Maybe it’s not an evil conspiracy

I follow a few indie writer blogs, newsgroups, Google+ groups, etc., and a common theme is that writers feel frustrated with their inability to break into the established publishing world.

Here’s that same sentiment, expressed from the perspective of a new startup.

Susan O’Dell Underwood was starting to get frustrated hearing from writers who were having difficulty getting published.

“I feel that frustration myself, so we thought why not do it?,” she said. “Why not do this with our skills? My husband is a photographer, artist and … I’m a writer. We have summers off and we have never collaborated … this just seemed like the thing.”

Susan, and her husband, David, who are also both professors at Carson-Newman University, have launched a new publishing company called Sapling Grove Press.

Some people want to believe that it’s all a trick, or a game. That you have to know someone to get published. That publishers aren’t giving new writers a fair shake.

When it comes to non-fiction, or biographies, I’m sure there’s some truth to that. Publishers want to get Hillary Clinton’s biography, not mine.

I don’t think the same thing applies to fiction. I’m sure the publishers are perfectly happy to find the next new big writer. The problem is that supply is overwhelming demand. Everybody has a PC and an idea, and it only takes a little bit of discipline to crank out a book. There are simply too many books out there and the publisher’s “slush piles” are full of them.

So it’s not simply a matter of finding yet another outlet for frustrated writers.

Fortunately, Susan and David aren’t trying to do that. They’re pursuing a small market.

… one of the focuses of their publishing company will be the arts and literature of the Appalachian region.

That may have potential.

The world doesn’t need yet another publishing company cranking out generic fiction, but there is a very large supply of narrow interest areas that can be served by people who have a particular gift or special concern for that niche.

Non-fiction is the way to go

Harsh Das pointed me to his latest kindle book, The Art Of Book Marketing, which I’ve just started.

After the first few pages I wanted to write him and suggest that he add a disclaimer that the book might be better suited for non-fiction, but fortunately I restrained the urge for another page and saw that he did just that.

Mr. Das seems to be making a living writing self-help sorts of books — i.e., How to do this, better ways to do that, etc.

Most of my books are fiction, but I have a couple books about homebrewing. I happen to know a fair amount on that subject, I have a lot of good advice to impart (especially to beginners), and I have a concise, straight-forward style.

I also have a lot of ideas about stories that never happened concerning people who don’t really exist.

Now … just take a wild guess … which one do you think is more useful? As you might expect, my homebrewing books are my best sellers.

Escapism is fun. I just read Gone Girl while on vacation and enjoyed it quite a bit. And I’m going to continue writing fiction because I enjoy it, whether or not I get a million readers.

I can afford to do that because I have a real job. If I was trying to make a living with my writing, I would focus on practical, useful, real-world help on tangible things.

The continued non-death of print

1105’s Ed Tech Magazine Returns to Print After 2 Digital-Only Years

“When the decision was made to cease the publication in print, it was based on indicators that digital-only strategies were growing in popularity with advertisers,” says 1105’s COO, Henry Allain. “We discovered that may be true in some markets, but clearly not in the K-12 ed-tech space. This segment of the market continues to have a vibrant print offering…We needed to be back as part of the mix.”

Krehbiel interpretation: troublemakers and “business development” types who can’t tell the difference between early growth and long-term trends talked this company into an anti-print strategy that didn’t pan out the way they expected.