Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Bit of a Departure

I am contemplating publishing a book on Amazon. There. I said it and there's no taking it back.

As you can already see, this blog will not be about  my usual beloved ghosts but about something that's been on my mind for several months now. I was lucky enough to meet up with two writers last Monday, Debbie Deutsch, and the uber-successful Terri Reid. If you don't believe me about Terri, go look her up on Amazon. And then read her. And you'll know what I'm talking about.

Considering the fact that I have already had a couple of books published in the traditional way, small press but traditional, one would not think that deciding to go the Amazon route would be any more frightening than collecting rejection slips like mosquito bites in summer, and then after a little bit of rest, sending one's work out to get kicked back one more time.

So here's what's scary. If I do this, that work will be just me. No publishing company to shield me (hey, I wrote it but THEY decided it was worth publishing. And that cover art was THEIR idea). No named editor to hide behind (I know some editors personally who would probably help me out whether as a favor or as a barter). No industry-employed copy editor to take one last look at the work before I get the galleys. No, sir, this would all be on me. That's scary.

I have stories in my head all the time. Lately I have been lazy and averse to writing them out because 1) life has been extremely challenging these past few years and 2) I'm usually too tired and freaked-out to write anything. Notice how this blog went without entries for two years?

But here it is, time to make my decision. Stick with the usual stream of rejections until I feel to crushed to try anymore (or at least for another few years) OR pull up my socks and send out my work to stand on its own. Sink or swim. Fight or flight.

If anyone out there reads this, please leave me a comment on your thoughts. I'd sure love to know what someone else thinks about this particular topic. Oh, and no worries. Next week I'll be back to the supernatural stuff.

3 comments:

  1. Personally, I think this is a brilliant idea. :) Jump in, the water is great! Terri

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  2. Ophelia, you shouldn't be afraid at all, your work is fantastic! Put it out into the world and then focus on the next one while analyzing what happens with the current story to keep in mind for the future!

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  3. Thank you Terri, and thank you Unknown! Encouragement is always welcome. Wow, and a rating of "fantastic"! To paraphrase Twain, I can live for months off a good compliment.

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