Keeping Up With Changes In The Writing World

I subscribe to several writers newsletters which give me tips on writing, marketing help, and help me keep up on the latest trends in the publishing world. Lately, writing and getting published has been changing faster than a frog can jump from one lily pad to another.

Only a couple of years ago, editor, publishers and writers were saying the e-book would never become popular. And now, I receive more and more newsletters urging me to start writing e-books. They can be downloaded so easily on the internet. And they can be self-published which is a plus for writers. The returns might not be as lucrative as standard publishing royalties and flat fee payments, but the possibilities of having your work seen and purchased by others is cerainly better. My concern was, and still is, that the quality of these books may not always be the best.

A book in my hands has always been my preferred way of reading, but that's changing, too. Thank you, Kindle! And all the copycat hand-held computer reading machines. Not a very professional or technological way of describing them, is it? But that's the way I think of  them. When they first came out, a writer friend demonstrated the use of one at a writers' meeting. She loved it! Said it was a super way to read as she commuted to and from her job. Downloading novels was easy and economical. I was skeptical, but it's taken off with more and more people using them. I know several who received one for a Christmas gift.

Just yesterday, I received a notice from a childrens book author who produces a monthly newsletter. This was a special notice in-between regularly scheduled editions. He wanted to tell us that there's another new trend in the childrens book world. He said that the best selling app in Apple's iPad is childrens' books. And he suggested a site that would help childrens' book authors enter this new world for free. He, of course, is going to give this information only to those who subscribe to his premium edition. He's not giving the information on this new phenomena away. The important thing for me was learning about the iPad app and knowing I can probably google and find out more about it on my own.

If we don't want to be left behind, we need to keep up with the latest in publishing trends in the writing world. And at the speed they're going, it's won't be easy. Prepare to huff and puff as you try to keep up.