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Only one day back from Washington DC and already I miss it. The city was wonderful, of course, but what really impressed me was how nice the citizens were. Everyone from CVS counter workers to street repair people went out of their way to smile and offer a hello. And I definitely don't project a aura of respectability, so these people couldn't have feared I was in a position to fire them. One of the high points for me was definitely the Thursday night reading at The Velvet Lounge. So many friends, old and new, came out to read. The gathering and venue was small and intimate in the best way. Brandon Tietz, Nik Korpon, Michael Sonbert, Caleb J Ross (me), Jillian Weise, and Jesus Angel Garcia showed up, each with entourages and accumulated curiosities in tow, ready to make this event a memorable one. And that they did. Click…

Between February 2nd and 5th I will be attending the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference in Washington DC. During this time I'll be temporarily relocated. Check often at the following places, where I (and a team of writers) will be reporting on the happenings at the conference all week. Be sure to subscribe to the blog, YouTube channel, and Podcast feed, and follow the Twitter stream. My AWP Blog (www.calebjross.com/awpblog) Expect summaries of panels and daily roundups of general goings-on AWPtweets (http://twitter.com/awptweets) As the majesty of Twitter has allowed and encouraged, expect disposable minutia here AWP Channel (www.youtube.com/awpchannel) While I would love to upload videos of every reading and panel discussion I attend, I assume AWP would have some copyright issues with that. So, expect instead videos of selected readings and perhaps a few quick interviews from the book fair floor. We'll see. The Velvet Podcast (www.thevelvetpodcast.com)…

Can you talk about a single book for one hour every week? Ministers/Priests/Pastors/Reverends/Etc. do. Why shouldn’t more books get the attention that religion texts do? Okay, most books don’t have a centuries-long history, a following (even a lukewarm one), or a cultivated lifestyle (excluding the Twilights and Harry Potters). What most books do have in common with religion texts is an industry infrastructure built to support their messages and the text itself; compelling narrative for the ultimate goal of better understand the human condition. But week after week after week…how? Religious clergy have the amazing ability to use a single book as a point of reflection for EVERYTHING, from  contemporary world events to domestic irritants. Natural disaster? War? Impoverished country? Acne? Grab a Bible, right? Why not grab The Confederacy of Dunces or House of Leaves? Each has interesting characters. Each depends on the reader’s own moral scope for impact.…

Honestly, when in the company of commercial press authors, defending my place as independent press author can be difficult. To those who have “made it” into the commercial presses, I would assume my defense comes across not nearly as articulately and convincingly as I would hope. Afterall, the examples of small press authors immigrating into the world of commercial presses far outweighs the number of commercial authors willing to emigrate to the small press world. The commercial press gatekeeper is much more discriminating than the indies; I understanding the disbelief. I too would go commercial if given the right opportunity. But things are getting easier. Not only are small press books showing face on historically commercial press-dominated shortlists (the recently announced 2010 National Book Critics Circle award finalists includes quite a few small press titles), but with the help of Jane Friedman the various publishing paths have been defined, and by extension, validated. In the summary of her Writers Digest Conference 2011 talk on publishing options Friedman very clearly explains what she sees as the basic three options for publishing:

  1. Tradition
  2. Independent or niche presses
  3. Self-publishing/DIY publisher
But more, she outlines the viability of each path and goes even further to categorize according to which path that might suit them best. Her bullet-points follow:
Pros, Cons, and Requirements: Traditional publishing:
  • It’s a commercially-driven business
  • Competitive – many people are trying to break in
  • National distribution – your work needs to merit that
  • Slower to market (usually)
  • Not the time to experiment
  • Persistence & patience
  • For non-fiction: you need a platform
Small/independent press:
  • Weaker distribution, smaller print run
  • More personal attention, dedication
  • Usually less money
  • Niche marketing – smaller, specialized market; they’re experts in the field
  • More accepting of “art” (could be nonprofit), more service-minded
DIY:
  • Entrepreneurial spirit
  • Direct connections with readership (for sales)
  • Must be comfortable with technology
  • Must enjoy connecting with people (online and off)
  • Requires energy to market and promote
ALL of the options actually require energy to market and promote. It all boils down to you – your strengths, your work, your readers – to determine what’s best.
Hell, just read the original post.

The beer bottle label is grossly misappropriated real estate. When sold as a six- or twelve-pack, the bottle label is hidden by the outside packaging. And nobody buys a single bottle of beer. So why not use the label for something more than null-advertising? We drink for the morning after stories over greasy breakfast, so why not pull those stories back by a few hours and give them when drinking? The content of the stories could be anything from true life tales of drunken debauchery, to short fictions that somehow involve drinking, to short bios of famous authors (and their drunken exploits), to stories that incorporate the unique canvas (stories about glassblowers or, if drinking a red ale, vampires). For those advertising traditionalists, the label facade could be left intact, reserving a hidden underside for the story. Think the way cigarette cartoons often display coupons. Attention investors: money please!

In the next few years I'm going to be pushing more paper on you than the schoolyard drug dealer's less popular friend, the Zig Zag dealer. My novella, As a Machine and Parts, will be published by Aqueous Books sometime in the future. Yes, I could qualify any of my unpublished books with such a loose time frame. But I mean it. The contract has been signed. The Zig Zags have been distributed. The party probably won't happen until 2012 or later, however. That should give you plenty of time to read my other two forthcoming books, vomit a few times, and forget them long enough to make that mistake a third time.

VOTING HAS ENDED. You get to choose the cover of my forthcoming novel! Go to the Otherworld Publications voting page and vote for your favorite Stranger Will cover. Seriously, the winner is the winner. No Florida re-counts here (dated reference, I know). I do like one more than the others. But which one, I won't say. The novel is set to be released on March 18th, 2010. Voting ends on November 30th. That means if I don't get the cover I want, I have 3 1/2 months to cry about it. Click here to vote. Click on cover images below to see full size image. 1-Vertical Bench, white 2 - Birds on Wires, red [Picture Deleted]    [Picture Deleted]    3 - Snowy Bench, shadow title 4 - Snowy Bench, floating title [Picture Deleted]    [Picture Deleted]    5 - Mirror Trees, sideways title 6 - Mirror Trees, wraparound title…

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