Good Week! |
Author: Kay Bratt (---.gsp.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-20-08 11:31
Things just got better and better this week! My book went live on Amazon and the sales numbers keep rolling over. Then, on Wednesday I received an email from an editor of a magazine and she wants to highlight my book in their next issue! Then on Friday, another editor of a community "free" magazine asked for sample chapters so that she may see if one of them might be appropriate for their magazine. I haven't pursued any marketing yet (haven't had any time) so this is just great, right?
(This is a huge turn-a-round from the week before when we went on vacation and my daughter and her friend crashed the electric scooter. All I have to say is gore, stitches, morphine and tears....so what a welcome respite from stress!)
K
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-20-08 13:28
This is just fantastic, Kay. Thank you for sharing such upbeat news. There's a lot of negativity about self publishing on sites like this. Mostly just a fear of change, one suspects. And a desire to hang onto the old ways. Yet time and again, those who self publish do extremely well (remember the Celestine Prophecy?) and go on to attract those *majors* in New York that are the false gods of the writing world. And hey, they're in trouble and trying to revamp (finally) before it's ball game over, as well.
This is a transition period for publishing, as it moves from paper to digital, so it presents more of a challenge, no doubt about it. Hang in there. Writers of tomorrow will self-publish as a matter of course. Agents will be no more. But the crafty amongst them will morph into publicists. Talking of which, have you thought about hiring one of those? With what you've got going for you -- a great and *timely* book -- they could very well boost your sales to the million dollar mark. Oprah here we come! (Not joking here. Never been more serious.)
Congratulations, yet again.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lewis R (---.range86-159.btcentralplus.com)
Date: 07-20-08 18:20
I tend to agree Lilly
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Jena Grace (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-20-08 18:27
"Agents will be no more."
While I totally disagree with this statement, your news is awesome. Congrats again, Kay!
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-20-08 18:50
That's great, Kay.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-20-08 20:22
Lily said:
"Agents will be no more."
Jena said:
"While I totally disagree with this statement, your news is awesome. Congrats again, Kay!"
Hmmm...why is that? Bless your heart. I can't see a place for agents in the new order. With writers turning more and more to self publishing, the middle man (and his percentage) will be de trop. Traditional publishing was the kennel, in which the old time agents thrived. But since that's now teetering along on its last legs, and Amazon is the new giant in the publishing world, publicists will be much more necessary, and *timely* than agents.
Now I could be wrong. Those nasty old print books that killed trees by the millions, in a poisoned planet gasping for air, might suddenly start selling like hotcakes. (Bring on the respirators) Bookstores may reopen, and new ones sprout up on every corner. Electronic publishing, self publishing and Amazon etc., may suddenly disappear.
Yes, we just might be able to pretend everything is as it was, and hold back the march of time. Now why did I suddenly think of the stagecoach owners...something about a darned old railroad too. :-)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-20-08 23:35
I think self-publishing can work for non-fiction, like Kay's story. It's a lot tougher with fiction. Generally, a work of fiction needs a huge marketing push to get noticed, no matter how good it is. Not many authors can afford something like that.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-20-08 23:37
Also--even it the switch to 100% ebooks is ever made, who do you think will be publishing them?
Music is a good analogy. It's all pretty much digital now, and any nobody can put his music online. But can you think of one self-produced (is that the right word?) that has become at all popular?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 00:22
"Also--even it the switch to 100% ebooks is ever made, who do you think will be publishing them?"
Amazon, for one. But I expect print books, in much lesser numbers, to be around for a while. If anyone had predicted just a decade ago, that an icon like Encyclopedia Britannica, established in the 18th century, would be virtually put out of business by the Internet, (I got rid of my set and now use Wikipedia) no one would have believed it. All publishing is headed in the same direction. What seems unbelievable today, is reality tomorrow. If there's a cheaper, more convenient way for people to do things, by golly they'll take it.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 00:34
It's a safe bet that when the Kindle, or its equivalent, comes down in price--and even at current prices Amazon can scarcely keep them in stock--print books will be history. Heavy, cumbersome, space-consuming, hell to pack up and move, and no way to brighten the page, or enlarge the text, or easily find the spot you want in the story. What's to like? They're old fashioned. Outdated. There's a better way. A more environmentally responsible way. A much cheaper way. No shelf space required. Enjoy!
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-21-08 01:02
Amazon? You mean Booksurge? If that's the wave of the future, why can't I name one book they published?
One of the biggest problems with POD books is the quality--there's no quality control.
I still think regardless of the format, there will still be publishers who produce books. Best sellers won't come from a single person who POD's.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Kay Bratt (---.gsp.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-21-08 06:04
Thanks, everyone.
Lily, while I agree with you on some points, I can't get past the thought of how much I love to open a new book and smell that "book smell", or sit in a bubble bath with a tattered old paperback, or that feeling when I walk down the aisle in a book store and feel like a kid in a candy store----
I can't imagine trading all that in. I hope I am not around to see it.
That being said; I would love to have an Amazon Kindle and am actually thinking of spending some of my July royalties (whoo hoo) on it-- but I plan to use it while on my lunch hour, or waiting for a doctors appointment, or sitting in an airport...those types of things when I have a few minutes and wish I had something to entertain myself.
That's just my two cents, thanks for the congrats!
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Beautiful Loser (---.dllstx.fios.verizon.net)
Date: 07-21-08 08:18
Thanks for sharing the good news, Kay.
There's a lot of pessimism out there, and when something/one as optimistic as you/yours comes along, there's bound to be those who cling to the publishing industry's standards.
I'll be purchasing a copy of your book and will also tell others I know to do the same.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Jena Grace (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-21-08 10:59
Jena said:
"While I totally disagree with this statement, your news is awesome. Congrats again, Kay!"
Hmmm...why is that? Bless your heart.
Very cute with the "bless your heart," Lily.
Agents are instrumental in vetting out crap. Why do you think so many publishers won't even consider unagented material?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 13:13
"I'll be purchasing a copy of your book and will also tell others I know to do the same."
Likewise. I'm behind it also. I want to see it become a hit. I've already notified all my contacts in publishing, book clubs, writer's groups, etc. There is a fairly large membership, consisting of journalists, newspaper editors, etc. There's even a radio talk host/author who is going to devote a fifteen minute segment of his show to Kay's Book.
They're enthusiastic about it, because it's an original. There's never been anything on this topic done before. And just at a time when so many couples are turning to China for adoption. It's an absolutely *must have* for people like that.
And Wonky, I disagree that a self published author cannot generate the amount of publicity necessary to have a best seller. They do it all the time. And Kay is yet another example.
Rock on, Kay. We're proud of you. :-)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Liza B. (---.c3-0.avec-ubr15.nyr-avec.ny.cable.)
Date: 07-21-08 13:31
"I've already notified all my contacts in publishing, book clubs, writer's groups, etc. There is a fairly large membership, consisting of journalists, newspaper editors, etc. There's even a radio talk host/author who is going to devote a fifteen minute segment of his show to Kay's Book."
Lily,
How generous of you to share your many connections. So which station is the radio show on, and who is the host? I'm sure many of us would love to tune in, especially Kay. Let us know, okay?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 15:28
"How generous of you to share your many connections. So which station is the radio show on, and who is the host? I'm sure many of us would love to tune in, especially Kay. Let us know, okay"
Thank you so much, Liza, for the thumbs up. But I don't think I have any more connections than any other writer, who's been in the business for a few years. (probably less :-) As for the radio show -- and thanks again for your interest, it's really encouraging -- no firm date has been set. And don't fret, Kay will be notified when appropriate.
Cheers
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Liza B. (---.c3-0.avec-ubr15.nyr-avec.ny.cable.)
Date: 07-21-08 17:11
"And don't fret, Kay will be notified when appropriate."
It's appropriate right now, since you claim there's a radio show who is gong to "devote a fifteen minute segment of his show to Kay's book." So I'll repeat my question - which station is this radio show on, and who is the host?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 19:00
"It's appropriate right now, since you claim there's a radio show who is gong to "devote a fifteen minute segment of his show to Kay's book." So I'll repeat my question - which station is this radio show on, and who is the host?"
(LOL) Good Grief! I guess it all depends on one's upbringing what one deems *appropriate?* I find your demands, and hostile manner, *inappropriate.* This matter concerns Kay, not you.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Kay Bratt (---.gsp.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-21-08 19:24
I really appreciate all of your support--- really, I do. Lily, thank you for reaching out to your contacts on my behalf.
BL, shoot me and email and give me some honest feedback when you finish the book!
K
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Liza B. (---.c3-0.avec-ubr15.nyr-avec.ny.cable.)
Date: 07-21-08 19:26
"This matter concerns Kay"
Exactly. That's why if this radio show that you claim is going to "devote a fifteen minute segment" to Kay's book actually existed, she'd obviously be informed about it. (LOL)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Kay Bratt (---.gsp.bellsouth.net)
Date: 07-21-08 19:26
*an email (trying to get this posted before the lightning knocks out my connection!)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 19:57
"That's why if this radio show that you claim is going to "devote a fifteen minute segment" to Kay's book actually existed, she'd obviously be informed about it. (LOL)"
Your claws are showing, Liza. You appear jealous and resentful of Kay's success. Nasty and spoiling for a fight. Now you've accused me of lying. What on earth could my motive be?
Now I'm going to spell this out for you, make it real simple, so you'll be able to comprehend. Not that it's any of your business, but still one must grovel down and cater to all kinds on public forums. Besides, I find it fun.
A contact I have through a writers' group--nothing grand, anyone can join--hosts a radio show. Nothing grand just a local station. He expressed an interest in Kay's book, and indicated he might do a short segment on it (which usually run about 15 minutes) on one of his shows. That's it. Now, puleaze wrestle down that green-eyed monster, before it devours thee.
I really can't understand why your knickers are in such a twist? I suggest you get a grip.
Cheers
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Liza B. (---.c3-0.avec-ubr15.nyr-avec.ny.cable.)
Date: 07-21-08 20:14
"thank you for reaching out to your contacts on my behalf."
Lily really does have great contacts if one is looking to make a connection with a neo-Nazi or the KKK.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 20:19
"Lily really does have great contacts if one is looking to make a connection with a neo-Nazi or the KKK."
And Liza's connection are just as good, if one wants a perfect example of a rude, loud, pushy, obnoxious Jew.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Xavier Onassis (---.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
Date: 07-21-08 21:14
Kay --
Rock on girl! I'm very happy for you.
XO
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-21-08 23:06
Ebooks and self-publishing are completely separate issues...but they get mixed together because so many ebooks are self-published.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-21-08 23:49
"Ebooks and self-publishing are completely separate issues...but they get mixed together because so many ebooks are self-published."
How right you are, Wonky. There's a heck of a lot of self published print books too.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-22-08 02:24
That's why I think any successful ebooks will come from traditional publishing houses.
Anwyay..Kay sorry for derailing this thread!
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Beautiful Loser (---.dllstx.fios.verizon.net)
Date: 07-22-08 09:32
BL, shoot me and email and give me some honest feedback when you finish the book!
Will do, Kay. If your book is anything like what you've posted here in the past, you'll be pleased to know that I find your writing heartwarming. Best to you and yours, always.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: L C (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-22-08 11:31
This thread is cracking me up. LOL
Congrats, Kay! :)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-22-08 20:13
"That's why I think any successful ebooks will come from traditional publishing houses."
I doubt it, Wonky. The way things are going, with the pirate sites, soon no one will pay for an ebook. And they've already stopped buying print books -- at least it's a shrinking market, with fiction, especially, going down, down, down -- in favour of other forms of entertainment. It's a very visual society, that looks for a fast paced fix. A DVD can deliver this, in the way a plain old book cannot.
What I can foresee, in just a few years, is all self publishing. At least, to all extents and purposes. Writers will have a website from which they'll market their books, and publicists will take the place of traditional publishers, by promoting and pushing the titles.
The bright side is, that for the first time ever, publishing will be truly democratic and fair. Anyone who wants to write a book, is guaranteed the same treatment as everyone else. He knows it WILL be published, and no snobbish distinctions will be made as to who did the publishing.
What's not to like about that?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-22-08 20:28
"There's a lot of pessimism out there, and when something/one as optimistic as you/yours comes along, there's bound to be those who cling to the publishing industry's standards"
They can't think outside the box, BL, and that's a self defeating shame. The secret of success in business, is sensing the change in the wind, and acting on it, faster than your competitors. We have to embrace the new -- no matter how much we may dislike it -- rather than attempting to cling to the old. (utterly futile)
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-22-08 20:56
I doubt it, Wonky. The way things are going, with the pirate sites, soon no one will pay for an ebook.
So? Even on the pirate sites, everything (music, DVD's, ebooks, etc) is from established movie companies, publishers, etc. Nothing self-published.
These days any chump with a web site can put his writing, music, etc online. How much of an audience do most of these sites have?
I still don't see why you think the average self-published book, which is poorly edited and poorly written, will even be able to find an audience.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-22-08 21:02
Self-published ebooks could be pirated just as easy as ones from traditional publshers anyway. What's the difference?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-22-08 21:49
"Self-published ebooks could be pirated just as easy as ones from traditional publshers anyway."
Of course. And they will be. They already are. Therefore, writing in the future will be more of a pastime for those who truly love it, because there's unlikely to be much monetary gain.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-22-08 22:02
And hiring a publicist is damn expensive. Writing will become a passtime for the wealthy.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: L C (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-23-08 19:17
"What I can foresee, in just a few years, is all self publishing. At least, to all extents and purposes. Writers will have a website from which they'll market their books, and publicists will take the place of traditional publishers, by promoting and pushing the titles."
Who will distribute them? How will overseas sales be handled? What will be in bookstores? Or will there be no bookstores, either, in this brave new world? BTW, what about non-fiction, is that becoming as out-of-date as fiction?
"The bright side is, that for the first time ever, publishing will be truly democratic and fair. Anyone who wants to write a book, is guaranteed the same treatment as everyone else. He knows it WILL be published, and no snobbish distinctions will be made as to who did the publishing."
Why should everyone, regardless of talent or aptitude, be guaranteed the same treatment? Why should it be democratic?
"What's not to like about that?"
That people will stop reading altogther, because wading through all the awful trash in search of something good will be a futile task?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: L C (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-23-08 19:22
"These days any chump with a web site can put his writing, music, etc online. How much of an audience do most of these sites have?"
None. But that's largely because most people won't even pay for their own website, much less a promoter. If publishers are replaced with promoters, only writers who can afford promoters will have them. Will the results be democratic?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: L C (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-23-08 19:29
" Therefore, writing in the future will be more of a pastime for those who truly love it, because there's unlikely to be much monetary gain."
Would this be a net benefit to society? Do you think people who love what they do regardless of monetary gain do better work than those who love both? And does this apply to all career fields, or just writing?
YK, I like my job (teaching) very much, but if I didn't make any money, I'd stop doing it. I don't think I'm alone in this.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Kitty Foyle (---.dsl.scrm01.sbcglobal.net)
Date: 07-23-08 19:55
I agree ("BL") with LC.
We're already saturated with an avalanche of so-called quality books -- those that have been traditionally published and are maybe on the best sellers list.
Who has the time to read all those bloody things, much less go out of our way to seek out the writings of some character down the street who felt like spilling his guts to the world but who couldn't interest a traditional publisher?
We're talking information overload, here!
*_*
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-23-08 19:57
Who will distribute them? How will overseas sales be handled? What will be in bookstores? Or will there be no bookstores, either, in this brave new world?
According to Lily, the only fiction available in the future will be self-published ebooks on bit torrent sites.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-23-08 20:15
The cash register will decide the future. It all comes down to money. Traditional publishing is already adopting "non" traditional strategies in order to try and survive. I think they may have waited too long. Yet on the other hand, it probably wouldn't matter, the die has already been cast.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Wonky (192.250.49.---)
Date: 07-23-08 20:49
How will people pay for the publicists? Home equity loans?
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-23-08 21:13
I really can't understand the mindset of "traditional" publishing? They knew that at least 40% of the books they published were being sent back from bookstores for pulping. Yet they continued to crank out the same long print runs. Now they had no choice before the advent of POD technology. But nowadays, with POD books being as good quality, if not better, than some of the old-fashioned offset printed ones, what's the excuse?
Then they insisted on producing fiction novels that were way too long. Boring. And this at a time when many electronic publishers were switching to popular Flash Fiction. A couple of hundred words is all many people have the time to read nowadays. Plus, the by far too long novels, were by far too expensive also.
Harper Collins has finally caught onto this, and their new imprint is going to publish shorter stories. No advances, because authors seldom earn out their advance. And a no return policy for bookstores. You know, like Publish America (dare I say the name? :-) was so criticised for doing?
Cheers
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: L C (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 07-23-08 21:41
Let's see...
A bunch of self-published books that are non-vetted and non-edited, sold at POD prices, and are non-returnable.
I don't see this as the wave of the future. If it is, people will stop buying books.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Lily (---.net)
Date: 07-23-08 21:57
Okay, I may be wrong! (It *has* happened before, although I realise that's hard to believe :-) In any event, if I am wrong about the future, make that non future of traditional publishing, unless they shift gears really fast, then it will go something like this.
Business as usual. The majors are in their ivory towers. Bookstores are selling out like never before. More are opening. The cash registers are wearing out from the constant ringing.
Anyone who likes this scenario better is welcome to it.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Sarah Connor (---.st.vc.shawcable.net)
Date: 07-29-08 18:21
"The bright side is, that for the first time ever, publishing will be truly democratic and fair. Anyone who wants to write a book, is guaranteed the same treatment as everyone else. He knows it WILL be published, and no snobbish distinctions will be made as to who did the publishing."
So by this logic anyone and everyone should have the right to be doctors? Or lawyers? Or accountants? Screw the talent and education involved in learning how to do something properly...just because I can write a book means I deserve to get it published.
I'll be honest...with the rare exception...I never buy e-books, POD's or self published books. Why? Because they're usually bad.
I'm not going to pay ten dollars to go see a movie filmed in someone's basement. At least if I walk into a bookstore I know I'm going to buy something of better quality.
As for using music as an example...it doesn't make a difference. There are a million of bands out there with their music on the net...they still can't get their music on the popular sites. They still can't get people to listen to their music. They need the support and promotion from labels.
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Re: Good Week! |
Author: Sarah Connor (---.st.vc.shawcable.net)
Date: 07-29-08 18:22
Sorry, I'd also like to add, congrats Kay! I wish you lots of luck with your book!
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