tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post1706575693814952352..comments2024-02-16T00:48:56.686-08:00Comments on The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes: Year Zero is here: So What?Agnieszkas Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-38480019781038884802009-08-31T10:30:02.646-07:002009-08-31T10:30:02.646-07:00Thanks, Piers. Funny you should mention Oprah - I ...Thanks, Piers. Funny you should mention Oprah - I absolutely love the idea that she could pick one self-pubebd book to go alongside her other choices (and for Richard and Judy to do the same here in the UK). For my day job I'm an administrator for a university department, which involves running a lot of conferences. Most of the time grad students never get to preent their work at conferences because people "don't want to take a risk" in front of a prestige audience. So one of the things I try to encourage is even if that's the case, for people to run a grad student panel as part of the conference. The selling point is that no one's reputation gets ruined if the papers are no good, and the organisers get the kudos for being progressive. But the real point is that I know 90% of those graduate papers will be just as good as anything the professors churn out - so why shouldn't they get heard?<br /><br />It's the same with self-published books. Of course there are some shockers out there - but using that as a reason for blanket refusal to consider is at best laziness; at worse blatantly desigend to perpetuate the established industry. Sure we shouldn't have to have a separate category ("best self-pubebd book"or "self-pubbed recommendation"), but if that gets our work read, that'll do for now - because once someone opens the books, I'm sure the stories will do the rest. If not, then we deserve our place on the same no pile as bad mainstream-published books.Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-63038108089540777682009-08-31T09:27:00.638-07:002009-08-31T09:27:00.638-07:00Hey Dan, one word: better. And maybe I actually me...Hey Dan, one word: better. And maybe I actually mean different. I agree with everything you have to say about validity and credibility, and how important it is to spread the word that self-publishing is legitimate, etc. But I've also read some absolutely horrible mainstream writing recently, and I've read some absolutely wonderful indie literature. Not saying that is the case across the board, but honestly, if Oprah were to take five minutes out of one show a week to recommend a quality self-pub, I'm pretty sure the industry would repolarize within a year; there's that much amazing quality work out there if you take the time to look. The problem is one of spreading the word, sharing successes and failures, building tools and teaching people how to use the tools which are available, licensing... Independent film gets it's Sundance; Independent music gets, well, any one of a dozen festivals. Independent writing needs to come into it's own, and it shall. Congratulations, Year Zero is already a success.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-28460735182047324802009-08-29T23:42:58.550-07:002009-08-29T23:42:58.550-07:00Cat, I think with young adult fiction you may be v...Cat, I think with young adult fiction you may be very wise in doing so - where would you begin to market your work if you went it alone? <br /><br />The thing about what we write is that the mainstream won't publish it (or not from new writers, anyway - it's always different with people who already have a name because the marketing budget:return ratio is so different) no matter how good it is, because the market segment is too small. What we are hoping readers will do is read the stuff that's free, and decide whether our claim is true: that the quality of our work is every bit as good as the quality of "mainstream" literary fiction.Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-45222621910397387212009-08-29T14:47:08.811-07:002009-08-29T14:47:08.811-07:00Dan, I would not know where to start. No, I do not...Dan, I would not know where to start. No, I do not want to know either. I am sticking with my self-imposed "if it is good enough it will make it mainstream" because mine is definitely for the younger generation. <br />But, as we say in Aussie parlance, "good on ya' mate"!catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-36534349264281809432009-08-29T13:21:24.487-07:002009-08-29T13:21:24.487-07:00Have you been to Pitch Parlour (www.pitchparlour.b...Have you been to Pitch Parlour (www.pitchparlour.blogspot.com) - it's a site specifically for the 3-part query (as such it's even more useful than a site like Queryshark).<br /><br />The cost really is next to nothing (and only anything at all because I wanted an ISBN for Amazon/B&N). And I haven't spent a cent on marketing (except a couple of review copies). I posted (Into print) with the technical information about how much and what to do for both print and e-books.<br /><br />I find it fascinating the different querying system in the US from over here in the UK where we always send out the opening chapters - there is no such thing as a "request for a partial".<br /><br />I loved you opening chapter, by the way. And thank you for the link on your site to my main web page (www.danholloway.wordpress.com)Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-88006279681255559692009-08-29T12:52:19.999-07:002009-08-29T12:52:19.999-07:00The Amazon contest was a good experience in that i...The Amazon contest was a good experience in that it made me try to do things I'd felt I couldn't--I had to write a very short bio, a pitch (oh the horror of having to be a pitch-person) and a synopsis. I found all of this daunting and difficult, but in the end a very good exercise. It was a bit like taking a crash course in advertising. I was told that if they didn't like any of the three components of my submission they wouldn't even read my first three chapter. I made it through the first part and two people read my first three chapters and left comments for me. One said, "too much happens in the first two chapters." The other said, "I'm interested in reading more." They seemed to cancel each other out and so I went no further than that. It is a contest for mostly genre fiction, and so I claimed that my novel was a "psychological thriller."<br /><br />Now I'm doing a lot of twittering searching out agents and reading advise on writing a query letter. I can write, but to put bio, pitch, and synopsis all in one single spaced page is beyond my ability (so far.) But I will keep trying.<br /><br />I hope to stay in touch with you. This is a lovely site and an interesting experiment. What is the cost like for self publishing? And how do you feel about the experience of self marketing?Utah Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385093247915560752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-87861982164947916072009-08-29T11:43:44.876-07:002009-08-29T11:43:44.876-07:00Hi. I've been following your Utah Svage blog w...Hi. I've been following your Utah Svage blog with interest. How did you find ABNA? I've never dared to enter as I've heard all sorts of rumours about it being a time drain - would love to know how you found it.<br /><br />Very best with the book.Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-26844775373210992582009-08-29T11:21:30.296-07:002009-08-29T11:21:30.296-07:00I too have written a novel that I'd call liter...I too have written a novel that I'd call literary fiction or autobiographical realism. I'm sure it's a book that has relevance and will resonate with a large audience. While I've been editing it for submission it's been online at my blog and has had almost 2,000 readers since I installed a statcounter a year ago (and for much of that time it was off line when I entered it in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest last year).<br /><br />I'll follow your progress with interest.Utah Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385093247915560752noreply@blogger.com