Wednesday, May 9, 2018

A library in your pocket

If you had just finished your first novel in 2018, given all the changes that have happened in the publishing world, which path would you choose to publication and why?

by Dietrich Kalteis

My first novel Ride the Lightning was signed in 2013 and published a year later, so I’m still fairly new to the game in that sense, but I’ve been writing stories since the days of Wite-Out. And I remember getting plenty of ink on my fingers from self-correction ribbons before that first Mac came into my life. It was a Mac IIcx, and I was in heaven. Gone were the days of retyping entire chapters and cutting and pasting just to get a presentable page. That baby packed 80 MB of RAM, a floppy drive and without the monitor on top, it weighed just under fourteen pounds. In recent years I’ve seen more digital and less print, and at times I feel like I’ve got an analog mind in a digital world, but I try to keep up with what’s changing and going on.

Things have sure gained some pace since Gutenberg cranked up that first printing press in the fifteenth century, leading to flexography, to lithography, to digital printing, and to e-books. And technology just keeps evolving and moving faster all the time. High volume laser and inkjet printers are quick and cost-effective, even on short runs; and changes can be made on subsequent runs without tossing out film and plates, saving publishers and authors time and money. And epub is even quicker and cheaper than that.

Aside from ink on paper, books can be had in an assortment of digital formats from epub, pdf, odt, Mobipocket. Playable on formats like Kindle, iBooks, Nook and Kobo. All of which make a nice compliment to the hardbacks and paperbacks, giving readers choices of how they read. I like to read printed books at home, but e-readers sure are handy when traveling. Rather than lugging books in a suitcase, an e-reader fits in a pocket, and at 2 gigs it can hold up to eleven hundred novels, practically a library of books. And there are audiobooks for when you’re driving or doing something that doesn’t allow you to read on your own.

How books are sold has also changed dramatically in recent years. Along with the independent and chain stores there are on-line options like Amazon, Wondery, Blackwells, Book Depository, iTunes, Google Play and so on. And most publishers have on-line shopping options on their websites.

If I just finished my first novel this year, I’d do things the same way and go the route of traditional publishing. Self-publishing is an alternate way to go, particularly in the digital format. And there are an expanding number of online resources like Smashwords and CreateSpace which can help with self-publishing and distributing indie ebooks. 

Beyond books, newspapers are archived digitally and many can be easily accessed online, giving writers a mountain of research information they can sift through at the click of a mouse. There are online resources like Google, Infoplease, the Internet Public Library, Refdesk, Wikipedia, the Library of Congress, Merriam-Webster Online, Snopes, and more. The internet and all it has to offer sure comes in handy when researching for a story. 

How I come up with story ideas hasn’t changed much, but how I do the research and how I input my stories sure has. Does anyone even remember the correction ribbon and Wite-Out? So, while I wouldn’t choose a different path to getting published, I have to look up from my desk once in a while and keep up with what’s going on in the industry.


Paul D. Marks said...

I remember Wite Out. What a pain! And I remember cutting and pasting and trying to Scotch tape the pieces together and then xerox them so you wouldn't see the line. So the page would look as pristine as possible. What a pain! I also remember the early PCs. I was a DOS person, but felt so cool when I got my first amber monitor instead of green. And changing floppies to get the data and program. What a pain!

But definitely researching has become easier. And I love that I can do it at 3am since I'm a night person. There's always pluses and minuses to everything, but I'm pretty happy where we are today.

Dietrich Kalteis said...

I've kept some of those early typed stories, with Wite-Out and cut and taped sections. I used to photocopy them and hope for a clean copy before submitting the story someplace. It's definitely easier now.

Lisa Ciarfella said...

Interesting... and since I've yet to put out my first novel, I'm super curious on your traditional vs. self-publishing question...

I've heard and read opinions on both sides. Some that say not only is "doing it yourself" a real process, and expensive too, but that it also sets up an author for much less credibility down the road with agents and people in the business in general, especially if your book doesn't sell well.

Yes, no, maybe so???


Dietrich Kalteis said...

I would see the process involved in getting my books print ready and then marketing them as taking away from my writing time. Also, there's the expense in doing it right: hiring editors, copy editors, designers, marketing services and so on.