Out With the Old

Several years ago, when I first began my journey as an author, I visited my local used bookstore and was delighted to find a hefty stack of books related to the craft of writing, publishing, and promoting books for a buck apiece.  I bought the lot, all fairly new and recent publications, and carted them home. 

After unloading my treasures on the kitchen table, I said to my husband, "I can't believe someone gave all these great books away.  I hope whoever it was hasn't given up." 

My husband, a very wise man, said, "Maybe they had success and didn't need them anymore."

I much preferred that thought.

Now, as I peruse my own cluttered bookshelves, I see that a number of the books I purchased over the last ten years or so are woefully outdated. 

Look at what's happened in publishing in recent years: the globalization of the Internet, the proliferation of ebooks, a flourishing self-publishing industry, Kindle, iPads, iPhones, etc.  The digital age has revolutionized the book industry. So occasionally, when I refer to a tried and trusted resource for insight on a particular author issue, I find it's so far behind the times it's become useless. 

Many of the books I own make no mention of the ease of self-publishing online, or marketing on social media, or starting your own imprint and going the independent route.  I need a whole new set of reference books!  Fortunately, most of the required information is available online through ebooks, websites, blogs, and publishing people eager to share their knowledge, saving me time and money, and sparing more than a few trees. 

Out with the old?  Never! As one who finds it difficult to part with a good book, I'll hang on to the best of them while augmenting my collection with the latest and greatest that address publishing in the digital age. A few noteworthy titles:  Guy Kawasaki's APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur; The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing, by Ramon Ray; and John Tighe's Crush It With Kindle.

What books do you find most helpful on your author's journey?