Publishing Envy

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood.  I'd type a little faster. ~Isaac Asimov

The Indie Art Revolution is not just for visual artists. We are seeing the crossover into almost all forms of art. The publishing empires have held sway over the world of books for the last two hundred years. The only way you got seen was through a publisher. They held all the keys to author visibility. Not any more. Read this recent article in the Los Angeles Times about well known authors embracing a new paradigm of DIY. Writers are bypassing the traditional route to bookstore shelves and self-publishing their works online.

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BOOK PUBLISHERS ROLE AS GATEKEEPERS SHRINK

By Alex Pham

Joe Konrath can't wait for his books to go out of print.

When that happens, the 40-year-old crime novelist plans to reclaim the copyrights from his publisher, Hyperion Books, and self-publish them on Amazon.com, Apple Inc.'s iBooks and other online outlets. That way he'll be able to collect 70% of the sale price, compared with the 6% to 18% he receives from Hyperion.As for future novels, Konrath plans to self-publish all of them in digital form without having to leave his house in Schaumburg, Ill."I doubt I'll ever have another traditional print deal," said the author of "Whiskey Sour," "Bloody Mary" and other titles. "I can earn more money on my own."More...