Is the Indie Gold Rush Over? Does it Matter?

By Julie Musil, @juliemusil

Part of the Indie Author Series 

In December of 2015, Mark Coker of Smashwords wrote 2016 Book Publishing Industry Predictions: Myriad Opportunities amid a Slow Growth Environment. The full article is lengthy but fascinating.

One of the points he makes is this: “Many indies and traditional publishers alike reported flat or lower sales in 2015. The go-go days of exponential ebook market growth of the early days (2008-2012) are over.”

Does that statement strike fear in your heart?

Being Trendy: Should You Write What's Hot?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I hear writers ask all the time about trends, a'la "what's hot right now?" These questions always end up with the answer "XYZ, but don't write for trends because by the time your book comes out, the trend will be over."

Good advice.

We see those trend starters all the time--a hit book comes out and suddenly editors are looking for ones like it to reach (and cash in on) folks who want more of them same (which is just good business). Soon the market is flush with that idea, so publishers (and readers) start looking for variations of that idea. The "twist" that makes it new again. Before long, all the twists are played out and readers are over the trend and looking for the next fresh, hot book.

Fool's Gold: Why You Should Ignore Trends and Write What You Want

By Dario Ciriello

Part of the Indie Author Series

Drinking the Kool-Aid 

The myth that anyone can predict what will sell and what won’t may be the greatest single factor that traditional publishing and Hollywood studios have in common. Of course, they’re drinking the same Kool-Aid, a shimmering, banknote-green variety especially favored by the bean-counters and marketers whose influence in the creative world has grown out of all proportion to their usefulness. And—if you’ll forgive a madly muddled metaphor—the sooner writers see that this emperor not only has no clothes but was never really an emperor in the first place, the sooner they’ll throw off their shackles and find true happiness.

Timely or Trendy? Better to Follow Your Heart

By Amanda Maciel, @AmandaMaciel12

JH: Please help me welcome YA author and editor Amanda Maciel, who's here today to share her experience with being trendy and timely, and why it's always a good idea to follow your heart when writing.

Amanda has worked in book publishing since graduating from Mount Holyoke College and is currently an executive editor of children’s books. She spends her free time writing, running, and helping raise her young son with her husband and their cat in Brooklyn, New York. TEASE is her first novel.

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Take it away Amanda...