Sunday, April 22, 2012

The decision to take the path less (traditionally) taken

When the question arises, as it frequently seems to, as to why did I decide to forego the more traditional publishing route and publish directly to the various e-reader platforms, my answer is this.  For several reasons.  First, with all the current interest in the Mormon religion that there seems to be, and the fact that in Mitt Romney they have their first serious contender for the Presidency, that it just seemed like by going the Kindle/Nook/IPad route, it would be a much more expedient way to try to “catch the wave” of current interest in this election year. I feel fortunate that in the year Mitt Romney just happens to be the GOP nominee, I’ve written a novel that I could foresee some reviewers referring to as the “Mormon DaVinci Code” with a character running for President who just happens to be a Mormon, and who it appears will say or do just about anything to get elected  (although, I guess that last bit would probably apply to just just about anybody running for President these days).  And so, if I'd gone the more traditional route and waited to find an interested agent and then publisher, it would probably take another year or two just to get it on the shelves, and by then he’s either the President or the next John McCain, and either way, there’s probably going to be less interest. The other reason, and maybe it’s also just fortunate timing, but with everything I keep reading and hearing about--with regards to the changes taking place in the publishing industry--it just seemed like the perfect time to try it this way. So, I really wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel--the wheel seemed to have already been reinvented, which I’d say was pretty much official the day Amazon announced last year that they had sold more electronic books over their Kindle than they had in the way of hard-copy books. Obviously, I would still like to find a traditional publisher to publish and promote the novel to reach the readers who don’t have an e-reading device, but in the meantime, I can price the book competitively to make it more attractive to a reader who’s never heard of my writing, and then promote it through the many ways that are now available through social media and on the various reading websites like Goodreads.  Until next time,  Jack

No comments:

Post a Comment