Here it is
the first Wednesday of the month when members of the Insecure Writers Support
Group devote our posts to thoughts of the wows and woes of writing in the welcoming
warmth of an online writing community where there are no outsiders. See what
everyone is talking about and enjoy! IWSG
Outsider.
The word alone can feel like a life sentence unless we remind ourselves that
Insiders aren’t just born that way. For instance, the dismissive, often
derogatory term was commonly used as a description for Super-heroes and Sci-fi
fans worldwide. Now they, along with every aspect of the genre(s) in general,
are looked upon in awe. How about that?
I once had
the less than gratifying opportunity to
be the only self-published author seated at a large round table at a southwestern
author’s conference. As is my normal mode,
I remained silent at first, as I got a ‘feel’ for my fellow writers and authors. Between the somewhat arrogant speakers
at the podium and the caustic little cackles of those around my table, I no
longer wanted to speak at all. I really wanted to hide under a rock. But, you
know what? That was the last time.
Because, as
no stranger to the murky depths of insecurity, I can sense it (in others)
faster than my girls (dogs) can find a cookie in your pocket. The issues those
new and seasoned writers had with Indy-publishing were their problem. Not mine. Perhaps
they hadn’t heard of Hybrids?
On the
subject of hybrids, here’s a great article by Chuck
Wendig ; it’s a little dated, but nonetheless insightful.
And speaking
of publishing, this relates rather closely to my answer to the question of the
month, which is: What
was your first piece of work as an aspiring writer, and where is it now? Would you believe I’m sitting on
it? Well, not literally. It’s under my desk. In a dust-covered, shoe-scuffed
box, my very first completed novel; edited, revised, edited, revised, partially
re-written, and favorably reviewed by ten readers is neatly tucked away to wait
in plaintive silence for me to take the next step. But here’s the kicker, of
all I’ve ever written it’s important that this
one is traditionally published.
Yeah, I know. Good luck with that,
right?
Moving on to
things that are possible, here’s something happening right now! If you enjoy flash fiction (as I do), you’re going to love this new platform called TaleHunt.
At 250 or less, it’s a bit more than Twitter (at 45 characters) and way more
than Hemingway; the master of flash fiction himself, but who couldn’t use a handy
launching pad to success in the craft of our dreams?
So, how’s your journey? Where are you in the publishing process?
What are your publishing plans?
