Now, TRR begat in a time when plenty had not yet arrived to the masses but was just on the teetering edge. In our current world, TRR is a nice little blip on the radar.
I say all this to say that when I'm sitting over here mulling over the current publication system, the trend towards free, that there are worlds of plenty out to explore in the vast conquest of the mindscape, there arose three key points we should go over together.
* TRR isn't mass market. It doesn't need to be.
* TRR is still young and growing.
* The nature of content consumption is changing. Fast.
Our current fan base is evolving with the technology and the technology is drifting fans in and out of the theme. I've had requests for more phone content and others have asked me about other multi-media projects tied in. Owning a nook and reading books on the phone is now more of a family affair in my home as indicated by the checkbook register showing that our purchase of traditional print literature is nearing the zero line.
I bring us here because our digital download purchases by TRR fans are getting very close to outmatching the print copies--a trend I considered on the surface was simply because of price. TRR is not cheap in the print realm for a handful of reasons not the least of which is overall distribution cost for print. However, considering my nook library is starting to outpace one of my bookshelves, I'm starting to realize this isn't a price point consideration, but a fundamental shift in how we consume content at the indie level.
Earlier I gave thought about publishers and gaining favor with larger firms. I don't see that as a natural fit for TRR. So, yes, long post previously with a very short answer.
Looking now to the future for TRR and the rise of digital content, in a world where we don't re-read, and become a nation of skimmers, what does that mean for the fictional universe that we play in? Should TRR grow to support multiple small mixed media projects? Sponsor more independent artists? Or yet something else, something that's mixed in with all these things. And lastly, how exactly does one keep something like TRR moving at a more regular release cycle in a world where we release ideas before the QA and marketing team ever really touches them, where threaded discussions are limited to 140 posts and crpytic shortkey, and sites now have more links to social networking sites than links that matter.
