Saturday, January 5, 2013

Publishing trend predictions for 2013 with an audience participation element



I have problems telling the forest from the trees. I’m always amazed when others can see things clearly. Also, in things like predictions, I tend to question myself, my bias. Am I predicting this thing because I'm secretly scared it will happen? Or because I hope it will? And then I get confused. 

Needless to say, I am a mess when it comes to predictions.

So, instead of predictions, I’m going to locate for you centers of my personal wonderances regarding publishing trends. On any given day, you can find me on one side of these issues or the other. So, pick your own answers to the following prediction questions:

Will publishers somehow fight back against self publishing and gain the upper hand in some way?
Organizations, when organized, tend to overcome individuals, even bands of individuals. Sometimes I have this thought that publishers will develop some marketing muscle and magic and be stronger again, like it’s a pendulum. Their royalties aren't so good, but they do give exposure of a sort. Will they whip out something more in the coming year? Other times I think, no way, it’s not a pendulum, it’s a sea change. Then, I go to back to pendulum. Well, I think it's good to have books in both baskets, at any rate. Go ahead and choose your fave answer to this. 



Will changes in the publishing industry make me feel like an asshole for buying a kindle?  
It was an agonizing decision! I have been reading on an ancient Sony reader and everything had to be epub, and I had to trickily side load it. And I bought lots of books I couldn’t read! So I got a kindle. I wanted what others had! And to read free books everyone talked about. And so many are only offered on Kindle, dammit. Then, I said, I’ll buy mobi files from other stores not Amazon for it. To subvert the monopoly effect, but I haven’t done it yet because Amazon is so convenient. I like the idea of competition. And Amazon hasn’t done anything I hate yet…except for back in 2009 or 2010 when they delisted all books about gay characters; sometimes I feel like everyone has forgotten about that. And I do hate the exclusivity they try to foster. So I guess I feel like an asshole for buying a kindle and not spreading my book purchases around more. I guess that's a yes if I don't shape up with my purchase habits. 

Is UF on its way out?
I really wonder about this. Obviously my first and largest body of work was urban fantasy, but somewhere along the way, after writing and reading it incessantly, I got tired of it. Which was somewhat inconvenient because I had an exciting series I was super psyched about in the hopper and suddenly other projects were more exciting. New genres!  Bending genres! I do that, though, I go through phases. As a reader, I was so heavy into historicals for like a year, and I’m tiring of those, too. But I know I'll go back to them. So, is UF going out? Are Regency historicals going out? Or are they going out in my mind? Is it just me, or am I connected to the zeitgeist? It's just as possible that I will catch fire with UF again next month and it will be so in again for me. Maybe I just needed a break, to get some balance into my artistic life after overindulging and there's no zeitgeist about it. Or maybe not. How does anybody know anything EVER???

Please choose the answers you prefer to the above prediction matter, and let me know! 




2 comments:

  1. Hmm... Well, I got a kindle as a gift in 2011 for my birthday and it did totally change my book buying habits. (As in - Not *Solely* dependent on the big 6/err 5/ 4? for my book purchases) My dad said he chose it for me because they had the best selection & prices. *shrug* No need to feel like an asshole because of that. I do buy from other vendors if there are better deals to be had. I'm not Amazon specific, I'm budget oriented. :)


    I can't speak to UF being on its way out because it still remains one of my favorite genres, but my reading habits do tend to go in cycles. I'm tiring of historicals, reading more contemporaries and a lot more young adult, with science fiction and fantasy poking its head in upon occasion.

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  2. Whoa! I don't see the pub industry pulling something out of their hat. There is no stopping the ebook revolution and therefore self pubs. The next generation of readers coming up don't remember a world without ebooks, they aren't going to give them up. I've had a kindle almost as long as they've been out. I don't feel guilty. It is a damn good product and easy to use. I am bothered by the power amazon has, but feel the same about Walmart. People feel the same about Microsoft too.

    Dark UF is my favorite genre but I need to mix in other stuff. I don't think it is going out. The basics will always be there. People want their romance, horror and fantasy and UF is a wonderful combination of all three.

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