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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Authors (Indie vs. Traditional)

I know, I know!

When you looked at the subject of this post you probably already formed an opinion regarding the matter. And yes, it is a very hot topic in the publishing market. I am aware of this, and yet, I feel the desire to express something about this topic anyway.

So here goes:

A couple of weeks ago I read an article about how Indie authors are not real authors, or are bad writers, or something to that affect. All I really remember is that the guy went on and on and on tearing down Indie authors. However, there was one spot in the middle where he actually took time to praise those who had written a great book, had it professionally edited, and then decided to Indie publish instead of going traditional.

Now, let me take a moment to inform you of my standing on this subject before you read further with a bias opinion and prepared to hate or love what I say.

I think that every person who has made an effort to write a book, and write it well, should be applauded, no matter how that book was published. I do agree that there are books out there that are not written well and that need desperate editing and help, but I have seen that in both Indie and Traditional published books. So to those people I say, well done for writing a book. Now, take that book and clean it, edit it, and polish it, and then publish it. I think that a well written book deserves to be praise, while I kindly ask those who are throwing their books out there without polishing them to please take the time to make it shine. I don't care how it's published, just make it nice and clean.

Now, back to what I was saying about the article this man posted:
Although I do not agree with most of what this man said, I was amazed to find that I did agree with some points. Underneath all his condescending words was an underlying message that if you publish a badly written book it tarnishes the Indie publishing as a whole. And I agree that it does affect both Indie and Traditional Authors when badly written books are published.
However, what amazed me the most were the comments underneath his posted, focusing entirely on how awful and offensive and rude this man was. How he didn't know what he was talking about and how he was stupid for thinking the way he did.

Well, I'm sorry to say this folks, but being offended is a choice you make.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it is up to you as to how that opinion effects you.

I heard a quote once (and I apologize that I don't have any idea where it came from, but if you know then I'll love to know the source) but the quote said, "What others think about you is none of your business"
Maybe that's why many authors don't bother to read their reviews .... ?

I feel as though many authors (both Traditional and Indie) have chips on their shoulders - as though they have something to prove. But as authors, if we are not open to hearing the good and bad about things, we are not open to learning and growing and making ourselves and our writing better. But you also have to remember to learn from the bad and then let it roll off your shoulders rather than sit and let it fester.
You know how you write, you know if your writing is good or bad. And you really need to not let those comments get to you, because there will always be negative opinions about what you choose to do, what you write, or how you publish. Don't worry about it! Just do your best and polish your book till it shines!



A while back I wrote a post about not wanting to contribute to someone who asked me to donate so he could self publish his book. At the time I received some good comments about how I did the right thing, and some bad comments about how I was putting down India authors by not supporting him. I was told I was putting a line there and doing an "us vs. them" thing. I was amazed that these people were so opinionated because of what I had done without knowing any details.

Just for the record, I have and do support many authors who have self published many well written books. But the reason I did not contribute to this fund was not because of his choice to Indie Published, but because of the book itself. I did not want to support that specific book.

So authors (Indie or Traditionally published) get the chip off your shoulder, write your best, polish your work, and don't listen to the people out there who are always going to be ripping down your work. If you are honest with yourself and feel that you have put forth your best work and made the effort to get it professionally edited, critiqued, and polished, then who cares what others say about how you publish?
Let it go! It doesn't matter!

*steps off soap box*

Thank you! :)



Thursday, August 22, 2013

100 Followers Giveaway

Hey everyone!

I passed 100 followers on my blog, which makes me very happy and puts me in the mood to do a give away!

Some of my dear friends are also offering some items to share on my give away so thank you to Christine Gabriel, Beckie Laux Carlson, and C Michelle Jefferies!

Michelle is giving away a critique, so go check out my FB fanpage (link below) where you will be able to enter a drawing to have your Query Blurb critiqued for free if you win!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Lamoreaux-An-Author-In-Progress/150123935140108?ref=hl

As for the others, please check out the Rafflecopter below and see what they are offering and how you can win it!

Thank you everyone for following my blog

As I am back on track I will be posting every Thursday from now on, so stop by and see what's up in my little writing world :)

PS: The giveaway is open until midnight tomorrow (Friday) and the winners will be announced on Saturday, so please check back her and on my FB Page where I will be announcing them and contacting the winners

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, August 15, 2013

I'm back!!!!

Well folks ....

Like many of you, I got swept away in the summer. I seriously don't know what it is, but summer hits and all ambition gets blown away with the warm weather!



My goals this summer included:
Losing weight
eating healthy
typing up the first draft of my next novel
doing upgrades on our home
and basically being all around awesome

But then summer hit and it was more like this:
I worked out for 4 weeks straight and ate healthy! I was so proud of myself, and then we had company, our AC was out for 6 days (shouldn't that count as a life threatening emergency in Arizona?) And we went to a family reunion.
Within a week I put back on all the weight I had lost .... and more!!
I started writing, and lost track of 2 months so that still hasn't gone anywhere
and my ambitions for writing on my blog weekly .... well obviously you can see how that went too!

But rather than sit and contemplate how I miserably failed at every goal I had this summer, I'm going to tell you what I'm really proud of accomplishing.



My house is currently cleaner than it ever has been since we moved in, and my back yard is clean and smooth (it's just dirt, but it looks nice now). My hallway is painted a light color so it no longer looks like a cave when you pass through it, and my office is organized.

I got to spend 2 amazing weeks with my husband at a family reunion where I saw some of my siblings that I haven't seen in ages. We celebrated my parents 50th anniversary by getting all 14 of their children (and spouses and offspring) together in one place to get the first full family photo we've done in 13 years.

I got to go hiking and swimming, signed a book contract for my novel and started writing two others. I became part of a writing conference committee, started doing freelance and earned money for a new laptop, and spent time learning to play my husband's favorite game so I could spend more time with him.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my summer when I look at it that way.
How was your summer?