Guest Post David N. Alderman author of the Black Earth Series


The Age of Self Publishing


Up until recently I didn’t think I was old enough to really say, “back in the day”, but apparently at a ripe 31 years old, I am. Back in my day, cell phones were a luxury and pagers were the sign of the times. Back in
my day, there was no Facebook or Myspace. Back in my day, all of our books were
hardcover or paperback.


I look around me now and even though I’ve transitioned into this new age, I am surprised at how far we’ve come. People read books on their electronic e-readers. Facebook is the ‘in place’ to be to meet with friends in
a virtual setting. Cell phones are as necessary to young kids as backpacks and
school lunch.


With these changes comes a very different time for publishing. I know there’s many blogs on the new digital age and how ebooks are going to replace paper books one of these days. I doubt that very much. What I
don’t doubt is that we are approaching new means for people to publish what it
is that is in their minds, in their hearts. Self-publishing is becoming a
revolution and a lot of people have started to take up arms and join it.


Years ago, I tried to go the traditional route of publishing. I sent out thirty queries to agents for my young adult sci-fi/fantasy series and 8 whopping months later, I received thirty
rejections. Frustrated, I decided to self-publish through Lulu, a non-vanity
self-publishing company. They offered for a way to publish my novel my way. Now
there are a half dozen or more companies like Lulu out there, offering many
different ways to publish that book you’ve had in your head for so long.


This paradigm shift has caused many to think it’s the end of traditional publishing. Far from it. It’s just an alternative, one that allows those who don’t want to wait for rejection - or even victory - to make their own destiny, to do
things their way without having someone else tell them how their book should be
written, what their cover should look like, what marketing avenues they should
be taking or how long they should have to wait until their story can be released
to the public.


As much as people want to blog and scream out that it’s doomsday for the publishing companies or for the paper book in general, I believe things haven’t been better for writers. We now have the means to
publish in paperback and digital the stories that have been eating away at us
during those late night hours. Those characters that wake us up in the middle
of the night can now meet others out there who want to read their stories. So
many stories.


Someday when my kids are older (when I have kids) I will be able to tell them what our times were like. Facebook will have morphed into a mega power taking over half the world, Ebook readers will probably be archaic,
but I guarantee you we’ll always have those paperback and hardcover books
sitting on dusty shelves, portals to worlds we could never give up even if we
tried. They’ll be stacked near our museum quality cell phones. ;)


David Alderman is the full-time, self-published author of the science fiction/fantasy series, Black Earth. You can find out more about Black Earth and his writing talents at www.davidnalderman.com.


David N. Alderman / dna@davidnalderman.com / www.davidnalderman.com www.abrokenreality.blogspot.com


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