THE OLD WAY to get published was simple but maddening: you write a book and spend years sending it around
to agents and publishers. It might take years for it to get read by an agent or publisher, might take two years to hit
the stores if it does get purchased, might never get read by anybody, ever. This manual is about a new way to approach
the publishing world by using several new online processes--and
getting readership, feedback, and even
income, immediately while you pursue your career as a writer.
The manual lays out an overall strategy and method for this two-fold approach to publication. A very central point is
an emerging new paradigm in the whole way publishing works:
the primary relationship is not between the writer and agent/publisher, but directly between writer and readers.
Just as mp3 downloads have led to independent musicians supporting themselves without the agonizing search for producers
who keep most of the receipts from their work, writers can use new technology and a growing breed of readers to achieve
the "Thousand True Fans" that can support them. A fan base than can also make their work much more attractive to agents
and publishers.
It's a proven fact that wisely self-publishing (as well as serving readers and listeners online) enhances a prospective
author, and shaves the long odds that writers face in attempting to get contracts with the "literary/industrial complex".
But it won't help most people get there because most writers will never have publishing contracts: we know that going
in. Which makes the other aspect of this approach invaluable: even if you never get signed, your work is not in a
drawer or the mail, it's out there being read! Gaining readers, getting valuable feedback, building your author brand,
constructing support for your overall career...and even generating income.
This manual has a section that explains reasons to use this approach, and how to go about the overall strategy of
building and using readership while lighting up your "constellation" as an author. Followed by sections that introduce
and explain various ways to put your work in front of people: weblit, serials, podcast/audiobooks, ebooks, print books,
even smart phone "apps".
Each section includes detailed "how to" as well as comprehensive lists of links on how to create, where to upload, how
to get reviews and directory listings, how to join communities of other artists using these methods, support forums, and
methods for "monetizing" your email serials, RSS feeds, webnovels, podcasts, and other forms of online publication and
outreach.
The NEW MEDIA APPROACH is a different, contemporary way of advancing your overall career as a writer: helping you to achieve traditional publication while simultaneously creating an avenue to immediate readership with all the rewards of reaching a supportive fan base.
