Today I'm pleased to have another guest here at Dag-Lit Central. Dan O'Brien is presenting his thoughts on the future of independent publishing.
The digital craze that has grasped the minds of potential writers the world over appears to be something more nuanced, more original than at any other point in publishing history. That much is not in dispute. What is fascinating about such an idea, and all ideas that center on what publishing is going to do next, is something more foundational.
What do we mean when we say publishing?
Is there an entity to which we pay homage like the idols of the past (or present)? Or do we mean what is the normative trend in how writers publish their works at this given time? If it is the former, I hope that you can see through my thinly veiled sarcasm and see that it was meant as a jape. I imagine, if I am to correctly collect the collective consciousness of writers united, that we mean to work out the trend that currently afflicts how we seek out the publication of our stories––the great labors of love into which hours, day, weeks, and years are poured.
I see the future of our great collected endeavor doing what it has done since the inception of thought to print: it will continue. There is but a single constant in this vast universe and that is change. Independent publishing will change; hark, it has already changed from the black mark of POD and vanity publishing to something more promising––a participatory jungle of would-be writers swinging about on vines like Burroughs’ brilliant character before Disney turned him into a grunting hippie.
Writers in this climate must examine themselves first: understand what it is about them as individuals that make them worth listening to. When we have overcome the suffocating fear of introspection, the deeper examination of what skills we might deploy to achieve our goals become forefront in our mind. There is much more, but that is the stuff of another book that a business colleague and I are writing.
To sum it up: success comes from within mediated by sound and calculated choices executed toward a clear end. The fine proprietor of this blog was kind enough to allow to rant from a spell, and I have done so, albeit briefly. Here are some tidbits that this writer would like to see you help with:
I have launched a Kickstarter that at this moment is a far cry from being funded. A science fiction and fantasy epic with proper illustrations from a frustrated and brilliant artist is what awaits you, were you of course to extend the most meager of donations.
A Kickstarter Needs Funding
With that, I bid you adieu.
If you wish to learn more about me and my ramblings, search no more.
A psychologist, author, philosopher, freelance editor, and skeptic, Dan O’Brien has published several novels and currently has many in print, including: The End of the World Playlist, Bitten, The Journey, The Ocean and the Hourglass, The Portent, The Path of the Fallen, Book of Seth, and Cerulean Dreams. Follow him on Twitter (@AuthorDanOBrien) or visit his blog at http://thedanobrienproject.blogspot.com.
He has recently started a literary and publishing consulting business to help writers navigate the digital jungle. Find out more about Amalgam: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com/
The Future of Independent Publishing
The digital craze that has grasped the minds of potential writers the world over appears to be something more nuanced, more original than at any other point in publishing history. That much is not in dispute. What is fascinating about such an idea, and all ideas that center on what publishing is going to do next, is something more foundational.
What do we mean when we say publishing?
Is there an entity to which we pay homage like the idols of the past (or present)? Or do we mean what is the normative trend in how writers publish their works at this given time? If it is the former, I hope that you can see through my thinly veiled sarcasm and see that it was meant as a jape. I imagine, if I am to correctly collect the collective consciousness of writers united, that we mean to work out the trend that currently afflicts how we seek out the publication of our stories––the great labors of love into which hours, day, weeks, and years are poured.
I see the future of our great collected endeavor doing what it has done since the inception of thought to print: it will continue. There is but a single constant in this vast universe and that is change. Independent publishing will change; hark, it has already changed from the black mark of POD and vanity publishing to something more promising––a participatory jungle of would-be writers swinging about on vines like Burroughs’ brilliant character before Disney turned him into a grunting hippie.
Writers in this climate must examine themselves first: understand what it is about them as individuals that make them worth listening to. When we have overcome the suffocating fear of introspection, the deeper examination of what skills we might deploy to achieve our goals become forefront in our mind. There is much more, but that is the stuff of another book that a business colleague and I are writing.
To sum it up: success comes from within mediated by sound and calculated choices executed toward a clear end. The fine proprietor of this blog was kind enough to allow to rant from a spell, and I have done so, albeit briefly. Here are some tidbits that this writer would like to see you help with:
I have launched a Kickstarter that at this moment is a far cry from being funded. A science fiction and fantasy epic with proper illustrations from a frustrated and brilliant artist is what awaits you, were you of course to extend the most meager of donations.
A Kickstarter Needs Funding
With that, I bid you adieu.
If you wish to learn more about me and my ramblings, search no more.
About the author
He has recently started a literary and publishing consulting business to help writers navigate the digital jungle. Find out more about Amalgam: http://www.amalgamconsulting.com/
