The Wave No One Saw

Still talking about e-books (or is it again?) I wrote a piece on same for January Magazine a few days ago talking about my path to them, my experience with them and the E-Book Publishing Workshop/Retreat I’ll be teaching at in June and how it came to be:

And so David and I started talking about that: about how some authors were feeling overwhelmed by the new roles being thrust upon them and how we could see a path through the forest, when maybe a lot of people were beating their way through the most thickly treed part. And wouldn’t it be fun, said we, to put what we know about publishing -- electronic and otherwise -- into a really enjoyable week-long intensive. Gorgeous surroundings. Good food. Camaraderie. And a lot of talk about the subject closest to our hearts: books and how they’re made.

We decided to mandate it: have people bring a manuscript and their own computer and, before the week is through, we’ve helped them design a cover, format their e-book, do all those necessary fiddly bits and upload it, ready for sale. Along the way, we’d talk about marketing and promotion and all the things that authors really do need to be thinking about these days.

You can read that piece here.