I’m still doing stuff, see…
I read somewhere (or maybe I didn’t; reading is for suckers) that the author/promoter divide is a 70/30 ratio. I’d go further, and flip those numbers, giving the promoter hat a 70% weight. If I’ve learned anything with pushing Charactered Pieces these last few months it’s this: writing is a dirty, dirty game.
The dream of churning out books, leaving the advertising and promotion to the publisher, is more a point of Norman Rockwell Nostalgia than a truth. Or at least my experience of it is. Of course, I accept that this may be my own inadequacies speaking, as some authors do get to live the dream. But most do not. Definitely fewer than in years past. Or is that statement also romanticized nostalgia?
Over the past few months, since Charactered Pieces’s November 16th, 2009 release, I’ve been guilt-ridden for my relative unproductively. When compared historically, this last quarter or so has been remarkably and dishearteningly word-free. But a sudden realization, perhaps evoked by a recent email conversation with author, Pablo D’Stair, made me realize just how much I have actually done these past months. So, as a way to comfort myself, here’s a list of my recent writing-related accomplishments.
- Promotion. I’ve considered it a hindrance to writing all this time, but really I must think of it as network-building, as meeting more people who could very well become important components to my writing. Pablo D’Stair, for instance, we would not have met had it not been for my incessant (re: annoying) promotion.
- Tim Hall’s One Damn Thing After Another. I helped bring this fantastic collection to light. Who the hell am I to think of that as time wasted?
- Revised chapters of my novel-in-progress. I’m working through revisions on one of my unfinished novels, with the help of some very talented writer friends. Since January, I’ve edited five chapters. Some of the changes have been substantial and could be considered full rewrites. Meaning: I get to credit that as writing time.
- Outsider Writers Collective. I’ve unexpectedly taken on a stronger role over at www.OutsiderWriters.org, which included updating the website in January. Hopefully, the redesign makes for a better experience. The traffic numbers seem to show that more people are visiting. That, or SPAMbots.
- AWP Blog. In preparation for my April trip to Denver for the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Projects) Conference, I set up a blog (https://calebjross.com/awpblog/) which consists of writer contributors who will document the conference via Twitter, TwitPic, YouTube, and traditional blog posts. Gathering contributors, setting up panelist interviews, and spreading the word have taken quite a bit of time. Not to mention the…
- AWP off-site reading. I organized a reading at Leela’s European Café in Denver for April 9th, which will feature OW Press authors/contributors and members of The Velvet writing community. You’ll get tired of me talking about this, for sure; I am damn excited. And on this topic, another ellipsis…
- New stories for AWP reading. The standard reading usually features an author reading from his/her most recent release. This is fine. Most of the time. But I anticipate drinks and noise being involved, so something short and funny would probably work better (my Holocaust story, “The Camp,” may be funny to some, but it’s probably not a safe bet to count on an audience full of Nazis). So, I have started a couple new pieces. I feel great about them.
- Conversation with Pablo D’Stair. I’ve never met anyone more passionate about literature than this guy. He thrives on conversation about words. He isn’t interested in profiting from his writing, nor is he interested in helping others to profit. He is the consummate literary philosopher. Over the last month or so, we’ve had a great back-and-forth via email about Charactered Pieces (and writing in general), that I understand he intends to print as part of a rebirth of his magazine, Predicate. He pulled a lot out of me that had been simmering for a number of years. More on this to come once it is printed.
So, the lesson: I’m not as lazy and fat as I thought.
Photo credit:
Promotion is hard, but I honestly think you’ve done a helluva job with Charactered Pieces. Between the personalization/pictures included with the first bunch of copies of the book, to the Blog Orgy Tour, to the discussion groups, you’ve enhanced the experience of the book tenfold so that it’s a lot more than just words on a page. There’s a real town hall meeting feel to it, if that makes any sense, sort of the way I remember The Cult in its infancy. As dynamic of a personality as the man has, it’s hard for me to imagine Chuck Palahniuk hawking the majority of his books and finding major success at it without Fight Club being made into a movie at the very beginning of his published career. That’s the Catch-22, of course; for everyone who doesn’t have Oprah, the New York Times, or Hollywood behind them, it’s a hard go at things. Like every other aspect of American life these days, the big-boys dominate everything. But speaking for someone who hates everything that has to do with commercials/advertising, I have enjoyed every aspect of the ride so far with Charactered Pieces, and am also impressed with how much of yourself you’ve dedicated into promoting the overall community feel of writing. If ever literature will be successful in creating an “indie” feel the way small labels have in music, it’s people such as yourself who will be at the forefront of it.
As for your writing talent, that speaks for itself. Just keep on doing what you’re doing and sooner than later people will have to take notice, and when they do, they’ll be damn proud they did.
Thank you! You make a man blush, Mr. Holt. I truly appreciate the kind words.