Call me crazy, but I’ve never read Raymond Carver until recently. I’ve read several of his stories, but I’ll refer to “Cigarettes, Bicycles, Muscles” in particular. In my time as a practicing writer, I’ve struggled with brevity in my short stories. Sometimes I’ll read an author who is very eloquent, who doesn’t move through the story in a traditional way, from one scene to the next, action to action, but rather bounces around. I’m fascinated by stories like this, because it seems to me a very difficult thing to do. Other times, I read an author who is incredibly simple and to the point. Raymond Carver is perhaps the greatest example of this that I have ever read.

I am absolutely floored by the power of his writing, the emotion and feeling that he is able to stir in me through such simple and strait-forward story telling. His writing is an inspiration to me and strengthens my gut reaction to write as simply and strait forward as I am able. That’s the direction my gut has always wanted to take, though I’ve fought it every step of the way.

I’ve been working on a story recently about a seventeen year-old kid who has to turn to a brothel for help when his car breaks down. As I write and edit this story, I keep telling myself to keep it simple. Several weeks ago, I sat back and read what I had come up with, and what I had created seemed so simple, so unadorned. I took it as a flaw in the work. After reading Raymond Carver, I see that there can be incredible beauty in simplicity. Of course I haven’t come near his ability to write a good story, but it’s inspiring to see that simple is a viable direction. Stick with your gut, how many times do we hear that in life?

There’s a bit at the end of “Cigarettes, Bicycles, Muscles” that just knocked my on my butt. The son tells his father that he wishes he had known him when he was a kid. The whole story leads to this comment, and when it hits you’re lucky if you don’t choke up. You’ve just got to read it if you haven’t.

Apple has just given you the ability to get your book on the paths of millions of potential readers. This is roughly the equivalent of a publisher calling you nine years ago and telling you that they’d be happy to publish your book and put it on the shelf of every Borders in the country. Seriously. You can now take your story and format it for the iBook store, send it in to Apple for approval and bingo, there it is in the store, an isle away from all of those other well paid authors you wish you were.

Of course your book is still going to have to be good. You’re going to have to market it (and that includes having a decent cover, because books are judged by their covers, unfortunately). If it’s sub-par, it’s not going to take long for readers to one-star it and put it to death. But if you feel like you’ve got a sellable story, and the only reason it’s not on the shelf is because some gatekeeper decided they didn’t like the premis, Apple has just taken that gatekeeper out of the equation for you. Again, the burden is on you, because one thing big publishers do is help you market your book. Out there on the iBooks store, you’re work is just as prone to be skipped as all of the others crammed on the shelf. But the fact that you’re on the shelf – at no cost to you – is HUGE.

You can bet the farm that an interactive version of Salt Shaker Claw Man will be on there ASAP. He’s absolutely bonkers over the news.

For a better look at what Apple is offering, watch the keynote.

Being self employed in advertising and design gives me a lot of tools that big publishers usually offer to authors, so there’s even less incentive for me to mail out 500 query letters and wait five years. What about quality control? That’s easier to take care of than you think. There are plenty of professionals out there happy to edit and critique your work, and they’re just as qualified as whoever X Publisher is going to set you up with. But you’ve got to be on top of it. It’s all on you. Ebooks are a BIG part of it. Yeah, I like paper too, but either get on board the train or let it run you over. Right?

Here’s a great article from Concierge that I recommend reading:

Omaha Publishing Company Views Ebooks as the Savior of Publishing, Finds Unique Market Niche

OMAHA, Neb., Jan. 16, 2012 — Concierge Marketing, an award-winning book shepherd and micropublisher in Omaha, Nebraska, is using the Ebook explosion and other technologies to fuel their growth. The company will launch their 100th micropublisher this year, producing titles marketed nationally and internationally in non-fiction, children’s picture books, and selected fiction. This year, the company will announce their first hybrid royalty-based title under their own imprint.
Since 2004, Concierge Marketing has helped authors launch their own independent micropublishing startups, guiding them through compliance, product development, marketing, and setting up independent distribution in their name. Books are published in print, audio, and all digital formats now, with enhanced ebooks being beta tested.

Large traditional publishers and others in the industry have feared the onslaught of the ebook and lamented that they will be the death of books. CMI founder and CEO Lisa Pelto believes that ebooks are actually the savior of publishing, particularly the small publisher and independent author. “No longer are authors cut out of the loop once a book is purchased the first time. They have the potential of a more consistent stream of revenue. Ebooks are not sold on the secondary market to stores that buy books from consumers for pennies on the dollar, and then turn around and resell them for half the retail price with no further royalties paid to the author,” Pelto said. “There are lending sites and library programs entering the marketplace; however, arrangements are being negotiated by publishers ahead of time to build in protections that never had to be considered before.”

In response to the increasing number of authors willing to pay for professional publishing services to create books that compete with traditional New York publishers, Concierge Marketing is uniquely positioned to navigate these authors through the often confusing industry, creating a formatting strategy for that book that focuses on the consumer. “Flexibility has been the key to our success,” states Pelto, who has worked in marketing and publishing for over three decades. “From a marketing standpoint, it’s a great environment for authors. The playing field has leveled, and consumers are now driving how they purchase and read books.”

When retired homicide detective Brian Bogdanoff decided to write a book about solving the case of his life, he researched all of the publishing options available today. “After looking at the speed I could be published, the level of editorial and creative control I would need, the formats my readers were going to want, and the profit potential of the various options, the only choice was to open my own independent micro-publishing operation,” Bogdanoff says. “I needed professional help, but I wanted to retain ownership and all rights. Concierge Marketing spent time educating me, and it was evident this was the way to publish today.”

Say hello to Pete. Of the three hermit crabs I own, he is the most spontaneous, the most photogenic, the least…hermit. And he really did his best to stay on top of that salt shaker. The poor guy slipped and biffed it many times, but he really gave it his all. We eventually gave up on getting him to pose on top of the salt shaker. He was much happier to chill in the sand.

This image is a concept for a book cover. We’ve decided it’s not really going to work, but I think we’ll throw it in there somewhere just for fun. Maybe on the back of the cover. We’ll see.

Here’s the concept:

I want to design a cover that really catches people’s eye. I’ve taken several different approaches to it, and while I like all of them to some degree, they just aren’t doing it for me. The book is illustrated in a comic book like way, and I like how comic books often hire a different artist for the cover. So I had this idea…what if we took a real salt shaker, put a real hermit crab on top, put a real cocktail sword in his claw and snapped a photo. Wouldn’t that make you go “WHAT THE EF is that book about?!”

At the very least we’ll have a fun image for the back of the book. Are you all picturing this? Does it seem as brilliant to you as it does to me?