I just bought the Amazon Kindle version of Scott Sigler's book, Infected: A Novel. What I find even more exciting is the backstory of how he grew an audience for his fiction by podcasting his novels. Aspiring authors take note:
From Wikipedia:
"EarthCore was originally published in 2001 by iPublish, an AOL/Time Warner imprint. With the novel doing well as a promotional ebook, Time Warner was planning on publishing the novel. With the economic slump following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Time Warner did away with the imprint in 2004, Scott decided to start podcasting his novel in March, 2005 as the world's first podcast-only novel to build hype and garner an audience for his work. Sigler considered it a "no brainer" to offer the book as a free audio download. Having searched for podcast novels and finding none, Sigler decided to be the first. Sigler was able to get EarthCore offered as a paid download on iTunes in 2006.
After EarthCore's success (EarthCore had over 10,000 subscribers), Sigler released Ancestor, Infection, The Rookie, and Nocturnal via podcast. Currently he is producing a weekly podcast with Contagious, his current podcast novel (Podiobook).
Pushing boundaries, Sigler released an Adobe PDF version of Ancestor on Monday 19 March 2007 through Sigler's own podcast as well as others. Ancestor was released on April 1, 2007 to much internet hype and, despite having been released two weeks earlier as a free ebook, reached #7 on Amazon.com's best-seller list and #1 on Sci-Fi, Horror and Genre-Fiction on the day of release.
Sigler is leveraging new media to keep in-touch with his fans, regularly talking with them using social networking sites, via email, and IM.
Scott Sigler was featured in a New York Times article on March 1, 2007 by Andrew Adam Newman which was covering authors using podcasting innovations to garner a broader audience."
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu8svldpJToIBD81XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11t0iu07u/EXP=1239148207/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Sigler
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu9LMldpJkoABQNdXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNTdwY2JqBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0RGRDVfMTE5/SIG=11bq8spmp/EXP=1239148364/**http%3a//scottsigler.com/
Ladies, these are exciting times for those of us who take FULL advantage of what's available. Fortune favors the bold!
An effort to stand for justice and oppose the "ruinous traits" listed by Muslim scholars in all their forms: rancor, unhealthy attachments, malice, jealousy, vanity, stinginess, avarice, cowardice, indolence, arrogance, ostentation, heedlessness, anxiety, depression, and oppression.
Monday, April 6, 2009
9 comments:
Thanks for stopping by! {excited waving}
Please understand that this is not a free speech zone. Profanity and hate speech are not welcome and will not be posted. This blog seeks to foster a courteous, reasoned exchange of ideas. I would ask that before posting, everyone (myself included) seriously consider whether the proposed comment helps or hurts the cause of opposing the ruinous traits listed on the masthead.
Please feel free to add your input to any post at any time. There's no "expiration date" for the issues that are discussed here. I welcome, value, and learn from your contribution! Thank you in advance for your cooperation and your input.
Thank you!! This is a great help!!
ReplyDeleteStill writing my million words of junk - every day! But it starting to somewhat take shape!( big eye roll!!)
Peace to you and thanks again for the info!
Wow, that truly is making use of the New Media. I had a brainwave this morning that I'm going to research and hopefully start working on and start working on.
ReplyDeleteHello there, Tracy!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! What I find so exciting about all of this is how the new media and technology allow creative artists to jump over the heads of the previously all-mighty, AND corrupt "gatekeepers" (such as publishing companies, record companies, etc.).
I still recall how horrified I was as a teenager when I first read about the "payola" record scandals of the 1950s. [It was basically "pay for airplay."]
That episode made it clear to me that whatever product that was being put before consumers was not necessarily the best. And that these decisions often had very little to do with talent.
____________________
Hello there, Healthyeatingwhilebroke!
Yes, it's VERY exciting!
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Okay, I'm blathering some more, but I forgot to mention something that's very popular now. Acting as though your characters actually exist. For instance, the author F.D. Davis has a series of books (quite good) featuring a vampire named Adam. Anyway, Adam has an advice column in real life! (No, I don't know why people would write to a scary vampire for advice, but hey, it works.)
ReplyDeleteAnother author has interviews with her characters up on her blog. My husband designed a logo for the band featured in some of my books. I plan to do t-shirts to use for giveaways and to sell on Cafe Press. People love this kind of stuff, and it doesn't cost anything but time. The internet makes so many things possible that most folks could only have dreamed of in the past.
Hello there, Roslyn!
ReplyDeleteBy all means, DO continue to "blather on" with helpful, potentially dream-empowering information and ideas! LOL!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THESE TIPS!Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Hi Khadija,
ReplyDeleteThis is a kick in the butt for me. I am already familiar with many routes for indie folks to promote themselves, but I've struggled with the whole concept of self promotion.
Why?
I've always associated self promotion with arrogance on some level. Which is a trait I deplore, btw.
I also have been quite turned off by the glut of mediocre "talent" that plugs up the airwaves and the net. Seems everyone is the next best thing, sometimes because their friends and family tell them so!
I don't want to be vying against these sorts either.
Nonetheless, this is a prod to get my stuff in some places I've been procrastinating about.
Thanks!
JJ
Hello there, JJ!
ReplyDeleteYou said, "This is a kick in the butt for me. I am already familiar with many routes for indie folks to promote themselves, but I've struggled with the whole concept of self promotion. Why?
I've always associated self promotion with arrogance on some level. Which is a trait I deplore, btw."I know how you feel. However, I don't have a problem with JUSTIFIED, QUIET arrogance as far as talent is concerned. [Truth be told, I fit into this category with the blessings that I'm especially pleased with. LOL!]
My issue with self-promotion has been that it's so...unseemly...and worst of all, tacky. I always felt that self-promotion was beneath me.
However, as you noted, there is "the glut of mediocre "talent" that plugs up the airwaves and the net. Seems everyone is the next best thing, sometimes because their friends and family tell them so!
I don't want to be vying against these sorts either."After reflection, I came to the following conclusions:
The problem is that the fools you described have obstructed people's view of "The Palace" [quality stuff]. Garbage is literally raining down upon the public's heads. The fools are screamiing from every rooftop.
With all of this going on, the public needs guides. Guides to point out the good stuff that has been obscured underneath the rainstorms of debris and cacophony of screaming fools.
In more dignified eras, official heralds were used to announce the arrival of royalty and aristocrats. Therefore, it's equally appropriate to use modern "heralds" to announce your arrival within the marketplace!
You said, "Nonetheless, this is a prod to get my stuff in some places I've been procrastinating about. Thanks!"You're welcome!
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
I'm glad you found Scott. He's been quite the champion of the whole movement.
ReplyDeleteAnd as Roslyn noted, there are *many* ways that authors are using new media. It's not just the 300+ books available as serialized audiobooks and distributed as podcast. It's those using YouTube to put up video trailers. It's those broadcasting their live readings on uStream.tv. And dozens of other options I don't even know about.
But as JJ notes, many authors are loath to do self promotion. I myself fall into this category. And it's evident that the authors who get the most bang from new media are those who fight through that and *do* relentlessly connect with fans.
It's a brave new world! I'm happy to be a part of it!
E.
Hello there, Evo Terra!
ReplyDeleteYep, it's definitely a brave, new and exciting world for those who take advantage of what is available.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.