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News, Fiction Updates & General MusingsSpotify For Books? Looking Towards a Streaming Future
I’m a massive technology geek. I’m always salivating at the capabilities of ‘the latest thing’, the latest of course being the gorgeous new iPhone 5. Yes, I’m a tech-geek. Get used to it.
Salivating aside, I’m actually really interested in the current movements in digital content, and have decided to focus on said topic every now and then on the blog. One of the first things I want to look at is the rise of streaming media, what it means for physical content, and the implications on the book industry. Will we see a Spotify for Books any time soon?
The advantages of streaming
I’ve been using Spotify for the best part of a year now. I pay £9.99 for a Premium account, which enables me to listen to music on the go either through 3G, or offline playlists which I’ve downloaded before heading out. Being a big fan of locally/physically owned content, like every good materialist is, I found it hard to adapt to initially, and backed out once or twice, before truly embracing it.
The result, a year on?
Spotify, or any music streaming service for that matter, severs the necessity to ever buy an album again. And yet, I think I’ve bought more music since joining Spotify than I did beforehand.
The key to Spotify is perception. I don’t think viewing it as a ‘directory’ to dip in and out of helps, and was probably part of my early problems with the service. Instead, imagine you have a library of over 15 million songs. That’s what Spotify is.
I know some people have issues with the reported royalties, but look at it this way: I’ve discovered at least one-hundred new bands I’d consider seeing live via Spotify. Bands I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise, and therefore wouldn’t have bought a ticket to their shows. Therefore, in the long term, the hit the bands and artists take on royalties is surely worth it, right?
Self-Publishing Myth #3 – Self-Publishing is Easy
This is the latest in a series of posts dispelling self-publishing myths. Part one is Self-Publishing Means Inferior Quality, part two is Self-Published Authors Don’t Sell Any Books.
After the success of the first two instalments of this little series, I asked readers to leave their suggestions in the comment box for future editions. Big thanks to ‘tobiasosir’ who suggested I take a look at the myth that self-publishing is easy, and why it is not true.
Self-publishing stigma
I’ve had a few people ask me why I’m self-publishing my books. Some of the time, my response is received with a raised eyebrow; a scepticism surrounding my decision. A glint in the eye that screams, ‘They clearly don’t have the confidence in their writing, then’ or ‘Self-publishing? That’s the easy way out.’
We shot the first myth down a while ago, I hope, but maybe I’ll revisit that in a future post. In brief: self-publishing is viable, relevant, and if anything, it shows that the author has more confidence in their work and ability to market it than going the traditional route, or at least as much.
Choosing self-publishing over traditional publishing, whether it be for one release or a whole career, has nothing to do with a lack of confidence, in the same way choosing traditional over the self-published route also doesn’t.
It’s the second thing I really want to try to dispel. If you’re new to the game, like I was three months ago, then there’s something you’re just going to have to accept, right this moment.
Ready?
Writing Stress: Why it’s Okay to Take a Day Off
Writing can be a pretty stressful game at times. Only recently, I’ve found myself experiencing a little bit of writing stress with my relentless blogging, hours of editing, and even more hours of writing. On top of that, there’s the social media scheduling, the obligation to tweet, and a whole host of other things.
Basically, writing isn’t always a lot of fun. We have days where we get tired, and wonder whether this is really the path for us. I’m here to reassure you that these fears are natural, and that we all experience writing stress from time to time. It’s important that we just ride it out, take the necessary action, and bounce back fighting.
When the schedule gets tough…
The reason this post resonates with me at the moment is that I’ve felt a little burnt out with writing stress myself. I received my developmental edit of What We Saw back last Monday, and while the critique and feedback are completely fantastic, it’s just added more work to what was already a rather busy pile.
Book Marketing: Three Do’s and Two Don’ts
Book marketing, or marketing in any department, is a game of trial and error. I’ve cocked up when experimenting in the past, and no doubt I will do again in the future. Nobody is perfect at marketing, in spite of what they might say. Marketing is about what works for you, and believe me, not everything works for everyone.
However, if you’re a new author and you’re struggling for marketing inspiration, there are a few foolproof places you can start. Here are three things to try, and two to avoid like the plague, just for good measure,
DO blog regularly
I’ve sung the praises of blogging before, but it really is the best place to start. Having a platform to sell your books and connecting it with a personal touch is a great way to bring in new friends, and fans. In a world like writing where connection is priceless, blogging is the best way to reach out and connect with people.
What to blog about? Well, pick a general topic, and explore. Don’t ring-fence yourself in too early, but let a niche reveal itself to you over time. I now blog exclusively about marketing, publishing, and my own books (occasionally), but I used to be much more general in my approach. Starting big and carving a niche is a much more natural way of doing things, and an effective book marketing method.
For blogging inspiration, check out Duolit’s great post of 105 Author Blog Prompts
Self-Publishing Myth #2 – Self-Published Authors Don’t Sell Any Books
Last week, I looked at one of the main myths I’ve encountered since deciding to self-publish my work – that self-publishing means inferior quality. Hopefully, I managed to convince you that the belief really is nothing more than a myth, and one of many surrounding self-publishing at that.
Another common myth which I, and other indie authors have had to face, is the belief that us self-published authors quite simply don’t sell any books. We don’t have a publisher, so how could we possibly hope to market our book, gain a sale, and get on the shelves of Waterstones and the like?
Marketing is the same for published and self-published authors
Let’s tackle the issue of marketing first. For some reason, many people seem to be under the illusion that self-published authors can’t market their books, thus meaning no sales. This belief is not only wrong, but completely naive and nonsensical.
I’ll tell you a story about a friend of mine who may or may not exist. She wrote a brilliant book, and was signed by a relatively large publisher.
‘This is it,’ she thought. ‘I’ve written a book good enough to be signed by a publisher. I’ve made it!’
This friend of mine who may or may not exist was dropped by the same publisher after just six months. Why? Because nobody knew about her book.
Three Biggest Writing Distractions & How to Fight Them
Don’t let Angry Birds get in your way of writing!
Don’t lie: you get distracted when you’re writing. It happens to all of us.
In the digital age, distractions seem to be becoming more and more frequent and irritating, what with the lure of fast mobile browsing, and Twitter accounts connected to our phones. Here are three writing distractions that always get on my nerves, and how I attempt to counter them.
Oh, and suggestions are more than welcome. Anything. Please.
The internet
Well, come on, it couldn’t really have been anything else now, could it? The internet is easily the most common writing distraction; I don’t need to run a survey to acknowledge that much.
Whether you write on your laptop and find yourself constantly teased by the Chrome icon, or you remember to check up that Wikipedia page you were supposed to visit earlier, the internet is the undoubted king of distractions.
I often find myself logging into my emails, or searching for any old crap on Google, my mind desperately seeking some sort of respite from the writing. As helpful as it can be, the internet is an enemy of productivity. How do we deal with such a devilish temptation?