In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* Oops
* Another Post for “Of Interest”
* Publishers and Rejection Slips
* Of Interest
Quotes of the Day
“What allures people, what do they want to read about? Money, sex and death, but especially money.” Catherine Baab-Muguira
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.” Seth Godin
“PG suggests that a writing career should depend on how many stories you have inside you instead of how many corporate drones need to say yes before one of your stories finds its readers.” The Passive Guy
Oops
I’m not sure why MailerLite sent out the post for the 12th again on the 13th. I hope when that happens it doesn’t cause you much of an inconvenience. I like to think maybe it’s gnomes at work or something re-sending because someone who needed to see it the first time around missed it.
Another Post for “Of Interest”
For various reasons I didn’t write much on Wednesday and I didn’t get much sleep on Wednesday night. Then on Thursday I fell a little short of my word count goal too.
I’m hoping today will be better. But either way, I wanted to get the items in “Of Interest” out to you.
Publishers and Rejection Slips
One link today is to an entertaining article about rejection slips. You can read the article for yourself. It is entertaining, as I said.
And you already know my suggestion. Believe in yourself and your work, bypass the self-styled “gatekeepers,” publish indie (and wide), and let the readers decide.
Hmm. I broke the rule of Three in that previous sentence. There are four independent clauses. In each clause, the subject, “you,” is implied. Anyway, the most important clause is “Let the readers decide.” After all, deciding whether your work is any good is the reader’s job. Not yours and definitely not some “gatekeeper.”
Here’s the deal. You’re writing for yourself first and the readers second. Let other schmucks write for the agents and publishers. Let THEM have their work accepted and sign over all rights for a small advance that they still probably won’t earn out.
Plus, once they wise up and learn what you and I already know, they’ll have to hope they can get their rights reverted to them after what, 35 years? Not something I’d wish on an enemy, much less you guys.
But of course, as always, whatever works for you.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “…Supreme Court copyright showdown” at https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/andy-warhols-portraits-prince-get-15-minutes-fame-supreme-court-copyri-rcna51246.
See “Andy Warhol, Prince at center stage in Supreme Court case” at https://apnews.com/article/ketanji-brown-jackson-us-supreme-court-entertainment-music-b6b865d5fc4b616be5474221390ed725. Thanks to KC for the tip.
See “The Best Book Marketing Strategies Are Simple: 7 Things You Should Focus On Now from Author Marketing Experts, Inc.” at https://www.amarketingexpert.com/2022/10/11/the-best-book-marketing-tips-are-simple-7-strategies-you-should-focus-on-now/.
See “Rejection Slips” at https://killzoneblog.com/2022/10/rejection-slips.html.
See “Why ideas are worthless in copyright terms” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/why-ideas-are-worthless-in-copyright-terms/.
See “Why It’s Better to Write About Money, Not for Money” at https://www.janefriedman.com/why-its-better-to-write-about-money-not-for-money/.
See “Amazon KDP & Kindle Unlimited: What It Means for Authors and Publishers” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/amazon-kdp-kindle-unlimited-what-it-means-for-authors-and-publishers/. But especially see PG’s take.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 510 words
Writing of The Stirchians (novel, tentative title)
Day 1…… 4106 words. Total words to date…… 4106
Day 2…… 3505 words. Total words to date…… 7611
Day 3…… 2392 words. Total words to date…… 10366
Day 4…… 3336 words. Total words to date…… 13339
Total fiction words for October……… 21541
Total fiction words for the year………… 141923
Total nonfiction words for October… 10200
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 163420
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 305343
Calendar Year 2022 Novels to Date…………………… 2
Calendar Year 2022 Novellas to Date……………… 0
Calendar Year 2022 Short Stories to Date… 0
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 68
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: In this Journal, I discuss various aspects of the writing craft. I also illustrate, with my own writing, a Zen-like non-process called Writing Into the Dark and what is possible when you trust the characters to tell the story that they, not you, are living. WITD also leads to greatly increase productivity and a rapid ascension along the learning curve because you get a great deal more Practice. This is not opinion. It is all numbers and facts.