Tags
Beverly Ackerman, David Frum, historical fiction authors, historical fiction survey, Jeff Howe, publishing industry, Randall Stross, Thomas Friedman
Note: a rogue version of this post appeared yesterday. WordPress and my fingers got confused resulting in a prematurely published post (now deleted). The Clay Shirky quote in action!
I have a habit of cutting articles out of the newspaper and keeping them for a while. I fantasize that their very proximity might create some sort of alchemy and perhaps a blog post will write itself some day.
Social Networks, Small and Smaller is the title of one written by Randall Stross. Then there’s Thomas Friedman with Do You Want the Good News First and Beverly Ackerman with Self-Publish Your Way to Success and David Frum with Writing Without a Net. Last week I found Jeff Howe talking about a Twitter-based book club with more than 64000 members – definitely wouldn’t fit into my living room where the book club I belong to meets when it’s my turn to host.
Friedman talks about technology eliminating the gatekeepers. Stross discusses new aps that enable small social networks to thrive with intimacy. Frum, who has recently self-published, quotes Clay Shirky saying “Publishing used to be an industry. Now it’s a button.” Ackerman writes a story about “the reading public … no longer letting tastemakers decide what’s worth reading.” Howe suggests that “Twitter is anything but a threat to publishing and reading. It’s an opportunity … the entire reading experience is undergoing a shift.”
Let’s layer another tidbit or two on top. (1) Facebook’s IPO was not a roaring success. Those who track technology usage suggest that this outcome results from Facebook’s poor smartphone (or iPAD or other handheld device) capabilities. People want to connect anytime, anywhere with their friends and social communities. (2) In a recent survey, historical fiction readers told us they enjoy writing about and discussing the books they read and to a huge extent they do this online through blogs, Goodreads and other social media sites.
What do these insights mean for those who write historical fiction? A few possibilities come to mind:
- Historical fiction authors need to have more than a passing acquaintance with technology
- Friedman might be wrong about gatekeepers. The real story might be that new gatekeepers will emerge and authors will want to seek out and engage with those relevant to their community of historical fiction readers.
- HF authors should collect information about their readers and potential readers.
- HF authors will want to find ways to be more intimate with readers and keep up with their expectations of anywhere, anytime connectivity and content.
- At the same time, HF authors need to consider ways to leverage the potential to connect with thousands of people around the globe in an instant.
Working with our technology driven world contrasts sharply with the solitary pursuit of writing a novel over a period of 12 to 24 or more months. Successful authors will find a way to do both.
