PUBLISHING IS CHANGING BEFORE OUR EYES, SO WHO DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Joanna Terrero, sent me this last year and it’s as relevant today as it was then. It’s an inhouse training vid lasting just over 2 minutes by the UK arm of Dorling Kindersley and it’s absolutely brilliant. What do you think?
The Reader And The Future of Publishing
Nothing worse than cold sweat trickling down your back, is there? Along with the accompanying chills and temperature spikes, this has not been a productive week by yours truly.
How I’m feeling reminds me of what’s happening to the
publishing world. For a new author this is a scary place. It’s always been a
scary place, but there are times when I’ve wondered if I’ve fallen into a
parallel universe.
You’ll be thrilled to know that I’m not about to debate what’s
happening – plenty of other people are busy doing that – change is upon us and
it’s no use spitting into the face of a hurricane.
The answer to the question, who do you listen to, is, THE
READER. Remember them? They’re the one’s who part with their hard-earned cash
to buy our stories. And in the debate, by and large, they’ve been totally
ignored. And that, in my humble opinion, is a damned disgrace. But does the
reader care if he/she is ignored? Nope, because now they’re able to decide by a
single click of a button what they like, when they want it, where to buy it and
how much to pay for it.
So our mission (should you decide to accept it, this blog
will self-destruct in ten seconds) is to write the best stories we possibly can
for our reader to escape into the peaks and troughs of a rollicking great
romance, with plenty of ‘good bits’ (do NOT forget the good bits, they meet
reader expectation) and a deeply satisfying HEA (happy ever after). So that’s it, easy? Well, no, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
The great Kristen Lamb, editor, agent & author, is talking about E-publishing today and has links here to a workshop run by Bob
Mayer & Jen Talty. I bet Kristen will love the vid too, it’s exactly what she’s been teaching.
Christine
CC MACKENZIE - USA Today Bestselling Author 
Christine, even though you are sick and feeling gross, you pull out a great post. The video is awesome! I love writing tricks like that. Thanks for sharing and I hope you feel better.
You should use the little chain-link button when you create a link in your post, even if it comes up automatically, because you can click the little box that allows your link to open in a new window instead of leaving your article.
Hello Rachel, thank you for dropping by and the lovely comment. I am feeling better today, yey!
I loved that vid, it hits the spot!
Kate, thank you for that. I do know this, but didn’t apply it, had a brain dead moment.
I’ve changed it so we can hear it and see it from here.
I’m sick too, Christine 🙂 I hope you get well soon! *passes the tissues*
Hello, Lacey,
Lovely to see you here, darling! I’m feeling tons better!
Thank you for the comment
I am glad you are feeling better Christine. I loved the vid! I have seen this trick done before but this is the first one I’ve seen done for the publishing industry.
Found you and have added you! 🙂
Hi Debra,
Thank you for finding me! lol!
We’ll get there, honey, we will. xx
Christine!
Liked the video and the positivity about writing in your post.
Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for visiting Suma!
Great post, and I absolutely love the log line. Perfect.
Super fabulous video! At first, I was like, what? This is sad, but then it became amazing. Thank you for sharing it and I hope you feel much better soon!
Love the logline!
Thank you Tameri (lovely name) and Prudence (lovely name, too!)
I hope I feel better soon too - what bad timing is this?
Thank you so much for this! Fantastic video; I hadn’t seen it before. And you nail the biggest elephant in the room on the head. In this debate, the reader has been forgotten and ignored. I’m still reading! On paper, on screen, on e-reader, on phone, on audio…doesn’t matter to me. It’s the story that matters.
Hello Melinda
Thank you so much for commenting.
I’ve been out of the loop for over two months with Epstein Barr and hope to be back up to speed in the New Year. It’s been a NIGHTMARE! Which just goes to show me, yet again, that without good health we have nothing.
And you are so right - the reader is THE most important person to have in the front of our head when we write.
Love your emphasis on considering the reader. Our work doesn’t go very far without them! Thanks for this upbeat post. Happy to have found ya. 😉