the high life...

soooo recently i've been playing with the idea of becoming a cliche: having a blog, working in the book industry and -the very crucial cliche making element- writing a book.


 pros:

• i would be one of many. being part of the in-crowd has mass appeal... literally.
• i would be ferreting my time away on something useful, unlike my current occupation, which is obsessing over the crumpets i had for breakfast and wondering how fast is too fast when going back for more?

cons:

• it would more than likely be a disaster
• i would have to actually buy a laptop and so far i've been in a state of denial since my original laptop broke down 5 years ago. i literally cannot be bothered going out to the shops to buy a new one... which leads into my next con-
• procrastination. i would sit at that screen like an incontinent puppy; no ability for self control, coupled with mounting enthusiasm. my writing would have a tendency of spewing forth in great big heaves... only to constipate once the delirious fever of obsession wore off. i'm nothing if not a study in contrasts.  
• did i mention it would be a disaster?
• also, i'm burnt. this in no way affects my writing capabilities, but does affect my tan line. it's now uneven. my impressed factor is at sparkly vampire status: non-existent. 

i feel like the cons have it.

i think i'll let the more interesting and talented deal with the niche market:

amanda hocking. self published her work, made millions and now has a book deal. not having actually read any of her books i can't comment on her talent, i can comment on the fact that she's made a lot, A LOT, of money ex-naying the publishers and setting about DIY-style. and now even more money having signed with a publisher. based on the amanda hocking model (lets call it 'rejection letter one oh one meltdown'), self publishing is the way to go.
 
presenting lenore. blogger turned writer turned book deal. she was probably writing before the blogging, but that didn't have the same ring to it.

steph bowe. blogger turned writer turned book deal. i probably should have started with steph. she seems to be one of the first to break off the blog writing into book deal.

john green. author first, blogging guru always. 

go fug yourself. hilarious gets you places. specifically a book deal, thank you very much. 

and for those of you who are capable of stringing together more than two words (unlike myself) here's a bit of advice from websites that know better than i: 

the smell of books digital is where everyone needs to be. joel has a lot of great articles regarding this new digital world the book industry is entering.

hubpages i'd say its appeal is the millions of hits a month tag. i don't actually understand how it works in any way... but that's my own issue.

betareaders they offer a fresh perspective with proofreading and editing. i'd say they're super energised about it as well: 'we love to promote books! we love giving feedback! we love to write! we love to read!' i'm gonna take a stab in the dark and venture to say they love being beta readers. bless


figment fiction i'm not too sure i understand how it is that figment distinguish themselves from any other blogging-writing community... but they do. somehow. whatever, i think their website is spiffy.