Tag Archives: ebooks
Morass no more

Morass no more

The most commonly asked question I have put to me by authors and readers alike is this: “In the world of digital publishing, how does an author prevent their work from sinking into the morass of stuff out there?” I’ve heard it on planes, at conventions, online, in email and at talks. Everyone is afraid […]

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DragonCon and Catching Up

DragonCon and Catching Up

I think I am mostly recovered from DragonCon 2011. It was, as always, a wonderful experience. It’s an overwhelming spectacle, with friends everywhere I look. If it weren’t for the need to sleep, I don’t think I’d ever have seen the inside of my hotel room. Without doubt the high point of the convention was […]

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My Fall Writing Classes

My Fall Writing Classes

Back in college I was training to be a teacher, not a writer. Down through the years, I’ve gotten to be a good writer and I’ve been lucky enough to get to teach classes about writing. I do them all the time at Gencon. At Origins and DragonCon, I team up with Aaron Allston to […]

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Price isn’t the point

Price isn’t the point

Discussions have been raging for a while among self-published authors about ebooks and price points. They break down into three major schools: The Buck Stops Here School. For these folks, 99 cents is the price point. They see a lot of sales of books at that price point, figuring that no one is going to […]

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Abracadabra: Books are Magazines

Abracadabra: Books are Magazines

The Magician stands on stage and invites a volunteer from the audience to lend him something. Not a piece of jewelry, or a dollar bill, but a book. The volunteer—an author—hands him a copy of his latest tome. The Magician places it on a stand and waves a hand at it. “Behold, a book.” He […]

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Swimming Lessons for House Slaves: You can’t make a living swimming

Swimming Lessons for House Slaves: You can’t make a living swimming

One of the myths being purveyed by the seriously entrenched House Slaves—the career House Slaves if you will—is this: “You can’t make a living epublishing.” They’ll cite all sorts of numbers, proving that their income from ebooks is but a paltry fraction of what they make through traditional publishing. To abandon traditional publishing and jumping […]

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When is Crap crap?

When is Crap crap?

In a recent blogpost, J. A. Konrath addressed the fears by some writers that their quality work will sink unnoticed, unloved and (worst of all) unpurchased in the great “Tsunami of crap” resulting from everyone self-publishing. He quite correctly notes that this fear is nonsense and promulgated by house slaves. He suggests that their predictions […]

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