On Our Own June 06 Newsletter

Hello!

I have to start this newsletter by sending an apology for missing last month's mailing. The end of the school year is always a trying time, as any of you know who have been through it. I did manage to get my second novel editing completed and am now waiting for the go ahead to send in an order. It's an exciting time, and also scary, to see the fulfillment of all that work being prepared to go out into the world. By this point, I have moved past the final crunch, the hesitation, and the second-guessing, and into the building enthusiasm stage and planning the marketing agenda. I would love to hear from any of you in the forum about your own experiences getting through these stages.

Also, I should point out a couple of things. First, no, the group didn't change owners. For those of you who haven't heard from me recently, I changed my handle. I'm still LK Hunsaker but decided to be less formal on the site. Second, this is a revamped newsletter format, which will be hopefully more informative and worth adding to your inbox. Comments are still welcome.

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Self-Publishing Issues

According to Wikipedia, the late 1970's was a boon time for self-publishing, as comic book creators, wishing to keep creative control, began opting to publish on their own, even when offered traditional contracts. At the same time, punk rockers were self-publishing their own music. In both cases, sales were lower than with traditional publishing, but art for art's sake was achieved.

I believe we are fortunate to be part of the boon time for self-publishing by writers of both fiction and non-fiction. The controversy remains as to whether to call those of us opting to go on our own "vanity" authors or to take us as seriously as music historians now take punk rockers. They were the avant-garde musicians of their time. The impact they made was undeniable. We are doing the same. Our individual audiences may be small, but together, we are making up a large percentage of all books being published, telling the "industry" that we don't have to write to their specific markets, that we can write for art's sake and still be worthy of reading. I believe historians will credit us for our efforts.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-publishing

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Member Links

This section will feature articles about publishing as well as items that have been self-published or are in process of self-publication by writing.com members, most often group members. Email me if you have an item to include in next month's newsletter.

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And a randomly-chosen group member blog:

Blog On  (13+) What I'm thinking about today. . . #998498 by a Sunflower in Texas

Also remember we have an in and out for members to post their work for review:

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Wishing you all the best of luck in your publishing ventures!
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