My first ebook, of my short story Cyber, has just been accepted into Smashwords Premium Catalog! This is exciting, because it means that Smashwords will now distribute to it all of the major ebook sites out there, within a few weeks. Also, Smashwords has just announced that all Premium Catalog books will be also be distributed as their own Apps for smartphones! It’s such a great time to be a writer/publisher!

I just recorded myself reading my short story Cyber and will post it up online later today. This is my first foray into audio books, so another exciting milestone for me! Sure, I could find a voice actor to read my work, but I’ve always thought there was something special about an author reading their own work (it’s almost like going to a book reading without leaving your chair!). So, I’m going to present that; plus it saves me the trouble of finding someone else to record it! 😉

I’m thankful that I have the skills needed to take full advantage of this digital publishing convergence. After writing my books, I can format them, make the covers, record the audio book (and make it into a video file to distribute), and then have the ebook distributed to major outlets. I can then format the file to become a paperbook if I want to go that way with it, too. There are so many options now available for those who want to put the time and effort into doing it. Not everyone is going to have the skills or the interest to do all of these things themselves, but for those who can, they can get their books out very fast and cost-effectively. For those without the skills, or the interest, you can hire out the work you need done and still retain creative control.

Not that I’m feeling tied to having to do everything myself; I’m not, and I do contract some work out when needed. But, having control over how your work is presented a very good thing. For my upcoming novel (working title Skinjobs), for example, I am having a great local artist I know do the cover. I’m happy to delegate work out when I need to, or when I can. But, in the end, it’s a great thing to be able to put your project together they way you want, with the proper care and respect that your hard creative work deserves.