The Rundown

1.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/how-amazon-saved-my-life_n_1575777.html?ref=books

My wife pointed me to this article about the new revolution of e-book publishing.  Among other things, it points to how the traditional publishing world is going to have to take a bite of a huge shit sandwich if they don't revise their tactics.  And let's be honest, their tactics (or motives, sympathy, or interests) aren't very often in line with the author.

For example, this article relates to the inequality of the publisher when it comes to royalties and the process of taking advantage of the e-book revolution.

Collin Kelley has been talking about this for quite some time---how the self-publishing revolution has been revving up and getting ready to explode.  Well, it's happening now, and if you don't want to believe it, then you are being willfully ignorant.

I really don't know how I will fit into the self-publishing/ e-book publishing world.  I have a difficult time with doing everything myself when it comes to how I want my work perceived.  I published a collection of my letters to Karl Rove by myself, but I really don't look at that as being serious.  I did okay for a first effort.  I occasionally read a typo or a phrase I would like to revise, but that's okay because I am not looking to make my name on that collection.  However, I am hesitant to really jump in with both feet when it comes to my poetry.  I'm pretty much old-school when it comes to my poetry, stuck in the adage "if it isn't good enough for somebody else to commit time and money for, then it isn't worth publication."  But you know what?  That's my shortcoming, my disability.  It's also very un-American.  I should be willing to put in the time and effort (I am capable) and then be willing to allow the market to make the distinction. of whether my work was worthwhile.

Another one of my doubts from being old-school, is the notion that I want to hold in my hands the real thing. I want to have a real paper, perfect bound record, and I will always prioritize that real book higher than any electronic file contained in an electronic reader.  It isn't just that poetry formatting is in its infancy and takes considerably more work, it's the tactile sensation of a book. But again, that's my problem, and the distinction is shrinking every day in this age.  Soon enough there won't be any of us left, and I have to be okay with that because it's going to happen until publishing is 98% electronic, and 2% print.  I'm sure of it.


2.  I have been asked to join with a group of musicians.  I am supposed to be the lyricist, and my isolation is really a handicap.  I am listening to music on Spotify to help me get in the mood, and I am talking back and forth via Facebook, but I am having quite a challenge translating my writing style into the style required for song lyrics.  I like a challenge, but my biggest fear is to turn out to be a really shitty lyricist and being a lump of dead weight.  I think I need to look up some information on song writing.


3.  My own publication is in a real dry spell.  I have not published a single poem in over a year, if my records are correct.  My chapbook came out earlier this year, but I am having a real devil of a time getting any of my new poems published.  Not a single poem from my latest manuscript has been picked up for publication and I have suddenly become gun shy when it comes to them.  I am terrible at making assumptions.  My biggest one is that with all of the rejections I have had, it is an indication other journals simply won't understand what I am trying to do with my manuscript, and that in order to 'get it' a person needs to see everything together.  That, with the reality of running into so many roadblocks with my last manuscript (huge immediate success with individual poems but not even a second glance at the manuscript as a whole) makes me doubt almost everything I have written in the past four years.  Maybe these book projects are the perfect time to jump into the world of self-publishing.   Maybe . . .

Well, that's what is going on right now.  I hope things are going well with you.  I am still pining for a good old fashioned game of AD&D, and I am crawling ever closer to finishing that second book of Springville.  I will let you know more as the weeks and months pass by.

See you on the flip side.