New Media Approach to Publication: read now, signed later

Things have changed. These days getting your work read is not limited to the traditional "Just keep submitting and waiting for as many years as it takes, while buying a bunch of stuff that might help your chances" option.

There have been revolutions in the ways you can publish your work and in the way people read it. A new way of looking at the writer's relationship with readers is emerging. The idea that it’s a direct, personal relationship with the writers and readers in control of it, is supplanting the old way in which the real hookup was between writers and agents/publishers and you need to give up your rights to get anywhere.

This goes well beyond all the “self publishing” and “net promotion” flack you read: it’s a new way of getting published that has worked for a lot of people using several different new methods. The crux of this process is that you publish your work right now. Not after you’ve waited years trying to get to an agent, then to a publisher, then a few years before the book comes out: right now. And there are more ways to do that than slapping a paperback up on amazon and hitting twitter.

Once you have work out there to be read, it’s a whole different ball game. You are building readership, you are establishing your brand as an author, you are getting helpful feedback, you are possibly even generating income. Your work is being read and appreciated, not sitting in a drawer.

Kevin Kelly’s paradigm--much proven by indie musicians before seeping into the writing community--that it only takes a thousand true fans to support an artist is part of this notion. You might be able to reach that "breakout" level of fanship and become a full-time author.

Or--and this dual-gear nature of the process is central to the new process--you might be able to parlay that readership into contracts with agents and publishing houses. It’s been done, and is being done more frequently.

But, unlike the “MS in a desk drawer” model, this process has the built-in fallback that even if you never get signed, you are BEING READ. You are an author with readers.

And even in the worst-case scenario imaginable--your stuff sucks and nobody will read it even as a gift--you find that out, without investing a lot of time and money and energy. You can try writing something else, or move on with your life.

It’s a powerful, upcoming way for writers to approach the market, but my new ebook is the first time it’s all been put together in one unified program. My manual lays this approach out and shows you how to execute the idea.

--It explains the overall process, with examples and “success stories” and links supporting the overall philosophy.
--It shows you, in detail, how to get your writing out there using “new media” techniques and venues like web novels, serials, podcasts, smartphone apps, ebooks, and print editions in order to build your “author constellation” and readership.
--It has tips on how to build that readership and use it.
--It connects you with communities that read and appreciate this kind of published work: directories, communities, support forums, reviewers, publishers.
--It shows you how to monetize your work to get some money out of it as you go along.
--Its methods are all either free or involve very little initial investments.

It’s a high-quality, click-navigable pdf document that you read on your screen, toggling back and forth from your work to it’s advice and massive collections of helpful links to the programs, sites, and tutorials involved. Pre-sale readers and users have been enthusiastic and tend to say that the link collections alone are worth the $5 USD cost of the manual.

Take a look on the publisher page: http://adorobooks.com/works/tutewrite.php

There’s no reason not to start your career as an author this month, not years from now if you’re lucky. You can have it without betting against yourself. And find out for yourself how much you can make yourself happen.