RE: 50-Word Writing Challenge for $5 SBD
Well, thank you! That's an incredibly positive and encouraging thing to say. I guess it helps when we love what we do.
Rejection letters suck, because they mean everything and nothing at the same time. They mean it's another chance for us just gone, but you can't read anything into them at all, because most likely the agent didn't even read your query. And I get it...I really do. I can't imagine being as overwhelmed with submissions as they are. A few nights ago, someone asked in the MSP chat why I didn't have a publisher. And Shane Welker came right back with, "Same reason I didn't win the lottery last night." Uh. . .yeah. Exactly.
It's a tough business. I love every aspect of self-publishing, except for my lack of reach. It's just so hard to get noticed by your potential audience, and there are no shortcuts. So the 4 to 5 years that it took your mentor to get one published sounds about right to me.
There's still sort of a snobbery I think about self publishing, which is ridiculous. That said, when you look of some of the crap that's self published (I saw a woman on amazon selling an ebook full of point and shoot pics and her itinerary from a trip to Dubai - no lie - for $5 or something) I understand why.
I think that stigma will change over the next few years as finding traditional publishers gets harder and harder. Like you said,agents are overworked and overwhelmed.
It all comes down to that show buis cliche - it's who you know (and lottery style luck like Shane said lol). It seems so arbitrary at times when god awful unoriginal literary blasphemy like Shades of Grey becomes a best seller - and truly talented authors struggle to make rent.
I didn't know you at all until I saw this blog post - but I (selfishly? lol) want you to succeed so everyone can witness your rise to the bestseller's list and know that talent + hard work and dedication still = success!
Oddly enough, just today my friend Carol Kean messaged me about how perfect the username "blunderbabe" would have been for her, but it was already taken! LOL So I had a slight heads up that you exist. I didn't know you're a fellow writer, though, so that makes it all the better.
I have a drive in me, too, to succeed for the same reasons you just mentioned. I didn't make it through Shades of Grey, either. I have a long blacklist of "bestsellers" that just confound me, because they're so poorly written they seem more like first drafts than published novels.
At the same time, I lose my mind over some of the self-published crap that's out there, too. I think that may be why I don't bow up in offense at the stigma against self-published writers. Uncomfortable as it is, for a large part, it the bias has merit. I think the best folks like us can hope for is to either win the agent/publisher lottery, or keep working at it until our efforts tip the scales. At least it's something we can have hella fun doing until we get that break. :-)
Haha that's soooo funny and random. That was before I commented on here?
yes, I've left a blunderbabe trail over the years, though I didn't really mean to lol. I didn't realize back then that the internet is forever. I was so PISSED when I saw a book called "Blunderbabe" published a few years ago. But, life goes on lol.
I believe the stigma of self publishing will change due to high quality content pushing the crap down, down, down where it belongs. And perhaps - a handful - or even one brave established author - will leave behind his/her big box publisher for more freedom in self publishing - and the self pub revolution will begin :-)
Yes, completely random. And it was before you commented here. LOL!
You've voiced what is my exact hope for self-publishing. The system is a lot like the system here at Steemit, and we're already seeing a trend toward higher quality getting rewarded here. Still a lot of "Fifty Shades" type of quality on the trending lists, but give it time. I think it'll all get sorted, just like the publishing market.