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Blogs by Roger C Simmons
Roger's Lament 9/22/2003 2:39:01 PM
Being a self-publieshed writer
I know how to write - at least I think I know how to write. However, between working full-time and trying to create new works of art, I have found that I have absolutely no time left to market my books (ReUnion, a novel regarding an eccentric family's reunioin during the Chirstmas Holidays and Going Fishing, a collection of short stories). For years, I lived alone with my frustrations. But with the advent of the internet, came the opportunity to become self-published, through print-on-demand publishers, such as iuniverse.com who, for a price, will publish a book "on demand."
So I became a published author, so to speak (although to me, it feels like cheating as my books have never been accepted by a mainstream publisher -- it makes me feel like a third class passenger on the Titanic, with Stephen King and Scott Turlow drinking Champagne as they aprty multiple floors above me), with the thousands of other authors who have availaled themselves of this advance in technology to see their dreams realized. Although my novels can be purchased on www.bn.com as well as www.iuniverse.com , in reality my words only live somewhere out there in cyberspace. I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than I have of having a propspective reader stumble across one of my books and then, on a whim, suddenly decide to buy it, even though they have never heard of the author. I do own a web-site (www.rogercsimmons.com) advertising my books. Last time I visited there, I had 48 hits --- over half of them, however, were my own. I also have a guest book no-one has ever signed.
My greatest fan (and perhaps my only fan) is my brother, Steve, who, every time I self-publish one of my books, will buy a half dozen copies and leave them in public libraries and public restrooms in various cities throughout Minnesota. In my imagination, one day, an important publisher or agent will get caught short in one of those cities, walk into a restroom, discover my novel lying there and, instead of using it as toliet paper, read and actually love it. New York Times Bestseller list, here I come. But then the toilet flushes and reality seeps back in.
I guess the wisest thing for me to do would be just to give up on writing. Most writers, unfortunately, do not know how to give up, they just keep plugging away; stubborn to the bitter end. And so ...hey, did I tell you, my next POD book is going to be a collection of poetry and short stories I have written over the years. Coming soon to a local restroom in Minnesota; that is, if anyone is leftl living there after the likes of Jessie Ventura ...oh, don't get me wrong, I like Mr. Ventura.
More Blogs by Roger C Simmons • Miyoko's Will - Wednesday, July 29, 2020 • Reunion - Friday, January 5, 2018 • Reunion - Monday, November 13, 2017 • If a blog falls in a forest - Wednesday, October 13, 2004 • Roger's Lament - Monday, September 22, 2003
