I wasn’t encouraged. The post I read was typical of the position a lot of small press editors take. It isn’t any great exaggeration to say that it runs roughly thus:
Think of me as God, and this publishing house as my heaven. This is how you must approach me; this is what you must do; this is what you must not do; this is what I will not tolerate.
And he illustrates all this with an anecdote about how a certain author transgressed the rules. Not only that, he argued about it. Said author is now condemned to burn in the fires of unpublished obscurity. This is proper punishment for the sinner that transgresseth and repenteth not.
But then I read the comments. They were typical, too.
Oh, mighty one, you’re so right. This author deserves no better. He is a malefactor possessed by the Evil One and must not be suffered to live. How dare he presume to take issue with thine Esteemed Being? I, on the other hand, am hereby demonstrating my willingness to give myself up to your judgement, if it means I may lick your feet clean and bathe in your luminence.
What the hell is going on with this burgeoning mass of wannabee authors? They’re the very reason I withdrew my novella from three different small press publishers. I just couldn’t stand being downwind of their sycophantic fucking smell!
Sorry. It just gets my goat a bit. Self-publishing is looking increasingly like the only option.
3 comments:
How irritating it must be to have to rely on the whims of others to get your work out there. I know you won't roll over and good for you, I hope you are able to self publish. I'll buy a copy Jeff!
I will too! And still chuckling at your biblical rephrasing there, that's great. You would think publishers made their money from somewhere other than from authors, with the arrogant tone they can take.
It is, Mel. I'll let you know how it goes.
The authors certainly don't help, Della. Too many assume the role of accolyte too easily, I think.
Thank you both for your support.
Post a Comment