March 20, 2016

Slice of PIE: Ghostbuster!


https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6058/6237765131_a01230e4e6.jpgI have two books published by MuseItUp Publishing of Canada.

They’re a good publisher and they’ve been really good to me, but…but…but…

In August last year, I wrote the following, “In an article I read every year to my students in writing classes I teach, Laura Resnick delineates the progression of writers bemoaning their fate when she points out that no matter WHERE they are in their career, some people want the next level more than they want to enjoy where they are…‘I have seen this sort of thing often. (And not just from aspirants, alas.) Someone is ‘lucky’ to be a pro, so sell novels, to break into hardcover, to crack the bestseller list, to get a six-figure advance, to have two publishers, to be under contract for four books, to work steadily for years, and so on...’”

MIU only publishes electronic books. Of course you heard the trumpets as ebook publishers ushered in the New Millennium! ALL books would soon be electronic and Brick & Mortars would be a thing of the past as ebooks swept away the competition…

But that can’t be completely true, because Amazon.com OPENED A BRICK AND MORTAR BOOKSTORE – http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/nicholson-raff-amazon-brick-and-mortar-stores/

My publications are legitimate, right?

So why, as far as everyone I know is concerned, are the books as good as ghost books?

I just came from a Young Author’s Conference where, based on the response to my writing and on the response of my peers, MY books aren’t real. The inescapable fact is that they AREN’T!

But wait – (and I’m trying to convince myself here!) when I get paid these days, it’s in an electronic transfer of funds. I don’t see cash; I haven’t seen a paper paycheck in ten years. Is my salary ghost money?

If it is, then we’ve been paying for our physical house with ghost money for two decades.

But what about this: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/67650-pw-asks-most-millennials-prefer-paper-books.html? My market – young adults and teen – prefers to do their recreational reading on paper books. The younger set also rarely sees their favorite books in an e-format as well. How many of you who read this, read CHARLOTTE’S WEB in an electronic format? My bet would be “none”. Reading – even for me, and I have a Nook available to me as well as my computer – is not solely about the words. There’s a visceral part of it as well that electronic books can’t contribute to.

So both of these things, the preference of millennials for paper and the missing aspects of the reading experience, war against me in my quest to become a “published writer”.

On the other hand, I AM a published writer. My manuscript was accepted, edited, a cover was created, and it’s available on Amazon.com. How do I combat my feelings of not being published?

This rumination is my first step. I’ll let you know how my quest to bust this ghostly feeling progresses...

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