tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post2528101583009643954..comments2024-03-14T02:18:13.285-05:00Comments on T h e | D e e p | M i d d l e: The Future of My WritingBenjamin Vogthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-33564933010471091092011-12-28T11:05:59.021-06:002011-12-28T11:05:59.021-06:00James--ebooks are notoriously bad looking, and tha...James--ebooks are notoriously bad looking, and that's mostly the technology which is still in its infancy. Couple that with the different platforms, reading devices, and coding, and you have a nightmare. I'm not happy with mine AND I hired a place do it "right." Waste of money. Ebooks are like blogs in the early days, or what Facebook is transitioning to (ugly, confused, insane,Benjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-53196286650044609272011-12-28T06:53:14.043-06:002011-12-28T06:53:14.043-06:00I'd advise you to get a professional graphic a...I'd advise you to get a professional graphic artist to help with design the cover and interior if you do it. That's the major failing I see in ebook publishing, and I mean even the ebooks I buy from reputable publishers. No attention is given to the design of the page, covers and front matter are sometimes nonexistent or poorly done, the books are full of errors (extra spaces, sentences James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-16184918388159305732011-12-20T10:00:34.620-06:002011-12-20T10:00:34.620-06:00James--I feel like I'm approaching an impasse;...James--I feel like I'm approaching an impasse; do I keep playing the academic game, planning on a life in that arena, or do I give it all up, risk everything, and drastically alter my life? I'm 35, so now seems a good time to decide, and may soon be decided for me. I love teaching and being at a university, but I feel a pull toward garden coaching, getting a small acreage and growing Benjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-28521557055582948762011-12-19T22:46:26.952-06:002011-12-19T22:46:26.952-06:00I'd definitely read it, but I share your conce...I'd definitely read it, but I share your concern about possibly losing academic and professional credibility by self-publishing. It's a difficult choice. ePublishing seems to be becoming an acceptable way to do it -- certainly it's nothing like the old vanity presses -- but I have the feeling your kind of work is not as easily accepted among literary circles in ebook form. Good luck James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-63636045598166945792011-12-19T16:20:44.358-06:002011-12-19T16:20:44.358-06:00Anon--uh, ok. out of memory? I don't see how a...Anon--uh, ok. out of memory? I don't see how anyone can afford going out and promoting their work. I've friends who go all over the country. Great. Can't be selling enough copies to break even. I'm not in it for money, though god, it'd be nice to only write, to be able to just write. I want a conversation. I'm a writer. I don't journal, I write. What's the point ofBenjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-88409484586330587722011-12-19T13:19:59.931-06:002011-12-19T13:19:59.931-06:00Hmmm. I read until I got the "out of memory&q...Hmmm. I read until I got the "out of memory" message.<br />I wrote a workbook once when I had a business to promote and it sold 10,000 copies.<br />I spoke at conventions, conferences and meetings because I was so enghusiastic about the topic and thought everyone should know about it. <br />But that was a decade before ebooks and 2 publishers wanted to publish it with revisions.<br /><Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-85049914441270273442011-12-19T08:41:23.069-06:002011-12-19T08:41:23.069-06:00Thanks, GWGT. Does Apple have an app that reads bo...Thanks, GWGT. Does Apple have an app that reads books aloud? I know my kindle reads them aloud, but in that computerized voice which isn't very moving. Thank you for reading the linked sample too, I'm glad it struck a chord with you--must be doing something right! :) Cheers.Benjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-82309474194446649322011-12-18T18:12:02.741-06:002011-12-18T18:12:02.741-06:00I clicked the link, read, and liked the down-home,...I clicked the link, read, and liked the down-home, first person accounting and tales of Morning Glory. I love your simple, yet powerful (highly contrasting in vibrant blue and white) book cover too, since graphics is more my bag of tricks.<br /><br />I certainly am not qualified as a literary critic in any shape of form, but did enjoy the link to Morning Glory. I do read your blog more times thanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-9396918948308340092011-12-18T13:59:55.584-06:002011-12-18T13:59:55.584-06:00More like on the edge of publish something myself ...More like on the edge of publish something myself or stay in complete and total obscurity. The big two things holding me back are it's virtually impossible to market and not become a tool / brand, and self publishing does nothing for my teaching career. Maybe a Kindle single is in order.Benjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-24597418283457420162011-12-18T12:33:29.006-06:002011-12-18T12:33:29.006-06:00I seems you find yourself poised uncomfortably on ...I seems you find yourself poised uncomfortably on the cutting edge of published on paper, to ebook. And you wouldn't want to, or be able to, write 'popular'. Yes, I would read your book (but I can't afford to buy books, so I must enjoy what comes out on your blog.) <br /><br />Each family has skeletons in the closet. My mother has told me, I must wait until I would no longer writeDiana Studerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12286066768376135880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-41401589635880475432011-12-18T10:21:47.609-06:002011-12-18T10:21:47.609-06:00Yeah, 100 seems paltry to me, too. About 70 paperb...Yeah, 100 seems paltry to me, too. About 70 paperbacks, 30 ebooks. I sent out press releases to 30 blogs, sent 10 free copies, and got about 2 reviews. Waste of money on my end--and then promoting it really makes my feel cheap and like some crack pusher. Can't blog about it every week--my audience isn't that big. I just need word of mouth, or as you say, some viral video. Maybe of you Benjamin Vogthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10661489036836711335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218275625589637009.post-51448328349071458362011-12-18T06:47:25.476-06:002011-12-18T06:47:25.476-06:00I would certainly read it. Sounds more titillating...I would certainly read it. Sounds more titillating. If you self publish and keep the price down that makes it easier for me. <br /><br />I enjoyed Sleep, Creep, Leap. Surprised you only sold 100. You certainly have put yourself out there and made an effort. Maybe you can come up with some stupid human trick for a viral video to plug the book and get more buyers.Christopher C. NChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15621322814577793080noreply@blogger.com