The key to good preparation? Failure. That's according to Jason Ashlock of Movable Type Management. No, he's not a web software guy. He's a literary agent. A modern literary agent. And the first I've seen with a real vision for the future of publishing.

I like his vision for 3 reasons:

It validates my decision 2 years ago to self (scratch that) Indie publish;
It does not render books, literature or any other kind of writing obsolete; and
It suggests that the age of the novelist — you know, the one alone with the typewriter in a spare, dusty room — is not completely dead.

It's easiest to explain his vision by contrast with the status quo.

Ashlock sees traditional agents as the go-between between authors and publishers on a linear path that leads, from author to agent to publisher to distributor and, eventually, to readers.

But in the digital age — which, he stresses, is here now, not coming tomorrow — that path is no longer linear. Rather it radiates outward from the author, at the center, though many shorter paths to readers. The modern agent's role is to live in a slim concentric circle that surrounds the author and help her figure out how, when, where, and why to radiate.

As an author standing alone at the center of my little circle, all aglow but completely unfocused, this vision articulates precisely what I have needed for the past two years.

I've beaten myself up quite a bit for not knowing when, where or how to radiate. I've tried little things. I've tried big things. I've gotten discouraged. I've lost focus. I've become paralyzed.

Should I invest in becoming vocal on GoodReads? Should I send out press releases to journalists who write about food and technology? Should I make my eBook free?

And if I try one of these approaches, how do I know if it worked? What do I measure?

I'll admit it. At some point, I just let my personal life and my professional life take over instead.

But, says Ashlock, to make progress, you must experiment. And when you experiment, you will fail. And when you fail, you will learn. Any scientist will tell you, any entrepreneur will tell you, any athlete will tell you:  Failure is part of the bargain.

The good thing is that, during the past 2 years, things have changed. There are more tools for Indie authors and more ways to measure success. Plus people like Ashlock are lending credence to the entire digital model. As a result, more and more agents are willing to look at someone like me, who took a risk 2 years ago, as someone with potential rather than as a pariah.

So it's time to experiment. I guess my short term goal is to fail and learn. But my long-term goal is success! Success, that is, that I can quantify in terms of readers and reactions — Yelp-style (to paraphrase an attendee at Ashlock's talk) — so when my next book is ready, so am I.