Happy 2018, everyone! On behalf of our founder, Alex Cavanaugh,
and all of us here at IWSG, we welcome
you to the 1st Wednesday of the month (and in this case, the year)
when we all convene online to share, compare, brag, or bemoan the adventures we
experience along the uniquely solitary journey we call writing.
My thoughts for today are on a beleaguered soul; publicly
berated on social media, for having the gall to call himself an Author when he wasn’t traditionally published by one of the few remaining “Big
Houses.” On the off-chance that there is more than one
writer-turned-author turned writer-disparager out there, I recommend this
article on 2018 publishing predictions by Steff
Green.
I daresay the condemned writer also wasn’t an actor or a Politician, nor a writer seeking immediate fame
and fortune. But writers do write to be read, hopefully,
while they still live and breathe.
Case in point: In 1846, American author Herman Melville
found a London publisher for the first of two highly acclaimed novels based on
his experiences in the South Pacific. In 1851, Harper & Brothers (New York)
published Melville’s epic novel; Moby
Dick, which for some reason flopped
and was not recognized as a classic until nearly 30 years after Melville’s death.
Conversely, Sue Grafton, author of the popular ‘Alphabet’ mysteries; beginning with “A
is for Alibi,” knew very well the impact
she had on her readers and never failed to deliver the stories they yearned
for. She also swore there would be no other name on her work and no Ghostwriters. While her passing this last
December leaves a mystery as to what “Z” might have been for, we can especially
cherish “Y is for Yesterday,” her last
book.
And to think Claude Monet’s father wanted him to be a
grocer, not a painter ;-)
Whatever the outlet, may we all seize and enjoy this season
of creativity!
"There is a privacy about it which no other season
gives you ..... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season
on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer,
quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."
- Ruth Stout
- Ruth Stout
Happy Writing!
