21st Century Author

There are many things about being called an author that are wonderful...not the least of which is that I share a job title with some pretty profound people. But lately, I've been wondering things like, what if Charlotte Bronte had debuted in 2012? What, for that matter, if J.K. Rowling had? Would they all have blogs, Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts? Would William Faulkner be vlogging away on his YouTube channel? Would Truman Capote be running giveaways on Goodreads?

I say...yes. Probably. Though not every debut author I know has those things, the truth is that most do. Technology and social media have changed everything, most especially marketing. And, of course, publishing itself has changed. There are so many ways for authors (and artists of all sorts) to connect directly with their fans now. And a lot do. Especially those of us who are just starting out in the business and trying to get our names out there.

So what would the internetz look like if all of the authors on your bookshelves where debuting next year? I've got an idea! (Click on the images to make them bigger.)