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The most popular teen books are those containing hundreds of swear words. A #$!#$!@#$ sign of the times? Or has it always been that way?  Here's the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2146176/Bad-language-books-Harry-Potter-Twilight-encourage-teens-swear.html

“Who needs a publisher?”

Note: I ran the following comment in this blog nearly a year ago. However, with the "war" that is going on now between publishers and Indie authors, I think it's worth running again. There are two sides to every story. - Ray

 “Who needs a publisher when I can do it myself and keep all the profits?”

As a publisher, you’d think I’d be a bit sensitive to a remark like this. You’d think so, but you’d be wrong. 

This question was presented to me by an aspiring writer at a little get-together at my home a few nights ago. He stood there, cocktail in hand, a slightly smug look on his face as he waited for my reply. 

“You don’t need a publisher,” I said. 

I received a blank stare. 

“If you’re a good writer, you’re already ahead of the game, so you don’t need a publisher unless . . . unless you’re also a good editor,” I added. 

I paused, waiting for his comment. After a few moments of silence I went on: “And you don’t need a publisher if you’re a good artist and can come up with attractive cover art for your book.” 

Silence. 

“Now, if you know how to promote your book to the media, you’ve really got something going for yourself.” 

The aspiring writer opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and took a sip of his drink. 

“And if you know how to get your ISBN and submit the information to bowkerlink.com, and to dustbooks.com, well . . . now you’re getting somewhere. And I assume you know how to put a good Website together.” 

And with that, the young fellow said something about refreshing his drink, and drifted away. 

It was an interesting encounter, certainly not one that’s new to me. I have been a professional writer since I was in my teens, and I’m 75 now, so I’ve been through the blender many times. 

As a publisher, I’ve always been on the side of my writers, and I always will be. If any of my 100+ authors want to “go indie” I will cheerfully void our publishing agreement and wish him or her well, and I mean that. 

I love the “Indie revolution” that’s going on in the eBook industry. My publishing company was one of the eBook pioneers (I started it fifteen years ago). We produced eBooks in text format, then html, .rtf and .pdf, and all told we didn’t sell enough books to buy a meal at a so-so restaurant. 

Why? Because there wasn’t a decent, inexpensive eReader available. Make no mistake, the reason eBooks are taking off now is because of the sudden abundance (relatively speaking) of eReaders from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, KOBO, Sony, etc., not to mention Apple’s iPad and the various “smart phones” on the market. 

Now eBooks are the “in” thing, and I think that’s wonderful. Unfortunately there are thousands of eBooks being churned out by indie authors that are simply horrendous (poorly written and edited with breathtakingly bad cover art), but some of the titles are not only good, but excellent! 

“Who needs a publisher when I can do it myself and keep all the profits?” 

As you can see, there are two answers to this question, and they’re both valid.

JV Radio Pictures interviewed Peggy Bechko, one of my favorite Fiction Works writers, regarding her fantasy eBook, Stormrider.  Great interview, Peggy.