Blue Water Writing: The Rising Tides of the Ebook Industry

If the print industry had its wild west, the ebook industry’s is currently experiencing a major hurricane. The rising tides are pushing past the dunes and reaching into the streets. As a first-time Kindle author, I’m having trouble finding solid ground. Reading Twitter promotions about new publications on my phone every other minute are inciting me to question my survivability. The popular book-bloggers that require two months of lead time – not for a review of a book – but for the consideration of a review, seems to me a prediction that more high winds on are the way.  Jeff Bullus‘ comments about the “over-saturated” ebook marketplace are drowned out by the crashing waves of ebook articles on the Internet. 

Cover for There’s a War on Here by J. Jirout

It’s a Category 6 out there right now, and I’m not sure that I’m really prepared. Writing the text for “There’s a War on Here” took a lot out of me – as did the creation of the audiobook. Then, reading through and applying the marketing advice on the Internet, constructing materials, and engaging in social media promotions, my household to-do list fell apart. Needing time to figure out how to work the apps and attach the links, I temporarily closed down my paying job. Spending time creating that YouTube Slideshow, my other projects were lost to the wind. As my kids are now wondering where I went, I am thinking about maybe exploring projects outside of the ebook industry.

I have gigs that provide more income and that demand less involvement, but they don’t thrill me like the pursuit of irony does. I thought about replacing my daily writing-routine with a high-energy exercise, but the adrenalin-rush of a work-out doesn’t feel anywhere near as satisfying at the completion of that perfect page.  The sparkling beauty of imagined possibilities, the crafting of pleasant-sounding paragraphs, and the construction of colorful characters positively cheer me up. It’s writing that puts a skip in my step, so here’s to sheltering in place, waiting out the storm, and staying afloat among the rising tides of the ebook industry.

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