A press release from Stephen Gustav:
We are launching a new weekly series for authors to introduce the ideas behind their novels. Modeled after John Scalzi’s The Big Idea series of posts at the Whatever, but aimed at independent and small press authors. Ours is The Really Big Idea.
[He writes at greater length about the thinking behind the new feature in its first entry:]
I’ve long been an admirer and follower of the Big Idea series at John Scalzi’s Whatever. I have bought more books based on a reading of a Big Idea post than from any other source. The only thing that even comes close is Cory Doctorow’s reviews at Boing Boing.
Hearing straight from the author why they wrote their book, and what issues they wrestled and pinned to the ground to get it done is a far better introduction than, well, just about anything short of actually reading the book. What it comes down to is that getting an insight into the mind of the author is far better than getting a look inside the mind of the marketing drone writing the back cover blurb.
The only downside to the Big Idea is that the Scalzi, in his wisdom, has limited participation: “The feature is open to all authors regardless of genre, fiction and non-fiction alike.… so long as their works are distributed to major bookstores on a returnable basis and are available on the following three American online book stores: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Powell’s.”
Well, that sucks.
I see what he’s doing, and why—and were I in his place I could imagine having similar restrictions. It’s a good filter.
Since I’ve become an independent author—all of a month and a half, now—I’ve been amazed at the help and advice I’ve gotten in the really short amount of time that I’ve been out here. Even among the independent publishing crowd, my method is a little outre—I’m serializing The Great American Goblin Invasion Novel, for free. A friend characterized my business plan in a way that you might find familiar:
1. Get readers
2. ???
3. Profit!
Given that the Veil War has only been up for a few weeks, it is perhaps too early to judge the soundness of my plan. However, the fact that I do not, at this time, have a salable product—even an electronic one—has made me doubly ineligible for Scalzi’s estimable series. And, experiencing first hand the frustration of not meeting Scalzi’s qualifications for inclusion in his Big Idea series, it occurred to me that if I can’t do his Big Idea, maybe I can roll my own.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this is some pretty awesome flattery. Here, then, is a nearly exact duplicate of John Scalzi’s Big Idea, with the sole difference being that the authors we are focusing on are the independent authors—ones who are not producing physical books being placed in the few remaining bookstores. Smaller presses, pure kindle sales, smashwords—the fringe of the publishing world.
It is my feeling that that the publishing industry is in the throes of great changes. Five years ago, a budding author’s course was obvious—get a finished manuscript into the hands of an agent and get a book printed and distributed. Five years from now, the new author’s couse will be equally obvious—and completely different. What that will end up being is being decided and created right now.
[The first author to be featured is Ian Thomas Healy.]