Who Needs Book Publishers When You Have Steemit?
8 years ago in #writing by jamielefay (66)
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Great post as always!
Hurrah!
Hurrah!
I completely agree with the idea of releasing books on Steemit. I just posted the 8th chapter of my book Love Like His about a half hour before I saw this post.
I figured that Steemit would also give me encouragement to finish it, as well as the outlet to release it.
Great post.
Good to discover a fellow author. The community is super supportive and diverse. I love it.
Hi @jamielefay - I've been reading Ahe'ey and truly enjoying it - and I love your train of thoughts! How long did you take to pen down the series? And what was or is your greatest challenge in the process?
Hi @kevinwong , thank you for your support and kind words. I’m so grateful to all my readers. I take nothing for granted. I have been writing this particular book series since 2013; it has evolved a lot as I became more experienced in this genre and as Ahe’ey and Its characters gained more depth, breadth and texture. These days, Ahe’ey is a world that includes many fully fleshed characters, dozens of locations and story arcs. Initially, I struggled to let go of my need to make all my protagonists perfect and likeable and make my antagonists evil and unidimensional. I have learned that both heroes and villains need strengths and weaknesses; that the best story lies between the shades of grey of humanity. These days I’m much more interested in my characters’ flaws and vulnerabilities than I am in their strengths. The people of Ahe'ey teach me the best life lessons. J.
I agree that some of the very best stories don't really have a clear line between the antagonists and protagonists. Must be awesome having a bulky notepad full of characters and plotlines :) Personally I've been trying to write fiction - it's just so difficult to get the ball rolling writing on the way to something expansive. Talked to a friend recently about the process of innovation - we usually have an idea, a shape of what's to come, and we don't really have a good idea on the end product until it is done and open for others to look into (just like Steemit until more users coming in and showing how things can be done differently). So I guess it's quite applicable for fiction writing? Just need to keep writing and writing and getting feedback. Good to know you're having great fun producing Ahe'ey :)
The agile, continuous innovation process applies to fiction writing. The work is never done, and you continuously go back and revisit plot and characters. I have restructured my novel several times over the years. I believe it's super important to release work often and get some validation. I come from a "lean startup" innovation background and have a tendency for continuous improvement. And yet, sometimes you just need to release it in print or on the blockchain and let it go with all its wrinkles and warts. ;) I can't wait to read your work. ;) BTW, some writers structure the beats in advance; I find it helpful, but I don't always stick to it.
I know her. And I try to be like her... E.O. Wilson pointed out the "consilience" of things, how science can inform poetry, and poetry can inform economics, and on and on.
:) "There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres." - Pythagoras
Great to see more quality formatted posts from fellow indie authors :)
Followed!
Thanks. I look forward to reading your work. J.
interesting way of looking at things. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks, J.
I need!) Love keep book in my hands)
As someone who practically lives in a bookstore I can tell you that never before has there been so many genres and cross-genres of books available to the public. And yes, most of these are published with great care by traditional publishers who are just as keen as the consumer to offer books that feature diversity (including sexual and gender diversity) and play against stereotype. Today's literary marketplace includes everything from beautifully illustrated feminist graphic novels for the youth market to cross-genre travel memoirs to sci-fi with heroines and books on STEM for kids...and everything in between. In the past decade, publishers and editors have done a 180 in regards to overturning old models in publishing. Hurrah!
@Florentina, I agree; things are changing rapidly, particularly in the past few years. Unfortunately most publishers still struggle with cross-genre fiction. They just don't know what to do with it.
For sure, the difference between "literary" and "popular" writing has blurred but today's publishers --especially the Big Six-- have taken advantage of this. I mean, consider that as far back as 1992, Donna Tartt was changing the rules with her bestselling debut, The Secret History--a literary novel that was also a mystery thriller. The book, along with so many others in the 90s, changed the rules and has given us cross-genre writers like Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Annie Dillard and so many others. The amazing author and literary critic, Lev Grossman, does really well with his "hybrid" fantasy novels which are written in a literary style.
Funny you mention Lev, I am seeing him in just a few days. He is speaking at the Sydney Opera House. He is a great champion of the democratisation of literature.
How wonderful!
I just discovered your series, and I think i'm begining to hate you! You are stealing my precious sleep hours, since I can not stop reading!!
(obviously joking about the hate -> keep going!! I`ll find some corner in the office to take a small nap...
I apologise profusely, particularly, because I hope you continue to miss some sleep... ;) I appreciate the hate. Thanks, J.
hi jamie, o.. should I hurrah first? hurrah! It's really great to see real novelist gain some success here. but I think you still need book publishers, only this time they have to beg you. Still, steemit has its problem right now as a substitute for books as your chapters cannot receive income after one month. I hope you can help the dev team realize those issues and really set up steemit as the next gen publisher! Steem on!
Thank you @deanliu . I appreciate the context. I am aware of the issue and am very willing to discuss it with the Steemit product team. Given that the platform is still in beta, I suspect that the product backlog is long and that they might have competing priorities. As you know, in such an early stage venture, the business strategy evolves quite fast. I'm not sure if long-form serialised fiction is steemit's top priority right now, but I am surely paying close attention to the ongoing developments. I do have many opinions, but for now, my goal is to observe, learn and contribute as much as I can. Opinions and requests will come, once I get my head around the complexities of this exciting new world. :) J.
your words is a timely reminder to me. lately I was a little bit frustrated by getting no replies or no responses from dev team or peers... but you are right that I forgot how much work they have right now and we should be more patient. Indeed. Thank you for bringing positive energy back to me! Hope I can do a Chinese novel one day! (English novels too difficult for me :))
My pleasure. I wish I could read Mandarin or Cantonese. Best wishes with your writing @deanliu .
"She wonders what would happen if Jane Austen, Arthur C. Clarke and Margaret Atwood joined forces to write a novel that would, one day, be adapted to become a Marvel Studios film." - I would go watch this movie. <3
Read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. The book is much better than the movie though.
Agreed, I liked the book; unfortunately, the movie was terrible.
I had to put it down, can't stand his writing style. Are you posting Ahe'ey today Jamie? Waitingggg...
:) Wed morning 7:30am EST. Thank you for your support Nat.
I'll bring the pop corn ;)
Exactly! Steemit is like decentralized publishing, making it easy for anyone to have their writing noticed without the middleman.
Yes, the middleman just... get in the way ;)
this is great Jamie, i agree, maybe one day we will see steemit unions too
I like the way you think. Thank you @serejandmyself.
I like the way he thinks too!
Hi @jamielefay
I agree that steemit is a wonderful medium to share ideas, stories and novels etc. The problem is that your stuff gets swallowed by this large black-hole and it is very difficult to get high reader numbers. Steemit however can however be highly rewarding (read profitable) if you get the right following
At this early stage, discoverability on steemit is still much higher than any other social media or publishing platform. Plus, we actually get paid. I trust the product team to continue to evolve the platform to enhance discoverability and bubble quality content to the top. Steemit is still in beta, it will evolve, and we have a voice that can influence the features of the platform, something that is not going to happen at facebook or amazon. I'm optimistic. J.
I Enjoy Your Blog
I Have chose to follow You
Please Feel Free To Follow Me Back
Happy Steeming
We Share Same Interests
Thank you. J.
Words it is a too slowly instrument for transfer images. I think new age will accompanied with a new IMAGE world language, and this is already created in Russia (surprise, as always :-)). I think I need tell about it, right?)
I enjoy all kinds of mediums—words, still images, film, music—they all have a place. They are particularly powerful when they are combined. J.
Steemon
SteemOn!
Great writing. I am myself not a professional writer, but am the son of a journalist and writer, and know the pain that my dad had to endure to get any attention from publishers for his work. I also knows what he is paid by top newspapers to write articles. IN fact it is shocking to hear what a front page lead article is worth.
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, unfortunately, the business model of journalism is VERY broken, and it is seriously affecting the quality of the news. I am following Blendle with great interest. Jamie