Would You Pay $0.49 for a Short Story?
Amazon is selling individual short stories.
There's a lot of interesting things going on with the way people get stories. I thought about podcasting several years ago, but people didn't seem too keen on the idea.
Now, in addition to podcasts, people are writing stories on Twitter, writing novels on their iPhones...all kinds of stuff. (Some stuff that I think is cool; some stuff that's not for me.)
With a Web following, print on demand publishing is making people more money than the typical few thousand most writers make on a book.
With the Kindle and other e-book readers, e-books are getting more attention, even from publishers that always shunned the idea.
I have an iTouch, and for the first time ever, I read an e-book. I liked being able to read after lights out when Cynthia was going to bed. I liked being able to hold something in one hand and turn the pages one-handed. With big hardbacks, reading and being comfortable can sometimes be a pain. I love books, but I gotta admit...if I'm not getting something at the library, I will consider e-books for the ease of carrying a library in my pocket, and saving some money on purchases.
Of course, one of the things that some see as a bad thing is technology makes everybody who thinks they can write a writer. Anybody can write stuff and use something like Stanza to convert it to the Kindle, or other e-book readers. It's kind of like all those writers who don't put time and effort into what they do sending elfin horror stories to serious literary magazines: it creates a bit of a bottleneck for those who really take time and care a bit more.
Not that I have a problem with elfin horror stories if that's your thing; there's just a very large group of people who want to write who refuse to learn how the business works, and editors have to wade through totally inappropriate stuff to get to the kind of stuff they publish.
But people can complain about the glut of bad writing that will be out there, or they can figure out ways to rise above all the crap. It may take more of an effort than it once did, but in so many ways, technology is making it easier for a writer to become known through hard work online, and go to publishers with a built-in audience.
Technology still has a ways to go, but it's clear that we're about to see some very interesting changes...
There's a lot of interesting things going on with the way people get stories. I thought about podcasting several years ago, but people didn't seem too keen on the idea.
Now, in addition to podcasts, people are writing stories on Twitter, writing novels on their iPhones...all kinds of stuff. (Some stuff that I think is cool; some stuff that's not for me.)
With a Web following, print on demand publishing is making people more money than the typical few thousand most writers make on a book.
With the Kindle and other e-book readers, e-books are getting more attention, even from publishers that always shunned the idea.
I have an iTouch, and for the first time ever, I read an e-book. I liked being able to read after lights out when Cynthia was going to bed. I liked being able to hold something in one hand and turn the pages one-handed. With big hardbacks, reading and being comfortable can sometimes be a pain. I love books, but I gotta admit...if I'm not getting something at the library, I will consider e-books for the ease of carrying a library in my pocket, and saving some money on purchases.
Of course, one of the things that some see as a bad thing is technology makes everybody who thinks they can write a writer. Anybody can write stuff and use something like Stanza to convert it to the Kindle, or other e-book readers. It's kind of like all those writers who don't put time and effort into what they do sending elfin horror stories to serious literary magazines: it creates a bit of a bottleneck for those who really take time and care a bit more.
Not that I have a problem with elfin horror stories if that's your thing; there's just a very large group of people who want to write who refuse to learn how the business works, and editors have to wade through totally inappropriate stuff to get to the kind of stuff they publish.
But people can complain about the glut of bad writing that will be out there, or they can figure out ways to rise above all the crap. It may take more of an effort than it once did, but in so many ways, technology is making it easier for a writer to become known through hard work online, and go to publishers with a built-in audience.
Technology still has a ways to go, but it's clear that we're about to see some very interesting changes...