tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post5647719676621722022..comments2024-02-16T00:48:56.686-08:00Comments on The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes: 10 Commandments for Aspiring WritersAgnieszkas Shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-65421788667638850352009-09-12T02:28:24.980-07:002009-09-12T02:28:24.980-07:00@CDU it's not just relevant but essential to c...@CDU it's not just relevant but essential to consider what you're writing. My rules, to reiterate, are: niche books written for a market you know, that you can reach better than a mainstream publisher. My point in the self-pub commandment was definitely not to evangelise self-pubbing but to remove the stigma of doing it.<br /><br />@Phillipa, indeed. I always use "dog in the manger" to dscribe such an attitude. Or, if expressed on twitter, "instant unfollow"!Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-8322685929792111582009-09-12T00:16:27.903-07:002009-09-12T00:16:27.903-07:00Regarding number 7....most of us know what schaden...Regarding number 7....most of us know what schadenfreude means - enjoyment of others misfortune. I've always wondered if there is a similarly brilliant word out there for resenment at others success.Phillipanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-28941167389418410842009-09-11T15:46:21.602-07:002009-09-11T15:46:21.602-07:00I have tucked my paws underneath me and curled my ...I have tucked my paws underneath me and curled my tail around so as not to have it trodden on. Contemplation, as only a cat can, tells me I still have to aim for someone else to publish. Why? I think it depends a little, perhaps a lot, on what you are writing Dan. But, miaou!, I admire you for taking the plunge into the icy waters of self-publication and coming out alive. Cats do not like to get wet.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-35690989063987030602009-09-11T14:50:42.930-07:002009-09-11T14:50:42.930-07:00Hey! Was about to e-mail some questions to you. I&...Hey! Was about to e-mail some questions to you. I'm so glad to hear that response. One of my bugbears is the hidden barriers (having to learn how to shape a query letter before your work's considered) within the publishing industry that exclude so many amazing storytellers (and the negative effects that can have on people's expectations of what they can do). It's the "From Pitch to Perpetuation of Privilege" post from about a month back. There are so many wonderful projects out there giving vioce and visibility to these stories. But that's not a mitigation of the industry's attitude to stories that don't come in the "right packaging". The rather irate (as irate as a big bearded hippy can get, anyway) slogan I came up with was "the stories we publish are the voice with which we choose to speak to the future". I'll be even more controversial now and say that a few middle class people losing the ability to be paid for doing what they love and having to get a day job is a small price for the excitement and enrichment of bringing millions into the wonderful, dazzling, tumultuous conversation of the written word.Agnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-77376661003129533282009-09-11T14:29:10.243-07:002009-09-11T14:29:10.243-07:00I really don't know how to speak to any of the...I really don't know how to speak to any of these except for "giving away my work for free!" It gives me so much pleasure, though, to get the feedback from other writers and creative people. (Personally, having taught 12 years olds in an inner city school, it is exciting to discover how many literate people there are in the world!)Beehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02375981493145612394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-17764824011261640892009-09-11T13:56:10.023-07:002009-09-11T13:56:10.023-07:00Hey Brandon (I think I'm getting the hangof th...Hey Brandon (I think I'm getting the hangof the triumvirate!!) On 6, yes, one of the things I've really noticed is the way that even in the relatively short space of time there have been so many free books out there, communities andportals emerge that sift the content, allowing quality to rise - just form a larger pool, and driven bottom-up not top-down.<br /><br />7 came about not because I wanted everyone to be in a collective (we have 22 and that's plenty!) but because I was fed up of the "we hate it when our friends become successful" attitude amongst writers - the "mwah mwah, I'm so happy for you" said through clenched teeth. I wanted people to start seeing their peers' success as a cause for celebration and not a threat.<br /><br />Good point on 1. My rules for self-publishing are you should have a niche-market you know how to reach that's better-served by you than the mainstreamAgnieszkas Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07831763071877082489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020036606005757534.post-71876537098138220842009-09-11T13:01:14.440-07:002009-09-11T13:01:14.440-07:0010 is definitely important as is 9.
I can definit...10 is definitely important as is 9.<br /><br />I can definitely relate to 8 as I hear it everyday from my family. 7 takes time and large levels of commitment. <br /><br />6 is correct-to a point. Yes, many people can out their work out there and, yes, time is limited, but people will flock to quality a good percentage of the time so the prospect of going unheard rests on the shoulders of the producer their self. Will go out their to sell themselves or stay holed up in their own little word.<br /><br />2-I agree with. One needs not rely solely on corporations to get their voice and prose out onto the market.<br /><br />1-Self publishing should be reserved for those who are experienced writers and have developed a community larger than close family and a handful of friends who will go and buy their work.<br />-Brandon Rhys ParkerRhys-Lain-Austuriashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11587243133131032025noreply@blogger.com