Since the introduction of the Kindle, the topic of eBooks and digital content has dominated the publishing world. As it should, because our livelihood depends on getting the big decisions right. The key question everyone is wrestling with is the when of the shift, because the if is now a foregone conclusion. It’s already happening.

I’ve been in a lot of discussions about this and, frankly, I think a good many people are looking at it sideways. They’re narrowly focused on today’s book consumer (primarily middle-aged females, statistically) and how to get them to migrate to a digital format either via the Kindle or iPad (or any of the bazillion other devices coming soon to a store near you). I think there will be a lot of migration, especially from the Millenials and Gen Xer’s, but we won’t be the tipping point.

My daughter’s kindergarten class will be.

This is the official promo video for the iPad on Apple’s website. It’s worth the 8 minutes it takes to watch it if you haven’t already. I’m planning to record a video blog with designer and friend Chris Wilcox in the next couple of days to talk about the iPad and what it means to us as artists, but I wanted to get my initial thoughts out while they’re as fresh as can be. Here we go:

Today’s the day. The music industry had theirs’ when Apple unveiled iTunes; now the publishing industry’s turn is up and there’s LOTS of debate about what the Apple tablet means for authors, publishers, and consumers. For all of the buzz and debate I can’t help but think that most of the naysayers are getting it wrong. They remind us that tablets have been tried before…and failed. They remind us how Bill Gates tried to revolutionize personal computing with a switch to tablets…and failed. But all of that misses the point in my opinion. Why?

Because the introduction of an Apple tablet isn’t about revolutionizing hardware (though I think it will certainly fuel innovation and do that just like the iPod did); it’s about revolutionizing content. I, too, love the feel and smell of paper. I like having books on a shelf in my office. We like book covers as much as we do the words they wrap around. They’re iconic and evoke a sort of nostalgia. Just last night my writer’s group talked about our favorite stories, some of which were published in the 1800’s. We like stuff we can touch.

From Geekdom to Wall Street, all eyes will focus on Cupertino, CA on Wednesday when Steve Jobs steps on stage to, presumably, unveil the long rumored Mac tablet (aka “The iUnicorn” because many have said it doesn’t exist). Whether or not you believe the digital publishing shake-up is imminent doesn’t matter. At all. It’s already underway and if you’re an author, either professional or aspiring, you need to pay attention.

The way we engage story has evolved over time and we’re on the cusp of the next cycle. And that cycle can be described with one word: convergence. CSI creator Anthony Zuiker tried it with his digi-novel, the over the top Level 26. Others have tried producing vooks, digital books with bonus video elements (most have which are…meh). Sooner rather than later we will have to figure out how to inventively tell stories by layering all of the techno-capabilities that devices like Apple’s tablet supposedly provide. Soon, writing the manuscript of a novel won’t even be the bare minimum. The new baseline will include interactivity, which you’ll have to plan for before you type the first word.

What will that look like? Who knows. But I do know we’ve got to start experimenting now. True, the publishing industry can learn from the mistakes the music industry made. In fact, I’ve heard that for awhile as well as something to the effect of “The good news is we still have time to figure it out.” My response is “maybe.” My opinion is that the speed of the shift will catch most authors and publishers off-guard. It’s the nature of things.

So, my advice…use your imagination to dream new ways to tell your story. The limits are being removed so take advantage of the time we live in.

Yesterday, I had the chance to participate in a roundtable with Miriam Parker, Tosca Lee, and Jake Chism to discuss the impact of social media on the publishing industry. Miriam is part of the digital media team at Hachette Book Group, one of Ted’s publishers. Tosca Lee, of course, is an acclaimed novelist that many of you are probably familiar with. Some people would be surprised to know that she is also a consultant with the Gallup Organization and has a real mind for marketing.

So, check out the roundtable that Jake Chism hosted and listen in as we discuss what we’ve learned and how that translates for aspiring and success authors alike. Thanks, Jake, for inviting us. It was a lot of fun.

You can listen to it here: http://fictionaddict.com/2009/11/12/social-networking-and-publishing/

In the book world, life happens in 12-month cycles. We live in the future because we must, not always because we want to.  It’s a necessity, this living in the future, driven by the demands of the whole rumbling machine we call publishing.

It’s a fascinating process and I wish more readers could see what I do on a daily basis. If they did, they would appreciate the massive amount of time, talent, money, and dedication required to pluck inspiration from the sky, turn it into a story by tying words and emotions together, and then transform it into something that transports them to another world even as they sit on their couch nursing a cup of tea.

Most people don’t know that it takes a year (or more) to bring a book to market. Well, I mean they know it does, but they don’t really know. It’s like saying we know it takes several years for a good wine to go from a harvest of grapes plucked from a sunny slope to a raised glass as friends sit around a table. Until you stop to consider it, the whole business is easy to pass over without a thought. You don’t really think about the planting, the cultivating, the harvesting, the crushing, and the other bits, because the maker did his job all out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind.

So let me show you my side of the world for a moment.

I live in “Music City,” aka Nashville. For many of my friends who work in music it’s also known as Ground Zero. Over the past few years they’ve had a front row seat to the greatest distribution shift of our time. It was a little thing called the mp3. Thanks to the advent of digital files, and the industry’s unwillingness to deal with change, my friends have watched record label after record label disappear, iconic empires crumble, and the entire landscape of the music business leveled and reshaped. We now live in a world that they couldn’t even conceive of twenty years ago.

When I talk with my friends, usually after they’ve told me about how so-so label went under yesterday after 40 years, they look at me and say, “I hope you publishing guys learn from our mistakes because, well, you’re next. So good luck with that.”

I think they’re right. Mostly. The publishing industry is next in line because a distribution shift is coming to our business, too. We’ve been talking about it since the Sony e-reader and Amazon Kindle hit the market. Our mp3 just has a different name: ebooks. The difference this time is the industry, I believe, is trying to innovate and stay ahead of the wave. But will it be enough? Will the majority of publishers go the way of the record labels? Will tomorrow’s authors even need publishers?  (Note: a great read on that question is a recent post by literary agent Nathan Bransford.).

Here’s what I think, for what it’s worth, and what you should be doing now as an author if you want to thrive in the coming shift: [READ MORE]