know how it's going to shake down yet.
ReplyDeleteMyself, I am still hoping to be part of the traditional route--plus a hefty dollop of new school, internet marketing--with an emphasis on bookstores (independent, of course) and getting out there and meeting readers. Maybe it's the new-old school approach--best of both worlds?
As for your upcoming guest, I'm very excited. Karen McQuestion did what you're hinting at to great, great success. It's nice to know that if traditional doesn't pan out--and you *have* paid your dues, put those hours/years in, trudged uphill both ways, etc.--well, there are ways of getting your work into the hands of readers.