Today's pimpage

One downside to self-publishing of any kind (including the rebirth of old books as electronic books) is that it's up to the author to do all the publicity. Which means we must regularly beat the drum for our own wares. Which makes some of us uncomfortable.

Just one of the many adjustments we must make as publishing morphs into something different. Those of us published by traditional houses have come to expect a certain amount of assistance: Editors, publicists, cover artists. With e-books, we must look elsewhere for this help. I happened to be married to a computer-savvy professional editor. I suggest you run right out and get yourself such a spouse. Otherwise, you'll have to do it all yourself.

Authors can't afford to ignore e-books. Not only is e-publishing a great way to breathe life into out-of-print works, it's a direct, tree-free way to deliver new books such as my thriller "Firepower." Free Kindle apps and Smashwords downloads mean the consumer can turn any computer, laptop or smartphone into an e-book reader. That's why e-book sales are soaring.

I'm not abandoning traditional publishing. My agent is circulating a couple of my manuscripts to the New York houses right now. But, if e-books, old or new, can provide another revenue stream and a bigger audience, I'm on board.

So here is today's pimpage: You can see all the books I've got on Kindle so far by clicking here. The same books are available in a variety of formats at Smashwords here. More to come soon.

Thanks for listening.