Where the hell did July go?
I've been caught in a state of limbo. With the publication of Gale Harbour Book 3 a few months ago, for the first time in five years I find myself without a book to work on. I mean, I have dozens of ideas for books, and four or five that I've actually started, but without a series looming over my head, I haven't had the motivation to write much.
It doesn't help that after the initial release of book 3, where I had my best Amazon month ever, my sales fell off a cliff. June and July I had literally one sale per month. It seems like a lot of work for not much pay-off, you know? It's not even about the money. I want people to read my stuff, and hopefully enjoy it. Ono top of the sales, I've only received one review of the new book in three months, so I honestly have no idea if anyone enjoyed it, or if they even read it.
Oh well. Maybe I'm just tired. Hopefully I shrug this off sooner than later.
August Question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
I know everyone's going to say "AI-published books," so I'm going to take a different approach.
Years ago, I wrote a little about J.R. Robertson, a 19th-century Canadian publisher who, by all appearances, started out as a optimistic young journalist with morals and integrity. Whether using his school newspaper to fight the oppressive school administration, or becoming city editor for the top newspaper in the country at 24 and revolutionizing journalism to be more clear, concise and ready-friendly, he seemed like a pretty stand-up guy. Then, he started his own paper, started making real money, and his morals went out the window.
With the rise of popular fiction in the late 19th century, Robertson decided to use his printing presses to get on the bandwagon. Instead of actually hiring authors however, he just stole popular books from the US and Great Britain, and re-published them without credit or compensation to the original authors. Copyright law was really messy back then, so what he was doing may not have been entirely illegal, but it certainly wasn't very ethical. It's estimated that between 1877 and the 1890s, he sold about 2 million copies of 350 different books, all without the original authors' and publishers' permission.
What was my point? I don't remember. I think I was getting at the fact that publishers are just inherently corrupt. Especially newspaper publishers. William Randolph Hearst convinced the US government to outlaw marijuana, thereby banning hemp plants, in order to protect his lumber, paper and newspaper industry. News of the World illegally tapped the phones of celebrities, politicians and crime victims to steal the best scoops. And don't forget how politicians love to use the media to control what people read, view and, ultimately, think. Having money (and wanting more) along with the ability to manipulate the message going out to the masses, is a monstrously dangerous combination.
Jim Morrison famously said: "Whoever controls the media controls the mind," but he didn't originate the idea. Thirty years earlier, US White House Administration hero Joseph Goebbels wrote: "He who controls the medium controls the message. He who controls the message controls the masses." Sadly, that still remains very true. It shows the danger of the publishing industry in general, and warns of the many ways it can be abused.
(Rant over)
Hugs & kisses,
-CDGK
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com
4 comments:
Good rant. I share your frustration with minimal sales and few reviews. Since I suck at marketing, and don't seem much inclined to do anything about that, I've kind of come to accept the reality.
Jim Morrison was a mess, but what he said is true. Here our legacy media is so controlled and slanted.
Maybe you just need a writing break?
I'm sorry you had a bad two months of sales and reviews. I hope you can take a rest to refresh and start a new project.
You actually wrote a book which is more than many people do. I did not know that about Hearst and that's why pot was made illegal. Very interesting, same about that publisher...nothing much changes
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