These days, it seems everyone wants to self-publish a book. And that is both a tremendous freedom afforded to all who have the desire, and a scary proposition for a market now flooded with books and no process for quality control. This means a lot of people are publishing books who don’t necessarily know what part editors play in the process of developing a manuscript into a book fit for publication. So it’s […]
There are countless cliches that speak to the idea that beauty is found within, and that the value of what is on the surface is, well, superficial. A facade. “Beauty is only skin deep.” Another old adage points a crooked, arthritic finger from well beyond the grave at those who might say otherwise: “Never judge a book by its cover,” the old crone groans. And yet another speaks from the authoritative stance of a holy book: “Judge not lest […]
The past year has been exhilarating for writers, readers, and independent publishers. On a tidal wave of new e-reader technology and the increasing popularity of Kindles and iPads, the publishing industry—once a staid, tradition-bound sector—is now experiencing the kind of upheaval we’re used to hearing about in music, film, and quantum physics.
Here are some of the year’s biggest stories in independent publishing.
INDIE AUTHORS HIT IT BIG: AMANDA HOCKING MAKES MILLIONS BY SELF-PUBLISHING ON KINDLE
It wasn’t too long ago that the Kindle version of Neal Stephenson’s newest book Reamde had to be replaced. The reason? Customer complaints about errors in spelling, grammar, and formatting. After spending $16.99 to download an e-book, readers were justifiably miffed that it was riddled with mistakes. We imagine this resulted in large numbers of return requests (a customer can “return” a Kindle book, which means it’s deleted from the device’s archive). What we can’t […]
By Mark Febbo with Jane Ryder and Morgana Gallaway
I am a DIY kinda guy, and to quote Lennon/McCartney, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” The “do it yourself” kind of projects I’m speaking of are primarily Jeeps, roofs, landscaping, rainwater harvesting and backyard chickens. Being the creative type, especially as an indie musician, has also put me in the company of artists who are looking for ways to DIY artistic projects. Working […]
She would know. Mary’s debut novel, Angel, was released not so long ago, with Mary acting as both author and publisher.
Text by Benjamin Samuel, Lincoln Michel, and Nadxieli Nieto. Design by Nadxieli Nieto
Set in an Appalachian town in the early 1970s, Angel is the story of a thirteen year-old girl […]
