None of This Could Have Happened without “e”
Kind eReader,
I’m pretty qualified to write this column about “The Life of e”–the world of electronic publishing and media–because I wouldn’t be what I am today without it. And what is it that “I am today”? Well, I’m the author and publisher of what I believe is the first fiction book written with input from 64 individuals (entitled “Bloodchained,” by the way). Such a project is certainly a testimony to what is possible in the time of electronic media, and it couldn’t possibly have happened without “e”–the modern tools of computing and the internet. Let me elaborate….
Perhaps the biggest factor in making my co-op authoring project possible is that I publish my own books. If a conventional author wanted to be able to promise people up front that by signing onto the project, they were guaranteed to see their names in the Acknowledgments of a finished book…well, good luck to her getting her publisher to agree to that! But I promised it back in March, and later this month (Sept. 2007), my author partners will indeed see their names in print.
Just the mere fact that we were able to write a 332-page novel and have ebook and print copies out in the marketplace for purchase in only five months is another e-miracle. You can credit everything from the convenience of the modern “word processor,” to the instant communication of the internet, to the development of print-on-demand technology. Without the Web, without email and online survey software and blogging, our team couldn’t possibly have managed the communication it took for us to conceive, write and edit “Bloodchained.” Not in five months, not in five years!
I’ll put the miracle of “e” to you another way: on Monday my editor got me her last changes, on Tuesday my illustrator finished the cover design, on Wednesday I went to press. On Tuesday the first reviewers had advanced review copies (in pdf) in hand, there may be reviews posted as early as next week. I will approve the proofs over the next few days, and readers will start purchasing ebook copies next week and paperbacks probably the week after. That whole timeframe seems ridiculously quick, but I guarantee you the book will look as perfect and professional as your copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
Even happier news for me and my author partners–also due to “e”–is that our quickly-released book will have longevity. In the old days, with traditional publishing, bookstores might keep such a book on their shelves for three to six months, if they stocked it at all. But because I am my own publisher, and I use POD and ebooks, and nowadays books are sold by online retailers who purchase stock as needed, I can assure my partners that their book will be for sale for years to come.
I could talk too about the way the Web facilitates our getting the word out about our book. A bunch of the partners have blogged about it, and some have gotten articles published online. I’ve been able to do interviews and chats. Don’t take for granted either the benefit of websites–a curious reader can learn all about the book by visiting www.bloodchained.com without even leaving his chair.
One of the most amusing (if a bit frivolous) ways “e” benefited this project is that wondrous invention known as Café Press. Yes, it took me only a day to create a dozen really nice looking pieces of Bloodchained merchandise and put them up for sale online. Technologies from graphic software to internet uploading to ecommerce made this possible. Not to mention the mysterious machinations of Café Press, which instantly sets up your freshly designed items for sale. How do they do it?
Thus, my 63 partners and I, a mere eight months from the day I first had the idea, have created a whole marvelous Bloodchained franchise. What fun! And none of this could have happened, not the smallest portion of it, without “e.”
What a great time to reading and writing books!
eRead on,
Diana
Diana Laurence is the author of the Soulful Sex anthologies of erotic romance fiction, and will release her new book “Bloodchained” in September (www.bloodchained.com). Diana’s works are published by Living Beyond Reality Press (www.livingbeyondreality.com.) Visit her at www.dianalaurence.com or enjoy her blog at www.eroticawithsoul.blogspot.com.
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