F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Art

Denver Comic Con 2016

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Denver Comic Con, June 17-19, 2016
Denver Comic Con, June 17-19, 2016
This past weekend I attended my first ever Denver Comic Con (DCC), and I did so as a panelist on two panels. I had a blast!

Parking

DCC was held in the Denver Convention Center, in downtown Denver. The parking and traffic is a little crazy, and if you want to park in the Convention Center (CC) itself, you had to get there no later than 9 a.m. (doors opened at 10). And using GPS, the CC says to use the 1104 Champa address, but my GPS took me through some weird “dogleg” through the side streets where I ended up in the adjacent Denver Performing Arts parking garage. No. Don’t do that. Sure, you can park there, it’s a short walk, but, if you’re lugging books and gear, you don’t really wanna do that—just get on Speer Blvd (it doesn’t matter which direction)–just get on Speer and stay on Speer. You’ll see all the appropriate CC signs once you get there, and look for the huge “P” for “Parking” on the CC building. There is also a sign that tells you if the parking garage is still open for parking.

Denver Comic Con

I did a book signing on Saturday, my first day at DCC. It was at 11 a.m. MT. I must have handed out 200 bookmarks. “Hey, howyadoin?” or “Too late—you made eye contact—here’s a bookmark!” and “Hey—get back here, I have something for ya!” I talked to a couple brave souls, met some people I know, didn’t know, and wondered if they were human at all….

My table was right across from an Avatar booth. A makeup woman was applying the signature blue face paint to a guy. It must have taken better than an hour for her to apply it all, but in the end, the guy’s face looked just like one of the Na’vi clan leaders from Pandora. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the end result.

After my hour—it was actually two. I was able to get in before the public was let in to set up, so was really there from 10 – noon. Talked with some fellow book signers. After my stint, I was able to wander the rest of the day on my own, exploring all that was DCC 2016, and it was simply amazing! There were three levels to the place: the topmost level where I was, was the main show room: all the goodies were there…absolutely anything you wanted to buy was on sale…the floor below that were where the sessions were held…and the level below that was where all the Evil Dead, Warrior Chicks, and Science Fiction monsters hung out. Okay, not really (I don’t really know…), but I think that was the ballroom area. I didn’t go there, but saw signs to the effect. One other thing that really stood out was that while being immersed in the sea of flesh (120,000 people were said to have been in attendance—don’t know if that included the presenters), was the sweat.

Yes, you could actually smell the sweat on people.

It was that packed, that close-quartered. That intimate. And it was also 900 degrees outside, so with a small town’s population packed inside one building, you know the HVAC system was working overtime. But, all things considered, I think it was amazing it was as “cool” as it was and the HVAC system remained up and running. Kudos the the facilities staff!

My friend, Jan C. J. Jones, was working the Con and twice she managed to just “find me”; it was like some weird Jedi “locator” power she possessed (or those damned implants….). Twice I’d gone looking for her in her assigned area, and twice I came up empty. Yet, on two consecutive days I’d just be hanging out, talking, and twice she came right up to me.

It was like she just materialized out of thin air (pardon the pun—Denver’s altitude).

DCC Panels

On Sunday, I was no two panels: at 12:15 MT I was on the Dealing With Discouragement in Writing and Publishing, and at 2:15 MT I was on Why We Write Short Stories. I love doing panels, interacting with fellow writers and artists and anyone else in the biz. Love interacting with the audience. Talking about writing! Both were pretty well attended, I thought, given the focus of the Con was not so much books…but it was cool that books were made a part of a Comic Con.

I attended a few other sessions that some of my writer friends were on, such as Monsters: Not Just For Horror Anymore, Self-Publishing: Is It For You?, Can’t We Get Along?, Cultural Exchange vs Appropriation in Writing, and Diversity in SciFi and Fantasy Literature. I tooled around some more…took in an act where a guy promoting his web comic (I believe it was) did a balancing act atop stacked chairs. That was neat and pretty funny. It’s one thing to watch it on TV…another to stand 10 feet from the person actually doing it! There really are no nets…but there was a gym-mat-like padded floor. It would have reduced bruising, but that’s about all, had he really fallen.

Kevin Ikenberry

I first met Kevin Ikenberry at a Denver MileHiCon. Kevin is retired Army (I won’t hold that against him) and has written two military SF novels and some short fiction. He’s now an “active duty author,” and boy is he creating his own “shock and awe”! The man is apparently unstoppable! As of DCC his Amazon.com numbers were staggering, and he sold out his DCC stock. That’s the way to do it, Kevin! I keep running into him at every author/literary event I go to, and we usually end up seated/standing/tripping over each other. He has an infectious smile and an outgoing manner. I bought his Sleeper Protocol and am currently reading it. Of course he jabbed the Air Force in his autographing of it…but he does have to remember that to the Air Force…all the other services are beneath it (“Aim higher,” yourself, buddy!)….

Aaron Michael Ritchey

And then there is the amazing Aaron Michael Ritchey.

AMR Money Talks. (© F. P. Dorchak, Denver Comic Con, June 19, 2016)
AMR Money Talks. (© F. P. Dorchak, Denver Comic Con, June 19, 2016)
This photo says it all. I really have to do something with it…and I think I know exactly what. Aaron (in a word) is a trip. He gives caffeine a run for its money. Gives “personality” a whole new definition. And talk about ubiquitous. Name one place Aaron Michael Ritchey isn’t. You can’t. It’s impossible.  He warps time. He’s standing behind you right now. But when you turn around—he’s gone. Off to be somewhere else—or is he (have you checked the kitchen)?

If you ever get a chance to meet either of these two guys, go do it. Buy their work.

DCC Podcasts

I really hope I didn’t embarrass myself on any of them! I did three podcasts while at DCC, but it was so loud and crazy, so many incredible COSPLAY walking the Con…so much exposed skin of both men and women…so many really neat and ingenious costumes of both men and women—well, in one of my interviews a sword-wielding barbarian chick with a nice smile stood not four feet in front of me. She was quite…fit. And I was not looking at her…but a couple times while I was not looking at her I might have uttered something like “tomato juice” when asked about my favorite books, or “yes” when asked about what got me started at writing. So, forgive anything stupid that may have come out of my mouth during these interviews. It was loud. It was crazy. It was DCC.

Finitione…

One thing really warmed my heart in particular: a COSPLAY woman had walked by up ahead of me and had dropped her iPhone (or similar). I went to go fetch it and flag her down, when another guy between me and Ms. COSPLAY also saw it. He picked it up and gave it to the girl. I was so impressed! He could have walked away with it, cause the girl had no idea she’d dropped it, and had kept walking. I didn’t think of this until Monday, but I should have gone up to the guy and applauded him for his actions! Whoever you are, way to go, dude!

Denver Comic Con was utterly incredible. Amazing. Expansive. Diverse. Freaking FUN. People were there to have fun…and it felt so good to see everyone behaving and having fun. I’d heard larger (Really? Larger?) Comic Cons weren’t so, well, “nice”…but DCC was. It really was family friendly and I saw a lot of family there. People were well-behaved. I was so honored to have been asked by Eneasz Brodski, who handles the literary portion of Comic Con. I can’t thank you enough, Eneasz—and Angie Hodapp, who introduced us! Hope to attend next year!

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Kirschner Cover Art: Grace, By Howard Owen

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Grace, By Howard Owen. Release Date October 2016, from The Permanent Press
Grace, By Howard Owen. Release Date October 2016, from The Permanent Press

Together with Lon Kirschner—who did my cover art for ERO and Voice—I’m launching a new series of posts that will discuss Lon’s cover art. I first ran into his efforts with The Grievers, a novel by Marc Schuster. Marc’s cover just grabbed me. Long story short, Marc put me in touch with Lon and I’d loved his work so much I’d commissioned him to do two of my covers. So, I thought, hey, why not highlight and discuss some of his work? So this marks the first in series of posts that will do just that. These may be bi-monthly…it may be quarterly…or it just may be whenever Lon and I can get-together to githerdone….

Today’s initial post is for Grace, by Howard Owen, which has an October 2016 release from The Permanent Press.

Originally, I was going to start out with another cover (but don’t worry, I’ll still get to it, and one of them is again another Howard Owen cover!), but as I reviewed the images Lon had sent, this one just jumped out at me. Continually. Maybe it was the key…maybe it was the desiccated wood grain behind it…maybe it was just having come off of Voice and the 1880s house I used as its setting…but it was probably all of it. When I looked at this cover over and over it was like I could actually feel that key…the rough, grainy wood. I have a key very similar to the one in the image from the Lake Clear, NY house I grew up in (that abovementioned late 1880s house served as the setting in Voice and ERO), and the wood in the image reminds me of the barn we had behind our house. How many times I’d run my hand over the barn’s weathered boards…caught a splinter or two…sandpapered it…painted it. Threw snowballs and rocks at it.

In short, it brought up all kinds of ancient memories. Memories that are getting ancienter and ancienter the older and older I get.

And isn’t that the point with cover art—or any artwork, for that matter? To illicit some kind of visceral experience? To trigger…a feeling? Any feeling?

To make us think?

Every time I look to this cover it slams me back to that barn. It’s darkened interior. It’s weathered and worn exterior. When I look at that key it takes me back to that house…to its original condition when we moved into it in the mid-to-late sixties before my dad gutted and reworked it’s interior. I am transported to that place and time…a displaced 1880s in my present time’s mind. I think I have wood splinters in my soul….skeleton keys in my heart. I had a great childhood there. Loved where I grew up. Think about it often. I incorporate so much of it into my work…and didn’t quite realize to what degree until I started publishing my novels over the past couple years….

But, that’s what Lon’s cover for Grace did and does to me.

Where it brought me—for good or ill—and whether or not my story has anything to do with Howard’s story behind that artwork…I don’t know—but, does it matter? If I saw this book on a shelf I’d pick it up and thumb through its pages and drink in its cover (in fact, I know I’d rub my hand over its cover, expecting to feel the wood grain, the metal key…).

Lon and I e-mailed back and forth a little about some of this, and here’s some of his responses:

“I had to smile when I read this [FPD: as in picking this cover as the first to discuss]. Grace is probably my favorite cover of the group and coincidentally, the easiest one to design. The manuscript had that Aha moment when I knew exactly what the cover would look like, it was one of those covers that ‘designed itself’ (referring back to my post on The Permanent Press blog).”

To this Lon also added about how the covers in this series of books:

“…organically morphed into a basically black and white design. When I did the first, I didn’t know it was going to be a series so that first cover is color and a bit more in the scary horror genre.”

The funny thing is Grace is not black and white…though Lon thinks of it as if it is!

Another funny thing is that I actually picked up on the above before Lon answered my question (i.e., that I figured he saw the cover as “black and white” even though it wasn’t; I mean, he could have said, “Yeah, I didn’t mean to write that, but…,” but he didn’t):

Me: Lon…but Grace is not black and white.

Lon: You are correct, Grace is in color but for me it functions as black and white. A dark background with a bright highlight. When I think of this cover, in my mind’s eye it is black and white. Maybe this is subliminal. You do raise an interesting point. I designed the cover and even I think of it as black and white. I guess we can persuade our mind to think of things very differently than what they are in reality. It brings to mind the story of police interviewing eyewitnesses to a crime. While all of the witnesses saw the same event, their stories and recollections can be very different. I didn’t even think twice when I referred to it as black and white.

Interesting isn’t it?

His reasoning is kinda “cousin” to my thoughts in the cover image itself. Our minds both went into tangential directions around the same cover….

And that’s a major point of cover art: to make you pick up a book. Purists (like me) will also say the point of cover art is to also give you something relating to the story, something to “hold” onto about the story within…[most traditional] publishers: they just want to get you to buy the damned thing.

Lon also went on to say that:

“Howard, who is usually fairly reserved, made a point of contacting me to tell me how much he loved the cover and thought it was spot on…has written me the most sincere and warm email about it.”

That—from my experience—is rare! We’re talkin’ tartare rare!

Most authors seem to take issue with their covers. Complain that many publishers “slap” on a cover with little to no thought incorporated. At least in the traditional publishing world. Usually a cover artist at a Big Five would get a brief description of what the book is about, maybe an outline, then they’d have to come up with something. Lon…is a different breed….and The Permanent Press is a different breed of publisher that allows Lon this “luxury”: Lon actually reads all of the manuscripts for the covers he does!

From Martin Shepard’s (head of The Permanent Press) June 17, 2015 blog post, Martin tells how he met Lon. Lon is not an employee of The Permanent Press, but is a “consulting creative director/designer.” This is how Martin remembers meeting Lon (and I do have Martin Shepard’s permission to use the following):

“Back in 1989, I received a flyer from Lon Kirschner and was mesmerized by his book cover designs. As I’ve said in a previous blog, I had my own art background. My beloved father, Mac Shepard, was an artist whose subway sketches are always featured on our catalog covers, while I was an art major at the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan during the late forties and early fifties. I was dazzled by his work, and Lon’s been designing covers for us for over 25 years. What a joy it is to both work with him and see what he comes up with. Any publisher, large or small, looking for a master cover designer would do well to get in touch with him by email.”

And that’s how I feel about Lon’s work: I am mesmerized…dazzled by it!

I am in awe of his work…which is why I’m highlighting him in my blogs. It all started with The Grievers, and it continues today (he did all my bookmarks and Voice book signing posters). In fact Lon told me that my review of The Grievers was the first time his cover art had ever been mentioned in a book review. I found that so hard to believe!

And if you haven’t yet read it, read The Grievers! It’s hilarious and had me laughing out loud so damned hard my mouth hurt. C’mon, Marc, write more funny stuff!

As I get to know Lon more and more through our correspondence these past couple of years, I am coming to find out what an absolutely terrific guy he is. We no longer just talk about writing and cover art or bookmarks and posters; our conversations have morphed into topics such as lawn mowing, trips, and movies. The man always tries to “do right” by his clients, and he’s so easy to work with. And, good God, is he talented. Maybe one day we will finally meet!

But for now, we trade e-mail, anecdotes—

And really cool covers!

*******************************************

Lon Kirschner may be contacted at:

Telephone: 518/392-3823

E-mail: info@kirschnercaroff.com

Site: http://www.kirschnercaroff.com

What Kind of Writer are You?

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Writer's Block 1
Serenity Now! (Photo credit: NathanGunter)

A couple of years ago I read a post from a well-known writer about the “two kinds” of writers that supposedly exist…and I couldn’t believe my eyes. What perhaps bothered me the most about the post was the OCD-like rehashing of all the points made in the beginning of the post…continually pummeled throughout the rest of it (yes, it was looong…). And it went beyond just defining a writer’s genre, but into the realm of how many books you have in you and the heavily implied analysis that being one way was outright better than the other way, and yada x 3….

Reading that post and revisiting a blog post I was going to write-up-about-it-then-but-forgot-about brought me back to all the writer conferences I’ve attended and all the discussions on this subject I’ve been a part of. It is a good question…what kind of a writer are you?

Are you a one-book writer…or in it for the long haul? And is one way better than the other? One genre better than another?

Agents and publishers want (and okay, need) to pigeonhole you, nail you to a wall with all these publishing metrics, because they have to figure out where to fit you into their business plans…their promotion and marketing of you. But once you get past all that…how do you define your writing? Your “authorness”?

And is it any reason to get hung up on said definitions?

Should it matter to you that you fit into someone else‘s description of who you are?

There are many out there not directly within your publishing food chain who like to slice and dice and nitpick and analyze and delineate to death whether someone has one or two or three books in them and whether one is in it for “the long haul.” Some people are just oriented that way (numbers and stats)…while some like to rack-and-stack their competition and see where we all fit in. Some use this information to feel superior about where they feel they are in their self-described (and oft lauded) hierarchy. You know the bit: I have sexier shoes…I look better in that outfit than you…I have more (and better defined) muscles…my car’s got more horsepower.

Don’t get caught up in that game.

Figure out your genre, then just write and don’t worry about your “label.” About where you fit into somebody else’s grand literary schema. If you want to publish—publish. You can Indie publish now, so you can define where you think you best fit. Publish one or two or a hundred books. It doesn’t matter.

What should matter is the quality of your work.

Tail Wagging the Dog?

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Watch Out. We Do Bite Back. (By Sharla Perrin [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
Watch Out. We Do Bite Back. (By Sharla Perrin [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
It’s really bugged me, this thing that goes: “write what readers want to read.”

It’s also really bugged me this thing agents and editors say: “can you make this into a series?”

You see, as an artist, I take a certain umbrage at being told I have to write what others want to read. To me—to the artist inside me—I want to write what I want to write. What begs to be written by me, the stories that percolate and surface beneath and onto the surface of my mind. For me to have to write what others want to read is rather mercenary, at best. It’s looking at the whole thing from the wrong point of view (in my not-so-humble opinion), at worst.

Do painters and sculptors paint and sculpt what people want them to paint or sculpt?

Oh, and try telling that to a poet!

What happened to writers doing what they wanted to do, creating and expressing their own inner muses and creativity?

What happened to the single-book novel, nay I ask, what is so wrong with the single-book novel?

Anything can be sold. Abso-fricking-lutley anything.

I don’t want to write about vampires (without the “-yres”), I don’t want to write fantasy. I don’t want to write romance. I don’t want to be easily pigeonholed. I want my work to bridge genres. In and of themselves, there’s nothing wrong with any of these genres…except that there are too many of “the same” IMNSHO. I’m all for writers being successful, and feel there is room for all of us, but I am not for crappy writing being thrown around and slapped between two covers just because it will sell. I’m not for tritely cloned stories. And I feel for the writers who partake in this, because they feel they have to, to make it in this biz. If they want to do it, then that’s all them, more power to them, but, please, don’t do it just to cow to the Powers of Publishing. I have tied to read a lot of mid-list books a couple years ago, and found I just couldn’t do it. To me, and for the most part, the stories were tired and flat. Uninteresting. Trite. Poorly written.

Yet they sell.

Now, one or two were well-written, but the stories just didn’t interest me. Okay, that’s fair. I’m not everybody, and everybody’s not me, and my work isn’t for everybody. Different tastes keep life interesting. But, please, don’t coerce, intimidate, nor cajole me into writing like some other story out there just because some people are buying that particular “thing.” Fine, compare me, if it’s complimentary, but don’t force me into something I’m not.

Please, allow me (and others like me) to write what we want to write. If you don’t like it, fine, don’t read it, don’t take me on—but do not not take me on just because I’m not like what’s already out there, because it’d take just a little more Brain Power on your part to market and promote me. For chrissakes, people have told me my work has given them nightmares! You don’t get nightmares from stuff that doesn’t interest you, doesn’t bother you, doesn’t affect you in some, moving, profound, way! So, I’m betting that someone out there will like it. I don’t say this out of ego…I say this out of understanding humanity. If I like something, chances are someone out there will also like it. We’re really all quite similar in how we operate as Humans. If someone likes something, chances are so will others of our kind. I’ve written and published three novels. With one exception I can think of, the reviews are all favorable. So, I know I can write something–stand-alone books,  no less!—others would find interesting enough to read and review (and I thank all who took the time to review my books!)…have nightmares over!

It’s not that I’m so much against the Publishing World…as I am against the mindsets that drive it. I love most of the editors I’ve met, and some of the agents. I’d love to be able to work with a traditional publisher, regain agenting. I’m just asking for the mindsets to change…just a little. Become more open, more humane.

So, please, allow us to express our own unique creativity. Don’t force us into boxes that don’t exist. It is not a case of getting us to be more salable. You may think it is, but it’s not. You may have created a business out of distribution, but that doesn’t make it right that you impose your ways on us. You should work with us, as we are [trying to] work with you. You may feel like you have (or have had) the power to make or break us, but whether or not that may be the commercial case, that should not be the Human Way. You should not try to screw us over with your greedy, author unfriendly contracts. If you had no authors, you’d have no business. No power. If it wasn’t for us, you’d be nothing, and you’re power-purse-strings approach seems to squelch that for most, who succumb to your whims, but it doesn’t make what you’re doing right. This should be about distributing the work that we love and create—yes, with whatever needed improvements and polish that comes from professional editing—but, letting us do our job of writing what we love to write, and you do your job of distributing our work.

Money will be made.

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Ooooh, No You Didn’t Just Go There—A Reply To Comment

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I had a question to my post on a PPW post, but my response is too large for the Reply section, and I’m not going to whittle it away, so I’m posting it here. I apologize in advance if doing it this way offends anyone, it’s not a blog ploy, I just need to say what I need to say, and the Reply section won’t accept anything over 4,096 characters.

Here is my reply to Chris Mandeville, of Delve Writing:

It’s a mindset, Chris. A Damaging Culture.

My beef IS partially with Jennifer, if you wanna get right down to it. Or perhaps, with what she SAID.

Here is her paragraph:

“And here’s the deal: whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, if you want to sell your book, everyone expects you to do the marketing. Yep you. Even if you get the Big NY Deal, you are still expected to do the marketing because, frankly, there is no reason to gamble on a new or mid-list writer, which means little-to-no marketing money. And who wins? The guy with the biggest motivation and perseverance. They guy who reads the field and decides how to make the plan.”

Nowhere in this para is “This is what the publishers believe” or “According to publishers and their Bean Counters….” No, it is stated as her own opinion. Coming from HER beliefs. You really want to roll up some shirt sleeves? It was stated as an object of fact and slipped under the radar because the rest of the post was not about that statement, but it had already been said, and was now unconsciously RE-INSERTED into everyone’s consciousness—except mine. I utterly and immediately rejected it. So, no, I do not agree with her statement, phrasing, or otherwise. I caught the intentional or unintentional subliminal message spread to the masses.

When someone in a “position of authority” (i.e., a blog writer, author talking about same) puts forth words about a subject, others read it and agree with it or not. But the person has put forth an IDEA, a CONCEPT, and whether or not agreed to by others, or right or wrong, the concept is further ingrained into the psychic gestalt of the weltanschauung under discussion. She perpetuated a line of thought without so much as a second thought. Spouted a line said by so many others, that I heartily disagree with, and she said it in a public forum. And, I’m sorry I have to say, was this line not questioned by reviewing eyes? If it was seen and not addressed, this is what I’m saying…it’s ingrained in everyone to be a truism, when it simply is not.

I have “nothing personal” against Jennifer in and of herself, nor in her marketing aspect of her post (yes, it was a good one otherwise), but I do take it personal when a “fellow author” continues to so tritely and dismissively put forth concepts that are frankly injurious to all writers except the Knighted Few. Believing in this line of thought comes along with root assumptions that are too numerous to get into here. But to say something like “…there is no reason to gamble on a new or mid-list writer…” without exception(s)/qualification(s), and to a wide audience as PPW/the Internet, which includes many who may be new to this wacky business, utterly stuns me! Yes, I’ll go so far as to say INFURIATES me. Does it not bother anyone else? Do all of you out there really believe this? Jennifer, do YOU really believe this? Additionally, “…And who wins? The guy with the biggest motivation and perseverance. They guy who reads the field and decides how to make the plan.” How can you say something like that (given the inference to the previous sentiment), that is utterly dismissive to the Unknighted Few? There are many out there–geesh, look at our own Beth Groundwater. She IS the Poster Girl for “motivation and perseverance”; she is THE ONE I always think about when it comes to such things, to pushing-pushing-pushing. To me, she IS the standard for what all authors should ASPIRE to, for crying out loud. Unfortunately, many of us have day jobs and simply cannot do what she has done. And (furthermore) to dump on those authors (like me) who cannot do what she’s has done by tritely saying we don’t want it enough/dedicated enough/<inserted comment>, is (IMHO) a punishable offense and deserving of jail time and real hard labor. That’s where the Big Guns should come into play, helping out the UnKnighted Few with THEIR resources (who they HIRE for this stuff, who have DEGREES/experience in doing this stuff), and not further lumping responsibility totally on our already packed and stretched thin shoulders.

To take your concern, Chris, “about the money.” It’s far more than just about whether or not huge corporations have or nave not money. It’s the damaging CULTURE, the incorrect MINDSET. Money is only a tool, an EXTENSION of one’s beliefs. They’re reluctant to spent the money because they don’t want to spend time and effort in selling something NEW. As much as execs talk the talk, they do not walk the walk. One issue rolls directly into another. I know some are stingy with money, but in the mindset of “spend money to make money” why the reluctance (let’s just use the word that really matters, here, they are UNWILLING) of funneling not just money, but RESOURCES to unknown authors? Isn’t it obvious they are the ones who truly need the resources? It’s about the perceived return. “They” don’t feel they will get “the return.” But new authors won’t get the return BECAUSE no resources are thrown their way! Vicious Cycle! If that’s the case, then don’t take on the author! It’s not a simply pat answer, they have or don’t have money. Of course they HAVE money, they’re monstrous corporations. But of course there’s “little-to-no marketing money” because bean counters and execs ARE throwing all their money on “sure bets.”

Chris (and Jennifer), can you not see what such a seemingly small, dismissive statement, really impacts? Most may not think that one liner through, or give it another thought, may take it at face value, and it will continue to perpetuate the injurious culture that is already out here…but that IS changing. I do not mean to be insulting to Jennifer nor her beliefs, but sometimes there just isn’t a nice, fluffy way to address an issue. If we all SAY we want change, then we have to ACTIVELY (key word, here) combat for that change. We have to change the way we look and ACCEPT a status quo that is clearly not working [for authors]. You want change, change your mindset, the words you choose, the words you write, the “knowing acceptance” you nod your heads to. Give yourselves some credit! Do not blindly accept something just because I—or anyone else—says something in a public forum. You see something you don’t agree with, to the best of your POWER take issue with it (hopefully, respectfully, as I hope I am also doing). I don’t know if Jennifer actively believes what she said, or simply said it because it’s WHAT SHE’S BEEN TOLD.

But that’s my point.

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Ooooh, No You Didn't Just Go There….

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English: Depiction of frustration
No…No, No, No, No…. (Photo credit: Frustration, Wikipedia)

Okay, I have to admit, I kinda got pissed when I read a blog post about marketing your work, and, yes, I did kinda take it personal, because it continues to perpetuate a train of thought, a mindset that so many seem so eager to promulgate and promote, and which can be (well, I feel it actually already is…) very damaging to writers. I have nothing personal against the author of the post, but I simply cannot allow certain things to be said and let the masses rally around behind without another point of view given. I love writing and the publishing world—to an extent. I, do, however, heartily disagree and take issue with certain points of view and feel I have to counter certain issues that always arise, however, and this is one of them.

And, I must say, I am saddened by those who continue to buy into them…though understand how this can happen.

So, here is the comment I posted:

Jennifer, sorry, but I really must take issue with the following: “…there is no reason to gamble on a new or mid-list writer, which means little-to-no marketing money.”

If there’s one thing I’ve found in my 52 years of life, and almost as many years writing and observing this and other industries is that anyone can sell anything if they put enough resources into the effort. If “resources” means money, so be it, if “resources” mean thought, so be it. I know all about how mid-list writers fulfill an important part in the overall book world, but–it seems to me–the bottom line should be if publishers don’t want to put any resources behind something they take on, then they shouldn’t have taken on the work to begin with. It does so much–sometimes irreparable–damage to a writer and their career, if they don’t sell through on their first book. Gee, it used to be their first two or three books. Now it’s down to one. Why is that, I rhetorically inquire?

There’s “little-to-no marketing money” because bean counters and execs are throwing all their money on “sure bets” (and I used “bets” intentionally, over “things”). Come on, does a King, Rowling, or Patterson really  need all the resources they actually get, once it’s announced a new work [from them] is available? Can some of those resources be better spent on others who don’t yet have the market recognition, but are every bit as good? I’m sorry but saying something like that (again, IMHO) is picking low-hanging fruit. The problem involved in today’s book industry (as is elsewhere evident) is in the mindset of those running “the shows.” It’s not that there’s no money. If there really was “no money” then no one would be getting any of the millions being dumped into promotion of the Big Dogs. If it’s “so easy” and “low cost” for the Nobody Writer to do social media, etc., then why don’t the Big Five partake in it? Hire unpaid interns (if this is still the practice; low-paid, otherwise) to create these campaigns for the works these companies take on? Or, hey, here’s a thought, maybe take on less authors?…only those authors whose work publishers really do believe in, and are willing to actually devote some resources (including real thought) to in the first place, instead of throwing their works again public walls like so much partially cooked spaghetti?

ANYTHING can be sold.

Anything.

And, no, we all know but perhaps don’t readily admit to ourselves, no, the product doesn’t even have to be good! Do we really need $4 coffee? Bigger screen TVs? Do we really N.E.E.D. these things?

People buy what’s put in front of them. If they have choices eliminated from them, intentionally not put in front of them, how can they even consider them?

So, with all due respect to you, Jennifer, and all the others out there who feel the same as you, and will heartily disagree with me and my kind, and try to rip me a new one with “stats, and facts, and whatever” (stats and facts and whatever can all be manipulated; I used to work with them, and know firsthand how they can, indeed, be manipulated), there are reasons, very good ones, to gamble on new writers, because there is good, undiscovered writing out there…writing that is not formulaic and is every bit as powerful as the “sure bets.” Writing that is profound and thoughtful and funny as hell. This industry loves—thrives—on blaming the writer (their work isn’t “ready,” the writer isn’t “big enough,” the writer doesn’t have a “platform,” etc.), but sometimes it’s not the writer…it’s the Gatekeepers. Yes, all kinds of “holes” can be poked in my position, it’s all been said before, but it’s not about whether or not holes can be poked into my argument. There is another way of doing business…it’s just intentionally being overlooked.