This might not work: Publishing my first "Short Read" on Kindle
I’m launching a new publishing experiment. I do so with an exciting thought in my mind: “This might not work.”
The idea of what a “book” is has changed. Many books are 250 pages of filler around one idea.
This is because of printing costs, and old ideas like having the spine display well on a shelf at the bookstore. Old economic rules that are no longer true.
It’s too bad because there used to be a vibrant “pamphlet culture.” Pamphlets powered the English, American, and French Revolutions. They not only helped ideas spread, but they also helped make a living for their authors, who often funded the printing costs for themselves.
For example, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” sold an estimated 100,000+ copies — one in every five households in colonial America.
Blogs have been compared to pamphlets, but I think we’re learning that free models of distributing information aren’t sustainable. They force writer’s hands to “click bait,” “rage porn,” and “fake news.” Or they need to have a pop-over with the hopes that .05% of readers will subscribe and eventually buy a course.
New models such as Steemit are promising. But also, more and more authors are making a living self-publishing on platforms such as Kindle. You can upload a book of any length and have it ready for sale in hours.
I posit that the thing holding back many authors from publishing shorter works is pure ego. “Books” carry so much mystique. It seems like it’s not a “book” if you didn’t torture yourself for two years of your life, and drop to the floor into a heap of exhausted flesh after a highly-coordinated book launch.
Here’s what I hope to be true: Writing a book doesn’t have to kill you. Launching a book doesn’t have to kill you. A “book” can be short. It doesn’t have to be a free blog post for the sole purpose of harvesting eyeballs.
Recently, I was writing a blog post. I wanted to share what I wish I had known before writing my two books, Design for Hackers and The Heart to Start.
But that blog post became very long. Over 7,000 words long. Personally, I would prefer to read such a long blog post on my Kindle, where I could save my highlights.
A long blog post makes a short book. So, today I’m launching my new “book” (a short read), called How to Write a Book.
Writing a book seems to have the same pain-distance effect as something like childbirth (though I haven't personally experienced the latter). Right after book launch it is "never again" then over time that changes to "maybe one more" ;)
Never again traditionally published though. That whole experience is no longer worth it.
So true. The reason I'm so excited about Steemit isn't so much the blockchain or the money as much as it is that it incentivizes content producers to, well, produce quality content.
P.S. Thank you for introducing me to Steemit! You posted a link in a Medium article to Steemit, and I signed up immediately.
Whoa, I'm thrilled every time I hear I got a person on Steemit. Thanks for letting me know!
You must be a lovely writer. Nice write-up. Quite informative.
So how will I get this your new book?
Hi Emmy, thank you. I'm not sure if I understand the question. You do see the link to buy on Amazon, right?