This Pottermore business
You probably know by now that JK Rowling has announced, through a new website called Pottermore, that the Harry Potter series will be available digitally through the site and without the help of a publisher.
There are many articles already written on the subject, so I’m going to link to internet pal and fellow Read & Trust member Aaron Mahnke, who in a post called Self-publishing is About to Get Real says:
If you had any doubts about whether you should publish through a traditional publisher, or take your destiny in your own hands and do it yourself (like I have happily done), today’s new should calm any fears that it’s a “real” option.
I personally don’t see how Pottermore has anything to do with self-publishing at all. It’s a huge deal for publishers because it’s a big-name author cutting them out of the process. They really need to work out how they’re going to deal with that.
But this is Harry Potter. Huge, ludicrous sales figures are guaranteed. Lots of money will be made.
How many independent authors who are just starting out can say that? None, is the answer. There is absolutely no comparison. Pottermore is big news for the industry, but for the average writer, it’s just another author’s website with an owl on the homepage.
Stupid owls. Always with the owls.
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