Message Board Topic 2/2

[Comsie]

One of the things mentioned in an earlier question was the freedom and individuality provided by writing stories online. You have to admit, it feels good to be able to just write what you feel without someone 'looking over your shoulder' so to speak, and telling you the 'right' way to do it. There IS no right way online. You speak from the heart, and you're able to reach people just the same. Even with the help of an editor, it's still your own.

 

However, if it ever comes down to getting something you write published...the rules are bound to change. In THAT arena, there really ARE rules to abide by. And they will certainly be enforced on all submissions.

 

How does that change an author's writing? Can it be a challenge that will eventually make a writer even better? Or is it taking a relaxing form of art, and trying to put it in a box? If needed, could you structure your own work for the public market without much struggle. Will editing consist of more than just spell checks and grammar when it comes to the big business machine? Would you have to compromise your freedom for 'success'? What do you guys think?

[Dolores Esteban]

Well, I submitted a work to a publishing house one or two years ago. It was rejected, of course. But I received a list of very good comments written by a professional editor. Those comments helped me a lot to improve my writing.

 

 

 

They have a different point of view when reading a submission. The book must sell.

 

 

 

I think it's easier to get an eBook published. There are hundreds of eBook publishers. It seems to me they publish all they can get. Personally, I don't want to publish an eBook. What would I gain? Nothing. Publish an eBook just tell everybody 'Oh, look, xxx published my short story. The cover is beautiful'? No.

[Comicality]

" 'Oh, look, xxx published my short story. The cover is beautiful'? No."

 

Hahaha!

 

You know...I honestly don't think that I would get along with a publishing company at all. I just sorta...write what I write, mistakes and all. But I think I would be extremely frustrated with a company of other people trying to 'guide' me on how to do what I was already doing YEARS before it caught their attention. It's kinda like telling Picasso, "Nice painting....ut you know...that eye is just a little bit off. Fix it, or we're not releasing your painting to the public."

 

That would bug me beyond BELIEF! Add this, take that out, make it shorter, fix up this dialogue, change the ages, don't use italics, cut back on the swearing, too cliche, target this market or that market....ARRRRGGGHHHH!!! As much as I would love to be cut out for the more professional side of writing, I think I would seriously hate every minute of it. Whatever I feel just 'comes out'....and once it's out, I'm like 'leave it alone'. If *I* wanna change something, I'll change it, but God forbid somebody else tries to tweak it for me. I'd be completely raving mad by the end of the first chapter.

[StoriesByCirrus]

If the choice is between getting something published (and being paid for it!) and preserving my artistic integrity, I'll probably choose to get published every time. If that process means that someone suggests ways that story might be improved, I'm open to those suggestions. The written word is a pretty malleable medium - I've edited stories as I've been posting them to the Comicality Library, even after I thought I had "finished". I don't think it ever pays to underestimate the value of a neutral, objective third party observer in evaluating your work.

 

If Picasso created a bad painting, then it wouldn't sell, and he wouldn't get paid. I suspect paintings aren't that easy to "edit", so producing a bad painting would mean starting over again from scratch. In the movie business - if you have a good idea, but you haven't written the story or script well, producers will simply buy the rights to your idea, then get some other writers to turn it into a screenplay. Writing well will keep you on the project longer.

[Comicality]

I truly think that constructive criticism is always a good thing, but I do tend to listen to my writing peers and my readers more than I would someone who has mastered the formula of using art to make money. There's nothing wrong with it, because it's their JOB to make money. That's their purpose, that's their focus, that's what they're good at. But if I actually 'worked' for someone with that mindset, it's always been my experience that they simply won't olerate someone trying to do something new and original. A self challenge or an attempt to do something different is discouraged as a 'risk'. Nobody wants to lose money. And to them, it's always, "Keep it simple, keep it plain, follow the same formula as everyone else so we can get our investment back. If you wanna do something new...wait until somebody else does it first. And IF it works, then we'll let you copy it."

 

I guarantee, if it was for publishing sake, things like "Skylight", "Billy Chase", and a bunch of other stories I took a chance on would have been rejected. Hell, the first year that "GFD" was out, I got a lot of emails from people who said that sci fi wasn't their thing and probably wouldn't read it. It took a while for it to catch on, but it was a little new, a little different, and eventually it worked. So I think sometimes it's good to follow your gut feelings as an artist, and commerce doesn't always have the patience or the courage to do that. They could read the "I Have A Dream" speech and go..."There should be a comma here instead of a period." And miss the WHOLE point. But then again, that's just been my experience. I don't think I've ever found a 'bunsiness minded' person who has the ability to NOT meddle in the creative process or try to worm they way in to having creative control.

 

As for feedback from my readers and other writers, I trust that most. And I love it, both good and bad. I always listen, even if I don't change anything. (It seems weird, but sometimes I actually have an idea of exactly how I want things to go. Hehehe! So I stick to the master plan as much as possible.) And I always go back to look and see where I made mistakes and where I can make things better. However, I have run into some folks who mean well, and have a lot of great ideas, but obviously want me to write THEIR story for them. I think anyone with a great idea should try writing it out and making their own, but I can't write it for them. It defeats the purpose of it being 'their' story. Hehehe, like, don't tweak and change MY story to suit YOUR personal taste...I already HAVE a game plan! Just enjoy it and be surprised with how it turns out instead of trying to control and force it down a certain road. I actually love seeing an author use their own thoughts and methods of telling a story. I don't wanna tell them how to write what *I* want to see, because I could just go and write that story myself if I wanted it to go my way. But either way, I'm always happy to listen to feedback, no matter what. It's all a part of learning to get better.