SPARKS –
A year’s journey through e-publishing
The
first anthology from Authors Electric
The Authors
Electric blogspot receives over 12,000 hits a month and its worldwide
readership is growing. The group of 29 independent and independently publishing writers present a kaleidoscope
of books, opinions and ideas aiming to entertain and inform, each posting one
blog a month. Now the group is publishing a selection.
SPARKS
is an anthology of blogs by a group of bloggers. It includes contributions from 41
professional authors posted between June 2011 and November 2012. Released
on Kindle, SPARKS will cost less than £1. A free app will be
available for download to allow the anthology to be read on a wide range of
devices. A paperback version is planned for the New Year.
The idea
came from Julia Jones, a former bookseller as well as a publisher, reader and
writer. Fascinated by developments in the book trade, she got
into the habit of reading her fellow Authors Electric members’ blogposts on a
regular basis. The more she read, the more impressed she became ‘by other people’s
knowledge, humour and their willingness to share their experience’. A casual
remark on Facebook that she could ‘feel a collection coming on’ was met by an
enthusiastic response – and SPARKS was born.
‘Anthologies
have always had their place in the newspaper and magazine world – and I'm not
aware of another UK blogging group that has produced anything like this,’ says Julia
Jones.
With
430 blogposts to choose from, Jones selected one post from each current member,
one from every former member who’d posted on five or more occasions, two guest
posts and two ‘specials’.
‘SPARKS
aims to present “the journey so far”,’ says Jones. ‘We are a group of authors
e-publishing our own work for a number of reasons: some are disillusioned with
conventional publishing; some have new work that does not fit traditional
genres; we all want to keep our backlist titles in print – and for the sheer
pleasure in managing our writing lives. SPARKS reflects this, as well as the
new excitements and difficulties of self-publishing.’
One of
the ‘specials’ selected marks the 100th review on the IEBR (Indie eBook Review),
sister website of Authors Electric. An outside perspective on how media
attitudes to writer-publishers have changed is provided in an interview with Scott
Pack, publisher of Harper Collins imprint, The Friday Project; book trade analyst and a
former bookseller.
‘SPARKS
offers a perspective on a year that has seen real change in the independent e-publishing
market,’ says Julia Jones. ‘The experience of the individual members of Authors
Electric is probably representative of many other writer-publishers. Contributing
as a group has helped all of us feel clearer about what we’re trying to do, even
when we don’t agree with each other. We all feel more confident that choosing
to publish our own work isn’t some form of vanity, but is a new way to connect
with readers and manage our own books and our own careers without depending on
the traditional “gatekeepers”.’
The
paper version of SPARKS is a not-for-profit exercise and will
be sold at cost, or as near cost as retailers’ (such as Amazon) pricing
structures allow. Authors Electric member, Stephanie Zia (an author who also
runs her own e-publishing company, Blackbird Digital), is managing this side of
things. Any royalties paid to Blackbird will be put towards providing free
books to journalists, reviewers, analysts and broadcasters who might be
interested in discussing the group’s work.
As with
all Authors Electric projects, such as its Great E-Book Giveaway in April 2012,
SPARKS is a group effort.
‘Authors Electric
started just over a year ago with zero readers,’ says Susan Price, group
co-ordinator. ‘It's now getting 12,000 hits a month from a growing worldwide
audience – all due to its writing team of highly articulate, sparky bloggers!
I'm privileged to be part of it, and can't wait to see how it develops, along with
e-publishing, in the future.’
The SPARKS
e-anthology is published on 28th December 2012. The paperback
version will be published early in 2013. The e-anthology will be free for the
first five days, after which it will retail at US$0.99 (£0.77).
Journalists
who would like a copy of SPARKS to review or comment on digital books, please
contact:- Stephanie Zia at Blackbird Digital Books +44 (0)7816 491189 blackbird.digibooks@gmail.com
For
further information and comment on the Authors Electric group, please contact:-
AUTHORS ELECTRIC – http://authorselectric.blogspot.co.uk
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