DAVID VS GOLIATH
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Written by
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Small publishing vs. BIG PUBLISHING.
Every Author sets out with high hopes of publishing their book and seeing it on the shelves of the big chains. They deserve to be there. After brain-sweat and sacrifice, the reward should be wonderful book signings and lines of buyers waiting for an autograph.
That's the carrot that keeps writers pounding away at the keyboard. It happens to a lucky few. But sometimes the author published by a major publishing house is a one-book wonder and left to contemplate why the publisher deserted them. Sometimes they can't meet the sales expectations of their publisher on the second book and get pushed to the sidelines. Sometimes the economy downsizes them right out of their career as big publishing can't balance cost of putting out a book with a frugal public. Authors never fantasize about that aspect of the industry.
Then there are the small press authors. We're the ones who looked at the slush pile and the long lines in front of agent's doors and said, “I can do better.” We rolled the dice and took a gamble on a small outfit, a one-man-(or woman)-band. We were impatient and wanted our work out there before we were too old to travel and promote.
I started my career by joining with two girlfriends and putting out a regional mystery anthology of our prize-winning short stories. Anthologies are tough to get published, but nobody told us. We found a reluctant publisher, designed the cover and each paid $2,000 dollars to co-publish. The publisher put in a thousand dollars. Soon it was apparent that no store, not even the independent book stores in our city, would carry the books. It was also apparent that we had a public delighted to read about the San Joaquin Valley. We had published the first mystery anthology in this region.
I'm lucky to have such a rough start. It banished my own illusions of the publishing world. I actually had to learn everything from the ground up. I knew when my first novel was published that my success would happen under my own steam. I love having a big say in how I market, it makes me feel in control of my career. I didn't hand my work over to corporate strangers and trust that they would have my best interest at heart. I bounced off the contacts and savvy I'd learned from the first books I published. I had a readership in place salivating for the next book in the series. I also delved into Internet promotion and invited several of you to join me.
What I love about being with a small publisher is that I feel nurtured. I know my talent is respected. I still get to be a player in the literary world. Some may feel they are too big for small publishing. I feel you can't promote what doesn't exist, so while some authors spend time looking for an agent and a publisher and hoping lightening strikes, I'm out selling my next book.
Small publishing is a choice. My career is what I make it, not what a faceless committee decides. I choose to enjoy the freedom, explore the possibilities and reap the fruit of my labors.
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How close did the fire come to you? I called friends in Monrovia and Walnut, both were okay. I'm on the Valley floor, but some idiot ranger decided to do a control burn in Yosemite and created acres of charcoal. I'm sure that civil servant's head's gonna roll!
We're just re-grouping from the fire. Will attempt to get my head together and write more soon!
Just read in the ol' Dr. Gott column in my newspaper that hawthorne berry is good for RSL. Seems cheap enough to try, something like $7 in the health food section. Might try it.
Funny how the universe works. I never thought of RSL until you mentioned it, then I saw it in the newspaper.
Oh. Right-o on the Rot Flavor Mao. Perhaps that's rancid Chinese take-out.
Turquoise is nice. Zombies are not.
Oh, girl! First I tell you I can't decipher all these letter thingys, then you hit me with a 8-letter abbreviation. A friend decoded it for me: Rolling on the Floor Laughing My Ass Off. Did I get it right?
It looks like "Rot Flavor Mao" to my eyes.
ROTFLMAO!
The pool is now a murky turquoise--is that an improvement???? I suppose I could dive in and see if my bathing suit melts or my skin goes zombie. I hear "zombie" is the new "vampire." Did you hear they have a book out now with Jane Austin as a zombie? Is nothing sacred?
What's RLS? Restless Leg Syndrom? I'm guessing here. I could never do the letters thing, even when I was in the military and sheriff's dept. I could never have handled the texting abbreviations everyone does nowadays. Okay, I know ASAP, SASE, BYOB, LOL (that took me awhile to figure out), BTW (another tough one), SWAK, SWAT, POV, URL. Guess I'm the type who needs things actually spelled out. Old school.
I have RLS and ran out of meds for two nights... THAT'S a murder defense, trust me! Back to normal. Green is the new black. That said, how's your pool? If the pool guy ends up floating in it, my lips are sealed.
I skipped court because my pool is GREEN and I had to corner the pool guy and ask why. It's suppose to be triple digits all this week and I want to swim! Tomorrow I have to go to lunch with the retired Sheriff's Dept. ladies. Wed. I think I'll be in court.
I'm Irish. I have a temper. And, I really do believe my mother curses them from heaven. Anyway, I know it scares the crap out of the family. And, it makes me feel good. Isn't that what Christmas is all about?
A smorgasbord of criminal activity... you are in the right place! Are you in court today? I love the Christmas cards!
Small towns don't so much hide secrets as absorb them. We know what we know, we openly talk about the players and who is connected to who. Fascinating web. If this guy gets off, he'll stay put and become one of those suburban legends. His life will go on and everyone will simply act normal. I've seen this happen with suicides, love affairs, suspected murder attempts, extortion, embezzlement, rape and child molestation. My family home and all of my parents possessions were stolen by a family we were raised with and two of the thieves were in law enforcement. I still live here, the family still lives here, the community knows. We deal with it. Some years I send Christmas cards asking where our antique nativity set is and reminding them that my mother spits on them from the grave. Whenever I get written about in the newspaper extolling my career, I can hear them cringe.
Small towns. Gotta write about them.
Fascinating... no matter how much I hear about these kinds of things, I can't wrap my mind around the fact that people kill each other over $$$. It must be intense to be in the courtroom. No, I don't write mysteries. I haven't read many, either. I'm reading In Cold Blood... does that count? Small towns hide big secrets, no??
The murder? This is a huge case in my small town. A wealthy and lazy almond farmer's son, caught by his ex-wife taking money out of the children's trust funds to support his new girlfriend and her children. The ex wants the money returned, she suddenly gets abducted. Blood in the house, her van found 40 miles away in a gang part of Fresno. No body ever found.
Who dunnit? I think it was a contract murder. Unfortunately, just when they were going to interrogate the gang banger that somebody dropped a dime on, the guy pulls a gun on a motorcycle cop who is simply pulling him over for a traffic violation. The cop kills him and now there are NO links to any contract. No cell records, computers scoured--even the one the husband used at the local church.
On a side note, the ex-wife's attorney was shot at the day before their court date, he lived. On another side note, I had lunch at the local ladies club and sat across from a friend of the "killer's" mother and former school teacher. They happened to recall how the guy put salt in a neighbor's gas tank, burned down a shed for fun and, after a dispute with a neighbor, the neighbor's cat was found dead and stuffed into the mailbox. Hmm. Screams sociopath to me.
Unfortunately, I think he may get off the murder charges. Everything is circumstantial. Even taking the trust fund money was done without subterfuge, and not illegally. Yesterday I heard the rumor that both his parents and his girlfriend were in the planning stages of the murder. I don't think so. I think they are shoring up and creating a united front now that the ex is out of the way and nobody wants to see the man in jail. Damage control.
I used to work for the Sheriff's Dept. in Fresno, worked on some homicide cases, had some of my detectives do a reverse sting on people trying to hire hit men. I also heard some of the street talk through other sources on the gangbanger in Fresno who was the probable hit man. All of this is fodder for a mystery. The great thing about writing fiction is that I can make the trial turn out any way I want.
Wonder if anybody has contacted Ann Rule?
(You don't write murder mysteries, do you? I just get the impression. . . . )
So... whodunnit?
I'm getting my sites mixed up! I told a woman on another site about the cyber critique group. Duh! Whose brain is on hold now??? That's what happens when you sit in a murder trial all day.
LOVE folk tales. Must let me peek when you're done.
I don't recall FNW... I'm old, you know! Hope you got your fix for the day. For me, I contacted a visual artist whose work I discovered and I am going to write an original 'folk tale' for her work. Cool! It got fountain pen to paper. Best to you.
I just got a glimpse at the new Friday Night Writes site, I think we may be posting by Monday. That's the critique group we talked about. Right now I'm off to sit in on a huge murder trial going on in my county. The children are testifying today. Makes my mystery-lovin' heart beat a little faster!
Wise man, your daddy. :-)
I'm June 14. My daddy always told me they hung the flags out in honor of my birthday. I still believe that's true.
I'm November 11... apparently quite powerful, they say. ;)
Not so strange. . . on the way to Los Angeles, my family always stops at Frazier Park to stretch our legs. We're very proud of the name, although it has no connection to our family. We originated in North Carolina.
If you like my flash fiction, you might consider ordering my astrology mysteries. If you order from me, I offer a free horoscope--6 months for one book, 12 months for both FOOLS RUSH IN and WHERE ANGELS FEAR. Warning: if your horoscope is really, really intriguing, I might use it for a book called THE CHRISTY CHRONICLES. A very "novel" concept!
Oh yeah, the books are $12 and $13. Just a thought.
Hey, Sunny - Strange. I know a Sunny who lives in a town called Frazier Park, but no matter. I ordered Seven by Seven from bn.com... knew I was saving that gift card for something. Peace to you and yours.
Casey, just this morning Yvonne Mason put one of the anthologies up at her site. Valley Fever is soon to follow. That's the anthology I talked about. Here is the first one my friend
http:/
Well put, Sunny. Thanks for posting my morning (afternoon) inspiration!