Monday, January 9, 2012

The Bumpy, Baffling Road to Publishing 4

AS I READ THE title I just typed, I can't help but think it was kind of stupid. I'm still not a published author so why am I eluding to... and I'm...wait. I am a published author. Duh. I've been honored to have one of my essays selected for an anthology called The Moment I Knew. (See sidebar.) Sometimes I forget how lucky I already am. I have made some serious headway and I'm grateful that I found an editor who believes in me. Thank you Terri. 


So I should reiterate that the baffling part is not referring to understanding the concepts of publishing, rather it's making reference to standing out and getting noticed by the powers that be. Writing a catchy query and submitting it to the correct recipients, for instance.  

But I've already written about all that and I don't want to bore you. 

For the past few months, I've been reading about self-publishing, the third option to getting your book in print. Many writers are finding self-pubbing a rewarding and profitable solution to their publishing dilemmas.  Catherine Caffeinated , The Passive Voice, A Newbie's Guide To Publishing are among the many blogs dedicated to educating authors on the whole process. I'm grateful to have such a wealth of information at my fingertips. 


For the past several days, I've been working on another essay for an anthology. The deadline is at the end of the month and, barring any computer snafus, (knock on wood) I'll have it finished on time. It's by far the most difficult writing I've done. It's about compressing seven years of a very difficult time into 3000 words of intelligible prose. But I'm up for the challenge and enjoy the process immensely. 

Okay, enough with the Baffling Road. I see a turn-off ahead and although the view beyond is a bit shrouded I think it leads somewhere cool. 




Thank you for visiting, 

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9 comments:

  1. Best wishes with finishing your piece this week Grace! I read an article about a woman who had self published on Amazon and ended up finding a niche there. Very interesting. I will be checking out the links you mentioned. Cheers, Jenni

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  2. Dear Grace, I look forward to reading your published work. Good luck with your new piece. P. x

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  3. Dear Grace ~ Bless your heart for keeping on, keeping on. You will be rewarded.

    Love and hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  4. Perseverance Pays! :-) I hope you keep these posts handy, as I've not been able to really read them as carefully as I'd like!!

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  5. Good luck Grace and keep trying. You will be rewarded in time. It is good you have a new work ready to submit. Always a plus to have the ideas flowing.

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  6. 7 years of a difficult time into 3000 words, wow! I was looking at the word limit for a Writer’s Digest contest and I don’t know if I can keep my writing so tidy! I definitely need to learn how to express myself succinctly.

    When you’re writing about something personal, it’s difficult to not want to describe it and metaphor it to death. Good luck! I always find that writing about the bad stuff helps me cope with it.

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  7. Wonderful Grace and I wish you all the luck. As you know I am continuing to write poetry and will be doing other writing once I find time. I am still researching and searching for publishers or do I self publish a work...thanks for the resources here.

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  8. Perseverance my dear Gracie will get you where you want to be!

    I'd like to read the essay you are working on.
    I just read your last post here, I loved it, so much truth in those words of yours!!

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  9. Hey Gracie! I'm thrilled to hear you have work and a deadline. You inspire me. Your fan, L.

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