My new year got off to a pleasant start with Wolf by the Ears finishing the month at #4 on the YouWriteOn charts, entitling it to a professional critique from Random Penguin or Orion. I used to be very active on YWO - I always say it's the place I learned to write - but I only put Wolf up to get more opinions on the all-important first chapters of the novel. The top ten is a bonus.
2013 had its ups and downs. It's getting more difficult to sell ebooks, though many indie authors are still doing extremely well. Persistence is, I think, the most important factor leading to success - certainly more important than talent. Publishing is still changing, and who knows what opportunities are just around the corner? We need to keep writing, stay nimble and fast and ready to take risks. In my opinion, trad pub is here to stay. After years of stoutly maintaining that ebooks were no cheaper to produce and handle than print books (a thumping lie) publishing houses are now making a fortune from digital. But a big chunk of the market now belongs to self-publishers, and trad pub won't be regaining that lost territory.
Here's wishing all my readers a fantastic 2014.
