writerly advice | Christa Simpson

When I first started blogging, while I was writing my debut novel, I was so uncensored. I had very few followers and so I posted to my blog regularly (LIKE THREE TIMES A WEEK, EASILY!) without fretting too hard over grammatical and typographical errors. I didn’t own licences to any stock photography and I didn’t understand how to use the free feature on WordPress to add images, so my posts had very few photos, if any at all. Life was simple. The people who followed me, joined my blog on their own accord, by no request, force or pressure to do so. I knew, if they were following me it was because they actually cared about what I had to say. I didn’t blow time hanging out on Facebook and Twitter (as much), although I did really enjoy Twitter before the auto-bots ruined it over there. I spent time writing my book, learning about publishing, and sharing my results. And you know what? PEOPLE LOVED IT!

So, what changed?

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This post is my opinion on how the e-book market has been changing, based on my own experiences and those of my fellow authors—both new and established.

Warning: I’m going to be straight with you.

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!

It’s no surprise that the book market has become saturated with new titles within the last few years. It seems like writing has become a contagious disease and the act of self-publishing is the antidote. Now, not only do I have to compete with the big guys—by big guys, I mean traditionally published authors with a full support staff: editors, designers, public relations, advertising, extended distribution, street teams, Goodreads groups, dedicated bloggers and other authors in the company, who all show a preference to sharing each other within their imprint, but I have to stand up against a throng of my fellow indies just to maintain my fan base.

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