Physics tells us
that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. One
kid pumps her knees on the end of a teeter-totter, and the kid on
the other end is sent falling back to earth. She then plants her
feet, pumps her knees and it's the other little girl's turn for an
earthbound journey, if, that is, both girls are of equal weight.
None of this would happen without a fulcrum in the middle, balancing
the two girl. In the world of writing, the fulcrum is technology,
and the equal but opposite forces are the mega-stars of the
publishing world and the mass of writers tired of the same old game
of publishing, with the same old gatekeepers determining who will be
read and who won't. This all adds up to the brave new world of
eBooks, and the opportunity for any and all to self-publish their
work.
Just as the two
girls of equal weight create a tummy-tickling ride of ups and downs
on the teeter-totter's fulcrum, the world of writing, and the people
who practice the game, are now in for a tummy-tickling, sense
dazzling, ride of ups and downs. Thank you technology for smashing
down the gates. And who knows? It could turn out that the tag-along
of self-publishing, readers ratings on web sites, could turn into the
most effective global critique group ever known. This critique group
has a public and powerful impact that sends the faint of heart
running to other creative outlets, and the doggedly determined into a
sweat for excellence.
Watch out world,
there are new writers emerging with a writing style that will rock
the written word, and they'll shape their punch with the input of
people, not Suits in their Ivory Towers.
Let's give a cheer
for the democratization of writing! Let's give an extra cheer for
the freedom of writers writing for readers, instead of shriveled
dinosaurs guarding crumbling gates!
Done cheering, now?
Good, because that pump of the knees Free Agent writers have is
calling on a whole new set of muscles, and the ride cycles though ups
and downs at a tummy-hurling speed. This isn't just my personal culture shock, it's a culture shock for all of us.
Old mazes of
navigation from imagination of the writer's mind to the reader's have
been shattered and new ones put in place. The old rules, such as
keep turning left in a maze and you'll eventually get out, have
changed, and those rules have yet to be understood. And instead of
old dinosaurs threatening the creative lives of those who write,
there are scam artists aplenty with a new set of deadly teeth we
can't yet recognize. An over-eager writer can go bankrupt in a few
click of their keyboards.
So what's a writer
to do?
Exactly what we've
always done—rely on each other. Network with other writers, share
experiences and pitfalls. Lucky for us there are trailblazers, and
they blog. Some excellent sources for information on ePublishing
your eBook can be found epublishbook.com and The Creative Penn which was voted one of
the top blogs for writers 2010-11. There are links to services on
these blogs for everything from copy editors to eBook designers
(we're judging books by their covers more than ever as we continue
shifting to an image-driven culture). And we share on our own blogs
what we've learned along the way.
But the most
important thing we can do in this new world of eBooks is keep
writing. Keep having fun. Keep following our dreams and let our
dreams grow ever bigger. The rest will fall into place.
