Obscurity is a greater threat to writers than piracy

That’s the title of an article in Martyn Daniels’ Brave New World blog. Here are a couple of snippets:

In ‘Litopia After Dark’, panellist Nic Alderton gave us a great quote ‘Obscurity is a greater threat to writers than piracy’.For all authors, connecting with their audience and getting exposure remain the greatest challenge. They constantly chase and seek avenues which will expose their work to the widest audience. …

Today, we read a local report in the Grimsby Telegraph, which normally would not pass the ‘so what test,’ but which today is worth noting. The report is not about a local celebrity, or a famous local author, but about Sarah Griffiths, of Scartho Avenue, Grimsby and who writes under the pseudonym Saffina Desforges. Her novel, ‘Sugar And Spice’, which she and co-authored with Mark Williams was self published in November last year. …

The point is, that in the 2 months since publication, the book has climbed 46 in Amazon’s top 50 thrillers and number 2 in the serial killers chart. She now has a top London literary agent chasing her and traditional success beckons. The Kindle Edition is on sale today for just 71p. Yes, a very appealing cheap price that is a low risk read for any new author. The book is also available in other formats from Smashwords.com. …

Many will point to Google and suggest bookselling competition is here, but their core is different, their motivation is different and they are not vertical in publishing but very much at the distribution end of the value chain today.

The likes of Smashwords and Amazon are defining digital bookselling and offering all authors the greatest opportunity to overcome the threat of obscurit