It's clear from feedback I received from readers of the initial post that I need to do a better job of explaining what my new idea 'The Collective' is all about.
The collective will be the concept of how my publishing company will work. I will seek authors whose works fits with the overall artistic vision of my publishing company - fiction containing a strong, cutting edge voice with an emphasis given to work with bold female, lead characters that will make a lasting imprint on readers.
The second part forms the business considerations. The authors that sign with the collective will be of same mind that the new publishing paradigm has changed and assisting in the marketing of your own work is a must. The writers in the collective will work both independently to promote their own work and join with the other writers to raise awareness for the entire group.
The idea came from seeing hundreds going at it alone. I've seen many that could both fit with the tone of my fiction and form a 'collective' marketing team to help rise the tide and hence will lift all boats.
Another way to explain:
When an author self-publishes, it's a form of starting a business whether or not they go through the technical process of actually paying for a license. The vast majority I've seen do this with very few connections or business associates. What other area of business has this business model? Drive down the main drag of your town/city. One thing that pops out at me--- like minded businesses tend to group together in location. Why don't self-published authors do the same? Combine forces under one tent to achieve the scale lost by not choosing a traditional publisher (though nobody denies that authors must do a good deal of their own marketing even with trad pubs)
I pose the following questions:
Do you see self-publishing as a business?
Does your fiction/music/art gel with what you see on my blog?
Are you of the opinion you will have to market/promote with a dedicated, regular approach to social media?
If you answered yes to these questions, consider the idea of the collective.