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Publishing Myths Series, Updated
About once a year I try to go back and update my Publishing Myths series. I'm kind of surprised at how well things have held up since 2009. (2011 update) (2014 update)
I've gone through and added a few updates plus rechecked and updated broken links.
There are some major trends I've noticed in the last few years:
<...
3/12/2015 10:50:53 AM
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Publishing Myths Series Revisited (Again)
Way back in 2009, I wrote a series of blog posts on publishing myths, with a quick update in 2011.
Changes in the industry have rendered some of my information out of date, but I'm leaving it up for archival purposes.
The biggest news since then is the continued rise of ebooks and self-publishing. We've also se...
1/21/2014 12:53:41 PM
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Publishng Myths Series, Revisited
It's been a couple of years since I posted the series on Publishing Myths. I had planned to revise the entire series this week, but Work got in the way. Ah, the freelancing life. Hard to say no to work when it comes my way, particularly in this economy. Oh, and it's a cool project, but still sekkrit.
So, what has changed in the last couple of years? Rather a lot, really. Here's a short list:
- Borders is in Chapter 11 (Also, Red Group in
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3/4/2011 2:38:33 PM
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Publishing Myths Part 10: Realistic Expectations, Anyone?
(Update at the bottom.)
After all the ranting about Harlequin Horizons* I did earlier in the
week, I thought it would be a good idea to take a couple of steps back
and talk about expectations.
Through this blog and the SF
conventions I attend I encounter quite a few writers who are either
self-published or vanity-published. Or vanity-pubbed who think they've
self-published. I also meet many people who are with legitimate small
presses. Most of them - thanks ...
11/23/2009 4:30:40 PM
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Publishing Myths, Part 9: Everyone Has to Start Somewhere
(Update at the bottom.)
Yesterday I saw the phrase, "but we everyone has to start somewhere!"
on a forum post. I see that phrase used often in defense of bad or
clueless publishers. Let's take a closer look, shall we?
(Remember, this series is aimed at fiction authors. Nonfiction authors face a different set of rules and challenges.)
Yep, everyone has to start somewhere. Generally, it's when you first
turn on the laptop, dust off the typewriter, ...
10/29/2009 1:59:32 PM
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Publishing Myths: Lies, I Tell You!
(Note: Stupid me, I hit the delete button and lost this entry. Here is is, reproduced. And if you want to see the "cover art," look here. And comments are here.)
Last
night I finally made it to the end of my novel. It's been a long road,
and I wish to thank everyone for their support. I put my heart and soul
into t...
4/1/2009 3:13:02 PM
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Publishing Myths, Part 8: You Can't Tell A Book by its Cover
I know, I've fallen down on the job. I haven't posted since that silly April 1 joke. Time to get back on track. The link that sparked today's entry actually jumped onto my radar screen a couple of weeks ago, but I managed to lose track of it. That's what I get for cleaning my desk, and I'll know better next time. ;-)
Scott Pack, with HarperCollins UK, writes a blog called Me and My Big Mou...
5/22/2009 2:34:00 PM
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Publishing Myths, Part 7: My Publisher Has Distribution!
Book distribution is a sticky topic, and it means different things to different people, apparently, but for the purposes of this post, it means: "how books get to the bookstore." That still matters to most writers as some 80% of sales are still made through bookstores.
Of course, there are niches where nationwide distribution doesn't matter, and that's perfectly fine. But if you want your books in bookstores all over the country, then you need a publisher with distribution.
Places...
3/19/2009 10:04:09 AM
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Publishing Myths, Part 6: If I Could Just Get My Name Out There...
(Update at the bottom.)
It seems that hardly a week goes by that I don't see a post from someone who has just signed with (or just had a book published by) a very small press. The post generally says something along the lines of, "they'll get the book at Amazon, and all I have to do is get my name out there."
I've said this before, and it bears repeating: Your job is not to market your book. Most authors are lousy at marketing. While I've had some marketing exper...
3/2/2009 10:40:01 AM
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Publishing Myths, Part 5: The Publishing Industry is Broken
(Update at the bottom.)
(Before I get started, allow me to express my gratitude to everyone who
has said kind things about this series and spread the word about it via
Twitter. If you're new, please see Part 1
for a disclaimer and background notes. In a nutshell, these are opinion
pieces. While the focus is primarily on fiction authors, there will be
some info - like this article - that others may find interesting.
Enjoy.)...
2/11/2009 4:50:53 PM
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