Today I have returned to tell you this:
The end is nigh.
Well okay, not really. But news of publishing on the web and how hard it is to attract readers to your story just keeps getting worse.
Recently I came across an article from the website Digiday, which is run by a media company (also called Digiday) that covers media industry news. It's called "15 Alarming Stats About Online Publishing." Now, since I'm writing a blog that's (partly) about online publishing, this was naturally of interest to me. And I've got to say, it only got more interesting as I read on.
Today the internet is all about advertising, right? I mean, there are things wedged between the advertisements like videos, news stories, games…but it's mostly advertising. So should I have been surprised by the stat that said "Over 5.3 trillion display ads were served to U.S. users last year"? I mean, I was expecting a lot, but not that many.
Or how about "The top 10 Internet ad sellers control 72 percent of the market"? I mean, jeez. It really is nothing but advertising.
But what does that have to do with publishing on the internet? Well, everything. See, you want to attract readership for your book/short story/article/whatever, right? But how do you do that? How do you distinguish yourself from the ocean of other information out there? ….Advertising? Yeah, that's original. So what is a self-published person to do?
I'll cover that in my next blog post, so if you want to know stay tuned. In the meantime, check out the article to see the other 13 Alarming Facts. And try to have a nice day before the world ends. D:
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Ars Omnia
Hello again.
Today I'm going to talk about a funky little website called Ars Omnia. It was started by a bunch of artsy New Yorkers who wished to "expand the domain of human creativity." Yup.
Basically, they felt that there were a lot of people with unique ideas that weren't getting the attention and support they deserved, and thusly weren't able to be published. So they decided to help out by creating a website that actually bothered to listen to these people instead of writing them off as "non-profitable."
Now, why does that matter? Well, for one thing it can give individuals who normally wouldn't have a chance at being heard…well, a chance to be heard. Always a bonus. And there's also the added benefits of receiving feedback from those who a) actually know what they're talking about, and b) bother to actually give feedback. Huzzah!
But arguably the most important thing here is receiving a chance to be published. Hoo boy, now we're talking. A lot of what Ars Omnia features is unusual and/or experimental writing, which (as previously mentioned) is often considered non-profitable by major publishing companies. Because of this, authors of these kinds of work are often left out in the cold. And that's where Ars Omnia comes in!
Anyway, check it out of you have the time. Right now would be good. *Hint* It's linked above. *Hint*
Today I'm going to talk about a funky little website called Ars Omnia. It was started by a bunch of artsy New Yorkers who wished to "expand the domain of human creativity." Yup.
Basically, they felt that there were a lot of people with unique ideas that weren't getting the attention and support they deserved, and thusly weren't able to be published. So they decided to help out by creating a website that actually bothered to listen to these people instead of writing them off as "non-profitable."
Now, why does that matter? Well, for one thing it can give individuals who normally wouldn't have a chance at being heard…well, a chance to be heard. Always a bonus. And there's also the added benefits of receiving feedback from those who a) actually know what they're talking about, and b) bother to actually give feedback. Huzzah!
But arguably the most important thing here is receiving a chance to be published. Hoo boy, now we're talking. A lot of what Ars Omnia features is unusual and/or experimental writing, which (as previously mentioned) is often considered non-profitable by major publishing companies. Because of this, authors of these kinds of work are often left out in the cold. And that's where Ars Omnia comes in!
Anyway, check it out of you have the time. Right now would be good. *Hint* It's linked above. *Hint*
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Book Country
Hey, me again. Today I'm going to talk a little about self-publishing. More specifically, I'm going to talk about a website called "Book Country."
Penguin Group USA recently launched this site, and its goal is to allow writers of of genre fiction to post their work and receive critiques from fellow writers, as well as self-publish their work by ordering printed copies for a fee. In addition to that, it will also explain how to go about finding an agent, marketing and promoting a book, etc. in order to help new writers to get started.
But no matter how useful that sounds, it also makes for a pretty boring blog post, right? So now that I've got the introduction out of the way, allow me to explain what really caught my interest.
Now, it's not like I know tons about what the publishing industry was like back in the old days or anything, but I was always under the impression that it took a lot of time and effort to get your book published, and you had to battle it out with some crusty old editor who wants you to change everything until it doesn't even look like your book anymore…or something. But this seems like--dare I say it--fun. Well, if you like to write anyway.
I'm honestly glad that more young writers are being given an opportunity to get their work out there, and I hope to be one of them someday. Constructive criticism is the best thing a writer can receive. So when you send me feedback on this blog, be sure to give me some, okay?
Penguin Group USA recently launched this site, and its goal is to allow writers of of genre fiction to post their work and receive critiques from fellow writers, as well as self-publish their work by ordering printed copies for a fee. In addition to that, it will also explain how to go about finding an agent, marketing and promoting a book, etc. in order to help new writers to get started.
But no matter how useful that sounds, it also makes for a pretty boring blog post, right? So now that I've got the introduction out of the way, allow me to explain what really caught my interest.
Now, it's not like I know tons about what the publishing industry was like back in the old days or anything, but I was always under the impression that it took a lot of time and effort to get your book published, and you had to battle it out with some crusty old editor who wants you to change everything until it doesn't even look like your book anymore…or something. But this seems like--dare I say it--fun. Well, if you like to write anyway.
I'm honestly glad that more young writers are being given an opportunity to get their work out there, and I hope to be one of them someday. Constructive criticism is the best thing a writer can receive. So when you send me feedback on this blog, be sure to give me some, okay?
Saturday, September 14, 2013
The Late Arrival
Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog on how publishing has been changing recently. I know that may not sound very exciting to most of you, but for anyone looking to publish their writing (like I am) hopefully this blog can be a source of helpful info.
Check back regularly for posts on how the world of writing and reading has been altering itself to fit the current mass-media trends, and how one person's writing becomes another person's reading.
[Also, for anyone who's curious, the reason my blog got off the ground so late was because I had a weird tech issue concerning Comcast and Google. I have no idea what that was all about, but apparently it's fixed now.]
Thanks for reading!
Check back regularly for posts on how the world of writing and reading has been altering itself to fit the current mass-media trends, and how one person's writing becomes another person's reading.
[Also, for anyone who's curious, the reason my blog got off the ground so late was because I had a weird tech issue concerning Comcast and Google. I have no idea what that was all about, but apparently it's fixed now.]
Thanks for reading!
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