I’ve been published by Lulu and FastPencil and Amazon and Wattpad…
One of these days, I want to get around to being published by Smashwords…
Perhaps (whenever I decide it’s “complete”), I’ll put my Story Bazaar there…
Nevertheless, if you put “Mark Coker” (the Founder of Smashwords) into the search box at the upper right, you’ll find around 23 informative posts (including this one) about the BookWorld.
His article, 2017 Book Industry Predictions: Intrigue and Angst amid Boundless Opportunity, begins with these thoughts:
“If you could see into the future, what would you do to change it?
“Each year I polish off my imaginary crystal ball and attempt to divine how the boiling crosscurrents of technology, competitive intrigue, author aspirations, and reader tastes will shape the opportunities facing authors, publishers and retailers for the year ahead.
“As I caution each year, the prediction game is fraught with folly. No one really knows what will happen tomorrow, though there are plenty of clues.
“Book publishing is in the grip of multiple long-term macro trends. Like strong trade winds, these forces will fill the sails of those who can harness them while swamping those who don’t.
“2017 will mark a special milestone for the ebook industry. It marks the ten year anniversary of the Kindle. It’s also the ten year anniversary of Smashwords’ incorporation. In early 2007, after three years of crafting our business plan, I hired our first programmer and began active development on the Smashwords platform which we launched in early 2008.”
He then has a fascinating section entitled, Ten Years of Indie Publishing in Review…
Then follow his ten predictions (do take the link to the full article for Mark’s enlightening commentary on each of these predictions):
1. Indie authors will continue to capture greater ebook market share in 2017
2. The glut [of books] will grow more pronounced
3. Ebooks will face greater commoditization pressures in 2017
4. The publishing industry will begin to recognize KDP Select as the cancer that it is
#5 is “missing” or it’s called Boiling Frogs
6. Large ebook retailers pushed to the brink
7. Kindle Unlimited will continue to harm single copy ebook sales in 2017
8. Many indies will quit or scale back production
9. Industry consolidation will hit self-publishing
10. Amazon to face anti-trust scrutiny for unfair business practices
And, here are some of Mark’s closing remarks (directed straight at self-publishing writers — if you aren’t one, share this post with any you may know...):
“Okay, so I’ve painted a stark picture for 2017. What are you going to do about it?
“First, remember that you are not powerless, despite the efforts of those who seek to beat you down and take your power.
“Recognize that the collective actions of authors and publishers like you will determine the course of this industry. If you have strong feelings about a particular future you’d like to see realized, it’s incumbent upon you and everyone you know to take a stand, organize with fellow authors and put words to action.
“I realize some authors are unable take a public stand. I’ve spoken with many of them – including many big name NY Times bestsellers – who’ve privately thanked me for speaking out for them, and they’ve encouraging me to continue speaking out. Some of these authors have confided to me they’re unable to speak publicly for themselves. They’re afraid of recrimination from Amazon; they’re afraid of recrimination from their friends; or they’re afraid of seeing their books carpet-bombed with one-star reviews from Amazon partisans. If you must remain silent, I respect that. But if you have the ability to share your concerns with your readers and author friends, whether publicly or privately, please do. Do it for you.
“Despite the challenges writers and publishers face, I continue to believe as I’ve believed for the last decade that there’s never been a better time to be a writer. There’s never been a more exciting time to be involved in publishing.”
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