Monday, April 14, 2014

Frustration

I have tons of material-- John Wilson on sending some Mexican wolves to Mexico, with pics; all manner of current events; books to review (Paula Young Lee's delightful Deer Hunting in Paris is way overdue); more poets to quote-- Zarzyski!); foodbloggiing, imminent novels by friends,  gyr coming....

And all I seem to do is catchup work, repairs on me and objects, above all the horrible and apparently necessary struggle to sell myself and my "product", none of which so far has paid off-- no publisher interest in PP's or dog book at least if I have to be PAID for it...
Cue Peter Bowen, novelist, western wit, professional curmudgeon, and stoic: "WHINE, WHINE, WHINE-- all writers do is whine. Nobody asked you to be a writer!"

He's right. Thanks to Beth, old friend and new blog fan, I just got a new laptop which liberates me from the Parkinsonian pain of the desk. Decks are clear. I am going to write The Hounds of Heaven, about my dogs and their roots and our adventures here and there (Beth: splendid phrase re hounds "... flowing fierce animals..!") and walk, and train a new bird. And if things don't sell by fall, I'll sell some guns and go to Szechuan. Or Rome and points south, for Frederic. And publish my own damn books...

6 comments:

Chad Love said...

I'd buy your self-published books...

Your problem isn't merely selling yourself. That's so late 20th Century. What you have to do these days is first conceptualize and implement your unique, individual "brand", then use that as a force to build your "author platform" across all social and traditional media outlets.

Whatever the hell that means. But I read it on the Internet,and it sounds appropriately authoritative and modern so it must be true.

Of course, all that shite's way beyond my simple, rube-ish mind, which is why, I suppose, I remain unknown, unpublished, and impoverished.

But there are some pretty darn interesting self-publishing options out there these days, both digital and print-on-demand. And no god*****d meddling twenty-two-year-old "editors" assigned to "facilitate" your cranky, dated, old-man prose.

Something to think about...

Chad Love said...

And by cranky, dated, old-man prose, I mean the opposite of crap.

David Sorrell said...

Amen! Give 'em hell. My money is in hand waiting for any thing you write! There is not enough opposite of crap.

Anonymous said...

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Holly Heyser said...

Ditto what Chad said. E-books are cheap to publish, too, so you can skip that massive investment in printing. Thought I was going to hate e-books but I've really enjoyed being able to carry a dozen books in my purse, read without lighting, enlarge type and look up obscure words.

Give 'em hell, Bodio!

Dog Training Maryland said...

Steve,
Article in the BBC about young girl flying eagles in Mongolia

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26969150