A Couple Thoughts on Writing and Publishing

I know it's been a while since I've posted here. You might have seen on my main blog that July was a heck of a month. I'm starting to catch up...but I don't think I can ever be fully caught up. I'm sure you know how that is...

I just have a couple thoughts to share today. First, Karen at Coming Down the Mountain posted what I've decided to call The Writer's Ten Commandments. They may not be your ten top commandments, but they certainly are things I need to keep in mind. I've printed and posted a copy to keep in front of me as a reminder.

Secondly, Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick's Tips wrote about John Locke's How I Sold 1 Million Ebooks in 5 Months. She made two great points, one that I wrote about, too, and one that I forgot to include in my own review of the book. And it's a very important point:

The business world is comprised of people who take a huge risk and invest in themselves - in their products  they've invented, in the services they can provide like no other, in their new businesses. This includes everyone from Sam Walton to the indie bookstore owner and everyone - and every business - in between. These people are commended for their passion and belief in themselves, regardless of how big or small their venture grows. As they well should be.

But, as Locke points out, it doesn't work this way in the publishing industry. In fact, it's just the opposite. At least until very recently, writers who believed in themselves and in their work, who were passionate about their books and their abilities were looked down on for taking a risk and investing in themselves. To paraphrase Locke, if the creator doesn't hold enough passion for their own work and doesn't believe in it enough to invest in themselves, why should anyone else?

I like how Diane said it, so go check out her post. But first, here's something else that recently occurred to me. Something for writers to think about:

For commercial/traditional/legendary/whatever-you-want-to-call-them publishers, there is always another author. In fact, there are thousands up on thousands of authors to move onto. Yes, they want to see a return on their investment in an author they take on. But if they don't see that desired return, there are others who can take that author's place in their catalog.

It ain't so when you're indie. *wink*