predictions about agents?

[minervaK]

Anyone?

All the wonks are predicting The End Of Publishing As We Know It -- but then there's that 22% increase and the wonks say authors will do all right. My question is whether or not we'll need agents, in the New World. What do you guys think?

[Kemosabe]

I thin Smashwords will give you a ISBN number for free. And Eric is right, the time invested is not that great. If one does not want to edit her/his work, that part can be hired out.

[ms.pamila]

Well, that's good to hear. I've just started researched and got hung up on the getting it into epub format part of things. That's the part that looked like work to me. Can't recall at the moment where I saw fees involved, maybe it was for listing with aggregators..as I said, the fees I saw weren't big. Apple doesn't charge a fee, but there is a multi-step process. Mulling over the pros and cons. I do really like the idea of retaining ownership of my work. There are many things to consider.

The thing I'd most like to see happen is for the balance of power to shift to the creators. We dig this stuff up out of our subconscious and craft it into art. We should be the first and most compensated.

[Kemosabe]

It is happening, ms pamela. Like everything in life you have to learn enough to fit in. I bought the ebook cover shown here for $250. I am working now to learn how to do that myself so I can have the control of getting what I want.

[Jim Thomsen]

It really isn't that difficult to format your books and upload them to Kindle and Smashwords. I've sat there and watched friends who aren't particularly tech-savvy do it. And those platforms keep working to make the experience easier. I've done some poking around and I'm confident I can handle it ... and I'm nobody's idea of a computer genius, least of all my own.

And "combing through your text for errors" is an author's baseline responsibility, whether or not he or she does it or hires it out.