Dear Bill…

You sure do need to get your head out of that box. Plenty of experts are struggling to do the very same thing as technology develops and readers pick their favorite mode of book delivery. In fact, Publishers Weekly ran an interesting array of answers to your question in its article “What’s Ahead in 2011” a couple of weeks ago. Traditional publishing, self-publishing, eBooks… there are plenty of valid ways to produce and deliver a book, and the big players are duking that out as we speak. The individual writer’s issue isn’t so much the production and delivery. Heck, the more formats, the better. Your challenge is letting your audience know that your book exists regardless of format—and that means getting your whole body out of that box. During this industry shake-up, you should be focusing your non-writing energies on exploring ways to market and promote yourself and your books. That is where you have power. For your 2011 New Year’s resolution, commit to turning yourself into a forward-thinking self-marketing expert who can tell the world about your books regardless of what business model sits atop the smoldering heap when the battle is over.

Happy writing!

The Editor