Oh, For The Good Old Days!

Just in case I have any followers, I do apologize to you few for the long absence.

When I arrived back from North Carolina, lots had to be done and I haven't taken the time to report back in. So, here's what's happening...nothing. Well, that's not true. A lot is happening, but it all appears to be happening in s-l-o-w-motion. The book trailer is complete. We're very proud of it and soon I will post it. The manuscript is off to the publisher and now that's a waiting game. It's been six weeks with no word. The book passed their first review and now it is being reviewed by the all important marketing committee... the real folks who decide if a book lives or dies.

Publishing just isn't what it used to be. Gone are the Max Perkins, the infamous editor who held the hands of Hemingway, Faulkner and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to name a few great ones. He'd even personally visit these writers on their home turfs and sit in their living rooms and read their partials. Can you imagine? Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful, to be pursued and sought after by an editor, and then coddled and nurtured by that editor until your 'baby' made its debut. Oh for the good old days.

Today publishing is up for grabs. Big Houses no longer hold the keys to all that sit on the bookshelves. Self-publishing is becoming respectable. E-publishing is on the upswing. Print-on-Demand is making it's mark, and now with an announcement just out by Thomas Nelson, the world's largest Christian publishing house, they have started their own "vanity press" in the form of WestBow Press. You pay them, and they'll publish your book. Used to be a big no-no to do that. Writers have been warned since the Moses scribbled a few notes, not to pay anyone to publish their books. How foolish, it was thought, to prostitute your work in such a manner. If your book was good, a legitimate publisher worth it's ink would pay you for it. Oh, for the good old days.

I don't know when I'll hear from the publisher considering MAN FROM MACEDONIA. But if I don't hear soon, I may be forced to consider the unthinkable--self publishing. In fact, the foundation who started me on this project and has supported me while I've written the book, has now hired a publicist/copy editor, to whip the manuscript into shape if in fact we do have to go the self-publish route. It's not my first choice, but it may be our only choice. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I've just about finished refurbishing my kitchen cabinets, my flower beds have shrivelled from the hard frost, and my next book is simmering on the back burner of my mind.

If you're a writer trying to publish. I'd love to hear your stories and your thoughts on self- publishing. Until then, keep believing in yourself and the gifts you've been entrusted with.
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