It's Time to Break Out!

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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By Rebecca
Forster</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Three years ago I took the plunge and left traditional
publishing. It felt like walking off a cliff. Gone were the editors, designers,
agents, and booksellers. It was me, my words, and my computer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I was isolated, but boy was I
wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There is a diverse community ready, willing, and able to
help indie authors publish their books. Early on, though, I found authors were
mostly talking to authors. For all of us the challenge wasn’t writing, it was
figuring out where we fit into this new publishing paradigm. How would we get
noticed? Who would read our books? Would our work be considered lesser because
we published independently? The answers, initially, were not in the author’s
favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>It was when I read an
article about Smashwords, a digital publishing house run by Mark Coker, that I
was inspired to move forward boldly. With his encouragement, I believed the
best was yet to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark is a standard bearer for the democratization of creativity.
He believes that everyone should have the opportunity to publish their book if
they have the courage to write it. The last few years have seen Smashwords grow
to a major force in a vital and ever-changing, industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Recently, though, an even more
encouraging and exciting layer was added to the indie experience. Apple
launched a unique section in iBookstore called Breakout Books featuring indie
authors. They launched as only Apple can: hugely, brightly, and proudly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This move was hailed by Smashwords as unprecedented, and the
New York Times equated Apple’s Breakout Book feature to ‘front of the store’
space in brick and mortar stores. I was thrilled that Hostile Witness was
chosen to be part of launch, but also realized that this new feature signaled a
change in the psyche of the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>Writers helped one another, innovators like Mark Coker actually admired
us, and now iBookstore was wrapping our work up in ribbons and bows and
presenting it to the reading public without apology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What does this mean for you, the author? It means you have
true friends in high places to champion, encourage, and promote your work.
Don’t hesitate a moment longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> 
</span>Start the journey with these five steps:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">    </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Write the
best book you can</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">    </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Educate
yourself about the business (technical and creative)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">    </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Reach out
to individual authors and online groups respectfully </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">    </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Reciprocate
when you have information to share</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">    </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Support
indie writers. Read and analyze their work</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Be bold. Be brave. Break out –
with a little help from your friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Find Breakout Books here: <a href="http://itunes.com/BreakoutBooks"... style="mso-bidi-font-family: Courier;">http://iTunes.com/BreakoutBooks</s... style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Courier; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">NY Times on Apple’s Breakout Books<span style="color: #548dd4;">:
<a href="http://nyti.ms/XZGKhh"><span style="color: #548dd4;">http://nyti.ms/XZGKhh</span><...
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark Coker on Breakout Books: <a href="http://bit.ly/XtaZNK">http://...
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Hostile Witness on iBooks: <a href="http://bit.ly/W4l5Hf">http://...
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