Ebooks on Cell Phones and Self-Publishing

Anyone who knows me at all knows my (continued) frustration with the publishing industry. Write a children's story or novel--a big task in and of itself--and then you must begin the lengthy and stressful journey of getting the daffy thing published. As a writer, you of necessity work alone. The only way you can know if you're on the right track with your work is to get feedback. The way the publishing industry currently works, getting feedback on any one story is an iffy prospect at best.

For example, I write a novel. I revise and proofread and have two beta readers give me comments. I revise and proofread some more. Then, at this point, I say to myself, I have a good book. At least one I and my beta readers like. 

Now, the research begins. I go to the library or buy publishing market guides, and I find the names of editors and agents who might have an interest in my work so I can send this puppy off. I make my list, I check it twice, and then off my book goes, into the great beyond. 

And I wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. If I'm lucky, I'll get one or two personal comments from the 30 or so editors and agents I've submitted to. The rest are form letters. And I may have to wait to hear back from all of them for a year or more. 

Say an editor wants to see my book. (I sent query letters out, because editors don't want your full book unless they ask.) Happily, I send it to her. Then I wait. And wait. And wait, and wait and wait. 

(You see the trend?)

If I'm lucky, I'll get more than a comment like "This just didn't work for me" when I finally get the rejection back months later. (I once waited 18 months to get a rejection on a requested book.) Then, since I'm apparently insane, I begin the whole process again. I finish another book, and start revising....

Now along comes the Internet, and the fanfiction on the web, then ebooks and electronic self-publishing. Some journalists are now saying this is the wave of the future, for writers to self-publish electronically, so their books can be downloaded onto ebook readers, cell phones, and PDAs. I like the thought, but I worry about the implimentation of the process.

I worry that I would self-publish my work, and then I would have no way to promote or market it. Does one do this through Facebook and MySpace, or through in-person author talks? Do you pay for ad space in cyberspace, or do you take out an ad in your local newspaper? Maybe I'm too much a child of the "older generation," because I'm ignorant of just how to sell something in this new medium of the Internet. 

I'm going to have to come to grips with this sooner rather than later. I'm working on a novel at the moment that is progressing very well. I know myself well enough to know I will finish it, and want to send it somewhere. Do I start first with the print publishers, and resign myself to the waiting, or do I jump into cyber-publishing with both feet? I honestly don't know. 

To read more on this issue, and to see the types of articles that are provoking this particular train of thought, Computer World magazine's article does a nice job of summing it all up. 

In the meantime, I have to pick up dry cleaning and then I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon writing. That part of the process, at least, I understand.