I was on ABC news this week and wouldn't have known if not for Twitter. Elisa Lorello, author of Faking It and Ordinary World, tweeted that each of us were featured, she in the print article, me in the video clip. The footage was part of an interview I'd done with ABC last fall.
When I went to thank Elisa for alerting me to this link, she said she'd heard about it from R.J. Keller, author of Waiting For Spring. R.J. Keller told me she heard about it from a Facebook friend. And so it goes on the Internet: one thing leads to another which leads to another, and then another.
This was the title of the article: EBooks: Could You Be the Next Self-Published Star? I'm not fond of titles posed as questions, but I loved the phrase "go rogue" in the subtitle: With New Publishing Platforms, Authors Skip Traditional Publishers and Go Rogue It makes it sound so dramatic. Really, all writers want is to create stories, have people read them, and get paid for it. But if we have to storm the castle to accomplish this, that's what we'll do. ;-)
20 comments:
You and Elisa are both pioneers in this brave new indie world. You deserve the kudos.
Karen, They're wrong, wrong, wrong! You're not a self-pubbed star.
You're a self-pubbed star AND an abc-tv star AND a twitter celeb!
You multi-tasker, you!
Congratulations!
Anne and Ruth--thanks to both of you! One of these days I'm going to have my kids read all these lovely comments and maybe they'll have a new respect for me.
To Karen's kids, not only is your mum a star, but she can write a lot better than those bozos who write the ABC news website. Their article looks like it was thrown together in a couple of minutes. It is difficult to follow and was clearly not edited. They weaken their point by the poor standard of their writing. At least we self published authors try to maintain standards on the web :)
As they say in my favorite movie, “Have fun storming the castle!”
Hi,Karen!
I loved this interview...you were great in it and it was so fun to see you live!! I am wondering why they held the story for so long....
I just got a copy of Favorite and am looking forward to digging in:)
Jools Sinclair
44
Yep, that phrase is fitting -- you went rogue! I'm glad that you and so many other writers are self-pubbing, stars or not. Keep 'em coming!
Christopher, I love a compliment mixed with righteous indignation. I find myself mentally editing professional media as well. There are so many good editors out there that it makes me think they're skimping on staff (or else the staff is overworked). Quality really does matter and I hope news standards in general aren't slipping.
PV Lundqvist, that's one of my favorite movies too!
Jools, I hope you like Favorite. Thanks for buying and reading it. I bought your new book, 44, but I may not get to it for some time because my TBR pile is ginormous. Hopefully soon!
Bill B.- Always a pleasure to hear from you. :-) If you knew me in person, you'd never think I was capable of going rogue. My Internet persona is much more interesting than my real world self.
Congrats, Karen, on being one of the rogue rockstars of self-publishing. When I was contemplating putting my book up on amazon last year, I emailed you for some advice. Mind you, I was a complete stranger and had no idea if you would respond. You were kind enough to reply with some great tips and encouragement. Since then, I have watched your career take off and am so happy for you.
"And so it goes on the Internet: one thing leads to another which leads to another, and then another."
Which is what is so awesome about it. I think we could all write long blog posts about the things that are wrong with the internet as well, but that part rocks.
Hi Karen! I remember our email exchange very well. I like your new cover.
R.J. Keller--I agree, that part rocks. :-)
"Really, all writers want is to create stories, have people read them, and get paid for it."
Yep.
And if, as in my case, you didn't want to waste time going through the query process, the agent agreement, the sale to a publishing house, the manuscript rewrites to satisfy an editor, endure the decision on the cover art as determined soley by the publisher & the endless wait for publication (which could be never), & the whole advance - royalty & return stuff - you go 'rogue'. At least now, compared to 2 years ago, the work isn't automatically dismissed as junk. Remember the warnings that self publishing was the kiss of death - something to keep secret if you ever 'get serious' about pursuing an agent or being 'really' published?
I figure I'd still be waiting around - instead of seeing the monthly electronic fund transfers. Gotta like the EFTs.
Wonderful Karen, we all needed to hear that! : )
Glad you like the new cover. :)
But David (aka JaxPop), you don't wan to miss out on the whole query/rejection process. It builds character! I have way more character than I used to have...
Glad my words resonated, Sheri!
Karen, I really do.
Congratulations! You have truly made the big time, and it took a lot of hard work but I bet you're thrilled with the results now. :-)
I'm not there yet, not even close, but your example is inspiring to us lowly newbies in the Kindle world.
My book sold 23 copies in its first month and a few so far this month. The result has been very pleasing for me, and it's given my modern ghost story One More Day some good mentions on Amazon's website. It's very good for my ego, but not much in the way of money as of yet.
But I figure eventually the word of mouth will come around and many more people will discover my book.
Thank you also for your previous post about self promo suggestions for newbie authors!
I'll keep on readin' 'em if you keep writin' 'em!
Best,
Nick
One More Day
It's true that sheer desperation may have pushed you (and other indie authors to it)--fed up-ness with the industry, a fervent desire to get your books to readers. But I think, as the comments suggest, that you deserve recognition for the pioneer aspect, too. A lot of writers facing the same market conditions would have given up. You went out there and blazed new territory and it's an inspiration to me and many others.
Yaw, Karen! What Jenny said! Also, thanks again!
Jools
44
Jenny, you are too much! Your comment made me smile.
And Jools, you are very welcome, (for whatever it is you're thanking me for). :)
To Nick, author of One More Day--I think 23 copies the first month is a good start. I hope you sell a million more!
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