Something is not always better than nothing



I read an article this morning on Time.com about playwright August Wilson . Gotta admire the man's grit and determination if nothing else, but it got me thinking about convictions and steadfastness and how it applies to so many areas.

There are a lot of people who want to get published and everyone has their own reason or agenda. Whether it's fame, money, or simply because there's a mountain to climb (or any other reason), a lot of folks intend to get there. They reach for that golden ring. How many, I wondered, cut corners along the way? How many wrote what other people wanted them to write? How many just slapped the words out there without care? How many talked the talk but never put in the work? How many undercut their own principles, just to get that book? How many, after one rejection or a thousand, decided to screw it and go the easy (POD) route? How many, when faced with the countless obstacles, gave up and never wrote another word?

There's another piece of good reading, a blog entry, on BookAngst today, a story of how big advances aren't necessarily the best thing to have starting out. In a related ordeal, my friend Holly is facing some tough choices because her publisher over reached. No matter who screwed up, it's always the author's fault.

It's a crap shoot here in publication. Roll the dice and be surprised. But while you're rolling, please try to remember why you stepped up to the table in the first place. Are you here to look good, get a couple of free drinks and go home with a floozy? Are you here to right a perceived wrong in your life or show someone else up or become the object of adoration?

Or, are you at the table because you have something to say? If so, keep those three stories in mind. Something is not always better than nothing and, when the dust settles, it's always the author's fault. Wise words. Too bad they aren't mine.

Posted: Fri - April 29, 2005 at 08:16 AM         |

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