A writers world

Ever since I got the wild idea to write a novel, I have been researching the world of publishing. Since I have been in the music industry for so long, I realize I have no idea about the business side of books. There is so much to learn, and you would think that writing a book is hard, but really once the words have been written, the hard part actually begins.

For me, the telling of the story is enthralling and the words fly off my fingers in record time. My heart beats faster with each paragraph, and when I finally reached the last page I wept with joy. Really.

Even editing is fun, it's just re-working the page... placing a different inflection on a thought, coloring more depth into a character who is too black and white. All this is still very exciting, and while I am still in the middle of this process, I am doing even more research on the ways of the world of publishing. Talking with publishers, literary agents, and published authors alike- I have begun to see a familiar pattern.

Today's publishing, I am learning, is following in the music businesses footsteps. As more bookstores close their doors, so much like the record stores we all loved did, the world of book publishing is depending on it's authors to market their own books. This does not surprise me in one bit since the music industry has collapsed in a heap and all of us musicians had to pick our selves up and learn how to market our bands in the ways of social media. We had to book our own shows, our own tours, do all our own press, package our own albums, call every radio station, design our websites, create a website on every social website that exists and update that website every day. And then we all had to go out and get a day job to pay for all the art we were creating.

Sure it sounds exhausting, but shit, we all had to do it- so it's best not to bitch about it, but learn to enjoy it all... and after finally getting used to doing all of it, it has become the norm and we have much much more control of our art. Sure some of us still have people that work for us, and there are wonderful small labels that work extremely hard for their artists, but even huge artists that have the very top labels working for them- are updating their own Twitter account daily, if not hourly, and I read posts all the time on Facebook from Miss Lady Gaga herself, doing all she can to self promote her art.

This is the new age of music, and now it is becoming the new age of books. I am learning how even if you have a wonderful publishing company, big or small, it is now the norm to market your book, figure out your target market, and publicize it in a fun creative way... I mean, you don't have to do anything sure, But... you want to sell some books right?

Yes I do. And I really believe in my book, and the two books I am going to write as the next installments in the series. So here I go into the writers world of marketing... It is actually fun, and I am of course going to utilize every avenue I can dream up- which for me, is a hell of a lot.