It’s the Future, Guys: Thoughts on Ebooks, Blogging, and Getting Published

Posted by Jenna Cooper in First Drafts      7 comments

Aug
22

Hardcover books are going the way of the bustle

I visited the Borders website today, mainly because I wanted to see if it still existed. Borders is still in the liquidation process, and it’s eerie knowing this is the end for that giant among booksellers. But they had it coming. Borders mistakenly decided to stick to tradition and shun the ebook craze. Now they just can’t compete with the big boys anymore—ebook sales are skyrocketing while hardcover books sales are vestiges in the evolution of bookselling.

The dwindling sales of hardcover books could mean more trouble for debut authors who want to make a living writing. Because ebooks don’t create as much revenue as hardcover books, major publishers are passing up new writers and cutting advances. Debut authors often must turn to small independent publishers who can’t afford to dish out hefty advances. This forces them to look elsewhere to pay the bills, such as working piecemeal as a freelance writer. Yet, as many of us freelancers know, it also means getting a day job.

Maybe the rise in ebook sales will herald a period of unprecedented opportunities for debut authors. The ebook business is ripe for small independent publishing companies to emerge and take advantage of new authors who need alternatives to big publishing houses. More options in publishing companies means more avenues for exposure, and that’s in addition to the thriving blogverse.

Just getting your blog post featured on WordPress’s Freshly Pressed guarantees your work will get thousands of views. The Internet is your gateway to fifteen minutes of fame, cult followings, and who knows? An eventual book contract because you’re an Internet celebrity and people are lining up to read your conspiracy theories and cute, quirky essays. Some of the most widely read bloggers are the likes of Perez Hilton, and you and I both know we can write worthier stuff than that.

Then again, the affluence of hack writers on the Internet is astounding. Just like the job market is flooded with bachelor’s degrees, the Internet is full of crap. And crap is popular nowadays. There’s hardly any quality control on the Internet. And so, your blog competes with everyone else’s blog and it’s hard to compete in this digital cacophony. But I digress. Blogging is a great way to build a portfolio of clips or short stories, even if you don’t get Freshly Pressed. Having an active Internet presence is crucial to marketing one’s writing, and blogging is a great step forward to getting published.

In addition to writing for WriteByNight’s blog, Jenna Cooper writes for BE Mag and a blog called FemThreads.  Aside from writing, Jenna served as an AmeriCorps Member from 2008-2010 and will start her M.S. in Information Studies in Fall 2012.  She graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in English from the University of Texas.