Some people here have said my precious words should be collected and published.
One ofhte joys of getting old is that you understand that people have their own motives, and you don’t mind.
The second that it finally got through to them that collecting my stuff was not a ticket to their first publication, the thing was forgotten.
So someone, once again, asked me about how to get published.
This is the real world:
I was able to get published because I had, among other things, organized a march of tens of thousands of working people who had bused themselves into Washington, DC at their own expense.
This is NOT the easy way.
I wish I coud tell you all I am thinking, but your question was how to get published.
My answer will irritate the hell out of you, as it did me once.
You go to some obvious place, like your school newspaper. You write what THEY ask you to write about.
Publication is a PRODUCT, like any other product.
I used to read what I wrote, no matter what it was in, over and over. I LOVED seeing myself in print. I don’t think you can be a writer if you don’t.
So you go and get yourself in any kind of print. And you love it or you can forget it.
Publication is people.
NEVER miss a chance to MEET somebody who has input into what gets published.
That’s where I missed the boat.
The world of publication is a very, very tiny world, mostly in New York City.
You really need to move to New York with an introduction.
Remember that you asked me for ADVICE, not a description of the world as I would like it to be.
I repeat, publication is people. You will have to be on the make, and there is nothing wrong with being onthe make, and to meet people who will publish you.
I published a major work with the third largest publisher on earth.
Ticket to ride?
No way.
A publisher must SELL his books. A magazine edfitor must SELL his magazine.
Publication is a PRODUCT. If you want him to publish your IDEAS, you are asking for a free ride.
He is trying to keep his publication ALIVE, and most of them have a very short life span.
Fit in BUSINESSWISE and the editor will consider you a part of the team.
Writing is market research.
Would you like more of this?
#1 by Peter on 05/03/2006 - 8:23 pm
The purpose of putting together the best of Bob is not to publish you again or that some other mysterious person would get credit for your words in a “first publication,” but that your best would be at the world’s fingertips.
Such as here on this website, for example, which would be a good place to organize the best since everything is already here. In fact, the internet might be more accessible to all anyway. Putting your best together would make sure it will not be forgotten when you get tired of the Blog/Seminar. Other websites could also host your best.
This would take some work, of course, and maybe no one who is willing to help has the time to volunteer.
#2 by LibAnon on 05/03/2006 - 9:08 pm
“If you want him to publish your IDEAS, you are asking for a free ride.”
Ideas don’t pay. Creativity doesn’t pay. Loyalty doesn’t pay. Having a conscience doesn’t pay. Nothing about being white pays. Isn’t that the real reason we’re in trouble?
It occurred to me the other day that the real problem with being white is familiar to anybody who has ever worked in an office with a coffee pot. The coffee pot is nearly always empty. Why? Because there are a lot more people willing to drink the coffee than to make it. Most people walk up to the coffee pot, see that it’s empty, and walk away. They’d rather wait for some sucker to make it for them rather than start a new pot themselves. After all, some sucker eventually always does.
Making new things, like ideas, doesn’t PAY. It’s not economically rational to make new things. The economy is about taking, not making. Those who create do it for free.
#3 by Elizabeth on 05/04/2006 - 1:50 pm
I agree with Peter on this. The internet is definitely more accessible to potential
readers. Those of us who cannot casually buy hard-back books are usually at the
mercy of the behind-the-scenes types who control what books get bought and/or
leased.