We've changed too...

I have noticed something of interest lately. Something that has been happening for a while, something even I have participated in and I wasn't even aware of it (ooo, I do like a good mystery).

The book writing, publishing and book-selling landscape has been under MAJOR renovation for months - well, years really. E-books seem here to stay, bookshops (although fewer in number) seem to be hanging in there too. Neither are as robust or as terminal as either group had hoped/feared/prognosticated (d - all of the above). Print books have a particular set of skills that mean their demise is not as imminent as many suggested. They, unlike records, don't require any specialist, obsolete technology to be bought or utilised. Old ones can work just as well as new ones. They have a fairly long shelf life once bought and taken reasonable care of. They are cheap to run once you have stumped up the purchase price. E-books too are a nifty alternative. Often cheaper then the print alternative here in New Zealand, mind-blowingly easy to obtain and taking up no more room than an idea in your head. They offer a ship-load of convenience and you get easy access to a lightweight and comprehensive library if you want. You get where I am going with this I suspect. To a certain extent the dust is settling and people and books in a wide range of formats are moving forward.

But, no doubt about it, the landscape has changed, irrevocably. For authors it is a different place. There are currently less opportunities to be taken up as a new author by traditional publishers than there used to be, say, ten years ago. New authors are still published but the lists are in fact smaller, and you have to be even more patient and full of a lot of perseverance. Some new independent publishers are stepping up but they are being prudent and taking it slowly. In better news, self-publishing is a world away from what it was ten years ago too.

We don't seem to attend workshops and classes like we used to. Like books, authors now look to electronic alternatives to learn their craft, share and critique, and research how to find agents, and publishers and how to submit. The world wide web is a bottomless pit of information valuable and otherwise but somewhere out there in the ether is exactly what you need to know if you look well, and hard, and long enough. Our communities are now on-line more often than not.

And we have kind of become an invisible community that hangs out and shares information in a virtual way. I spend more time in my inbox and outbox, on facebook and goodreads, then I do face to face. I see readers more often than I do fellow writers, even though I am in touch with other writers and with illustrators everyday. And in so many ways this suits writers who work best in their own little worlds. We are not just isolated because our work is individual. We choose that isolation because that's how the best writing happens. We often talk about finding sanity in our water cooler conversations because isolation can drive you crazy but as lonely as our garrets can be that's where we ultimately want to retreat to. This internet thing actually seems to suit us pretty well. I love seeing my writer and illustrator friends, love chewing the fat, finding out the latest gossip and sharing hot tips. They are the best. But we don't wait for get-togethers to fill each other in on what's happening, and I expect to keep working on information gathering and personal up-skilling on an ongoing basis on my own all the time. Its not just the book writing, publishing and book-selling landscape that's changed. The way we do business is different now too. And how our new needs are met will have to catch up with us...

Keep being the kind of writer you want to be...

Borders on Queen Street in Auckland City is gasping its last. My daughter and I had a little time to kill before going to see Tintin at the movies on my birthday on Boxing Day so we wandered in and took a look. I stared at the children's novel by someone I know marked down to $2.00 a copy. I felt relief that only one of my books was in the sale and the price wasn't too hideously low. Then I went and bought a YA novel by another NZ author marked down to half price. I am a lowly paid author and a reader too and I guess I'm not apologising for buying a book at reduced prices. I can't and wouldn't stop folk buying my books at reduced prices. I would be a fool to think this might never happen to my books, and there always remains the chance that I find a new fan this way. When I can, I buy books from my local booksellers. Sometimes I buy from Amazon for my kindle or from Mighty Ape (they offered me a discount for my birthday and they had one of the books I couldn't find elsewhere - it was a no-brainer), today I downloaded a free e-book off Amazon which I didn't feel too bad about - I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his estate have done well out of me over the years, and done exceedingly will in general. I try to spread the love around, and sometimes I am the recipient.

The Boxing Day Sales in general saw a positive increase in spending - a good day for retailers. But I couldn't help thinking how tight their margins might have been to lure customers in. Once all their bills are paid I hope they have enough to keep going. As has been said recently in the blogo-sphere (e.g. via Beattie's Blog) bookshops (and other retailers) can survive if they are smart/innovative about how they sell books (and other products) compared with the Amazons of this world. I'm rooting for them. Amazon has its place but it doesn't do everything a customer might want.

What can you do? Keep being the kind of writer you want to be. If your manuscript is rejected, it didn't fit with the publisher's programme or didn't quite make it through every hoop they needed it to jump through. If your book tanks, is remaindered or goes swiftly out of print, that's business. Sometimes business sucks. Perhaps you might be a bestseller or sell overseas, be reprinted or win an award. Yay!!! If you have written the stories that matter to you, in a way you feel proud of, then whatever 'life' your story has, you know you wrote the stories you wanted to write. Trends, fads, and publishers might come and go but your stories will always have your name on them.