The Write Lane: Digital Publishing Technology Means More Venues for Writers

The other day, after seeing a sign that read, GET CASH For Recycling Electronics at Target, I thought I had found the answer to my prayers. I could rid our house of a ton of old junk and get rich doing it. I packed up a huge box and waltzed out the door singing “I’m in the money.”

 Okay, some of these items were old. So old I had no clue what they were or what they had ever been. But there was also a working computer only 4 years old, a 3-year-old working Netbook and an assortment of cell phones, some of which were less than a year old. All worth something, surely? Not, according to the folks at Target. Well, at least I got rid of the stuff. But the experience did give me pause. What a world of change we live in.

For those of us engaged in writing and publishing, it’s truly a brave new world. Two years ago I was completely unconvinced that products like Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, or Apple iPad would ever be able to provide a satisfying reading experience. I was one of those who felt I needed a book in my hands, the feel of the paper and binding, the smell of the glue. A romantic notion that I clung to, because of course, change is painful, and books have been my solace from the time I learned to read—a long time ago!

But the fact is, it’s not the physical aspects of the book that are my solace, it’s the stories.  And though the format has changed, stories have been with us for millennia. They were told orally for centuries before written history. Then they  were written by hand. Printing presses, typewriters, computers, so many innovative technologies and new formats, but the stories themselves continue to delight human beings in whatever form they appear.  

Today, I am a convert. I do probably 75 percent of my reading on my Kindle Fire, and I use my iPhone almost exclusively for listening to audio books.  

And though I have 14 traditionally published books to my name, and, at least for the time being,  I will continue to seek traditional publishing outlets for most new projects, I welcome the new technologies and the opportunities that digital publishing offer writers. And, yeah, the thought that I can get 35 to 70 percent royalties for a self-published e-book as opposed to the 10 or 15 percent  royalties I get from my traditional publishers is pretty persuasive.

Traditionally published books are expensive to produce, and hugely expensive to distribute. They require reams of paper, factories for binding,  warehouses for storage, trains and boats and planes and trucks for shipping. And yet, the story is the same story that I can read on an e-book, whisked to me through cyberspace instantaneously and for a lot less money.

There will undoubtedly be problems and unforeseen consequences caused by the digital revolution, but, if you ask me, e-books are here to stay, and as writers we had better learn to love them. Now, do you think Target will give me anything for my old kindle?

For more information about digital publishing check out the following:

http://www.digitalbookworld.com/

http://ereads.com/

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/epublishing.html

http://blog.taleist.com/2011/12/08/self-publishing-and-ebook-predictions-for-2012/

http://theotherjournal.com/mediation/2011/11/28/an-interview-with-david-wheeler/

 Want to learn more? My new writing class begins Sunday, Feb. 26 at The Cloisters Castle, so please check it out at www.cloisterscastle.com or call 410- 821-7448 for more information.

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