guys

[Samus Aran]

You should consider moving down someday anyways.

I already am considering it, really. I feel like it would do me a lot of good in a lot of ways.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

do drugs

write words down


sober up next day. . . master piece !!!

I take drugs to write stories to take drugs to.

[snoorkel]

As an aside, I think it would be cool to also somehow write about some of my other interests for publications. But I don't think things like vidya game mags really take freelance work. Idk. Something to look into.

Turn your interests into a publication, do you know how many people would buy a well-written and well-presented book about video games or anime? MAKE IT HAPPEN

Actually, I think I'd throw the whole fantasy genre in there as well and just tack it all together.
It seems like some of the stuff I see the most is stereotypical ancient fantasy tied together with real ropey names.
Guess everyone's just trying to emulate the simarillion?

Don't want to start some dumb debate about genres, but good sci-fi and good fantasy are worlds apart. But, yeah, I'd say every fantasy writer is trying to emulate the Silmarillion and its *sequels*. ...Unless it's horror/'sci-fi' fantasy, like the kind Clive Barker writes, which is a thing unto itself... but all trying to emulate Lovecraft.

I was once solicited to by a gaming website thing to write about hardware news. I bet you could find some sort of website thing that needs coverage of something you are interested in.

also if you are looking to just write about something for a little money craigslist is full of that.

'Blogging' for an established website is actually a great idea.

There is like a whole section of those kinds of magazines at Barnes & Noble.

Also, have e-books progressed far enough to launch the careers of any notable writer? I haven't been too deep into the literary world in quite some time. The thing with the independent musician thing, is a lot of them still have a label. Albeit a small label. You'll still need some sort of entity that is familiar with all the ins-and-outs of the writing business. Some one with connections. "Oh you want to publish this? Ok, we'll need to promote it. I know a few people across the country that can give you a space for a reading or something."

Although the work of a publisher can be done by one's self, they can make the whole process a lot easier and rewarding.
I would wager that they aren't really the same. It's easier for a musician, as you have maybe a 3 to 6 minute window to capture an audience. Not many people in this day and age have the patience to sit through a book by a random guy on the internet.

I mean, there are definitely parallels in the music world and the literary world. But unlike with the Music industry, we haven't really got to a point where we can forgo publishers altogether. In a few years, maybe. I'd say the literary world is where the music industry was back in 1999/2000. There is a new way to reach people, with this e-book business, but the publishers are still trying to work out the kinks.

I hope I made some sense.

Rewarding as in you get 10% royalties instead of 85%. Publishing is mainly a sham, they'll cut your writing up and glue it back together in whatever frankenstein form they want, get a trendy graphic artist to make a horrible cover, and get it into bookstores after 12-18 months. If I was ever going to publish something, I'd do it in self-promoted ebook format first, then commission an independent printer for hardcopies later if anything worked out. Social media is how it all works now; like you said, you have to shamelessly overexert yourself to get your title/download out. Of course, you can go the submit-to-publishers route like all the authors of decades past who had no choice, but the chances are much slimmer that you'll get anywhere.

I don't necessarily think this is a good turn.
The entire literary world is saturated enough and making it easier to get published is probably just going to make exposure that much more difficult.

It also makes it easier for something good to stand out among the 99.9% shit, this is what I experience daily when trying to market things online.

[Samus Aran]

Boognish, remember when you made that thread about the crib and having to dismantle it?

That was some seriously great stuff, man. As a writer, I was completely taken aback, it felt so much like something that took conscious effort to write, and yet it was just a scene that had so much depth to it naturally. Just from being what it was.

It was like Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants. I hope I encounter scenes like that to write about someday.

[Boogus Epirus Aurelius]

It also makes it easier for something good to stand out among the 99.9% shit, this is what I experience daily when trying to market things online.

Very good point.

[applesauce]

I already am considering it, really. I feel like it would do me a lot of good in a lot of ways.

It would not be difficult holding a bachelor's (and possibly a master's) to find something that would be enough to sustain your lifestyle and let you think and experience new things. Not being tied down and having no liabilities is a wonderful thing.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

Rewarding as in you get 10% royalties instead of 85%. Publishing is mainly a sham, they'll cut your writing up and glue it back together in whatever frankenstein form they want, get a trendy graphic artist to make a horrible cover, and get it into bookstores after 12-18 months. If I was ever going to publish something, I'd do it in self-promoted ebook format first, then commission an independent printer for hardcopies later if anything worked out. Social media is how it all works now; like you said, you have to shamelessly overexert yourself to get your title/download out.

It also makes it easier for something good to stand out among the 99.9% shit, this is what I experience daily when trying to market things online.

Rewarding as more people will read your book. 85% of ten people doesn't sound that great. 10% of 10,000 people sounds like a respectable number. Sure, it's more rewarding to independently release your material. But you would burn yourself out eventually with the constant promotion. Publishers are there to lighten the load, not to manhandle you and bleed you dry. If your work was to be manipulated in a way you didn't like and there is nothing you can do about it, then you did not read the contract you signed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for independent releases. However, we're just not at a point where we can abandon publisher's altogether.

[snoorkel]

Rewarding as more people will read your book. 85% of ten people doesn't sound that great. 10% of 10,000 people sounds like a respectable number. Sure, it's more rewarding to independently release your material. But you would burn yourself out eventually with the constant promotion. Publishers are there to lighten the load, not to manhandle you and bleed you dry. If your work was to be manipulated in a way you didn't like and there is nothing you can do about it, then you did not read the contract you signed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for independent releases. However, we're just not at a point where we can abandon publisher's altogether.

As if book publishers actually care about the books they're publishing... have you looked at popular books recently? It's worse than pop music. In fact, there are less major publishing houses (the ones that supply B&N) than there are major music labels, and we all know how terrible major music labels are.

If the goal is to make more money faster, then sure, sign with a publisher, but I would hope that more writers are interested in promoting their own work... that's the world we're moving toward. I suppose we'll find out soon enough!

[Thyme]

hhhhnnnnggg kaz i'd totes read you

[Samus Aran]

hhhhnnnnggg kaz i'd totes read you

i appreciate that a lot, i really do

[Thyme]

And if it were to be in book form, it would be one of the very few books I bother to read in English.

[silvertone]

And if it were to be in book form, it would be one of the very few books I bother to read in English.

english book is top tier of book second to japan

[snoorkel]

english book is top tier of book second to japan

no, DE./

[silvertone]

no, DE./

Manga > Mein Kampf > any english Bull Shit 



mein kampf is actually one of the worst books  i have ever read.   

[applesauce]

Recently I have wanted to read several books that exist only in German.

Germany, particularly from like 1820 up to WWII had some seriously good stuff going on.