A Look Back at the Evolution of Publishing, Predictions That Came True & What This Means for YOU

Thank you Kristen Lamb for blogging all of your great advice just when I most needed it!

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Ah, a New Year is before us. What is the future of publishing? What lies ahead for writers? Will Snooki have another baby? After consulting my team of advisors, those being the voices in my head, I’ll toss my predictions in the ring tomorrow. Granted, much of what I predicted last year has come to pass. A lot of it, I think still will happen but I have a history of being so far ahead of the game, people think I’m bonkers (ok, I am).

Note to Self: Perhaps wearing tinfoil hat impairs professional credibility.

Before I give any predictions for 2014, I figured it might be fun to take a quick look at the past nine years before we finish out my decade of Publishing Prognostication and Social Media Soothsaying. More fun than cleaning the house, right?

I’ve been very blessed to be right more times than I…

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The Mouse That Roared—Invasion of the Micro-Trend & Why Indies Hold Increasing Power

Her post explains why I’m glad to be on PDMI instead of the Big Five…

Kristen Lamb's Blog

The Digital Age has arrived, and the ramifications of a connected world are still being revealed daily. But, there’s one trend I’d be hard-pressed to argue with. The 20th Century was all about homogeneity. Madison Avenue flourished by telling us which clothing brands made us cool, which car made us special, what foods were “healthy.” Tower Records controlled what music we heard and The Big Six selected which books we read.

Gatekeepers controlled information and retailers restricted commodities because homogeneity dictated many business decisions. Homogeneity was simpler and required less paperwork and thinking.

Generations bought Wonderbread because it was “fortified with vitamins” and “good for your kids.” In 1986? Hope you liked stirrup pants. There was a cultural need to “fit in” and be like everyone else, especially those who were the “cool kids.”

“Pillars of Same” Go Crashing Down

With the advent of the Internet and widespread use of social…

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The NEW Young Adult cover

Outstanding job, T.C.!

Andrea Zug – The Way Back Machine

Nothing beats real Detroit steel 🙂

Andrea Zug at Lancers, Inc.

Have you ever wished you could hop in the Way Back Machine and revisit the past? I don’t think there is a person living today that wouldn’t jump at the chance to do just that. If you were able to do that…where would you go and what would you do?

Perhaps you would like to change something about the past. A word said in anger that hurt someone’s feelings? A missed opportunity that you regret?  Maybe just the chance to see someone you have lost…to hear their voice, see their smile and hold their hand, even for a second.

These are all lofty goals and would be well worth attaining. If it were possible. Although I might like to do all of the things I just mentioned, my goal would be much less lofty. A post on Facebook this morning made me hunger to see, hear and touch something that…

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A Day That Will Live In Infamy

December 7th is a day that will live in infamy…

…so it’s the perfect day for me to go live as @DavenAnderson on Twitter. 😉

Rise Of The Gearheads

Kirsten Lamb, from “Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World“:
“Ten years ago, no one cared if a fiction author gardened, was a gourmet cook or a wine aficionado who loved Golden Retrievers”
‘Consumers want authenticity. They long to connect on mutual ground. They get excited when they realize their favorite author also loves dogs and collects My Little Ponies”
“What this means is that all those hobbies, passions and idiosyncrasies that had no value before are now a priceless friendship chest”
***
THIS is why I want to have a book signing at the Mile-High Nationals next July.
To go where no author has gone before.
To say, “I’m a gear-head, I’m one of you. I love the smell of burning nitro from a Top Fuel dragster. I know the difference between a Boss 302 and a Shelby GT-500. I’m not a Stephen King who will say Christine’s Hydra-Matic pops out of park when I’ve known for decades that a 1958 Plymouth has a push-button Torque-Flite transmission. I have written what is most likely the first book any of you will ever read that has NO CAR MISTAKES, yet it is far more than that. It is a real and moving story about a young man with special needs overcoming challenges that threaten his very existence, without all of the saccharine sentimentality normally sugar-coating such books. I have all the visceral thrills of the Fast and Furious, but in my story’s heart beats the life of a young man who defies all the odds to win the hard-earned respect of his community. It is my highest honor to be here at the Mile-High Nationals, with my fellow gear-heads, as the first published author to be hosted here.”

SF Signal: Special Needs in Strange Worlds

A big thank you to Angie Hodapp for this link! 😀
SF Signal: Special Needs in Strange Worlds

SARAH: Is there enough disability in SFF?

ROB: I think there should be more.

So do I, and I wrote it: Vampire Syndrome