Day 61 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

Tell You How I've Done With My 2013 Publishing Goals

 

You Ever Wonder What The World Would Be Like Without Self-Publishing?

 

Well let me bring you up to speed there. You see I'm not a personal fan of the self-published route. Before I start hearing about the avenues opened to the independent artist and the greed and fickleness of the traditional publishers...blah, blah, blah. I didn't say I didn't think YOU should go that route. I said I wasn't going that way. At least not at the moment. I've been down the traditional route before and I agree it is a difficult and frustrating course. I also know that with each rejection and re-write (after I got done sobbing uncontrollably in a locked bathroom) I got better at my craft.

 

I'm not saying that you need to take every teeny thing an editor says to heart. Lets face it, no matter what declarations of objectivity are made, the publishing game is a highly subjective one. Perhaps you miss what they're looking for by a thin shading of mood. Maybe your dialogue is finely crafted but of to high or low a tone for them that day. Maybe they just plain are having a really bad afternoon when the pre-screener dumps your baby in the inbox and they notice that your first name is the same as their significant ex-other and, SLAM, you're screwed from the start!

 

I've had that feeling but I have also been fortunate enough to have failed with an editor or two who took the time to explain why. These were usually concise, to the point evaluations and occasionally included suggestions for improvement. There have even been the odd times when this was accompanied by an invitation to resubmit the manuscript with the changes for a second reading.

 

Do I do this because I have a lack of faith in my own work? No, I have taken this route because I believe that there are other ways to see what I'm after and I might even learn something. I have ignored some things as just not suited to where I'm going, but others have taken me down some very interesting roads.

 

What have been your experiences? Do you self-publish? Why? Have you tried the trad's? Small press or behemoths of the land? I'd really like to hear back on this as I am always looking for avenues and venues. Maybe we can help each other out? Or maybe it will just make for a good opportunity to get to know you, and me, better?

 

 

Accepting short fiction to 1200 words, poetry to 25 lines, and carefully crafted essays for the Your Work/Your Love page. Nope, still no pay, just glorious exposure! You can send your work to me via e-mail at dbaylis805@gmail.com. Authors retain all rights. You can also follow or subscribe to this blog. There are gadgets for that on the right side of this page. I love the company and it helps with the search engine ranking. Comments, critiques, and questions are always answered in as timely a manner as I can manage between my day job, writing, studies, blah, blah, blah. There's a form at the bottom of the page for your use.

In the meantime, remember...live, love, write.

Dane F. Baylis