This week has been really good, especially compared to some recent weeks. The difference is that I've kind of stopped worrying about everything so much.
I've reviewed the list of goals I made for 2012. Need a refresher? I did.
2012 Goals:
--Get website up and running (and preferably growing)
--Complete a full edit of second novel
--"Run" (waddle/jog) a half marathon
--Record at least one music cd
--Write at least one encouraging note to a different person for every week of this year
--Read through the entire Bible again
--Learn at least one more knitting stitch
--Get back to a comfortable size six pant size
I'm doing well on some of these goals. I've already gotten back to that size six--and as of this morning's weigh in, I've reached that unwritten goal, too! I've registered and begun training for that half marathon! I'm slightly ahead of schedule on my Bible reading plan. I've only just finished editing chapter two of the second novel, but at least I'm doing SOMETHING with that.
Other things, I'm not doing well on...AT ALL...and I was getting discouraged. But I'm learning that there's no reason to worry about it.
For instance, that website I wanted to get started LAST year? It's not anywhere close to being ready. And that's not 100% my fault. I'm dependent on the help of someone else, and that person has had a lot going on. I was worried about it, but not anymore. In fact, I came to the realization this week that I haven't had time for this website, and I'm not just talking about getting it started. If this website were up and running, I currently would not have time to devote to it. If this website were up and running, it would not be as good as it could be because I wouldn't have time to give it proper attention. So, in a weird way, it's a blessing that it hasn't come together yet. I have full confidence that it will, one way or another, come together. I just realize that it's not time for it to happen yet. When it happens, I'll be ready. I think.... At least I'll be more ready than I am now.
I'm not trying to justify procrastination, but there are several goals that I just don't have time for right now. I've pretty much given up on my goal of writing an encouraging note to at least one person every week. I tried, but didn't even make it three weeks into the year. Why? Because it felt forced. Because I was exhausted with everything else I was doing that when I sat down to write the letter, I couldn't come up with any words that didn't sound generic. So you know, it wasn't a horrible idea, and maybe I'll attempt something like that later. But this year, I'm not writing an encouraging note a week. That doesn't mean I'm not writing encouraging notes; when the mood strikes me, I will. It's just not something that I'm making a point to do every week, anymore.
I haven't recorded any music yet. Not sure when I will. I'm dependent on someone else, but I haven't made any real steps towards contacting the people I need to contact. I'm not even sure what I'm waiting for on that...I guess I'm just a coward. Or too busy. Or both. At the same time.
I also haven't learned any other knitting stitches, but I'll save that one for next fall and winter (AKA knitting season). Maybe. Or maybe not. It's just not that crucial. But it could be fun!
Right now, I'm trying to learn how to prioritize. It's a hard lesson. With almost a quarter of the year gone (really? really.), it's time to start buckling down. But yeah, I only have so much time with which to do things. Part of me thinks I just have too many goals, and maybe I do. Maybe I have a good number of goals, but I just need to learn how to work on one thing at a time. It's hard to learn how to swallow a whale. You have to take it one bite at a time. I get overwhelmed and try to do too many things at once.
Life isn't about checking things off a list. Life is about living. The things I want to accomplish in 2012 are good things, but if I don't accomplish all of them, or if I don't accomplish them as quickly as I want to accomplish them, then that is not going to ruin my entire life. What has been making my life more stressful lately isn't the goals themselves, but the way I get myself worked up over them.
Is it important for me to keep a fairly consistent running schedule? Yes, but if I miss one of my long runs for a week b/c of scheduling issues or weather, it's not the end of the world. Is it important for me to edit this novel? Yes, but if I'm exhausted at the end of the day from working and running, then it's not going to kill me if I go to sleep instead of working on it. Is it important for me to get the website started and record a cd? Yes, but I need to give those things over to God instead of getting upset because they aren't totally in my control.
I've got only so much time. We all only have so much time. Work is important. Doing important things is important (is that too much of a "duh statement"?). But honestly, sometimes I just forget to settle down and enjoy life.
This week:
--I want to breathe more and stress less
--I want to make an effort to truly enjoy the people God has put into my life
--I want to edit another chapter of my book
--I want to keep up with my running schedule, which includes another 8 mile stretch. So close to that 13(.1) miles now!
--I want to finish rereading The Hunger Games
--I want to apply for a full time job for the fall (I don't want to say much about it on the blog yet, but please be in prayer as I make steps towards a job change)
--I want to end my strict calorie restriction with a GINORMOUS piece of birthday cake (or some other totally frivolous dessert(s)) before starting my less strict calorie restriction (AKA weight maintenance)
Happy Monday!
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
How to Eat a Whale (AKA This is Jon Acuff's Fault!)
I had decided that I was NOT going to make any goals for this year. 2011 wasn't bad at all, but somewhere near September I got frustrated with myself because I didn't feel like I'd accomplished anything. I hadn't completed any large writing project (the only one I attempted started out weak and just completely fizzled out near the end). I think I only sent out ONE query letter for the whole year, and that was to a literary agent who I already knew would probably not be interested. Last year, I had set goals for sending out a query letter EVERY WEEK. I had goals of possibly landing an agent, of getting lots of writing projects done, of being a published writer.
Instead, I fizzled out like that story I tried to write, and I stopped writing almost altogether. I went to edit some previous work and was so discouraged by the perceived lameness of my work that I abruptly stopped trying. The task before me just seemed too great, so I gave up.
And when New Year's Eve/Day came around, I said to myself, "Self, you're not going to make any goals for this year. That doesn't mean you're not going to try to accomplish things, but why set goals if you're not even going to follow through with them?"
Then, a few days ago, I read Jon Acuff's blog, and well, I was convicted. In the blog, he challenged his readers to write down their goals for 2012 on a piece of paper, take a picture of that piece of paper, and then post it online. My first thought was to reject the idea. I was NOT going to make goals for this year. I wasn't. I wasn't going to do it, and no one was going to make me.
But then I started reading some of the goals for 2012 that other people had posted, and I realized that I really did need to make a tangible list of attainable goals for this year. What I mean by attainable is, "within my power to complete." I can't make a goal of getting published this year; that's not entirely in my control (unless I self-publish, and right now I don't want to go that route). I can't make a goal of finding a literary agent this year; that's not entirely in my control. I can still work towards these things, but I can't set a time limit on it--but more about that later.
Here's my list of attainable goals for 2012:
Who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could,
She said she would,
So she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said,"You're much too small,"
But that didn't bother Melinda at all,
She took little bites and she shewed very slow,
Just like a little girl should...
...and eighty-nine years later she ate that whale
Because she said she would!!!"
If you try to eat the whole whale all at once, it's easy to get discouraged. The best way to eat a whale, and perhaps the only way to eat a whale, is to eat it slowly, one little bite at a time, and at a reasonable pace. It might take a while, but eventually, the whale will be eaten--and I'll bet that last bite will taste really good...
...unless, of course, the whale has been sitting out in the sun for 89 years, but I digress....
Instead, I fizzled out like that story I tried to write, and I stopped writing almost altogether. I went to edit some previous work and was so discouraged by the perceived lameness of my work that I abruptly stopped trying. The task before me just seemed too great, so I gave up.
And when New Year's Eve/Day came around, I said to myself, "Self, you're not going to make any goals for this year. That doesn't mean you're not going to try to accomplish things, but why set goals if you're not even going to follow through with them?"
Then, a few days ago, I read Jon Acuff's blog, and well, I was convicted. In the blog, he challenged his readers to write down their goals for 2012 on a piece of paper, take a picture of that piece of paper, and then post it online. My first thought was to reject the idea. I was NOT going to make goals for this year. I wasn't. I wasn't going to do it, and no one was going to make me.
But then I started reading some of the goals for 2012 that other people had posted, and I realized that I really did need to make a tangible list of attainable goals for this year. What I mean by attainable is, "within my power to complete." I can't make a goal of getting published this year; that's not entirely in my control (unless I self-publish, and right now I don't want to go that route). I can't make a goal of finding a literary agent this year; that's not entirely in my control. I can still work towards these things, but I can't set a time limit on it--but more about that later.
Here's my list of attainable goals for 2012:
That's my list. Of course, since one of my New Year's Resolutions (which are different from goals--usually) was to get more sleep, I'm not really sure how all of these goals are going to work out. But I think that writing them down is the first step to getting them completed, and that first step is pretty important. The first step leads to other steps, but again, getting ahead of myself.
I've recently begun the arduous process of cleaning my room. I'm a hopeless slob. Long have I abandoned any ideas of staying organized. I'm bad at maintenance, so every few months, I have to do a major clean-up of my bedroom. Well, due to Christmas and all of that, my room was a bigger disaster than it usually is, and I found myself returning from my brief Christmas vacation to a pig sty. The floor of my bedroom? Nowhere in sight. In fact, there were places in which my clutter rose more than a foot high. I'm not exaggerating.
I couldn't figure out how I was going to even begin cleaning the mess in my room, but I came up with an idea. I realized I was going to have to do one thing at a time. So I wrote down a list of the things I would clean on different days. First, I'd pick up my clothes; second, I'd pick up the trash; third, I'd organize the closet; fourth, I'd organize my dresser, etc.
Writing this plan down actually helped me move past the overwhelming feeling that I'd NEVER accomplish the task of cleaning my room. And I think that writing down my goals are going to help me do the same thing. Making a list is only the beginning....
I've discovered I do really well if I have a chart to fill out. If I have a spreadsheet where I can write down how much I've exercised or how many calories I've eaten, I manage to lose weight. If I have a spreadsheet where I can write down the Scripture passages I've read, I do a good job of keeping up with my Bible reading. I think that if I have a progress chart for my editing projects, my half-marathon training, etc., then I'll do a better job of completing my goals.
You see, when I have a goal to accomplish, I sometimes approach it as if I'm trying to eat a whale. Eating a whale seems absolutely impossible. But there's this great poem by Shel Silverstein that explains how one should go about the task of eating a whale:
"Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae,
Who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could,
She said she would,
So she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said,"You're much too small,"
But that didn't bother Melinda at all,
She took little bites and she shewed very slow,
Just like a little girl should...
...and eighty-nine years later she ate that whale
Because she said she would!!!"
If you try to eat the whole whale all at once, it's easy to get discouraged. The best way to eat a whale, and perhaps the only way to eat a whale, is to eat it slowly, one little bite at a time, and at a reasonable pace. It might take a while, but eventually, the whale will be eaten--and I'll bet that last bite will taste really good...
...unless, of course, the whale has been sitting out in the sun for 89 years, but I digress....
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday Update: So It Begins
I have discovered that I can't read and write at the same time. Well, I figure most people can't do that--meaning they can't literally be reading something and be writing something completely different at the same time. Unless, of course, one were a two-headed monster, with two brains--which, in my opinion, that monster would constitute as two people, if, in fact, monsters could be considered people. I'm not going to venture an opinion on that because I don't want to inadvertently insult any monsters, two-headed or otherwise.
Sometimes, I think I'm like the Mad Hatter in the Johnny Depp version of "Alice in Wonderland." In that case, you should read all of my rants as though I suddenly developed a Scottish accent.
Ahem.
Well, when I say that I can't read and write at the same time, I mean something more than just simultaneously writing and reading. I mean that while I'm actively working on a writing project, I find it hard to read other books. If I'm reading a book by someone else, I want to devote all my spare time to that book. If I'm writing or editing a major project of my own, I want to devote all my spare time to that. I can't keep both going at the same time. So for a couple months, I went crazy and checked out about 3 dozen books from the library, and I let my major writing projects simmer on the back burner for a while. I've read my way through all of these books, and I'm finishing up a book I purchased. When I get done with "Quitter" by Jon Acuff, I'm going to stop reading for a while so that I can focus on the writing and editing.
Regular work schedule has started at the drop-in centers. The kids I watch in the afternoons are now in school. Preschool has started. I'm about to start incorporating "writing stuff" into my day to day life, too. I need to work on some goals, but that scares me, because I am really bad about meeting them. But if I were to make some goals, they might look something like this:
1) Make some minor adjustments to first book. Make major adjustments to synopsis for first book. Stop being a pansy and send queries about first book. As soon as possible.
2) Edit second book like crazy. Figure out how you want to think about marketing second book, b/c that's going to affect how you edit it. Produce a decent second draft by, say, the end of the year.
3) Um. Project? Experiment? Idea? Yeah. You're on your own here, because I don't have a clue what to do with this project idea you have.
Here's the deal. I'm not much of a goal-setter. I never have been. I like to be prepared, especially when I don't know how to handle a particular situation, but even then, I don't know how to organize my life and my plans into tangible goals. So it's strange that I've actually had a couple bursts of project planning this week. It's also strange that I've taken everything I've planned and pretty much figuratively thrown it out the figurative window.
If you've read any of my posts over the past week (with the exception of a rather silly post about me eating a can of soup), then you have probably read something about a project idea I've been thinking about for a couple years now. I think it's time to act on this idea and try to make something out of it, but I also believe I need to pray a little more about it before doing anything. I ask that you would continue to pray for wisdom as I pray/work through this.
I do think that if I proceed with this project, I'm going to have a couple of "preview blogs" for it on "Poor Reflections" before embarking on a new blog. I do have a name for the project--and really, I need to stop calling it a project. It's more of an experiment right now. I'm going to call it "Singled In." I'm not sure, at this point, what my blog posts for "Singled In" will look like, but I expect a lot of them are going to be short. In fact, I don't think many of them are going to include my thoughts (at least not in great detail). Rather, I want to ask a lot of questions, some of them pointed, some of them more general, so that I and other readers can see what other people think, what other people have to say. That's not to say that I will never post a blog about something that's on my heart or mind, but I really want this experimental blog to be a community effort. That's why it's just not going to work unless I am able to gain some sort of a following. And that's scary, because it's really not in my hands.
So please be in prayer. Please "get on board." Please tell other people about this. Please feel free to go ahead and give me suggestions, advice, comments, concerns, snide remarks, etc. I am still not sure what the Lord is leading me to do with this, and I'm asking Him to help me trust Him more, rather than to simply ask for His direction. I do ask for direction, too. I mean, if God isn't leading this, then there's no point in even going forward. It's just that, in my experience, God doesn't like to give me a cheat sheet. I can't know the answers before I take the test. Sometimes, I just have to do something and trust that He's leading me. Sometimes that means I'm going to fail, and maybe even failure is a good thing if I learn from it.
And this isn't about me anyway. If I do continue with this plan, one of my first blogs will probably be an explanation of what "Singled In" is (or some of the things it could potentially be, since I really don't know how much control I will have over the experiment) and why I've envisioned the "Singled In" experiment. It's not about me. It's not about single people. It's not about married people. It's about glorifying God by creating unity, by breaking down barriers, by figuring out together how we can lift one another up, by figuring out together how we can honor God by honoring and learning from one another.
So, as I finish up this reading, I have a lot of expectations for my writing projects. I'm just not sure what shape all those expectations are going to take. I'm not much of a goal-setter, and maybe that's a bad thing in a lot of situations--all I know is that I have trouble being something I'm not. If I'm not a goal-setter, I'm just not a goal-setter. In this particular instance, as I attempt to plan and pray for an experiment that, quite frankly, scares me a little bit, maybe it's a good thing that I'm not a goal-setter. I have a feeling that this experiment/project/etc. is going to be something like me--it's not going to be something it's not. It's just going to be what it is. And I don't have a clue what that something is or will be, yet. I have a feeling that it's gonna be something good, but I'm going to need help.
Pray.
Sometimes, I think I'm like the Mad Hatter in the Johnny Depp version of "Alice in Wonderland." In that case, you should read all of my rants as though I suddenly developed a Scottish accent.
Ahem.
Well, when I say that I can't read and write at the same time, I mean something more than just simultaneously writing and reading. I mean that while I'm actively working on a writing project, I find it hard to read other books. If I'm reading a book by someone else, I want to devote all my spare time to that book. If I'm writing or editing a major project of my own, I want to devote all my spare time to that. I can't keep both going at the same time. So for a couple months, I went crazy and checked out about 3 dozen books from the library, and I let my major writing projects simmer on the back burner for a while. I've read my way through all of these books, and I'm finishing up a book I purchased. When I get done with "Quitter" by Jon Acuff, I'm going to stop reading for a while so that I can focus on the writing and editing.
Regular work schedule has started at the drop-in centers. The kids I watch in the afternoons are now in school. Preschool has started. I'm about to start incorporating "writing stuff" into my day to day life, too. I need to work on some goals, but that scares me, because I am really bad about meeting them. But if I were to make some goals, they might look something like this:
1) Make some minor adjustments to first book. Make major adjustments to synopsis for first book. Stop being a pansy and send queries about first book. As soon as possible.
2) Edit second book like crazy. Figure out how you want to think about marketing second book, b/c that's going to affect how you edit it. Produce a decent second draft by, say, the end of the year.
3) Um. Project? Experiment? Idea? Yeah. You're on your own here, because I don't have a clue what to do with this project idea you have.
Here's the deal. I'm not much of a goal-setter. I never have been. I like to be prepared, especially when I don't know how to handle a particular situation, but even then, I don't know how to organize my life and my plans into tangible goals. So it's strange that I've actually had a couple bursts of project planning this week. It's also strange that I've taken everything I've planned and pretty much figuratively thrown it out the figurative window.
If you've read any of my posts over the past week (with the exception of a rather silly post about me eating a can of soup), then you have probably read something about a project idea I've been thinking about for a couple years now. I think it's time to act on this idea and try to make something out of it, but I also believe I need to pray a little more about it before doing anything. I ask that you would continue to pray for wisdom as I pray/work through this.
I do think that if I proceed with this project, I'm going to have a couple of "preview blogs" for it on "Poor Reflections" before embarking on a new blog. I do have a name for the project--and really, I need to stop calling it a project. It's more of an experiment right now. I'm going to call it "Singled In." I'm not sure, at this point, what my blog posts for "Singled In" will look like, but I expect a lot of them are going to be short. In fact, I don't think many of them are going to include my thoughts (at least not in great detail). Rather, I want to ask a lot of questions, some of them pointed, some of them more general, so that I and other readers can see what other people think, what other people have to say. That's not to say that I will never post a blog about something that's on my heart or mind, but I really want this experimental blog to be a community effort. That's why it's just not going to work unless I am able to gain some sort of a following. And that's scary, because it's really not in my hands.
So please be in prayer. Please "get on board." Please tell other people about this. Please feel free to go ahead and give me suggestions, advice, comments, concerns, snide remarks, etc. I am still not sure what the Lord is leading me to do with this, and I'm asking Him to help me trust Him more, rather than to simply ask for His direction. I do ask for direction, too. I mean, if God isn't leading this, then there's no point in even going forward. It's just that, in my experience, God doesn't like to give me a cheat sheet. I can't know the answers before I take the test. Sometimes, I just have to do something and trust that He's leading me. Sometimes that means I'm going to fail, and maybe even failure is a good thing if I learn from it.
And this isn't about me anyway. If I do continue with this plan, one of my first blogs will probably be an explanation of what "Singled In" is (or some of the things it could potentially be, since I really don't know how much control I will have over the experiment) and why I've envisioned the "Singled In" experiment. It's not about me. It's not about single people. It's not about married people. It's about glorifying God by creating unity, by breaking down barriers, by figuring out together how we can lift one another up, by figuring out together how we can honor God by honoring and learning from one another.
So, as I finish up this reading, I have a lot of expectations for my writing projects. I'm just not sure what shape all those expectations are going to take. I'm not much of a goal-setter, and maybe that's a bad thing in a lot of situations--all I know is that I have trouble being something I'm not. If I'm not a goal-setter, I'm just not a goal-setter. In this particular instance, as I attempt to plan and pray for an experiment that, quite frankly, scares me a little bit, maybe it's a good thing that I'm not a goal-setter. I have a feeling that this experiment/project/etc. is going to be something like me--it's not going to be something it's not. It's just going to be what it is. And I don't have a clue what that something is or will be, yet. I have a feeling that it's gonna be something good, but I'm going to need help.
Pray.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thoughts on Traditional VS. Self-Publishing
In the past few weeks, I've had some loving and well-meaning friends and family show me this article (or a similiar article) about a 26-yr-old named Amanda Hocking who has done extremely well self-publishing her books for Kindle. The article can be found by clicking here.
While I am happy for Amanda Hocking and her amazing success, I'm reluctant to just jump on the self-publishing bandwagon. As a person who has attended Southern Baptist churches all her life (and gone to three private Southern Baptist learning institutions), maybe one would think that I've just got a very Baptist mentality about everything, including publishing. "We've never done it THAT way before...." Only I have never really considered myself Baptist (I consider myself Christian and leave it at that--if you want to know more of what I believe, ask questions--don't rely on labels that often have very little truth). I try to keep an open mind to new things, and one would have to be pretty blind not to realize that the world is changing at a lightning fast pace.
There have been rumors and articles and such about the possibility of traditional publishing disappearing as self-publishing starts to become more popular. If one were to take the success of Amanda Hocking as the new norm, then the eventual closure of all traditional publishing houses would be a logical conclusion to make. However, Amanda Hocking's success is very much the exception and not the norm. This is why I grit my teeth and bite my tongue when well-meaning friends/family try to suggest self-publishing as an option for me. I KNOW they don't mean it in this way, but seriously. Every time someone suggests I try self-publishing, what that says to me is that they don't believe I can make it traditionally. They're saying to me that they think I'll have to self-publish because no one else will want me. While I know that's not really what they're saying, I wish people would think about how they might come across.
Personally, I'm just not going to feel like a published author if I don't see my book IN PRINT and ON SHELVES. I just don't think that having digital versions of my books floating around on Kindles and Nooks is going to feel the same. When reading books, I would much prefer to have the actual book in my hand. There's the feel of the book--the weight of it in my hands, the experience of actually getting to turn the pages. There's the smell of the paper and ink. There's the sound of the pages turning. All of these are experiences I love when reading a book, and scrolling down a screen just wouldn't be the same. According to this recent article, I'm not the only one who prefers actual books over a digital reader. I don't think traditional publishing is dying at all. Self-publishing may or may not be a fad. It may or may not be taking over the publishing world. But I don't think self-publishing is the same thing as traditional publishing. Traditional publishing involves more than just you (it involves people who know what they're doing and who know the publishing business), which, in my opinion, makes it more valid. If you think your writing is good, then it might be...or it might just be you. If an agent and editor think your writing is good, then yeah...it's probably good.
I am NOT trying to say that self-publishing isn't real publishing. What I will say is that there are times when it CAN be fake publishing. Amanda Hocking and others like her have proven that self-publishing can be a legitimate method of getting one's writing out to the world. She's built a strong online presence and has gathered a following. I applaud her for being able to do that. I'm actually a little bit jealous. With that being said, for every Amanda Hocking out there, there are probably about a gazillion John/Jane Does who think they can call themselves an "author" because they've self-published pages full of crappy drivel. I'm sure there are several good self-published writers out there who have put in a lot of time and effort editing and polishing their work before publishing it. I'm also sure there are several bad self-published writers who have not.
I don't have a problem with self-publishing in general. I have a problem with how easy it's become. Amanda Hocking tried traditional publishing before she attempted self-publishing. She put in the effort. It's not like she just decided "I'm going to write a book and self-publish it." She sent queries and got rejected before she went the self-publishing route--and now she's a millionaire. I have a lot of respect for her because she didn't just do things the easy way.
Now, let me also say that there's nothing wrong with self-publishing if you are just wanting to get a book out there for fun or whatever. Just please don't call yourself a "published author" in my presence unless you have some successful sale numbers to back up your claims. If you want to get something you wrote out there and have no goals of making any money or sales, then whatever. It really depends on what you want to accomplish through publishing.
I happen to have a dream of becoming a fairly successful author (and these days, a successful author can mean many different things). I don't just want to self-publish and have it done with. I want to see my name IN PRINT, my books IN PRINT, my books ON SHELVES. That's what I want. I also want an agent to represent me (because I have lousy business sense). The Amanda Hockings of the world apparently don't need agents to make a fortune and a name for themselves. I think that I do.
So I'm going to continue to try the traditional route. If the current book I'm trying to sell doesn't fly (it's my first book--first books are often dreadful), then I will look into small-time publishing NOT self-publishing. And then I'll try to seek representation for another book. Even if I go small-time on my first book (and the series that goes with it), I'm not giving up on my dream of being a successful published author.
With that being said, I have a lot of work ahead of me.
While I am happy for Amanda Hocking and her amazing success, I'm reluctant to just jump on the self-publishing bandwagon. As a person who has attended Southern Baptist churches all her life (and gone to three private Southern Baptist learning institutions), maybe one would think that I've just got a very Baptist mentality about everything, including publishing. "We've never done it THAT way before...." Only I have never really considered myself Baptist (I consider myself Christian and leave it at that--if you want to know more of what I believe, ask questions--don't rely on labels that often have very little truth). I try to keep an open mind to new things, and one would have to be pretty blind not to realize that the world is changing at a lightning fast pace.
There have been rumors and articles and such about the possibility of traditional publishing disappearing as self-publishing starts to become more popular. If one were to take the success of Amanda Hocking as the new norm, then the eventual closure of all traditional publishing houses would be a logical conclusion to make. However, Amanda Hocking's success is very much the exception and not the norm. This is why I grit my teeth and bite my tongue when well-meaning friends/family try to suggest self-publishing as an option for me. I KNOW they don't mean it in this way, but seriously. Every time someone suggests I try self-publishing, what that says to me is that they don't believe I can make it traditionally. They're saying to me that they think I'll have to self-publish because no one else will want me. While I know that's not really what they're saying, I wish people would think about how they might come across.
Personally, I'm just not going to feel like a published author if I don't see my book IN PRINT and ON SHELVES. I just don't think that having digital versions of my books floating around on Kindles and Nooks is going to feel the same. When reading books, I would much prefer to have the actual book in my hand. There's the feel of the book--the weight of it in my hands, the experience of actually getting to turn the pages. There's the smell of the paper and ink. There's the sound of the pages turning. All of these are experiences I love when reading a book, and scrolling down a screen just wouldn't be the same. According to this recent article, I'm not the only one who prefers actual books over a digital reader. I don't think traditional publishing is dying at all. Self-publishing may or may not be a fad. It may or may not be taking over the publishing world. But I don't think self-publishing is the same thing as traditional publishing. Traditional publishing involves more than just you (it involves people who know what they're doing and who know the publishing business), which, in my opinion, makes it more valid. If you think your writing is good, then it might be...or it might just be you. If an agent and editor think your writing is good, then yeah...it's probably good.
I am NOT trying to say that self-publishing isn't real publishing. What I will say is that there are times when it CAN be fake publishing. Amanda Hocking and others like her have proven that self-publishing can be a legitimate method of getting one's writing out to the world. She's built a strong online presence and has gathered a following. I applaud her for being able to do that. I'm actually a little bit jealous. With that being said, for every Amanda Hocking out there, there are probably about a gazillion John/Jane Does who think they can call themselves an "author" because they've self-published pages full of crappy drivel. I'm sure there are several good self-published writers out there who have put in a lot of time and effort editing and polishing their work before publishing it. I'm also sure there are several bad self-published writers who have not.
I don't have a problem with self-publishing in general. I have a problem with how easy it's become. Amanda Hocking tried traditional publishing before she attempted self-publishing. She put in the effort. It's not like she just decided "I'm going to write a book and self-publish it." She sent queries and got rejected before she went the self-publishing route--and now she's a millionaire. I have a lot of respect for her because she didn't just do things the easy way.
Now, let me also say that there's nothing wrong with self-publishing if you are just wanting to get a book out there for fun or whatever. Just please don't call yourself a "published author" in my presence unless you have some successful sale numbers to back up your claims. If you want to get something you wrote out there and have no goals of making any money or sales, then whatever. It really depends on what you want to accomplish through publishing.
I happen to have a dream of becoming a fairly successful author (and these days, a successful author can mean many different things). I don't just want to self-publish and have it done with. I want to see my name IN PRINT, my books IN PRINT, my books ON SHELVES. That's what I want. I also want an agent to represent me (because I have lousy business sense). The Amanda Hockings of the world apparently don't need agents to make a fortune and a name for themselves. I think that I do.
So I'm going to continue to try the traditional route. If the current book I'm trying to sell doesn't fly (it's my first book--first books are often dreadful), then I will look into small-time publishing NOT self-publishing. And then I'll try to seek representation for another book. Even if I go small-time on my first book (and the series that goes with it), I'm not giving up on my dream of being a successful published author.
With that being said, I have a lot of work ahead of me.
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