And now for a few harsh words about operating in the Networked Economy. The problem for most indies—particularly new ones—isn’t producing a book. Once you’ve gotten a full draft written, the rest is mechanics. Cover art is cheap. Editing is relatively cheap. Conversion from word processor to ebook, and even paper, is cheap. After you…
Tag: Nathan Lowell
Step Right Up
“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up! The show’s about to begin! For the price of one thin dime see wonders beyond imagining. Sales beyond your wildest dreams and begin earning good money right out of the box! Hurry, hurry, hurry.” Yeah. No. P.T Barnum gets the credit for “There’s a sucker born every minute” but…
Social Capital
A lot of attention gets paid to social media without really understanding a fundamental concept – social capital. In addition to all its other characteristics and traits, social media transactions depend on – for lack of a better term – a currency. You earn it as you give and pay it when you ask. This…
We Disrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program
One of the things I keep hearing is that Amazon is disrupting the publishing business. That disruption is what allows independent authors like me to make a living in a field where – in the past – only a handful of superstars could quit their day jobs. I’ve been looking at this for a couple…
Happy New Year
The new year is a time to look ahead but also a time to reflect. The timing of this column is significant to me because ten years ago yesterday – January 12, 2007 – I sat down to write what would become my first science fiction novel. I finished the first draft in ten days,…