Charting Adventures on the Planet of E-book

For me, the way I’ve narrowed down this new world is exactly that: a new world.

Recently, I tried to think of the best example to use as a comparison for the flourishing industry that is Indie Publishing, E-books, and the newfound driven initiative in the writing world to not only be world creators, but entrepreneurs, as well. A slew of ideas arose from my mind’s murky depths for the setting I wanted to paint. My original thought was a battleground or a warzone, the solider running through muddied enemy ground clutching not a rifle or a weapon, but a Kindle, an Ipad, or a Nook. Call me a romantic, but I think after years of gloomy war stories shoved down our throats in the news, I think we need a break from all that. Besides, that’s too brutal for this competition, because there are no enemies on this planet, no one is battling anyone but themselves and time. So, bad example.

My next image was of a jungle or a forest. I saw a forest with the creepy-crawlies, dense outcroppings of vegetation hiding what’s around the next bend, and the buoyant notion that there may be the treasure of a lost civilization hidden somewhere in the form of major success the likes of Amanda Hocking, John Locke or J.A. Konrath. While that example is good, it’s too small of an illustration, even for the idea of the Amazon (the jungle, not the publisher) or the Congo being the true representation of this new arena of writing and E-books.

Because I’m a sci-fi and horror writer (“speculative fiction writer”, if you want), I tend to catch myself daydreaming about unknown planets and what they might contain. And honestly, that is the right frame of mind for this new way of publishing. Imagine the astronauts a hundred years from now landing on a distant planet, only for it to have the same variety of environments that earth has with jungles, deserts, plains and oceans, vast and plentiful. Those brave space explorers never would’ve dreamed of the opportunity and richness that was awaiting them. Naturally, cultivation would have been the next obvious step.

With cultivation comes the creation of tools that are necessary to produce the fruits of your labors. In this new world of storytelling, having good narration, a solid plot, and realistic characters are all still very important – the most important, in fact. But now, there is a business sense that is utilized, a charm for connecting with your readers though gorilla marketing tactics and a street hustle that is worthy of a downtown pusher. No one said staking claim in a new world would be easy. The Pilgrims knew it, those astronauts will know it, and if you venture into this new world, you will know it too.

My first brush with self-publishing came around the same time "Y2K" was the big buzzword of the moment to strike fear in our forever-credulous society. Twelve years later, we have Fred Camping and The Mayans. Yet, the world continues to spin like a broken record, skipping on the same tired, play-out song, but I digress. Anyway, I was working in construction and had been dabbling on the side in writing with big dreams of instant success. While I was working in an office building one week, I happened to spy a book being displayed on one of the office dweller’s desks. If memory serves correctly, I believe the cover showed two scuba divers fighting a giant squid in an underwater cave.

My heart soared. I couldn’t believe I had the unbelievable luck to run into a real published author. The questions raced through my mind, trying to figure out how I could strike up a conversation, or even a passing comment to get a better understanding of how he did it. When the moment finally came, what was his answer? “Oh that?” he said, turning to the displayed book. “I self-published it, so, you know, I just went through a vanity press.” A dismissive hand wave quickly followed.

Today, it’s a completely different ballgame.

Something else I remember hearing around that same timeframe, and for quite a while beyond it, was that you should never expect to get rich in writing. “If you think you can be rich in writing, you’re in the wrong business,” was a popular catch phrase in publishing circles. While that is still true to a degree, we are going in the opposite direction of that belief system now. The possibility is there and within reach for all of us. Yes, a lot of hard work and dedication are needed, and that still won’t guarantee success or readers right away, but the tables are turning. This will probably come off as a broken record statement in itself, but when the supporters of self-publishing encourage you to get your name out there, work hard, network and, like mentioned earlier, write addictive, page-turning books, they are correct. Those are truly the essentials of this adventure.

This is a rapidly growing industry for new writers to celebrate and push their work. This is your time to shine, so if you are bringing something to this party, don’t bring a Ziploc bag with half-eaten Cheez-its. Be the star: bring a keg of beer, bring fine wine, bring the hip tunes that will kick the party into the next level, one that will go down in the record books. Bring your A-game, is what I’m trying to say. Don’t go into this half-assed without some modicum of professionalism. This is your face to the world. Remember that. Do you want to go in looking like Helen of Troy, having a face that could launch a thousand ships (or in this case, fans clambering for your book), or do you want to come into the game looking like you just went five rounds with Mike Tyson (figuratively speaking, of course)? This is your work, your baby, your love, and the amount of business-like professionalism you put into it for the reader will only spell more success for you and will ultimately reflect how truly serious you are about this. It’ll show how bad you want it because you’re not fooling around. You want it. Now prove it.

If you were going to explore a place you’ve never been before, wouldn’t you bring the tools and, possibly, a guide to help you navigate through it? We’re not talking about Paris or Hong Kong here, either. If you were able to go trekking into the jungle, or a desert, wouldn’t you want to go in prepared? Wouldn’t your expedition be that much more enjoyable if you brought professional people along the way to spot the pitfalls and opportunities? Seek out those editors, those graphic designers for your cover, those fellow explorers, and create a marketing map to know where you are going and where you want to be.

The other thing: have fun with it, please. If you went to another country and you had the incredible luck to meet others that were just like you, wouldn’t you want to know what they were doing, how they were doing it, and what tools they were doing it with? And wouldn’t you have a ball doing it, learning new techniques and teaching them what you’ve picked up along the way? Of course you would! Online networking with Twitter and other outlets allows you to learn of the ways others found success and what they might have done wrong. Me personally, the route I’m going is by giving specialized, individual shout outs to those that follow me. Personal props aimed at the individual with a hashtag (the # symbol) WritersHelpingWriters. Go ahead and look it up, I’m dominating that sucker! I do this now, because I can. I have a small group of people following me and at the same time, I can still manage the number. I hope one day I have so many followers and fans that I can’t keep up, but isn’t that everyone’s dream?

Remember this: you are an explorer. You are venturing into an unknown world – unknown to you, anyway – and with any adventure into uncharted territory, you’d be smart to be prepared and ready. So understand what you are getting yourself into, where the pitfalls lie, and where to look for aid, understanding, and wisdom.

That is what will make this more than an adventure. It will make it an odyssey.