Political ePublishing: A Frontier To Consider

We talk about publishing here a lot at Muse Hack. That’s because a lot of us are writers professional or otherwise. Also its because in an age of technology that has made self-publishing easy, there’s a lot to talk about.

Oh and some of us want to sell books. Hint.

But when we talk about self-publishing and its implications we usually talk quality, or technology, or market saturation. We don’t talk politics a lot because its not usually a subject that comes up.

It probably should have.

Before his son’s trial, the father of George Zimmerman has released an ebook on the case. Frankly it’s sounding like it’s filled with dog whistles about racism in the black community and kinda missing the point.  I don’t think this is going to help his son and may look exploitative.

Before I go on let me note that:

1) I consider Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin to be suspicious to say the least, but that’s what a trial is for.

2) I hate the show trial mentality.

3) Our political pundit culture hasn’t helped.

This is one of the last things I imagined coming out of the Zimmerman case. I figured after the trial there’d be the usual round of books by people capitalizing on it. I also realize I was foolish in this day and age for thinking of that.

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Guest Post: Why I need Bender as my Literary Agent

Carrie_Bailey(Guest post by Carrie Bailey)

I write. Some people would say I’m a self-published author looking to go the traditional route with my next book, but I like to think of my self as an amateur author ready to go pro. Why not? I need the money. Yeah, I know, it is possible to build up an author platform and market your books yourself, but the process is time consuming. Sure, absolutely, I’m indie until I die, but I also want to sell out so I can afford to stay indie on my time off when I’m not busy selling out.

That’s why I need Bender to be my literary agent. I realize he is fictional. I haven’t lost touch with reality – no. And, yes, I am aware his work experience involves bending, drinking, smoking, and sitting around a delivery warehouse. And I’m sure he doesn’t spend all too much time reading, but in my Futurama loving heart, he’s the right robot for the job.

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Salon Talks Self-Publishing: From A Positive View

It’s no secret a lot of recent Salon articles have been negative towards self publishing.  Hugh Howey takes a broader view on why it’s great.  He notes it may not be perfect, but it’s one where you hone your craft as you earn and that the old model had it’s problems

– Steve