“Always in motion, the future is.” – Yoda, Empire Strikes Back.

We can sit and do nothing. We can sit and worry about it. Or we can get up, plant our feet on the ground, and take advantage of it.

This is my attitude about publishing. The future is rapidly approaching. The fate of storytelling as we know it could flip in on itself. Not only for novelists, prose writers, short fiction writers but also the comic writer and the comic artist.

Technology is now so advanced; anyone can write and publish a book with little or no fuss (and/or budget). Tools like Amazon or Lulu allow you to place your story online and sell it digitally to millions of Kindle readers or tablet users. WordPress is a brilliant platform for sharing creative content absolutely free!

Then there’s crowdfunding sites to “pre-sale” your product so you absolutely know the demand of your market (and reader)! Sorry big presses; this is the future. One needs to adapt or get out of the way. The time of worrying if a major publisher will accept your work (or story) is over. With the right enthusiasm and motivation, a storyteller can sell his work and bypass them altogether. And actually make a full-time career out of it; paying the bills and paying their taxes.

Right now, you can get lost in a very big sea of content and creators. But soon, millions of people will know where to look for it besides the local Barnes and Noble or Walmart. Comic book stores will become digital stores selling both digital and physical items. And publishers like DC and Marvel need to learn quickly how to stay relevant. Or by 2024, these guys will be only selling reprints of archive stuff or hoping another billion dollar movie can be made. I see Marvel (or DC) being a one room office with a staff of little just trying to protect their copyrights.

I am inspired by the future. And honestly, I still want a big publishing deal. Yet, I know it’s not the only option anymore. I challenge all of you to go to IndieGoGo or Amazon to look for independent stories. Support the next generation of writers and creators! Or be the next generation writer and put you stuff out there, any way you can!