Joe Konrath busts The Myth of the Best Seller by reminding us that this revolution in publishing isn't primarily about the rise of successful indie published writers like John Locke and Amanda Hocking.
Although it's a sign of the times that indie writers are breaking into the various best seller lists, the revolution of digital publishing is really about the opportunity for the majority of us to find readers without asking permission from the big publishing houses.
Says Konrath:
The self-publishing revolution is about authors--all authors--being able to make money on their work without having to jump through gatekeeping hoops. ... The real story is about the midlist, and how many writers can get paid. And right now, more writers are getting paid for their writing than at any other point in history.
This should be an encouraging word to any writer who can tell a good story. You don't have to worry about being a "best selling author" - which is really a misdirected goal to rest on one's laurels (see Dean Wesley Smith's blog post on Writer vs. Author to find out the difference). All we need to focus on is writing and publishing great stories - and the fans of our particular style of writing will find us. When that happens, we'll move from dreaming of "breaking into this business" to actually being in it.
In other words, is our true desire to be best sellers or writers who sell our best? The latter's the direction I want to head.
