Thanks for getting this out there. I too had a terrible time trying to 'sell' my work to agents. There's not a lot of slots for old white women who don't write feminism or fill their books with spice, or trendy ideology. I've always been a lover of the classic fantasy stories that talk of heroes and rich character arcs, and wholesome romance where people actually marry. I'm going to restack this!
Fortunately, we now have the tools to publish our work without the need for the old publishing industrial complex. Technology has allowed us to break free! https://substack.com/@kennetheharrell/p-154870897
With the advent of self-publishing and other self-publishers than just Amazon, I've found it's easier to publish using Draft2Digital. They can publish Ebooks, paperbacks and hardbacks. I always publish ebook and paperback. I haven't had too many people ask for hardcover books.
The new gatekeepers are no longer publishers, but marketers, publicists and distributors who love to shadowban and hide your work while pretending to promote it. Since it's a odorless, tasteless and colorless crime, you can never prove anything because sales online are effectively a black box you must choose to trust no matter how rigged the game becomes.
I am so glad that indie publishing has taken off, and that new imprints are gaining traction as publishers because they're publishing good stories in their anthologies and books they get.
This is exactly why I'm glad I decided to go indie. The Trad Pubs definitely would not want to touch anything of mine because I approach it from a Christian worldview, and I don't write to tick boxes. ;p
Thanks for getting this out there. I too had a terrible time trying to 'sell' my work to agents. There's not a lot of slots for old white women who don't write feminism or fill their books with spice, or trendy ideology. I've always been a lover of the classic fantasy stories that talk of heroes and rich character arcs, and wholesome romance where people actually marry. I'm going to restack this!
Fortunately, we now have the tools to publish our work without the need for the old publishing industrial complex. Technology has allowed us to break free! https://substack.com/@kennetheharrell/p-154870897
With the advent of self-publishing and other self-publishers than just Amazon, I've found it's easier to publish using Draft2Digital. They can publish Ebooks, paperbacks and hardbacks. I always publish ebook and paperback. I haven't had too many people ask for hardcover books.
There is a game in Hollywood that plays by very similar rules, if just a little different.
The new gatekeepers are no longer publishers, but marketers, publicists and distributors who love to shadowban and hide your work while pretending to promote it. Since it's a odorless, tasteless and colorless crime, you can never prove anything because sales online are effectively a black box you must choose to trust no matter how rigged the game becomes.
This image brings to mind the statue of St. Jerome.
I am so glad that indie publishing has taken off, and that new imprints are gaining traction as publishers because they're publishing good stories in their anthologies and books they get.
This is exactly why I'm glad I decided to go indie. The Trad Pubs definitely would not want to touch anything of mine because I approach it from a Christian worldview, and I don't write to tick boxes. ;p