Owning Our Own Publishing Empires

Read on Konrath's blog a tongue-in-cheek reference to managing his publishing empire and then the temptation to complain about it. He quotes Barry Eisler, "Oh no, I have to manage a literary empire." That's like complaining that one has to pay $300,000 in taxes. Call the wambulance.

So it got me thinking, if we have the luxury to read and write books, we have nothing to complain about. We're in control of our own business futures. We're living in the digital land of opportunity. This is a great era, maybe the greatest ever, for story lovers. If you're a writer, you've got it good! Not good, great. We've got it great.

We own our own publishing empires!

Then it hit me, I better start managing it like it is, in fact, an empire. First thing to do, then, is count up my titles and see what's selling on what platforms. The exercise surprised me. I have over 20 titles (ebooks, paperbacks, audio) available through a bunch of outlets (Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, etc.).

Over 20 titles.

Granted, they're mostly short stories and novellas and collections. Not a novel among them. Not one. And that's a problem. Because - again, according to Konrath - the money's in novels.

So I've got a plan. A plan to expand my publishing empire. (I hope you're getting a sense that I'm in vision mode and not trying to be boastful here. The goal is to lay out a schedule to become a career writer.) But the details will have to wait for another blog post. I've got it mapped out, but putting it online is a big step.

Until then, I'll just keep writing. 1000 words a day, if I can. That's part one of the goal toward building my empire. And hopefully be able to pay $300,000 in annual taxes.