As the Publishing World Churns!

 

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarciakinggamble.com

Twenty-Five years ago, when I started my writing journey, it was a whole different world. No one had even heard the word e-book much less Kindle. Self-publishing meant you couldn’t quite make it as a writer. Who knew that would prove not to be true.

In 1998 when I first got published, publishers had started dipping their toes into the multicultural world. Editors couldn’t get enough of our books. The problem, however, was they didn’t know how to market and who to market to. The assumption was that only readers of color read multi-cultural books. It was a niche market they said. Often times, I would find myself in some bookstore under African American History. Mind you,  I’ve never written a Historical in my life, but that’s a tale for another day.

At one point, I was publishing 5 books a year and working a full- time job.  But with the advent of the Kindle, things changed. It was less expensive for publishers to publish eBooks rather than print books that clogged up warehouses. There was also a changing readership with a limited attention span. No one wanted long descriptive settings anymore. Gone were the days of blossoming relationships that led to love. There was that push to get your hero and heroine into bed, and quickly. You became your own editor and marketer.

Contracts changed and not for the better. Major bookstores closed, editors got fired, advances were reduced, or disappeared. Well-known authors got dropped, and many who made a living as full-time writers needed a second job to keep food on the table. 

Little-by little, the migration to the Indie world began. For a while that seemed the answer. Writers shouted from their laptops they were making more money at it, than through traditional publishing. That well dried up when there was a glut on the market. What most feared became a reality, a lot of poorly edited books were published for the e-readership, and it was presumed you couldn't quite cut it .

So, what to do?  Stay writing and hope for the best? When life changes one has to change with it. As writers we do what we have to do. we reinvent ourselves or we are no longer relevant.

Some that I know are ghost writing, others have joined the serial fiction world, and others have declared themselves editors.

The one certainty in an uncertain world, is everything old becomes new again.

How have you reinvented yourself? Let's exchange a tip or two.

Find me on Kindle Vella. First 10 episodes are free.

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0CB1TWHCY

 https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0CC8HWQ52 (writing as Sari Smith)

About Marcia King-Gamble

USA bestselling romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This former travel industry executive has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. She has contributed to Michael Fiore’s DigitalRomanceInc and served as a moderator on the now defunct eHarmony advice boards.  Having witnessed the bad, the ugly, and the not so good in relationships, she still prefers to write about happily ever after. Caring for her animal family keeps her grounded and sane.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

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