Getting To Know you

I've been reading all of the doom and gloom in publishing recently. Part of it is to keep up with my industry, the other part is to report back to the newsletter for the Romance Writers United organization (check them out! They're a great group! /plug) and the other part is just to see where things are headed. It got so much that even I had to step back and rearrange my brain for writing itself. Sometimes it seems like there's so much around writing that writing itself gets pushed aside.

And then I took a mini break outside of it all. As I dove back into my ginormously huge reading pile, I started tackling some books from my pile and books that I've wanted to buy and read from this year. Big thanks to a few reading challenges that helped push me along. I also finally got a chance to catch up on my favorite book stomping grounds, Goodreads and Shelfari. In the process, I got to know new readers and it was really refreshing. Reading isn't celebrated as much as it used to be. With the advent of every other media outside of reading, books and reading seemed to have become passe. On the other hand, if you were to look at the amount of websites, blogs and discussion groups dedicated to the written word it would seem otherwise. I have to say, I love it. As a reader, I get to meet other book lovers and exchange ideas on books that I've read; not to mention grab some great titles I may never have heard of before. And let's face it, with most books not getting the push they deserve from publishers, this is an amazing advantage. As an author, I get to hear instant reader feedback both good and bad as I become a better writer.

For a long time, I've been saying how I can't wait for the future of publishing to get here but, honestly, I think it's here already. With online writing conferences growing with popularity (thanks SORMAG and Muse!), library and book themed webinars and critique/feedback groups from all around the world, discussions will only just get more sophisticated as the technology grows. From someone who can't make many conferences and get togethers due to her location, I'm immensely grateful and can't wait to get to know more book lovers and readers across the media spectrum.

Rae Lori

Rae's next release is 'Within the Shadows of Mortals' Book 2 in the Ashen Twilight series ~ Coming April 2010
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