tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post116588566353753050..comments2023-07-03T07:26:04.780-04:00Comments on The Rejecter: E-Books and PODsThe Rejecterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09087643296072075641noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-49901455607748593662009-02-25T01:41:00.000-05:002009-02-25T01:41:00.000-05:00Meika I noticed that you seem to have forgotten th...Meika I noticed that you seem to have forgotten that it was YOU who posted a link to a pdf which is, ostensibly, some kind of new age allegory for the faulty publishing industry and your method of fixing it. It should not come as a surprise that when it is as rough as it is, you will generate some ill-will from the more literary people who read it. I don't claim to be very literary but the following makes sense to me, simply based on what I learned in high-school English classes.<BR/><BR/>I will not go on to attack whatever content is there (Sean Lindsay has already done that, viciously). Objectively if you expect people to read your work, you must write in a manner that shows respect for your audience. More specifically, no one will take you seriously as a writer if you can't achieve a certain level of literacy. If I picked up a book with that many typos, misused words, vagueness, punctuation, and capitalization inconsistencies in it, I would assume one of two things:<BR/><BR/>1 the author is either an engineer, mathematician or a mediocre translator and the book is probably a technical manual for a piece of industrial machinery. In this case I could excuse the problems, because those types of authors are often admittedly inept and write only because they have to<BR/><BR/>or,<BR/><BR/>2 that the author is trying to create a false sense of "avant-guarde" on a bit of personal agenda that is most likely the child of their disestablishmentarianism and rejection by someone who doesn't have time to deal with fad or style when objectivity is called for.<BR/><BR/>Even the most "edgy" and bohemian college student I know would misinterpret your allegory from what you stated it was, because the subject isn't always clear. Are you talking about the coldness of an industry, or an internal struggle to find your talent? If you have to specify beforehand what your allegory is about, it's poorly done, or .<BR/><BR/>That being said, I don't understand why you continue to write large comments in this forum.<BR/><BR/>Shouldn't you be working on either improving that bit of material, or else saying what you have to say in an objective, business-like manner. The kind of manner that entrepreneurs who have the inclination to make a living by distributing reading material would appreciate. If you did that, they may consider working with you.<BR/><BR/>Lesson one: know your audience. You are writing for THEM, aren't you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-69873967397746943162008-04-17T10:26:00.000-04:002008-04-17T10:26:00.000-04:00I wrote very interesting article you can read them...I wrote very interesting article you can read them here:<BR/><A HREF="http://articletoread.spaces.live.com/" REL="nofollow">My space</A><BR/><A HREF="http://articletoread.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">My blog</A><BR/><A HREF="http://www.xanga.com/articletoread" REL="nofollow">My site</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-13238699230394806512007-04-27T20:52:00.000-04:002007-04-27T20:52:00.000-04:00So, meika, you're saying that we as readers are to...So, meika, you're saying that we as readers are too ignorant to understand your work on its own merits? I must say, that's perhaps not the way -I- would go about building an audience.<BR/><BR/>Closer to the original topic, I'd like to add that e-publishing as PDFs or other formats became very important to me when I moved overseas. In my current location, not only has my choice of book become limited, the price of those available has, on average, doubled. Electronic editions are therefore valuable to me, as they are generally cheap and available from a wider selection than otherwise available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-7950934690132678392007-03-20T19:04:00.000-04:002007-03-20T19:04:00.000-04:00I really suggest possible readers look at Marie-La...I really suggest possible readers look at <A HREF="http://lamar.colostate.edu/~pwryan/" REL="nofollow">Marie-Laure Ryan</A>'s paper entitled <A HREF="http://www.dichtung-digital.com/2005/1/Ryan/" REL="nofollow">Narrative and the Split Condition of Digital Textuality</A>, and even though it focusses on computer games its first sections are quite enlightening and frame <B>.before Country</B> really well. I find on reading it, that I am an Antarctic explorer returning to the temperate zones.meikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890962242664851062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1167975666572669962007-01-05T00:41:00.000-05:002007-01-05T00:41:00.000-05:00There is now a .before Country FAQ in response to ...There is now a <B>.before Country</B> <A HREF="http://meika.loofs-samorzewski.com/FAQbeforeCountry.html" REL="nofollow">FAQ</A> in response to some comments here and on other blogs.<BR/><BR/>Issendai deleted my posts linked in the above comment of mine, too web 2.0 for Issendia maybe? Anyway I'll be putting together a writer's statement as a result of that dialogue despite the deletion.<BR/><BR/>The writer's statement will be much like an <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist%27s_Statement" REL="nofollow">artist's statement</A> used in commission application, less like a gallery or exhibition statment and so a bit more general.meikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890962242664851062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166653797574003482006-12-20T17:29:00.000-05:002006-12-20T17:29:00.000-05:00Okay, my latest and last comments are hereAnd now ...Okay, my latest and last comments are <A HREF="http://issendai.livejournal.com/398166.html?view=2452566#t2452566" REL="nofollow">here</A><BR/><BR/>And now it is Christmas.meikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890962242664851062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166486181999026722006-12-18T18:56:00.000-05:002006-12-18T18:56:00.000-05:00I thought you touched on an almost valid argument ...<I>I thought you touched on an almost valid argument though (for a respectable use of self-publishing), when you described the authors whose work fell off the midlist and out of print. No doubt some are great writers with loads of talent. They're bumming hard, feeling paralyzed and betrayed, and it IS tragic. But I don't think the cure is to sell a few hundred more copies, tops, via POD, do you? I'd think the best cure of all would be to write a better, more desirable book.</I> <BR/><BR/>Speaking as a reader, I was delighted to find some of Piers Anthony's books that had fallen out-of-print available as POD. These were books I read as a child and wanted to find again. In this instance, POD worked for both author and reader and I'm sure that even while selling a few copies of his OOP works, the author is still busy writing new books. In that case, it seems like a win-win but I'm also not an expert in this arena.Crystalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16348858964425109813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166475649453126822006-12-18T16:00:00.000-05:002006-12-18T16:00:00.000-05:00Even though this post ended in rejected entries (c...Even though this post ended in rejected entries (could tell that was coming from a mile away), this was a great read. <BR/><BR/>In starting an Indie Press, I learned that perhaps offering eBooks can be good, though it might serve better to accept only certain genres that have selling potential that's different from print selling potential...Nick Belardeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445719353246891145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166414567913083592006-12-17T23:02:00.000-05:002006-12-17T23:02:00.000-05:00Now it's getting mean. Further posts will be delet...Now it's getting mean. Further posts will be deleted.The Rejecterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09087643296072075641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166414241829321832006-12-17T22:57:00.000-05:002006-12-17T22:57:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166399317051900772006-12-17T18:55:00.000-05:002006-12-17T18:55:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.meikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890962242664851062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166398084330666012006-12-17T18:34:00.000-05:002006-12-17T18:34:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.meikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890962242664851062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166359473517571262006-12-17T07:44:00.000-05:002006-12-17T07:44:00.000-05:00I just tried the link, and IT'S GONE! Maybe he fi...I just tried the link, and IT'S GONE! Maybe he finally heard your advice, rejecter!?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166233521304025902006-12-15T20:45:00.000-05:002006-12-15T20:45:00.000-05:00One wonders why Robert Townsend is considered a vi...One wonders why Robert Townsend is considered a visionary for funding "Hollywood Shuffle," maxing out a series of credit cards; Ani DiFranco is considered a genius for making her own albums and not signing with a major; but people who publish their own books are merely schmucks. In Meika's case, he probably is a schmuck. His book doesn't seem to work on a whole variety of levels. But should the midlist author whose book goes out of print bring it back through a firm like Author House, is he then a schmuck, too? It was published once by a so-called "real" publisher. Should the author who is told over and over that their book isn't right for the market simply agree with those rejecters and not pursue some other avenue of publication? Afterall, agents and editors are looking for what they think might sell, not necessarily what might be great literature or art. <BR/><BR/>How many units has NBA winner Richard Powers moved of his latest tome? I heard that just before the award, bookscan had him at 4,000. The marketeers would not call that a success, not even a modest one. I suspect if Richard Powers were starting out right now, he'd have a tough time of it. Are his works then not worth seeing the light of day and publication?<BR/><BR/>Rejecter, I appreciate the time you take to offer your view of the world from an agency. But I always keep in mind that you are always keeping in mind the "market," that abstract concept of what has historically sold once but may not sell twice. The irony is, that none of us know what will sell. It's all guesses. Why any of us cede power to the marketeers is beyond me. They're usually not the bright ones at school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166218994258229442006-12-15T16:43:00.000-05:002006-12-15T16:43:00.000-05:00I know a lot has been said already, but I can't re...I know a lot has been said already, but I can't resist.<BR/><BR/>Meika, I am a smart girl, with a degree in English, who has read widely in poetry and prose. <BR/><BR/>More than half the time, in both your comments and your work, I have no idea what you are talking about.<BR/><BR/>Whatever your forum, if you fail to communicate with your readers, your work has failed. (IMHO)<BR/><BR/>No doubt you will disagree. Perhaps if just one person 'gets' you, you will be happy. If so, good luck to you. But don't bother trying to explain yourself to those of us who don't. It just makes you look like more of a w***ker.<BR/><BR/>Cheers, Imelda<BR/><BR/>PS: BTW, I am sure that, in the long run, e-publishing will be an established part of the new world order. But whether you like it or not, the only thing that will make that happen is lots of people buying e-pubbed books. That will only happen when THEY LIKE THEM. I doubt the day will ever come when LOTS of people like collections of prose poems and stories - even when they are good. So you and your work are not the beginning of a brave new world. Get over it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166206812791492952006-12-15T13:20:00.000-05:002006-12-15T13:20:00.000-05:00Reducing the web to a public arena which one only ...<I>Reducing the web to a public arena which one only enters when the work conforms perfectly to the accepted wisdoms of yesterday just isn't me. That's stultifying. I am not going to market that. I'll let the undead old-tech companies do that as they fade away slowly into obscurity.</I><BR/><BR/>Hahahahahahaha!<BR/><BR/>Oh dear, oh dear. That's not writing. That's preciousness. That's, "I am an ARTEEST! I am sooo much better and more pure and spiritual than any of you boorish philistines who actually INSIST on EDITED and POLISHED writing by TALENTED writers! For shame!"<BR/><BR/>It's also old, old, OLD hat. It's the Romantic movement of the late 18th/early 19th century. It's Gustav Corbet.<BR/><BR/>It's tiresome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166193186175750162006-12-15T09:33:00.000-05:002006-12-15T09:33:00.000-05:00"I reject your reality, and substitute my own!"-- ..."I reject your reality, and substitute my own!"<BR/><BR/>-- Adam, "MythBusters"<BR/><BR/>It only works for him. Nobody else.<BR/><BR/>T2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166136949121433572006-12-14T17:55:00.000-05:002006-12-14T17:55:00.000-05:00"Generally the reader raises the correct problems ..."Generally the reader raises the correct problems but do not always have the right solution."<BR/><BR/>Meika, do yourself the favor of assuming, prima facie, that your reader is right and you are wrong. After 16.5 books, I can affirm that it's far more likely I have made a mistake in communicating, than a reader "failed to get my voice."<BR/><BR/>Writing happens in order to communicate. If you fail to communicate to your reader, it's your fault, not theirs. <BR/><BR/>As a reader, I will not waste any time trying to understand obfuscation and coy use of language. I'll move on to something better written, that I can understand and identify with some aspect of the human condition.<BR/><BR/>Suck it up, try a different experiment, and see what works FOR YOUR READERS. Then re-open your head.<BR/><BR/>T2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166134865743847792006-12-14T17:21:00.000-05:002006-12-14T17:21:00.000-05:00If you do work-for-hire you give up the copyright,...If you do work-for-hire you give up the copyright, plus your moral rights, otherwise you generally get to keep those. And we can see how effective copyright is when Google Books decides They Want Your Book.nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166125001012533252006-12-14T14:36:00.000-05:002006-12-14T14:36:00.000-05:00Yanno, I don't really mind experimental stuff at t...Yanno, I don't really mind experimental stuff at times. One of my favorite books is <I>Merlin: Darkling Child of Virgin and Devil</I> by Robert Nye (I'm not sure of the author's name, cause I lent it to someone six years ago and they freaking haven't given it back yet, ARRGH!). It's a semi-pornographic novella/poem (or something) and doesn't easily fit into any standard category of either form or genre. Absolutely brilliant.<BR/><BR/>One thing I can say about it, though, which I can't say about the little of Meika's work I've read(or his comments, for that matter) is that I could decipher the basic meaning of his sentences--in essence, decode his words--without giving myself a migraine. Writing is supposed to be about an author communicating something to a reader. <I>Communicating.</I><BR/><BR/>All I get with Meika's stuff is this profound sense of befuddlement. I read his words and wonder if perhaps I sustained a head injury without knowing it, and have developed some bizarre form of dyslexia. Not being the type who craves literary self-flagellation (I'll stick with the usual kind--having kids), I think I'll give Meika's stuff a pass. Now where's my Advil?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166114649315786862006-12-14T11:44:00.000-05:002006-12-14T11:44:00.000-05:00Yes, but WHAT IS THE QUESTION?Yes, but WHAT IS THE QUESTION?nonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00415222406280230021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166109977921597962006-12-14T10:26:00.000-05:002006-12-14T10:26:00.000-05:00I agree with Anonymous who likened this guy's writ...I agree with Anonymous who likened this guy's writing to masturbation. He's just jacking off, and we're sitting around watching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166103158485704652006-12-14T08:32:00.000-05:002006-12-14T08:32:00.000-05:00Unless your reader can figure out what the hell yo...Unless your reader can figure out what the hell you're talking about in your writings and form some kind of connection with it, it's just masturbation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166085451681781082006-12-14T03:37:00.000-05:002006-12-14T03:37:00.000-05:00Oh btw, Meika, you might not want to put that on a...Oh btw, Meika, you might not want to put that on any queries you're sending out... "my compositional art piece deep minds poetry project was downloaded 1500 times" thinking it'll be decisive in getting a read.<BR/><BR/>On second thought... go ahead and put that in all your queries. No, make that, 1500 and ONE... I just downloaded a copy too! Read the first few pages... wow, the lights went out at the apartment. Powerful stuff babe. You can add that to the query. "Caution, may affect the artificial lighting in the dwellings of lower species..."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35623128.post-1166084803987027222006-12-14T03:26:00.000-05:002006-12-14T03:26:00.000-05:00What I just CAN'T get around is.... the Rejecter c...What I just CAN'T get around is.... the Rejecter clearly states in her blog, do NOT come dragging your sad sack queries and pitches and novel-ideas in here, and of course someone HAS to do it, just HAS to, because HIS precious idea is the E=MC2 of literature if only the rest of us cave-dwelling chimps would "see" it..... and then SHOVE it down our throats in a torrent of blathering runny cow pies...<BR/><BR/>And still NOT GET IT...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com