Future is so bright, I gotta wear shades

Because, as a writer (or even a human) you should look ahead and be prepared as possible (okay, maybe it's the latent boy scout in me or something that I do this), some posts about a part of the writer career I haven't made it to, yet.

An article on book bloggers and their gaining influence in marketing books. This is the one step beyond, "OMG, bloggers are destroying the newspaper book review," mantra of several years ago. So, if they are, doesn't it make sense for the publishers to pay them attention? Hell, many of my successful friends hold out ARCs to get bloggers to review them. And here I'll give a shout out to my friend the Lycan Librarian who posts reviews (although she's been kinda quiet for a few weeks). Oh, and she actually is a librarian (which is now excuse to give my semi-annual Librarians Rock! shootout). And you also have John Scalzi's Big Idea on his Whatever. And there are, quite literally, hundred of others. My guess is the next big push by "self-publishers" (the scam kind) will be to get the name of your self-published book on many "blogs" for a fee (and my guess is they'll set up most of those blogs and nobody will read them).

Cat Rambo talks about selling reprint rights. Which is where the money is really at, BTW. This much I've learned so far, if all you're doing is selling First NA Rights, you're only making half (at most) of your potential. Other countries have wonderful reading audiences. And they pay. No, seriously, as the next semi-successful author about secondary right and foreign right sales. As a poet I met once told me, making the first sale is just the toe in the door (well, for poets resale and grant gathering, which the first sale is just like a calling card, is were you make the money). As someone else once said, I have two hobbies; writing (which I do because it's fun and for me) and submitting (which I do for the money).