What’s This, Blogging?

On Medium No Less

Lately I’ve found myself succumbing to pressure from two conflicting sources.

In one instance I see people taking advantage of incredible opportunities that are helping them get their ideas and stories out there, cutting through the noise and reaching readers in impressively tangible ways, and I want to make sure other people striving for those goals know about them. Then I look at what I’ve done to create a platform that helps authors, developers, and people of ideas get their words out to the masses, Book Blast, and despite its growing success I see an increasingly pervasive thread of negativity based on false assumptions and knee-jerk defensive reactions.

Both of those issues compel me to speak out. I imagine myself visiting the English department back at college, getting all of the professors and students from the graduate and undergraduate programs together for a workshop to talk about how now is the best time in history to have a message and make it accessible to people. I may still do that. To the creative writing professors, I’d tell them they don’t need to throw away their work by publishing with whatever local college press somebody is running out of their closet and distributing to the local bookstore. I’d make sure the students slap anybody who tells them studying English won’t bring them any opportunities.

Then there are the authors we work with who know those things but are struggling with actually getting traction with digital publishing and trying to make a living from it. No ebook promotional platform is able to accommodate every author every day and remain effective. Sadly, it’s becoming far too common that authors, some of them very successful, take it personally when we have to decline to feature a book and respond with something snarky or unkind. I’ve heard of editors, reviewers, cover designers, and of course agents who’ve dealt with this. I understand the frustration of being told “no, we can’t help,” but it’s this friction that challenges us to improve. Besides, it might just be that the timing isn’t right. But you know what? It makes those who take our exchanges with grace seem all the more professional and compelling to work with.

Unfortunately we’re not able to individually coach everyone on how to specifically improve their products and turn them into bestsellers. There are other people out there who want to do that for a living. But maybe here on Medium there’ll be space enough for me to make observations about publishing and marketing that’ll help both those who haven’t yet stepped into the fray and those wading in it.

After all, I’m an author myself and have clawed my way to over a hundred thousand sales. I know what it means to struggle and grind, see success come and go, and then have to start the climb from the beginning again.

So when the opportunity arises and the spirit moves me, I’ll make an honest attempt to share my insights here in the hopes that it’ll be of some use. Digital Media Revolutions, my company, and Book Blast wouldn’t be what they are without the support and encouragement of so many talented and creative people.

Here’s hoping this’ll be one more way I can return the favor.