Hearts on the Line- Is writing Still an Art?

   I read a very heart-rending blog post today, which I highly recommend to anyone at any point in the writing arena. Whether you are just thinking of writing a book someday or a full-blown published author, this blog post will do nothing less than enlighten you.

Go ahead and read it, and the one it refers to, then get back to me and read my own personal response to all the feelings they bring to the surface for me.

Go here: http://welcometotheasylum.net/2011/06/27/hemming-the-bone-veil/#comment-1510

 

First of all, this is some really deep stuff. I suppose I had a dream a long time ago when I was writing my first book, not knowing a damn thing about the reality of the publishing clockworks. After I was published by a small publishing house- no advance, no marketing help, no tours or publicity- the previous naivete dropped away and I was left with the knowing that this is just another business. The art of it is quickly stripped away when an author transfers themselves from the art of the writing to the business of marketing; becoming, instead of an artist, a salesperson of sorts. I’ve spent way more time trying to hawk my four books than I have on doing what I felt born to do: write great stories. And as time goes by and I find I am a small fish in a big pond of bigger and better storytellers, the love I once had for the art has become so jaded that I now find it hard to write at all. After all, I have shared my very soul with this world; put my heart out there where it was judged just not good enough. That’s enough, I’d say, to have reason to put up a thousand veils. I just ain’t the sales type. But, hey, I still love every bit of what I’ve put down on paper. And I have to believe, nay KNOW, that that is enough. Because in the end, that’s where the only real happiness lies.

 

Anonymous- My Life Has Value

How mad are you about the state of this world today?

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Anonymous- My Life Has Value, posted with vodpod

Some Backstory on Me

I’ve been writing for what seems like forever. My mom taught me to read even before I started kindergarten, so I was highly praised in school for my awesome talent! My mother also read a lot, which made me want to read a lot, too. So I read and I read and I read. Finally, somewhere along the way, I started getting this little feeling inside me saying, “I bet I could write better than that.”

Since my self-esteem wasn’t too great it took me many years before I actually wrote something big: a play titled Angel in the House. It was for a women’s lit. class, and was highly acclaimed by the teacher and my fellow students. I got such a rush from writing down all this stuff that I had made up in my head that I wrote a novella titled Native Vengeance. I wanted to start small so I could see what it took to get a large number of words all together in one place. It worked! So I decided to write an entire novel this time, titled Quantum Earth.

I felt so ‘in the zone’ while writing. It was a high like no other! The next step was finding someone to publish my book. That took almost as long as writing the darned thing! But at long last, I ended up with two different publishers wanting it. I made that hard choice and waited for the revision process. My manuscript went back and forth between my editor and me a few times till we got it right. I was so thrilled at this point I could barely eat!

Of course the boom hit when I found out about the marketing aspect of writing a book. I did a crash course on marketing online, trying to figure out the best way to get my book and my name out there to the reading public. I won’t go into much detail as I’m sure you all know by now how much work and a pain in the arse all that is. And all that work seemed like it was for nothing because almost nobody was buying my book no matter what I did.

Nevertheless, the following year I had my second book, Deadly Lucidity, published. But, alas, nobody was buying much of them either. I consulted a book marketing pro, willing to pay him if I had to so I could just sell a few more books. I was surprised when he told me I didn’t need his services as I was doing everything possible, and it was just a matter of time before my books caught on. Very interesting, I thought.

Then I made friends with someone who was self-publishing his own books, and edified me on why self-publishing is really so much better for a writer than traditional for so many reasons. I was convinced. I published Earthwalker and Native Vengeance within a week. I was very happy with self-publishing for a lot of reasons, like having control of my own work, getting paid WAY more for each paper and e-book sold, having all the information about each sale and who bought it, etc. So I went to my publisher and asked for the rights to my first two books so I could publish those, too. I published Quantum Earth in January, and will publish Deadly Lucidity sometime in the fall.

These days I have what I think is a dynamite idea for a new book: a young reporter is assigned to do a story about the latest drug craze that is raging like wildfire across the U.S. To do the story justice she decides to experiment by taking this drug herself, the effects of which are mind traveling to other dimensions. I don’t have a title as of yet, but I’m pretty excited about starting to get it down on paper. So what’s stopping me you may ask? I have to kick some ideas around in my head a bit more before it is solidified enough to warrant actual pen and paper. Ya see, as most of you may know already, writing a whole gosh darn book is a huge commitment not to be taken lightly. You best be sure you have enough words to last the whole way through!

[Korea’s Got Talent] tvN 코리아 갓 탤런트 Ep.1 Sung-bong Choi!!!.avi

This young man has an incredible set of pipes!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Korea’s Got Talent, posted with vodpod

Bob Marley- Could you be loved

Bob Marley is a beautiful soul!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Bob Marley – Could you be loved, posted with vodpod

yWriter Software Tutorial

This is a tutorial for the free writing program ywriter as explained by talented author KM Weiland. I highly recommend writers to get Weiland’s weekly writing tips, which are usually done on video.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

yWriter Software Tutorial, posted with vodpod

Six Reasons You Should Stick With Legacy Publishing by Allan Douglas

There is a tendency for authors, especially new authors, to discount the value of the established and venerated publishing houses; those establishments that have for, in some cases, hundreds of years provided the readers of the world, with quality materials to entertain, inform and enlighten.  But suddenly the reverent awe in which we have always held these firms is being besmirched, like graffiti on a church by a pair of hooligans; a bratty upstart called Self Publishing and his sidekick Indie Press.  Oh, sure, their cousin Vanity Press has been prostituting herself for almost as long as the Big Houses have been around, but she pretty much kept to herself and offered little threat to them.

Self and Indie, however, have managed to lure a sizable contingent of writers into their posse with promises of instant money and fast stardom.  But, here are six reasons why authors should stick with the brick and mortar giants of publishing.

One

Rejection is so rewarding.  You enjoy spending a year or more querying agents and wallpapering your office with the politely worded notices that you aren’t quite right for them at this time, serving as an everlasting memorial to your inadequacy.

Two

You enjoy the challenge of rewriting your book to conform to the socio-political stance of the publishing house that has seen promise in your work.

Three

You want to savor the prolonged anticipation and expectation of knowing your book is in the works and will be made available to the general public by stretching it out for a year or a year and half if possible.

Four

An up-front cash payment of several thousand dollars is enough of a carrot to induce you to give up all rights to your work, trusting that the Big House will be actively seeking every possible opportunity to sell said work.

Five

Because, should said work sell well enough to cover your advance and produce royalties, 5% to 7% of sales is certainly generous compensation for the paltry amount of labor and thought you put into the creation of one book.  After all – how much sweat and angst can it take to produce a book that sells well?

Six

Self publishing, like micro computers and cell phones, is a fad; merely a passing fancy with technology.  Once the hoopla wears off, all reputable authors will be pounding on the doors to the hallowed halls of the Big 6 begging forgiveness for their sinful dalliance with this slick-talking upstart.

So, what’s it going to be?  I say; hold tight to your Smith Corona typewriter and that curly-corded telephone and keep banging out query letters to feed your rejection addiction.  After all; we ARE supposed to suffer for our art, aren’t we?

_____________________________________________________________________

The egocentric liar who cowers behind the pen name Allan Douglas has been an author, writer, prattler, dreamer since the 1970’s, published mostly in magazines but has duped publishers into producing three books to date, one through a publishing house the others self-published – but they were just an experiment; like that first cigarette out behind the barn, just to see what all the fuss is about. Really!

He lives on a mountainside in the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee with an undeservedly wonderful wife, a genius border collie and a Prima donna English hound who is queen of the mountain.  He serves as an ordained Elder in his church, is a master woodworker, former custom furniture maker and once dreamt of sailing the world in a Bristol Channel Cutter.  But then he met a girl, got all twitterpated and lost is way.  Stories about his life as a mountain man wannabe are posted to www.SimpleLifePrattle.com.  He also offers hackneyed advice to misguided writers at his blog http://AllanDouglas.com/blog/ where he compounds his offense by making a feeble attempt to sell the progeny of his tryst with a couple of the members of Self Publishing’s posse.  May he never live down the shame!

---

Allan Douglas Writes
Bsn Web: www.AllanDouglas.com
Bsn Blog: www.AllanDouglas.com/blog/
Psn Blog: www.SimpleLifePrattle.com

Original Post: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/06/07/stick-with-legacy-publishing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCreativePenn+%28The+Creative+Penn%29

TEDxHouston – Dr. David Eagleman

Interesting talk about science and spirit by Dr. David Eagleman.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

TEDxHouston – Dr. David Eagleman, posted with vodpod

99 Cent Book Deal

Only a few days left to get my books for 99 cents from Smashwords, then they go back up to $2.99 again! Just search my name and it’ll lead you to my books.