Back in 2010, when I was first contemplating the idea of writing and self-publishing novels, two bloggers were most influential in prompting me to take the plunge.
One was Robin Sullivan, wife of bestselling fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan. Robin now runs Ridan Publishing, a highly successful small independent press that she initially founded just to publish her husband’s work. At the time, she maintained an invaluable blog, Write To Publish. Though she’s stopped posting there for some time, I still keep it listed on my blogroll, because its archive of posts are a treasure trove of invaluable information on indie publishing.
Bestselling indie author Joe Konrath
The other blogger most influential on me was a feisty, curmudgeonly author named Joe Konrath. On his blog, operating since 2005, he has chronicled his colorful odyssey through the world of publishing, first traditional, then “indie.” After years scraping out a bare-bones income through traditional publishing (despite prodigious output and effort), Joe eventually got fed up with the whole industry and, somewhere around 2008, struck out on the DIY path. He became an early pioneer of self-publishing ebooks, and — as his sales began to skyrocket — a fire-breathing evangelist for the “indie” path. Soon, he was proselytizing relentlessly about self-publishing and regularly thumping traditional publishers for what he thought was outrageously unfair treatment of authors. Joe openly shared his sales numbers, the results of his various experiments, new information and ideas, and his irrepressible enthusiasm as a writer and indie publisher. He has inspired and informed countless authors, many of whom (like me) credit him with launching them to career success.
Today, Joe reports that, as of January, he passed the incredible milestone of having sold over one million ebooks. In the post, “How to Sell Ebooks,” Joe also summarizes what his years of experience have taught him about what kind of marketing and promotion works, and what doesn’t, in this new digital era.
Joe’s commentary underscores much of what I’ve previously posted here, but it adds a few new things for our consideration. If you’re a writer, or if you just want to know what is happening in publishing these days, you owe it to yourself to take a look.
So, a big, public “congratulations” goes out to Joe Konrath for his remarkable achievement. For he’s the very model of a modern “vigilante author.”
Photo (c) by Debbie Scott
