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Letter from the President |
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The television newscaster looked seriously into the camera and said: “There were three DNA samples. One was human, one was inconclusive, and the third was DNA from a ‘possum.” He turned the page and proceeded to the next news story with a straight face.
I laughed my butt off. Either I was supposed to think that some giant humanoid called “Bigfoot” had interbred with a ‘possum, or I was supposed to gather that something in the story was a bit beyond the truth. Now the perpetrators of the Bigfoot hoax are in trouble and I am sitting in my office wondering why no one else seemed to get the joke. I started thinking about a similar hoax from many years ago. Long before society had television, radio, conglomerate newspapers and the like, an enterprising author wrote an account of a world traveler who had some rather strange adventures. The entire reading populace of England took the story as unmitigated truth. It caused quite a stir. The enterprising author was Jonathan Swift and his story was called Gulliver’s Travels.
I love fiction. I especially love humorous fiction. I enjoy making up a story and presenting it as truth—writing in such a manner that everything in the story is believable, paying attention to details, providing obscure clues to the reality of the story, and finding the humor in the fact that the story is a total fabrication. I always take it as an extreme compliment, when, after presenting a story, someone asks, “Did that really happen?”
Writing good fiction is not always easy. The author must take care to see that a mental picture is painted for the reader. This doesn’t mean going on and on with descriptive phrases as much as placing small ‘clues’ to what is going on in the story. For instance, “She had a blonde ponytail and wore a red shirt” is better presented as, “She laughed and turned, causing her blonde ponytail to swing to her other shoulder, resting on her red shirt.” Dialogue should be believable and succinct. Any work of fiction, serious or humorous, should contain one or more “punch lines.” These punch lines may be seen as points at which the story pauses for humorous purposes or for thought and or pondering in more serious works. These punch line pauses keep the story interesting. Keeping it interesting is what writing is all about.
I have been doing quite a bit of research in the field of self publishing in preparation for printing my upcoming book Requiem for a Redneck.© Since I started this research several members have asked me to share this information with them. The program at the RAW meeting in August was centered on motivations for writing. In order to get a focus on self publishing, the author must study his/her motivations for publishing. Is the motivation to sell books? Do you just want a book to give to family members and friends? What are your reasons for publishing? Keep these motivations in mind as you proceed. The prospective self publisher must also remember that there are a lot of “Bigfoots” out there.
I have found a number of websites and articles that are helpful in the development of a self publishing concept. I will end the letter with some of them.
One of my favorite self publishing sites was put up just a few months ago by Steve Barancik. I have watched the development of his site with interest. Steve believes in selling through giving. He provides the reader with lots of free information and subtly offers other services. What I like about this site is that it is a forum for people who have self published and I can read of their experiences in this field. Try the site: http://www.shared-self-publishing.com/
Another of the people on the internet who has given me lots and lots of good information is Ron Pramschufer of booksjustbooks.com and www.SelfPublishing.com. Ron is naturally selling his services, but in the selling of his services he has offered me a valuable collection of information and conceptual developments. I plan to use this company. A very good article is at:
Dan Poynter’s book, The Self Publishing Manual is an excellent resource. $13.95 here: http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Poynters-Self-Publishing-Manual-16th/dp/1568601425/ Dan’s newsletter: To receive Dan’s newsletter, sign up at
Then there is Jerry Simmons, who offers information from a career in publishing.
You may also be interested in an independent Canadian, Jim Monroe I have been reading Jim’s material off and on for a couple of years.
I hope you enjoy browsing the sites. I do. I currently receive periodic newsletters from Steve Barancik, Jerry Simmons, Ron Pramschufer, and Dan Poynter. I find them interesting and informative. I haven’t found any “Bigfoots” or ‘possum DNA in their posts so far.
I will look forward to seeing you on September 11 Don’t forget the critiquing meeting on September 4 John Schulz
I believe in a free and open exchange of information. Please feel free to share this with anyone as it pleases you.
john |
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John Schulz RAW President |
