tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072249128151227164.post7399221264098471902..comments2024-03-21T17:03:44.741-04:00Comments on A work unfinishing: Who needs a manual?Zelda Knapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654314419681927384noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072249128151227164.post-15410861289289523592011-06-24T17:49:44.881-04:002011-06-24T17:49:44.881-04:001. Yep, definitely know that feeling. The other da...1. Yep, definitely know that feeling. The other day a society dedicated to a certain not-at-all famous writer published a few of my essays in their journal, but in writing the email to Mom I discovered I was already writing, "But it's only a PDF, and the circulation is only..."<br /><br />2[3]. That sounds like a good analogy. And I'm not good at either of those crapshoots. If it really boils down to the luck of finding an agent who likes your stuff... then it is a matter of luck. c.f. Peter Falk, though, because he only got single chance and that was all he needed. An inspiring example (and I put that in the essay for you to read). P.S. Love "30 Rock"<br /><br />4. Problem would be finding a way to sensibly collect blog essays, since mine are pretty randomly about lots of different (and ex-timely) things. Self-publishing is probably something that's done out of love rather than profit, because of the marketing thing, because it would be our friends/parents buying the thing, and because - I can imagine from an agent's perspective, even the thought of going through 50 million self-published books looking for a good author... whew.<br /><br />Of course I am really lacking in imagination in this. I'm really 20th century in a lot of ways and have no idea how any of this works. :-/ You've probably done a lot more research on how awesome this can be than me thinking in old-fashioned ways.Brian R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12028764860110777848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072249128151227164.post-69540255445411252422011-06-24T10:21:43.620-04:002011-06-24T10:21:43.620-04:00The other thing I like about self-publication is i...The other thing I like about self-publication is it feels less like me begging someone else to like and approve of me. I get enough of that as an actor. Must we all feel worthless?Zelda Knapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00654314419681927384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072249128151227164.post-19351438930026582732011-06-24T10:21:10.343-04:002011-06-24T10:21:10.343-04:001. Yeah, I'm a downplayer too. I'm trying ...1. Yeah, I'm a downplayer too. I'm trying to fight it, but I keep sort of thinking of it in terms of "yes but I haven't gotten to blank level yet." So when a friend from home was excited I'd had plays produced in NY, I was so quick to point out that it was only Off-Off-Broadway and a small theater and I self-produced and we had no budget and you get the picture. You don't want to come off like an overinflated bragging jerk, so you go too far in the other direction.<br /><br />2. :-P<br /><br />3. Agents. I second your blerg and add a muttermuttergrumble. In the acting world, I've gone on I don't know how many Q&A/workshop auditions with agents, and even when I know what I want from them, and even when I think I have a pretty good sense of what I do well, and I present that well, I still don't get many bites. What I want is someone to help me fight, to help me get in the door, someone in my corner. But the catch there is, you want someone who really wants you too. So it's, what, the same crapshoot as dating? More blerg.<br /><br />4. I've seen some books though that come out of blogs - where rather than being one very long work, it's a collection of shorter essays/posts. Would something like that perhaps be a good format for you? I also should confess to not having done *enough* research in the online mag department, because what little I have done hasn't inspired me overmuch. What's nice that I've seen about self-publishing on kindle is, assuming you've gotten your copyright/digital rights to your work protected, they're just your distributor and they take a cut for that. But they don't own the material - you do. Not always true with magazines.<br /><br />Of course the downside is, you have to do your own marketing if you go the kindle route. An online or print magazine has, presumably, its own already-in-place distribution.Zelda Knapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00654314419681927384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7072249128151227164.post-3242328726253963942011-06-23T16:04:12.158-04:002011-06-23T16:04:12.158-04:001. I don't like selling myself either, mostly ...1. I don't like selling myself either, mostly because I find it so easy to sell myself short or to say, "Eh, that wasn't really a big deal, don't put it on your resume." My pitches to publishers have been meek to the point of neurosis and an early one completely omitted to do a bio, which was dumb. Oops.<br /><br />2. I'm not always good at asking for help when I feel like I don't deserve it. But that's not a problem at the grocery, well though I'm average height anyway. :-p<br /><br />3. Coupla agents have said no. But of course, they don't offer any help as to why so who knows why? Is it the published work thing? Is there a typo on page 2? Are they sincerely not thrilled by the idea? Is the published work thing a catch-22? Blerg.<br /><br />4. So maybe it would make sense to plant a couple of short-work seeds around. For me as primarily [near-exclusively] a writer of non-fiction, the ensuing problems are (a) making it something unbloggable (too long to blog?*) and (b) is there a suitable web magazine? Should that be my first preference over a Kindle Single type idea, or not?* [*Question marks are always invitations to reply]<br /><br />It's a mystifying world when we stand at the bottom of the ladder, isn't it. But hey, maybe the mystery is kind of fun. :)Brian R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12028764860110777848noreply@blogger.com