It'll Never Happen

When the term technology is used our minds fill with visions of computers, wires, and laser beams.  Wind the clock back a hundred years, a couple of hundred years, or several hundred years, technology takes on a different sense.

The printing press was a technology frowned upon for many reasons, one of which was the belief that monks would become lazy.

The automobile.

Photography.

Flight.

All technological advances.  The commonality?  They were all feared, shunned, played off as a fad, and touted they would never, ever, not in a million years, replace “x”.

You just have to love us human-types.

Digital photography will never replace film.  That statement came from a photography magazine printed in 1994.  In all fairness, digital photography has not “replaced” film, but when was the last time you saw a new film camera for sale at your local superstore?  As a matter of fact, without doing a search on the web, tell me fast, where would you take that film to get developed?

People will always want to read the morning paper.  It will never be replaced by the internet.  There are hundreds (if not thousands) of newspapers and magazines that no longer exist because they failed to recognize the oncoming train of technology, and countless more that are struggling to catch up before they too go under.

“X” format will never replace the LP.  People long for the hiss and pop of the classic vinyl record.  Been to a “Record” store lately?  Oh wait, you can just get that online.  If you dig deep enough, you can even get a copy of that song with the hiss and pop included.

So, why do we believe electronic books will never, ever, not in a million years, outsell print books?

Already we see signs of that flawed belief.  Whatever happened to the “Big Six”?  What are we down to?  Five?  Four?  The big publishers sat mired in the mud for years.  Now they struggle to catch up with the very technology they downplayed.

When was your most recent trip to Waldenbooks, B Dalton, Borders?

Will the e-book ever completely replace the coveted print version?  No.  Much like a photograph printed on special paper, the desire will always be present.

However…

Much like a hand-tooled leather belt, the printed photograph, the hardback novel, will become cost-prohibitive for the average customer.  They will become novelty items relegated to the collectors and those with disposable income.

It won’t be today.  It won’t be tomorrow.  It may not even be within a decade, but there will come a time in your children’s life when special orders for printed books will be the norm.

The bookshelf, much like your photo album, will be virtual.  So, instead of fighting technology, find a way to make it work to your advantage.  After all, technology is coming, and it has been proven over the centuries, its force is greater than any resistance you can provide.

Go ahead, keep saying it’ll never happen.  You’ll be one less competitor we have to worry about when it does.

Shameless plug here:

I have three titles available; one novel, Blood of Two, and two shorts, The Leaf Pendant, and The Most Intelligent Orc in the World.  Check out Smashword, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Diesel, or iTunes to find a copy.

If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say

I have been conspicuously absent from social media for a couple of weeks.  I just haven't had anything nice to say, and it has been bothering me.  Am I really that much of grump?  Well, maybe I am, but this morning I realized what has had me residing in Grumptown; social media.

I open up my Facebook feed and it is littered with angry people, hypocritical people, and whiny people.  Read a few posts from these folks and see if you can live on the sunny side of life!

I have read post after post of political propaganda from all three sides of the fence.  Each of them taking a quote out of context, throwing out a number that sounds outrageous, but isn't true, or just bad-mouthing the other side because they can.

I won't go into my political viewpoint, because it really doesn't matter.  I don't care what side of the fence you sit on, when you distribute lies, YOU are the idiot; not the president, not the guy running against the president, not the NRA, not the anti-gun.

If you want to tout the virtues of eating healthy, eating organic, eating right, don't follow that post with a status of your location being a pizza house, or a burger joint.  Unless you're protesting fatty foods, you just negated your earlier posts.

And really?  I don't care how unfair life has been to you when you get on your iPhone/Pad, or personal computer to type that message out, while your munching on food you don't need, living in a climate controlled environment, thinking about where you are going to go to in your car that costs more than someone in Mexico makes in a year.  There's an undernourished kid in Uganda that would like to speak with you.

With all that said, I unfollowed a lot of people this morning.  Life is already looking brighter!  I haven't had anything nice to say because the people I surrounded myself with in the social media world didn't either.  Problem fixed.

When the world gets in your face
I say
Have a Nice Day!

A Different Perspective

I look back some twenty years ago when I dabbled a bit with writing a book and I see a different outlook on writing.  Back then, before I was ready to write, I had big dreams.  I would be another big time writer.  My books would be side by side with King and Grisham at the front of the stores.

How things have changed.

I suppose one of those changes is the fact that bookstores are becoming more and more difficult to find.  Like it or not, technology has changed the face of the book world.  The most important change, for me, is my perspective on my writing career.  I'm a few years older, and a bit more aware of the reality of writing.  Having a title share the headlines with Terry Brooks is a long shot.  It is still a goal, but it is no longer get there quick or give it up.  I like to think there will be a day when my writing attains that quality and reach.

Twenty years ago, the dream of quitting my job and writing for a living had a different perspective as well.  I would write a few hours in the morning and play the rest of the day.  The goal was a life in luxury.  Now?  Not so much.

Last night was another one of those nights where life interfered.  It happens a lot to us writers.  Outside of our imaginary worlds we still have real world commitments; things that need to be done around the house.  I wanted to write a few thousand words last night.  I really did.  Somehow, some way, my adult responsibilities hovered over my keyboard and kept my fingers at bay.  This was when I realized just how much my perspective has changed when it comes to writing success.

I still want to make money off my imagination, but it's different now than twenty years ago.  I want to make enough to quit my job so I will have time to write.  Not so I will have time to play, but to write.  I want to spend as much time as I can writing without work getting in the way.  My duties at home do not get in the way of writing, it is my job that gets in the way.  At forty some odd years old, I just want my writing to sell enough that I can concentrate on writing more.  That's quite a bit of difference from twenty years ago.

I still want to write "that book", I think most of us do.  I think that dream will always remain.  I want people to look back on one of my titles and say "That is the book that changed the face of the genre."  That thought never even crossed my mind twenty years ago.  It was all about the money, which is likely why I never succeeded in getting anything written back then.  Today it is all about the writing.

It's just a different perspective.