The era of self-publishing has arrived. With the advent of the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad and other e-reader devices, authors all around the world have the opportunity to get their work out into the public eye. At last, there is a functional way to be published without the scrutiny of publishing houses, agents and paid-by-the-hour readers.
Self-publishing has long been an option for authors but the realities of it were often too difficult to overcome. Self-publishing meant printing and binding and boxes in your dining room. It meant schlepping from bookstore to bookstore in an attempt to market your work. It came with a significant financial investment with little guarantee of recovery. But those days are gone. E-books and print on demand have changed the publishing industry and metamorphosed the entire literary world.
As authors, no longer are we held to the whim of a faceless agent or unreachable publisher. No longer are we writing clever queries to capture the attention of an underpaid and bored screener. No longer do we send our work off only to get a rejection letter six months later. No one is going to be able to tell us that we aren't good enough, that our work isn't ready or they are just not interested.
No! We now can publish whenever and wherever we want.
OMG! Do you realize what that means?
No, really, think about it. Do you realize what this means? It means that we alone are responsible for what we publish. We alone are responsible to maintain the professionalism and integrity of the literary industry. We alone must take total responsibility for the whole enchilada.
Think about it. No one in the history of publishing has ever published a book alone. There have always been the guardians at the gate, the faceless agents, the unreachable publishers, the meticulous editors. It has always been their charge to maintain the professional integrity of the publishing world. Now, they have been eliminated, cut out, cast aside; well, almost. While the publisher is out of this picture and the agent has little or no power in a self-publishing world, the editor becomes king. The editor must become our best friend.
With the advent of the electronic age of publishing all authors who deserve to be published can see their work out in the real world, but, that also means that anyone who has ever written sixty pages about their summer vacation can also be published. What stands between us as professional writers and those that feel people will be interested in their aunt's gall bladder operation?
I can tell you, professionalism. We now own the responsibility to maintain the integrity of this industry and must NEVER publish a work that has not been professionally edited and proofed. And I stress the word, professionally. Your sister, the sixth grade English teacher, does not count as a professional editor. This is the only real area of self-publication that will cost the self-published author. You must pay for this service. No one can self-edit. When you get the stage where it is time to kill your babies, you need outside help in doing so. Do not think otherwise.
The arena of self-publishing can become a rich and bountiful place for us to thrive and flourish but only if we treat it with the utmost respect and reject ourselves more often than we accept what we have written. Ask yourself time and time again, would Doubleday take this? Would McMillian publish this? Is this ready to be sent out into the world. Only when you are one hundred percent certain and only when you have done everything humanly possible to assure that you have the most professional product possible do you submit your work for the world to see.
I promise you, professionalism will rise to the top of the self-publishing world and we will be building a reputation that is sturdy and secure.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Second Thoughts About Tucson
Yesterday I wrote about my feelings concerning the death of Christina Taylor-Green. When I did, I did not have all of the facts. I re-read my posting thinking that I had gone to far with certain assumptions but actually feel that the post holds together well.
One part needs more discussion however. In yesterday’s post I mentioned that my Right Wing FB friend accused me of believing the shooter to be a Tea Party member. I did not say that then or at any other time. However, I did believe it. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was a madman, right wing wacko taking “justice” into his own hands. I was wrong. Although it is turning out that he did hold far right beliefs, he is also a very ill man with severe schizophrenic tendencies. He is a crazy man, in short. I heard a wonderful monologue from Jon Stewart that turned my thinking around on this matter. (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/11/jon-stewarts-moving-monologue-on-the-tucson-shootings/) In this monologue he talks a lot about the perpetrator. He talks a lot about the media’s involvement. He did make one statement however, that I did not totally agree with, “I can no more blame Fox News for this tragedy than I can blame heavy metal music for Columbine.” I can see his point but I don’t think this is a good example. Heavy metal music wasn’t the catalyst for Columbine, bullying was the culprit. Heavy metal music was the escape for those two boys. In Tucson, the man was mentally ill and paranoid. He turned within himself and found the hate and dogma perpetrated on him each time he watched the news or listened to the radio.
Now, to make the case that the right wing media is responsible for this action would be a tough road to hoe and I have to back off that statement. My friend on FB would now be calling me a flip-flopper and denouncing me as unreliable. I, however, believe that new information must be considered and can alter opinions. But I do hold to the belief that the right wing media, along with the left wing extremists, all shout the same crap from different view points. And I stand by my belief that when you send out nothing but negative energy and hate you will get nothing in return but negative energy and hate. Both parties have to stop attacking each other as though they were fighting over the last can of beans on a deserted island. Dialogue and cooperation will accomplish more and do something that is sorely needed in this country, solve problems. And its about time.
On a side note, my dear friend Dot, lives in Tucson and is extremely involved in the local political scene. She new four or five of the people shot including the congresswoman and the judge that was killed. My heart goes out to her and her family and I am just grateful that she was not at the event because there seems to be every reason in the world that she could have been.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052
One part needs more discussion however. In yesterday’s post I mentioned that my Right Wing FB friend accused me of believing the shooter to be a Tea Party member. I did not say that then or at any other time. However, I did believe it. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was a madman, right wing wacko taking “justice” into his own hands. I was wrong. Although it is turning out that he did hold far right beliefs, he is also a very ill man with severe schizophrenic tendencies. He is a crazy man, in short. I heard a wonderful monologue from Jon Stewart that turned my thinking around on this matter. (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/11/jon-stewarts-moving-monologue-on-the-tucson-shootings/) In this monologue he talks a lot about the perpetrator. He talks a lot about the media’s involvement. He did make one statement however, that I did not totally agree with, “I can no more blame Fox News for this tragedy than I can blame heavy metal music for Columbine.” I can see his point but I don’t think this is a good example. Heavy metal music wasn’t the catalyst for Columbine, bullying was the culprit. Heavy metal music was the escape for those two boys. In Tucson, the man was mentally ill and paranoid. He turned within himself and found the hate and dogma perpetrated on him each time he watched the news or listened to the radio.
Now, to make the case that the right wing media is responsible for this action would be a tough road to hoe and I have to back off that statement. My friend on FB would now be calling me a flip-flopper and denouncing me as unreliable. I, however, believe that new information must be considered and can alter opinions. But I do hold to the belief that the right wing media, along with the left wing extremists, all shout the same crap from different view points. And I stand by my belief that when you send out nothing but negative energy and hate you will get nothing in return but negative energy and hate. Both parties have to stop attacking each other as though they were fighting over the last can of beans on a deserted island. Dialogue and cooperation will accomplish more and do something that is sorely needed in this country, solve problems. And its about time.
On a side note, my dear friend Dot, lives in Tucson and is extremely involved in the local political scene. She new four or five of the people shot including the congresswoman and the judge that was killed. My heart goes out to her and her family and I am just grateful that she was not at the event because there seems to be every reason in the world that she could have been.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/12052
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
THrowing Blame? Really?
I can’t seem to get this image out of my head. Imagine, you take your daughter to a grocery store and she is shot by some deluded madman attempting to make a political statement? It crushes my heart to think about it.
The pain must be unbearable. I hope I never know what it is like. There is a part of the human brain that protects us, that doesn’t allow us to go to that place and feel what this little girl’s parents are feeling, and for that I am grateful. I have two daughters. I can only imagine the utter horror of such a situation.
But what disgusts me almost as much is the political backlash of this tragedy. The Fox News contingent, Beck, Hannity et al and the radio mouths all seem more concerned about shucking blame than dealing with the issue. It seems that it is more important to them that this madman was not a Tea Party member, not a conservative, not a follower than the fact he murdered a 9 year old girl. The spin machine is working overtime to prove that this man was not “one of them.” It is a travesty.
But, that is what happens when you spew hatred and prejudice on a daily basis. When you broadcast nothing but negative thoughts and energy you create this type of person.
I have been in a discussion with an extreme right wing conservative via Facebook for several weeks now. It was my intention to try to understand his point of view and learn what I could from his opinions. It has been a total failure. In pages and pages of discussion we have not exchanged a single idea. He preaches and condemns and rants and raves all the while doing nothing but rehashing what Rush and O’Reilly tell him. This man vehemently denies evolution and global warming. He considers both Left wing plots to undermine the country. And yet while he denies science with one statement he endorses medicine with the next. When I accused him of being a sheep who follows the crowd he responded as follows:
".....Nobody tells me to do anything. Rush to me is common sense and Gods word is a warning written years in advance...
B- Basic
I - Instructions
B- Before
L - Leaving
E - Earth
He is so deluded that he can’t see the dichotomy of his own words. It is this mentality that leads to picking up a gun to solve an argument.
I have to say, I have never been one to join or announce my allegiance to any one group. I consider myself a liberal thinker but not a left wing zealot. But I am beginning to think that I need to do that. I need to tell people that I do not believe in violence as an answer, “Whatever the next war is about, I’m against it.” And as much as the left wing zealots abhor the right wing wacko’s not a one of them would pick up a gun, stalk them and shoot them in a crowded public place to prove their points. They might talk them to death or shout them down, but they would never shoot. I shared that with my right wing friend on FB yesterday and he informed me today that John Wilkes Booth was a liberal. In his mind there is a connection there, somewhere. Again, he is so deluded that he can’t see the difference between a 19th Century assassin and the murder of a 9 year old innocent girl.
But he did bring up an interesting point. He accused me of saying that the murderer was a Tea Party Member. I had not done that but I guess the writing on the wall is so clear that even he can read it. Why is it that when something like this tragedy in Tucson happens everyone knows which side of the fence this perpetrator sits on? Why is it that the Timothy McVie’s and the Freeway shooters all share a conservative frame of mind? Regardless of their political party affiliations, they all reside on the far right and believe that they can find an answer by stomping on the Constitution and forcing their point.
All of this is a round about way for me to say that enough is enough. We have to stop the hate. We have to communicate with each other and not be afraid of holding a differing opinion. Hearing a contradictory opinion is not a bad or hurtful thing, it is the basis for human communication. Had this young man realized that he could express himself without violence then maybe there would be a 9 year old girl sitting at her desk in school this morning instead of being lain to rest.
www.justice-rules.com
The pain must be unbearable. I hope I never know what it is like. There is a part of the human brain that protects us, that doesn’t allow us to go to that place and feel what this little girl’s parents are feeling, and for that I am grateful. I have two daughters. I can only imagine the utter horror of such a situation.
But what disgusts me almost as much is the political backlash of this tragedy. The Fox News contingent, Beck, Hannity et al and the radio mouths all seem more concerned about shucking blame than dealing with the issue. It seems that it is more important to them that this madman was not a Tea Party member, not a conservative, not a follower than the fact he murdered a 9 year old girl. The spin machine is working overtime to prove that this man was not “one of them.” It is a travesty.
But, that is what happens when you spew hatred and prejudice on a daily basis. When you broadcast nothing but negative thoughts and energy you create this type of person.
I have been in a discussion with an extreme right wing conservative via Facebook for several weeks now. It was my intention to try to understand his point of view and learn what I could from his opinions. It has been a total failure. In pages and pages of discussion we have not exchanged a single idea. He preaches and condemns and rants and raves all the while doing nothing but rehashing what Rush and O’Reilly tell him. This man vehemently denies evolution and global warming. He considers both Left wing plots to undermine the country. And yet while he denies science with one statement he endorses medicine with the next. When I accused him of being a sheep who follows the crowd he responded as follows:
".....Nobody tells me to do anything. Rush to me is common sense and Gods word is a warning written years in advance...
B- Basic
I - Instructions
B- Before
L - Leaving
E - Earth
He is so deluded that he can’t see the dichotomy of his own words. It is this mentality that leads to picking up a gun to solve an argument.
I have to say, I have never been one to join or announce my allegiance to any one group. I consider myself a liberal thinker but not a left wing zealot. But I am beginning to think that I need to do that. I need to tell people that I do not believe in violence as an answer, “Whatever the next war is about, I’m against it.” And as much as the left wing zealots abhor the right wing wacko’s not a one of them would pick up a gun, stalk them and shoot them in a crowded public place to prove their points. They might talk them to death or shout them down, but they would never shoot. I shared that with my right wing friend on FB yesterday and he informed me today that John Wilkes Booth was a liberal. In his mind there is a connection there, somewhere. Again, he is so deluded that he can’t see the difference between a 19th Century assassin and the murder of a 9 year old innocent girl.
But he did bring up an interesting point. He accused me of saying that the murderer was a Tea Party Member. I had not done that but I guess the writing on the wall is so clear that even he can read it. Why is it that when something like this tragedy in Tucson happens everyone knows which side of the fence this perpetrator sits on? Why is it that the Timothy McVie’s and the Freeway shooters all share a conservative frame of mind? Regardless of their political party affiliations, they all reside on the far right and believe that they can find an answer by stomping on the Constitution and forcing their point.
All of this is a round about way for me to say that enough is enough. We have to stop the hate. We have to communicate with each other and not be afraid of holding a differing opinion. Hearing a contradictory opinion is not a bad or hurtful thing, it is the basis for human communication. Had this young man realized that he could express himself without violence then maybe there would be a 9 year old girl sitting at her desk in school this morning instead of being lain to rest.
www.justice-rules.com
Self Published and Loving It.
I am a self-published author.
It feels very good to say that. The road I took to get there was long, arduous and in the end, gratifying.
Originally I had no intention of self-publishing. To me that meant a living room full of boxes of books, that I paid for, sitting there with the hope of selling them to someone, somewhere. A big financial investment along with a lot of leg work; I was not interested.
I worked for several years to write a novel, Justice Rules, and when it finally got to the stage that I thought it was ready I took it out into the world. I then waited, with great expectations, for my door to be kicked in and the world to come running to me. To my surprise, nothing happened.
I started down the traditional publication path. I searched for many months to find an agent, who in turn would find a publisher who in turn would publish my work. Finally, I found an agent who was willing to represent me and thought that this was the step I needed to take to find success. To my great disappointment, the relationship ended shortly after when she got married and retired from the business. Not to be deterred, I set out in search once again, and again, I was successful in finding an agent, the person who would take me over the hump and I would get to see my work in print on a book store shelf. Well, she got divorced and left the business to pursue other interests. (What is it with agents and matrimony?) About this time a good friend sent me an article he read about a site called Smashwords.com. Smashwords.com had just signed an agreement with Apple to supply content for the iPad. My eyes opened.
The iPad and the Kindle are the two top selling products in the world. After researching the site it occurred to me that I could, in fact, self publish. There was no cost involved, the book would be available through Amazon.com as well as the Apple bookstore. There was nothing standing in my way. I suddenly realized that I had been waiting for someone else to tell me that it was okay for people to read my book. I was allowing my success to be determined by other people who functioned in an institution that was changing faster than they could comprehend. A Springsteen lyric came to mind.
“My soul checked out missing
As I sat there listening
To the hours and minutes ticking away.
I was sitting around waiting for my life to begin
While it was all just ticking away.”
I made the decision to take control of my own success or failure and go for it. I signed up with Smashwords.com, published the novel and started my journey.
To date, I have had over 40 tremendous reviews from a wide range of people. Many customer reviews on Amazon as well as several professional reviews on web sites, blog sites and from other authors. I was a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary Contest. I was listed on the Top 25 Self Published Novels of 2010 at a very popular blog site, http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com. It is incredibly gratifying to have people read your work, recommend it to their friends, and write nice things about it. I would have been denied that experience had I allowed the old world publishing guru’s to dictate to me what I can and cannot do.
Take control, that is my advice for the day. You control your own destiny and you can succeed with hard work and perseverance.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY
It feels very good to say that. The road I took to get there was long, arduous and in the end, gratifying.
Originally I had no intention of self-publishing. To me that meant a living room full of boxes of books, that I paid for, sitting there with the hope of selling them to someone, somewhere. A big financial investment along with a lot of leg work; I was not interested.
I worked for several years to write a novel, Justice Rules, and when it finally got to the stage that I thought it was ready I took it out into the world. I then waited, with great expectations, for my door to be kicked in and the world to come running to me. To my surprise, nothing happened.
I started down the traditional publication path. I searched for many months to find an agent, who in turn would find a publisher who in turn would publish my work. Finally, I found an agent who was willing to represent me and thought that this was the step I needed to take to find success. To my great disappointment, the relationship ended shortly after when she got married and retired from the business. Not to be deterred, I set out in search once again, and again, I was successful in finding an agent, the person who would take me over the hump and I would get to see my work in print on a book store shelf. Well, she got divorced and left the business to pursue other interests. (What is it with agents and matrimony?) About this time a good friend sent me an article he read about a site called Smashwords.com. Smashwords.com had just signed an agreement with Apple to supply content for the iPad. My eyes opened.
The iPad and the Kindle are the two top selling products in the world. After researching the site it occurred to me that I could, in fact, self publish. There was no cost involved, the book would be available through Amazon.com as well as the Apple bookstore. There was nothing standing in my way. I suddenly realized that I had been waiting for someone else to tell me that it was okay for people to read my book. I was allowing my success to be determined by other people who functioned in an institution that was changing faster than they could comprehend. A Springsteen lyric came to mind.
“My soul checked out missing
As I sat there listening
To the hours and minutes ticking away.
I was sitting around waiting for my life to begin
While it was all just ticking away.”
I made the decision to take control of my own success or failure and go for it. I signed up with Smashwords.com, published the novel and started my journey.
To date, I have had over 40 tremendous reviews from a wide range of people. Many customer reviews on Amazon as well as several professional reviews on web sites, blog sites and from other authors. I was a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary Contest. I was listed on the Top 25 Self Published Novels of 2010 at a very popular blog site, http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com. It is incredibly gratifying to have people read your work, recommend it to their friends, and write nice things about it. I would have been denied that experience had I allowed the old world publishing guru’s to dictate to me what I can and cannot do.
Take control, that is my advice for the day. You control your own destiny and you can succeed with hard work and perseverance.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16TCY
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
