More thoughts on the mysterious realm of the ebook

Back in Cambridge at the moment...and I should be working, but I'm a bit tired from reading all day and it's not long until I'll head off for some food. But there's just enough time to write a quick blog. On the writing front, I've not done a huge amount of late (the rewrite of 54321 is around 5K at the moment), but that's not a surprise because I'm so busy with Cambridge essays and such.

However, I have committed myself to Critique Circle this term, and I'm managing to keep active there - chapter six of Zack is currently up for review, so it's making slow progress through the queues. I haven't yet looked through any of the critiques, but hopefully they're okay and there won't be too much major stuff to change when summer comes...

Because I keep going on Critique Circle, I keep seeing the 'hot threads'. A lot of them are about the epublishing fad. It seems as though everyone is getting epublished, or is at least curious about it. I've been thinking more about it, and I think there's a real danger that it could be swamped by people who aren't ready to publish.

Let me elaborate...

We all think we're amazing writers when we first put pen to paper. I remember finishing Shadow Lords and thinking I'd have it published by the end of the year (ahh, eight years ago and still nothing). I discovered Critique Circle after receiving two rejections and put it on there. Only when I received a bunch of honest crits from fellow writers did I realise how much work it really needed.

Thanks to that, I've worked hard over the years, editing, rewriting and writing new things. I know my style has matured and the quality of my writing has improved - but I would never submit something now without running it through Critique Circle first! I may one day find a break, when I have time to submit stuff to the publishers (I'm hopeful about Between Time and Zack).

However, imagine a new writer who has just written a book. They don't know about writing workshops like Critique Circle. They haven't read the 'how to' manuals. All they know is that they've written a book, and when they read it, they think it's great. They might have read it to their family and friends, who confirm their opinions.

So they send it out to agents and publishers, fully expecting something, and don't hear anything positive. Perhaps they're confused, perhaps they're angry. But then they hear that you can self-publish on Kindle, via Amazon and they jump on there, make a rough cover, and publish their book without a second thought. It's out there at last!

There have to be thousands of books on Kindle already like that - books that are simply not ready to be on read by the general consumer. You can usually tell from the cover design - the more amateur it looks, the less time has been spent in polishing in general. Spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, cliches and wonky plots fill the pages, and the negative reviews build up.

What it makes me wonder, though, is what sort of wider implications this will have on the emarket. Has Amazon opened up a path to self-destruction for the ebook? It's easy enough to imagine: if readers have widespread experience of 'bad' books, isn't it likely they will be turned away from purchasing on Kindle? If it happens enough, won't the market fail?

That's one extreme. Another possible future for the market is that Amazon stops allowing anyone to publish online: only people who are represented by an agent/publisher. This would, perhaps, restore things to the old system. This option may not, however, be possible, as the gap left by Amazon ebooks may allow other sites to become popular for epublishing, based on the Amazon model.

Perhaps the emarket and the book publishing market can coincide. It may be that something similar to the production of the "penny dreadful" in the Victorian age occurs. The ebook market will gain a reputation for 'bad' books, but at the same time, because those books are cheap, their consumers won't mind. At the same time, the book publishing market will become the grounds for the more established authors and the 'better' fiction, bought by those who can afford it. It could perhaps even become into a literary/genre divide.

I don't know where children's literature fits into all this, however...

So, what do you think will happen to books? Do you think the ebook market will eventually kill off the printed market? Or is the ebook market, at least in its present form, unsustainable?

Indie Publishing

I have to stop being a stick in the mud.

But I can't help it. I think of books and I feel all warm and fuzzy. And then I think of this alien device...the Kindle...and...

But it seems that it's growing in popularity in the US, and I heard someone in the UK also saying that it's really good a few weeks ago. They say it's just like reading a book, since you turn pages and it doesn't have a backlight like a computer. It doesn't hurt your eyes like a computer. It's so convenient for carrying lots of book with you. Think of going on holiday without the fear of a load of books preventing you from getting on the plane! Hmm. I suppose I'll take their word for it.

Still, I know there's one thing that will never be the same: the smell.

Remember good old Giles, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I love the quote:

"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no texture, no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly."

There's nothing like the smell of an old book.

But anyway, it seems that there's a market for Kindle ebooks, and it might be worth investigating. People are effectively self-publishing for as little as $0.99 a copy, but I suppose that adds up if they sell enough. And maybe if they sell enough and get a big enough fan base, it might be a good way of attracting a publisher's attention? I suppose that's the dream.

I have to admit that I'm a little intrigued. There's no upfront cost for the publishing to the Kindle via Amazon.com, at least, not at the moment. I doubt it's for me, in terms of as a children's writer... It sounds like an adult game, and the Kindle sounds like an adult toy. (Correct me if I'm wrong).

But I do have one adult novel, which is pretty much finished. It's crime, with a sprinkling of humour. If I did a major rework (as in rewrite the entire thing) and sort out the plot holes, it might be worth publishing as an ebook. I doubt I'd make a lot of money from it, but right now, it would be wonderful to get anything at all from writing.

So. Hmm. I'm tempted. As much as I am prejudiced against the Kindle, as much as I love the smell, the weight, the feel of a book, the tender aging of a much loved book (can't be good for a Kindle if you cry on it!), I am tempted to explore this market.

54321 could have found its niche!

Hello New Year

It's the new year and my new(ish) novel (Zack) is available to read. Well, if you're a member of Critique Circle. If you're an aspiring author, why not take a look at the site http://www.critiquecircle.com/ and drop me a crit? It's a free and easy to use site. :)

Happy New Year, everyone!

Almost the new year...

Another year is coming to an end. Somehow we have to adjust from '10 to '11 when we're barely used to writing '10 instead of '09. It seems like 2000 was no more than two minutes ago. Alas. And I feel myself getting older with every passing second and every cliche sentiment...

Anyway, on a brighter note, here are my writing resolutions!

1. Submit 'Zack' to Critique Circle. Yes, I know I meant to edit it this summer, but that didn't happen. However, I am ready to submit to my writing circle, and the first chapter will be up for review in the first week of January! It'll take around 22 weeks to get the entire thing through Critique Circle, but by that point, I'll have plenty of useful suggestions to help the editing process.

2. Edit 'Zack'. It will hopefully be through Critique Circle by June when the editing joys can be commenced. Hopefully editing won't take too long, and I should have a long summer holiday (with no more uni, yay!) in which to apply myself. A chapter a day would mean I could edit the entire thing in just over three weeks, so perhaps I could get it all polished by July...

3. Research agents in August. Hmm. I wonder if I should head for home or abroad agents? 'Zack' is imbued with British culture, which might make it hard to market abroad...

4. Start submitting 'Zack' in September, and hopefully receive lots of rejection notes in time for the new year!

5. Maybe write/research new novel...

Hehe. I suppose the dates won't quite pan out as I anticipate, but you never know. As long as I get the main things done - the submitting to Critique Circle and the editing - I'll consider it a productive year on the writing front. I'm quite worried about going back to uni and having time for CC, but the plan is to go on CC instead of watching random iPlayer programs. Procrastination will be deleted!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

Spring...uh Winter Clean

*blows out the dust and spiders once more*

Yeah... this isn't a real blog post. But I really need to get around to writing one at some point. Maybe I will when I get back from the UL today (University Library) and have finished redrafting my dissertation. But then, there will be fireworks to attend... uh, you see how it is? Busy busy busy...

Anyway, a thrifty tip for you all:
Love a cup of tea, but worried by the expensive prices of tea bags? Try recycling them! You can usually get two cups of tea from one tea bag, especially if you're not keen on super strong tea.

That's it for now...but maybe I'll return...soon...

Pros and Cons

Hello everyone! I'm back for another blog...*waves to the empty space*.

In this month's blog, we have a series of pros and cons, which will be marked by +ve and -ve to summarise the current status of the writing dream...


+ve = my current novel is with a beta reader, who will give it lots of useful feedback and will hopefully catch any gaping plot holes in it that need major changes before heading on down to the nitty gritty of minor language usage.

-ve = she's had it for quite a while now and all that time is time that could have been used for getting down to the nitty gritty.

+ve = I've started writing a new novel...well, a very old novel re-written...the second in a trilogy that I've had in conception for about ten years. 7000 words into it now, so I think we can definitely say 'it's alive!'.

-ve = Writing something new is actually an excuse not to get down to the nitty gritty of editing my other novel...and considering that this is the sequel to a novel that is VERY unlikely to be published at any time soon, it's somewhat a waste of energy...

+ ve = I've been doing a lot of travelling. I've been to Edinburgh, land of J.K. Rowling, and I'm just back from my very first festival (Latitude), which was also a fantastic experience and my first taste of camping. Near future events include Paris and Vancouver, and voluntary work with children in August. It's all great life experience, which will be fantastic for developing me and consequently my novel writing. After drinking in a HUGE amount of comedy at Latitude, for instance, I thought: this is it, I'm going to be a comic, and my latest witticism came about on hearing that Cillit Bang is taking over Durex: BANG! And the sperm is caught! Oh dear, oh dear... (people not familiar with Cillit Bang, see their advertising campaign here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYTlcdfr58).

- ve = All this is time consuming stuff and again gives me another excuse to avoid the evil editing of 'Zack'. Alas.


So, yes, it's a mixed bundle. I'm enjoying myself, of course, which is the main thing, but things like these always cost money, and on the down side, my writing's not really getting any closer to a position where it can start earning me money...

On Facebook!

*testing*

Hey, I finally figured out how to get this thing to appear on my Facebook feed! *feels the connection* Perhaps now I'll get a person or two reading this thing, though there's no obligation, my friends. I wouldn't be a writer if writing depended on being read... -_-

Funny how everything is connected these days. I'm not on Twitter, because I haven't deserted Facebook yet, but most of the sites I visit link back to my Facebook: iPlayer, YouTube, now this blog... can't remember if there's anything else. I like it, most of the time, although sometimes, I don't want everyone on my Facebook friends reel to, say, know that I've liked a video. Not because it's anything bad, but perhaps slightly offbeat. I might be quite aware that something is terrible (crude filming, etc), but if it's vaguely related to Literature, it might still amuse me, and I might still want to give it some positive feedback. But I might not want to recommend it to all my Facebook friends, because most of them probably won't understand why I'd rate it. So then I have a bit of a dilemma.

But oh well. Look at me, writing two blogs in one day. I even started writing the opening of something that I've potentially considering developing into a new novel. I'm on fire... or perhaps I'm just bored...