Filed under: What we're up to
James latest post at the So New Media (Publishing?) blog is one of the reasons why sky media exists in the first place. His post deals with international (outiside US) submissions. Obviously, given that SNM (let's stick with this) is based in the US, it's all too normal that they will concentrate more on US authors.
And then there's the marketing and promotion of the book which surely will prove to be hectic if ever the author is at the other side of the globe.
As a small press, we only have domestic distribution, and if the majority of an author's readership is going to be in their home country, that means they may be paying very well the cost of the book again in postage. We can discount books bought directly through our website but it never fails that international orders forget to add up postage properly through Paypal. So this whole difficulty presents itself, just another hurdle for a manuscript to overcome in the acceptance process.
The other difficulty lies in promotion. We can't support an international author the way we can those in the states. Because I lived in Germany for three years, I understand the EU and can semi work within it – but anywhere outside the reach of Ryan Air . . . it's almost an automatic no-go. So here comes the lingering guilt again.
You see the problem? It's US-only. What about the other parts of the world? SNM can't do anything about it and we, non-Americans completely understand. I mean, we wouldn't have been able to do anything about it either if we were in their place. It's loads of money to promote a book, outside your own country.
That's why sky media has been created then: to be a voice for all you indie writers in another part of the world. We're in Mauritius and we're proud. And if we did it, you can as well, I'm sure.
What I would truly recommend is that people interested in the small press movement start an indie press in their own country. Digital printing is everywhere, and you can sell locally – probably much more than you could in the states, and no one would understand the nuances of local promotion better than you. A McDonald's salary could get you started, and I know there's a McDonald's near you no matter where you live. Yeah. Check it.
Email if you've got any questions.
James is offering some help as well, right? It's now or never people.
Ok, we're behind schedule. We were supposed to release The Clown's Graveyard last week but as you might have noticed, we haven't. We are actually still working on it and man, there are loads of great stuff coming up with this publication.
Trust us.
Khalil A.
Now, this guy, Mathias Klang, has written his PhD thesis entitled Disruptive Technology and he wanted to get a nice cover (to illustrate his hard work?). But Mathias didn't think that he was up to the task and he quite literary asked for help.
He emailed a few people and the blogging world spread the word. It really did. Mathias's request for a cover appeared (amongst other places) on Boing Boing, Lessig, Foreword, Patrik’s sprawl, Perfekta Tomrummet, Free the Mind and Cyberlaw. Now this is really great. Indie world as the way.
Well, people sent in their designs for a possible book cover and now, keeping faith in the indie world and power of the readers/contributors, Mathias is asking you to vote for the best cover. They're all really nice, in particular entry 8.
Khalil A.
Filed under: The Corporates
Google is a corporate but they make it difficult for even indie companies, like sky media, to hate them. Here's why.
Inside Google Book Search was launched on Monday and that's exactly the sort of blog, we'd like to see some more of. This blog you're currently reading has more or less the same aim as the new Google blog: to put our experience and knowledge in the hand of others so that they too can perform what we are doing.
Obviously, Inside Google Book Search, won't tell you anything about how Google Book works – and really, who cares – but it vows to announce discoveries of terrific books, that are on its servers as well as thoughts shared by the team.
On that note, we're excited to announce Inside Google Book Search, the official Google Book Search blog. This blog is about discovery — yours and ours. Here you'll find members of our team sharing thoughts, tips and the occasional announcement about Book Search. We intend for this to be a place not only for Book Search enthusiasts, but also book lovers of every stripe. We'll be highlighting cool books we've found, discoveries you've made, big thoughts about the future of book search and more.
The big thing about Google is that it knows exactly what the "customers" want and that's what it gives you. And man, they seem so friendly that you do forget that they're a big money-making business. So how can you hate them, then? I ask.
Khalil A.
Wil Wheaton, writer, actor, blogger, amongst others, has released a very limited edition of a chapbook, More Than This. He's printed 200 copies and is now selling the majority of them via his website through Paypal. And man, the chapbooks are selling like crazy but that's not the point.
The point is that Wil Wheaton's effort to publish something original all by himself clearly illustrates how easy and contemplating it now is to publish your own work (I'll use the term self-publishing in this post although some people might not really consider this as self-publishing per se). You have to put a lot of work and dedication in your manuscript, run to a good printing group, tell them how many copies you want to print and there you are: a published writer. You may even consider giving your book/chapbook its very own ISBN number (for Mauritian readers, visit this page for more info about how to get an ISBN number) as well.
The great thing about self-publishing is that it's really something personal, in a way. If you're self-publishing, forget about the money. Rather, think about that satisfaction of publishing your own words on paper. Distribute your self-published book/chapbook to your parents, relatives and friends and wait for their comments. They're all love it, obviously, and you'll be considered a writer. Try to distribute your book/chapbook to indie bookstores as well. They understand and love the concept of writing for the love of writing and just don't care about that other concept: writing for the economic benefits of the publisher.
If you're buying Wil's chapbook, take note that he'll sign it for you. Isn't that just too cool? And the foreword is written by his stepson. Can you see the love and dedication? Can you see the author-reader relationaship that simple doesn't really exist in mainstream publishing?
Go for it people, self-publishing is a really satisfying because, you're in control and because you know that you're loving every minute of it.
Khalil A.
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