Publishing Evolutaion #84: Writer Communities and Author Websites

I've never written to an author but I do enjoy visiting their websites. For this exercise I went to the websites of three of my favorite authors. The Anne McCaffrey website has a RSS feed and will receive emails to answer questions. The Nancy Atherton website lists the Aunt Dimity books in order and has all the recipes from each book. The Rita Mae Brown website has a newsletter that you can subscribe to. They all have biographical information, bookslists, mentions the new ones and book tours if planned. I enjoy learning a little about their lives and discover where they get their inspiration for the characters and stories.


I don't think that I have ever purchased or read a book that was published because it was voted most popular before it was "officially" published. That being said, a good book is a good book and it wouldn't matter to me if it went through that process.

Publishing Evolution #82: Print on Demand

The various publishing sites look pretty much alike, the cost depends on what the author is will to pay. The cost of the books seems similar to traditionally published books. I looked at some of the titles that they offered but didn't find anything I would be interested in reading. We own one title from Author House. The author is a local man who calls almost every day to find out what his Amazon number is. It's been in the four million number range for a while. Barnes and Noble quit giving it a number several months ago.




I can see that these companies might be a good option for someone who as been trying to publish and has had a hard time finding a publisher. I know that on a rare occasion a self published book has found a large audience, Eragon comes to mind, but most of them don't seem to find one. I guess if I found a book that I really wanted to read and could get it from a reputable source, it wouldn't matter who published it.