This is my writing blog. If you don't like it, I have others, but right now they're dormant. I want to establish a presence, however small, prior to stepping into the realm of publishing sometime in 2012. Book publishing has seen more change in the past twelve months since the invention of the printing press. This is good and bad for unpublished writers like me.
The good news is that the traditional means of getting published, through an agent and a publishing house, can be circumvented by electronic self-publishers.
The bad news is that there is more competition than ever between authors for the attention of readers. It isn't bad in the most negative sense. After all, quality depends on competition to sort out the best from the mediocre and bad. However, aspiring authors have the challenge of not just writing, but also marketing themselves. From what I understand, even traditionally published authors are well advised to take the initiative and engage in marketing anyway. Publishers' budgets aren't big enough to promote midlist writers' books to the extent that they ought to.
Where am I in all this? I am writing my third novel. The first two are in suspended animation, probably never to be revived. The third, a suspense novel titled Win or Go Home, is undergoing revision and review by a critique group. My goal is to have the book ready for submission in June 2012. The dream of having an agent and a contract with an established publisher is still alive for me, but if I can't find an agent, plan B will be to publish electronically through Smashbooks.
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