Web Presence II

Well, I said I’d finish the weekend with a full head and I was right. It’s Thursday, so it took four days for my head to empty. The two day course on Digital Marketing for Authors was presented by Ross Laird who flew in from BC. That meant, with the time change and the switch to DST, he got up around 1 or 2 am, BC time, on Sunday morning. We appreciated the sacrifice.

He started the weekend by determining the level of “geekiness” of the participants. He even defined a geek for us as someone who chooses “concentration over conformity in the pursuit of knowledge and imagination.” He asked us who knew what www, html and http meant and most got that. He lost us all at CSS. We were level 3 out of 10 on the geek scale.

Over the next two days, he covered topics including the anatomy of a good website, web hosting, WordPress, social media, typography, text editors, the Cloud and password security.

Perhaps the most fascinating topic was self-publishing/e-publishing and the direction of publishing in general. I have to admit, it was eye-opening. We all know that self-publishing, especially on Kindle, is becoming more and more mainstream. For the most part, I never considered it. I always felt it’s reputation was of poorly written and poorly edited books. The one self-published novel I had purchased several years ago on Kindle (without realizing it was self-published) was full of typos, poor grammar and lacked a cohesive plot. I was floored that it had been published and when I checked the Amazon site, I learned that it was self-published.

After that experience, I didn’t give self-publishing and/or e-publishing a second thought.

Apparently, this is changing and for the better. We all know there are great books out there that can’t break into the traditional marketplace and self-publishing is becoming a very marketable alternative. With a completed manuscript in hand, all one needs is a good editor and a following on the web. A good self-published novel will not only sell itself to the author’s followers, but they, in turn, will spread their opinions online and by word of mouth. Then the sky is the limit.

Does this mean the demise of traditional publishing? I don’t think so. I think it means a transition and those that adapt will certainly survive. I not only think there is room for both in the current marketplace, but also that traditional publishers are absolutely necessary to keep the bar set as high as possible in terms of quality material. They have the infrastructure, the investment and the contacts to ensure the best works are published. This in turn forces the self-published author to strive to match that level of quality. In the end, the reader is the winner. They get good books to read and with self-publishing, they get more choices.

It’s a lot to think about.

What are your thoughts on traditional publishing in the electronic age?

I have to thank WANL for hosting the event and the provincial Department of Innovation, Business & Rural Development for providing funding that made the weekend very affordable.