What annoys me is some of the people involved with the literary world. A lot are fantastic but then there are those who aren’t. They are unprofessional, childish, narrow-minded and seem to like to belittle others.In my opinion being narrow-minded is the death of a writer. A writer has to have an open mind and be willing to accept new ideas. When it comes to publishing many aren’t. They are trapped in the idea that a person has to be published by a big New York house or they aren’t published at all. I was like that until I grew up. Well, as much as I’ve grown up.
I am proud to say that I am independently published. Or self-published or vanity published; whichever term a person wants to use, it doesn’t matter me. I know that I am a talented writer yet I also know that the avenue I’ve chosen is going to close a lot of doors in the publishing industry. That’s fine, I just have to operate within my boundaries and work at opening those doors.
But other writers are a hassle. I don’t need to be insulted by them, though it doesn’t faze me. It lessens them in my eyes. I have had writers on Yahoo groups act like they are really interested then start with the snide remarks. Some writers that start out the same way develop an attitude when he or she gets a contract. Suddenly the old route, which they were very supportive of, is to be ridiculed. Along with anyone who is still publishing that way. I have even had another writer who is not published tell me that those who self-publish will never make it in the industry because they don’t have the patience to last. After all, I didn’t have the patience to wait for New York to recognize me.
I don’t have time for this. I am an entrepreneur of sorts. I am at the grassroots and learning as I go. No one who is published can get away without self-promotion anymore and this is the way I have chosen to learn it. The pressure isn’t on me to sell so many units in a certain amount of time or I will lose my contract. No. I can muddle through and make mistakes – believe me I have made some – and hopefully learn from them. I don’t have people from all sides telling me what to do and letting me know that my future relies on it. Because it doesn’t. Now is the time to make the mistakes so that when a big house publishes me, I won’t make as many.
Perhaps the other writers don’t realize that we are all after the same thing, just going about it in a different manner. If we all got along a little better, put our egos aside, maybe we could all learn from each other. Or maybe the problem is that I am just too much of a threat? Interesting concept.
Karen Magill
Author of Let Us Play
1 comment:
Well said, Karen. A great many of us feel the same way. My work is every bit as important to me as any NY published author's.
I think the biggest difference between those of us who are vanity published or whatever term is being tacked onto this week, and the NY published authors is that we have to work harder to get our work noticed.
Post a Comment