Okay, so sorry for the delay in posting this! I meant to have my 2nd Recap section up on Saturday. ;(

At RT, there were a couple of big buzz words that everyone seemed to be using. The one I heard the most? Discoverability.  In the world of shrinking bookshelves (okay, shrinking physical bookshelves–our digital ones sure seem to be growing), it is harder and harder for books to be discovered by readers.  When you go to Amazon, how do you discover new authors? How do you discover new books?  Since so many authors are dipping their toes into the self-publishing arena, discoverability is of huge importance. Proper key words and tagging (the tagging is on Amazon) can help to promote discoverability. Facebook ads and Google ads were also mentioned as being 2 ways to increase the discoverability of a book. (Social media promotion was pushed by all for discoverability.)

There were LOTS of self-publishing workshops.  The last time I attended RT (at least 2, maybe 3 years ago?), I don’t remember any self-publishing workshops. (Now, I’m not saying they weren’t there–maybe they were, but this year…Wow. Talk about an explosion.) It truly did seem like everyone was discussing self-publishing or “going indie”.

I’ve been self-publishing my Bound books, so I can certainly understand the appeal. You can experiment with your stories, you can get them delivered to readers faster, you can control price points, covers, you can get monthly paychecks–all great points.

But…I am also still happily writing for NY. I adore my editors. I love writing books for them. I love the support and the distribution that I can get for my print books. (And, yes, there are plenty of people who still want those print books.)

So, before the conference, I considered myself a writer who had a foot in both worlds–self-publishing and traditional publishing. I just didn’t realize there was an actual term for me, not until I attended one of Bob Mayer‘s workshops.  It turns out that I’m a “hybrid author”–and, yes, the name means what you think it does. I don’t just write traditionally. I’m not just indie. I’m both. To me, this is the best of both worlds. I can reach those readers who only want to read print books. I can reach the readers who want my self-pubbed stories and who want those stories delivered quickly on their e-readers.  Being a hybrid lets me reach a maximum amount of readers, and heck, for writers, isn’t that what this business is all about? Reaching readers?

Because that was sure what RT was about.  There were so many readers there. Excitement and laughter filled the air as people talked about books.  It was fabulous to see the connections that people made at the event. Great to feel that wonderful energy in the air.

Ah…a love of books–and whether those books are physical or digital–it’s all the same. They’re stories that make people happy. And don’t we all deserve our happy endings?

***

And, now, ahem, …I’m totally going to do a promo. Here’s the cover for my next self-pubbed book, BOUND BY THE NIGHT–this one will be out on 4/30:

(Hey, I was talking self-published books, so this is totally related…)

For the last fifteen years, vampire queen Iona has been dead to the world.  Trapped under the power of a brutal curse, she has been helpless.  A prisoner, locked within her own still body. Then alpha werewolf Jamie O’Connell fights his way to her side.  After defeating the guards that surround her, Jamie gives Iona his blood…and she rises.

The world has changed a great deal in the last fifteen years, and Iona has changed, too. Once known as the Blood Queen because of her dark reputation, she now finds herself longing for the blood of only one man…only he isn’t just a man. She wants the blood of her werewolf—Jamie’s blood.  But Iona doesn’t realize that Jamie has been keeping secrets from her. Very dark, dangerous secrets.  And Iona may have traded one curse for another.

Now that he has Iona, Jamie vows to never let her go. He needs his Blood Queen in order to defeat his enemy, he needs her to make his own beast stronger, and…he just needs her.  Jamie has risked his life to claim Iona, and he won’t let anything break their bond. Not time. Not spells. Not even a wild and reckless vampire queen…

***

You can find an excerpt from BOUND BY THE NIGHT here.

If you want to share your thoughts about discoverability or hybrid authors, please do! Have a great day.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 at 7:18 am and is filed under Romance. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.