Forever Friends anthology

Shelagh wrote:

when the only way of judging them is subjective.

Hence my definition of what you can't sell or give away as "garbage." Whether it's a Big Mac, a book or classical music -if nobody wants it at any price, it's garbage! How can you get more objective than that?

LC wrote:

Shelagh wrote:

when the only way of judging them is subjective.

Hence my definition of what you can't sell or give away as "garbage." Whether it's a Big Mac, a book or classical music -if nobody wants it at any price, it's garbage! How can you get more objective than that?

A great work of art may be garbage to someone who likes grafitti. A classic car may be garbage to someone who doesn't like automobiles. Your attitude of what constitutes garbage is disturbing to say the least. Usually what is at play is lack of exposure to the right audience. The more niche a work is means precise target marketing or massive general exposure has to take place. The singing sensation Susan Boyle's music is not to my taste and therefore to me it is of no use, but because she received massive exposure on televison, in print and via youtube people who would spend for her product knew about her. In fact she outsold many popular artists, but actually many of the other artists were pulling from a smaller exposure set. Garbage usually if not the proper term, undiscovered and underexposed to the right audience is probably closer to the truth and budget is the cure. As for textbooks, I didn't care what the book was or who wrote it, I had a degree program that required certain classes and I bought the books required for that class period, there was no other option.

LC wrote:

Shelagh wrote:

when the only way of judging them is subjective.

Hence my definition of what you can't sell or give away as "garbage." Whether it's a Big Mac, a book or classical music -if nobody wants it at any price, it's garbage! How can you get more objective than that?

You are taking my comment out of context. I said: "Sometimes, or often, there is no point in telling others how inept they are when the only way of judging them is subjective."

If they succeeded in selling their badly written novels, by your definition, those novels would not be "garbage" because someone had bought the book (probably out of pity!). Whereas, if someone wrote an excellent novel that no one wanted to buy because the writer was too timid to make a sales pitch, by your definition, the book would be "garbage". Clearly, this is no way to judge the quality of a book.

Me too, Alice. I wrote Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine to raise money for cancer research. I announced the fact on my local town's forum in Lancashire. I put out chapters on a teenage forum to test the market. I learned very quickly that the project was going to fail. Although I received extremely favourable and encouraging feedback from those who read the opening chapters, teenagers are very honest and told me that they would not buy the book because they had never heard of me.

When I explained this experience to my husband, he suggested making a donation to cancer research instead. He agreed that I should find a way to get the book into print at no cost, but I should drop the idea of raising money. I failed miserably in my quest to raise any money at all. I do very little promotion but the costs I have incurred have soaked up the small royalties.

I would not change any of my decisions. LC may very well have decided differently had she been in my position. That would have been her choice. I'm happy with mine.

Most of the information I read relative to careers as an author indicate that only a select few are able to earn a living writing fiction. The rest have spouses, independent incomes and other work that pays the bills, even those with successful novels.

There are many salaried careers that involve writing. I had one. Those careers pay professional wages. I wrote curriculum for the States of California and Florida under contract. They own the materials; but I had a secure income.

Personally, I am driven to write. I will do what's required to work toward my goals. However, I will also enjoy the journey and depend on my day job to pay the bills. I once felt I had known a unique community of individuals as I sailed from port to port in the live-aboard world. I now know people in another unique world - the world of hopes and dreams that comes from seeing a world on a page. I am grateful.

My experience with A Myth in Action was much like the situation Shelagh described. The book had too small an audience for any major publisher to be interested. I was warned that would probably be the case by Audie Murphy's oldest son after he read the manuscript and approved my treatment of his father's story. Still, it was the #1 book on Murphy several times at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble online, and at one point reached #11 on Amazon for PublishAmerica books.

Like Shelagh, DK, and Alice, I wouldn't give anything for the experience.

Ann

Shelagh wrote:

I wrote Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine to raise money for cancer research. ...I learned very quickly that the project was going to fail. ...When I explained this experience to my husband, he suggested making a donation to cancer research instead. He agreed that I should find a way to get the book into print at no cost,...

I would not change any of my decisions. LC may very well have decided differently had she been in my position. That would have been her choice. I'm happy with mine.

I would have made different decisions, yes, because I would have been more honest about my goals. I don't understand the logic of writing a book to raise money for cancer research, finding out it would fail, and then writing it anyhow.

It sounds like you wanted to write a book and then donate any proceeds to cancer research. If cancer research funding was really your goal, you'd have thrown your efforts more productively into that, such as host fundraisers. Instead, you relegated both to dilettante status. Of course, I don't know the size of the check you wrote.

Not that there's anything wrong with what you did, it's nice to have choices.

Sometimes, you can have two goals at once. Ghost Orchid was inspired by the beautiful and exquisite "Super Ghost" whose blooming in 2007 was a surprise and a gift. My novel just fell into place as I wandered Corkscrew Swamp, enjoying its beauty and serenity. I want others who may not have considered walking there to not only enjoy the story, but to also gain an appreciation for the Everglades.

I also want to financially support my Corkscrew Swamp and organizations that contribute to the world's natural beauty. My means are modest. By having a benefit book signing, I promote my book to a target audience and benefit my chosen recipient charity. We both benefit by the press coverage.

There are only winners in this picture. Why don't I just write a check? Because charity was not my only motivation nor is it the singular motivation for many people I know. Most successful benefits have a pleasure goal and a monetary one. The pleasure comes from gaining a wider reading audience, from actually acqiring and reading Ghost Orchid and by supporting nature in the process. Camaraderie and conversation are also a positive by-product.

Mother (90) is in my kitchen baking cookies; it's cold in Florida. I am grateful for a place to test my thoughts, my purpose, my goals and my ability to think rationally. I am grateful for the multitude of differing opinions that are shared on this forum when many people are participating. As I have often said, writing can be a lonely profession, especially in the middle of the night or on a cold, Sunday afternoon.

Our little stories, major novels and novellas have audiences that enjoy our writing, however small they may be. They send us emails; they attend our signings; they visit our web sites. Fame and fortune may be illusions, but people like Shelagh give us a place to write and put our writing into print and ebooks for us to have for posterity. For all these things, I am grateful.

Looking toward a new year, I cannot rebuild the past; I can only prepare the building blocks for the future and hope my materials are of good quality.

I have no distribution or sales difficulties.

My publisher takes care of everythng.

LC wrote:

Shelagh wrote:

I wrote Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine to raise money for cancer research. ...I learned very quickly that the project was going to fail. ...When I explained this experience to my husband, he suggested making a donation to cancer research instead. He agreed that I should find a way to get the book into print at no cost,...

I would not change any of my decisions. LC may very well have decided differently had she been in my position. That would have been her choice. I'm happy with mine.

I would have made different decisions, yes, because I would have been more honest about my goals. I don't understand the logic of writing a book to raise money for cancer research, finding out it would fail, and then writing it anyhow.

It sounds like you wanted to write a book and then donate any proceeds to cancer research. If cancer research funding was really your goal, you'd have thrown your efforts more productively into that, such as host fundraisers. Instead, you relegated both to dilettante status. Of course, I don't know the size of the check you wrote.

Not that there's anything wrong with what you did, it's nice to have choices.

I wrote the book before I submitted to publishers. It's expected. One of the requirements for submitting a work of fiction is a completed manuscript (even though only the opening chapters are actually submitted).

Cancer charities do very well out of us in more ways than one. I was completely honest; I cannot understand how you would assume otherwise.

NYT BEST SELLING AUTHOR wrote:

I have no distribution or sales difficulties.

My publisher takes care of everythng.

That's why I admire you so much.