To mark the national broadcast on Book-TV today (Saturday, June 22) for CCC’s panel on Self-Publishing: Disruptor Or Defender Of The Book Business?, Beyond the Book presents a special interview with an “indie author” who shares what he’s learned from inside the book business.
Copyright and intellectual property are only two of Dave Davis’s many passions. A research analyst at the non—profit Copyright Clearance Center, where he has worked since 1994, Davis plays oldies on his rock-and-roll guitar; cultivates an active interest in medieval history; and brews his own beer. He’s also hiked all of the 4,000 foot peaks in New England.
Adding to his accomplishments and distinctions, David Daniel Davis, Jr., earlier this year self-published two long stories – in Last Stop, Electric Ladyland and the follow-up tale, Pride, Joy, and Murderous Intent – featuring Dan Warshaw, a skeptical neuroscientist by day and a rock ’n’ roller by night. The experience as an “indie author” has made Davis not only a fully-fledged copyright-holder, but also a budding pundit on self-publishing.
As Davis tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally, the first decision – going with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program – felt critical. “I wanted to get more distribution, get more publicity, to find a way in at no cost. I wasn’t going to invest heavily in this project in terms of dollars,” he explains. “At Amazon, they offer that distribution. They offer that means of getting the word out there. And when you get into the Kindle Direct Publishing, you’re in the Kindle store, you can tag it with your keywords, you are in a larger network immediately. I think that’s valuable when you’re just starting out.
“On the other hand,” he adds, “many alternatives exist, and they’re perfectly good as well.”
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