The Good Life by Sherry Ackerman

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Sherry Ackerman, author of The Good Life: How to Create a Sustainable and Fulfilling Lifestyle.  I was on a plane headed to The Chronicle Book Fair and Sherry had the window seat next to me. We chatted the whole way and found we had a lot in common. The Good Life was a still a few days away from its official release date but I purchased it online as soon as I returned from the book fair.  And now, I’m recommending it to everyone I know.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Life-Sustainable-Fulfilling-Lifestyle/dp/0984603204/

Here’s my review of The Good Life which I posted on Amazon a few days:

“This is a great book and it’s an important book. By defining so succinctly The Good Life, Sherry Ackerman blazes a trail through a very dense forest. She weaves history, philosophy, and her own life story into a narrative that feels effortless despite the gravity of the subject matter. Every chapter is packed with both inspiration and education and at the end of each chapter Ackerman provides a list of practical suggestions which ground the reader in the reality of their own choices. Without malice or arrogance, she characterizes the status quo, explains how we got here, and posits a future well within any individual’s grasp.

Rich with references that both educate and illuminate, The Good Life includes a bibliography that will keep curious readers busy for years and from an academic perspective this work is a masterpiece. You would think Ackerman would need more than 190 pages to explain how to create a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle but she manages that and so much more.

Thankfully for all of us there are people like Sherry Ackerman who have always been ahead of their time. And considering the dire state of affairs at hand, we should all thank her for sharing her Good Life.”

Sherry Ackerman is a socially engaged philosopher who is fervent about sustainable, integrated lifestyles and voluntary simplicity. She lives in Mount Shasta, California at Shastao Philosophical Hermitage where she studies, writes and teaches. For more information, go to http://www.sherryackerman.com or follow @SherryAckerman.

I feel truly blessed that our paths have crossed and I’m sure I will re-read this book many times in the years to come.  I’ll also be giving away a few copies as Christmas presents because a book like this must get out.  Many thanks to Sherry for this book and a wonderful plane ride.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful holiday season. I’m busy looking ahead to 2011 and soon I’ll be posting a year in review.

ttyl

Wanda

Maybe Next Year NaNoWriMo

Today marks the end of NaNoWriMo – aka: National Novel Writing Month. Once again, I did not participate but I always appreciate the project from a distance. What fascinated me this year, is how much NaNoWriMo has grown.

NaNoWriMo was started in 1999 by Chris Baty and in that first year, there were 21 participants who set out to write 50,000 word each, in 30 days. By 2009, 170,000 writers were participating in NaNoWriMo and that year they collective wrote 2.4 billion words. Only 30,000 of them finished their goal by the end of the month, but NaNoWriMo seems to be more about participation than winning. I’m not sure exactly how many people participated this year, but as of this morning, the collective word count was over 2.6 billion words.

The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days the rest of the world calls November. You’re allowed to prepare an outline ahead of time, but the rule is no writing before November 1. On their website (http://www.nanowrimo.org), they call it a, “fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing.” Now in its twelfth year, NaNo has grown a cultish following that you can observe online, in various arenas.

The NaNo website has grown into a its own social network of writers who at the very least share one goal for one month of the year. There are word count trackers writers can use to monitor and share their progress and this year NaNo isn’t just for the grownups. The Young Writers Program encourages the under-17 set to set their own word count and teachers all over are participating with their classrooms in tow.

This year, given my immersion in social media platforms like twitter, I got a bit of a closer look at NaNoWriMo, albeit still from a distance. Participants are passionate and dedicated and as with all things discussed online, NaNo has its share of haters. Book agents in particular seem to carry with them a certain distaste for what has happened to November though I did appreciate one agent tweet which reminded NaNoWriMo participants that their manuscripts would definitley not be ready for submission to agents anytime in December. I was a little fascinated to see some writers criticizing NaNoWriMo, but nothing I see on twitter suprises me exactly.

I wonder if I’ll ever get around to partipating in NaNoWriMo though 2011 doesn’t seem likely. I consider it every year, but in November 2009, I was putting the finish touches on Sometimes That Happens With Chicken and OneGirlOneNovel.com and this November, I went to a book fair and spent a fair amount of time editing and formatting my second novel.  I’m hoping to be well into my third novel by November 2011 which will leave me once again on the sidelines of NaNoWriMo.

Best of luck to everyone furiously typing today to meet the 50,000 word midnight deadline. I’ve been there with you in spirit all month and even if I don’t play along, I do like what y’all are doing.

I had my goal this month, which was to get a servicable draft of Volume Two: A Novel to my cover designer so the rest of the editing can happen in parallel with the cover design. I had a great meeting with Brett right before Thanksgiving and he’s off reading while I’m back to editing. The majority of the interior book formatting is done and the editing is down to the smaller stuff.

I thought these would be 2011 activities, but thanks to some serious prodding from fans, I am working as quickly as possible to get Volume Two moving through the pipeline.  

ttyl

Wanda

Get Chicken On Your iPad

Sometimes That Happens With Chicken is now available in the iBookstore which means you can read Chicken on your iPhone or your iPad. All you have to do is go to your iBooks app and search for the title of the novel. Here’s a screenshot I took on my iPhone, the library of which now contains one novel, mine. Chicken looks a little lonely there on my library shelf but reading books on my iPhone has never had much appeal. If I had an iPad I’m sure I’d be a frequent user of my iBooks app.

 

I’m working on a post specifically for my author friends re: my experiences self-publishing for Kindle and the iBookstore but I have a few in the queue.

Thanks to all you iPad users who patiently waited for this edition of Chicken. Remember to post a review when you’re done.

ttyl

Wanda

My First Book Fair

I returned Monday from my first book fair, The 15^th Annual Chronicle Book Fair in Glens Falls, NY. It was a wonderful experience and I came back feeling energized despite the jetlag and the sleep deprivation. It was a whirlwind weekend for a one-day event, and of the 100+ authors, booksellers, publishers and book-related groups, there were only two of us who traveled from the west coast. Most of the presenters were local or regional but I was honored when I received an invite from Cathy DeDe at The Chronicle.

I grew up about 45 minutes north of Glens Falls and it was great to return to my hometown region. After my two hometown events this summer I didn’t have plans to return so soon but the invitation from Cathy at The Chronicle inspired me to rearrange my event schedule. I decided to push my LA event in progress to January and head east once again. And I’m so glad I did.

This book fair was a great opportunity for me, Chicken, and indie literature. I got to see fans, meet new people, connect with a lot of authors, and participate in a panel discussion about how I got published. I was interviewed by Paul Varga on WSLP FM leading up to this event and  at the book fair I got to meet some of my Adirondack tweeps IRL. It was my first book fair and my first tweetup.

If you’d like to see all my pics from the book fair, you can use the link below. I’ve taken this opportunity to kick off the One Girl One Novel Flickr Feed. I have the book fair pics up and I’ll be backfilling the feed with pics from previous events.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onegirlonenovel/sets/72157625358840514/ 

You’ll see me at the table with my laptop in some of the pics. I was tweeting live from the book fair, uploading pics to facebook as the day went on, and the day flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for the 3:00 panel discussion which drew a larger crowd than expected.

I was one of five authors sitting on the panel. I was joined by John Gable, a children’s book author who used a hybrid publisher; Dawn Lajeunesse, a romance novelist who used American Book Publishing; Jesse Bruchac, a children’s book and niche non-fiction author who used Lulu.com; and John Daubney an inspirational non-fiction author who used a self-publishing company. We all explained our paths to publishing and with so many genres represented, the audience got a lot of different perspectives. Not surprisingly, I was the only one on the panel who cut out all the middle men.

Both from the panel discussion and from the authors I met throughout the day, it seems like publicity is the largest challenge facing authors. With some, publicity was practically a four letter word. I found that fascinating because I don’t dread the time I spend being my own publicist. It’s never ending, and I wish I had three more hours in every day, but I don’t dread it.

Thankfully, I don’t dread editing either, because that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend. I didn’t think I’d start editing my second novel until sometime in 2011, but I’m getting enough requests from fans that I’m moving it up in the pipeline. And now I’m thoroughly re-energized from my trip east.  

Thanks again to Cathy DeDe at The Chronicle for the invitation and thanks to all my friends and fans who stopped by the fair to say hello. Thanks to all my Adirondack tweeps for spreading the word and thanks specially to @Smilesbeau, @PVarga, and @Bark_Chocolate for my first ever tweetup. Thanks also to my Mom who helped out at the book fair. She was a huge help and she manned the table while I was in the panel discussion.

My first book fair was a great experience and I always love a good excuse to visit the Adirondacks.

ttyl

Wanda

One Girl One Novel On WSLP FM

Here’s a recording of my recent interview on WSLP 93.3 FM for anyone who missed the live airing. I was honored to be featured in one of Paul Varga’s Inspiring People segments and it was a great opportunity to spread the word about Sometimes That Happens With Chicken and indie literature.

Click the link below, and when prompted click open. Your computer will launch your default mp3 player.

Listen now to Paul Varga interviewing Wanda Shapiro on WSLP FM

I met Paul in the twittershpere which goes to show what social media can do for indie authors. This connection was particularly timely considering a recent mention I got on Pens With Cojones.  

http://www.penswithcojones.com/2010/10/self-published-authors-what-can-social-media-really-do-for-you/

Some people see social media platforms like facebook and twitter as places to gain instant fame, but in reality they’re more like places to plant seeds. The way I see it, it’s like sprinkling a packet of wildflower seeds across a giant field. You have no idea what you’re planting and you have no idea what will come up from that handful of seeds.

In this case, I met @PVarga through @Bark_Chocolates and I met @Bark_Chocolates when they heard about one of my Adirondack events this past summer. These are two whuffie rich tweeps and if you don’t know what whuffie is, got out and buy The Whuffie Factor by Tara Hunt. This is an example of what Tara Hunt calls Whuffie IRL.

I was truly honored to do this interview and I could go on and on about what this interview and the Adirondacks mean to me, but I have to get to bed because I have a book fair to go to in the morning.

If you’re looking for more information regarding The Chronicle Book Fair, here’s a link to my blog post with the all the details. I’m looking forward to seeing some of my Adirondack fans tomorrow and then Monday it’s back to Los Angeles.

http://www.onegirlonenovel.com/index.php/2010/11/one-radio-interview-one-book-fair/

Many thanks to Paul Varga and WSLP and thanks are due also to @Bark_Chocolates (a.k.a Deb and Jim Morris).

I wish I could thank all my tweeps and facebook friends who have spread the word both about this interview and about tomorrow’s book fair, but honestly there too many people to thank. This trip has already been a huge success, but I couldn’t do it alone.

Good night and ttyl.

Wanda

One Radio Interview One Book Fair

I leave LA for NY today where I will attending a book fair and doing a radio interview. Friday 11/5 you can tune into WSLP 93.3 FM to hear Paul Varga interview me and Sunday 11/7 I will be appearing at the 15^th Annual Chronicle Book Fair in Glens Falls, NY.

If you live in the Adirondack region, you can tune in to 93.3 FM and if you live outside the WSLP coverage area you can listen live online. The interview will be one of Paul Varga’s Inspiring People segments and it will air during the 8am hour – Eastern Standard Time. It will be broken into two parts and between you can listen to WSLPs cool adult contemporary tunes.

Friday, November 5

8:00am EST

WSLP FM Radio Interview

93.3 FM

Listen live online:

http://www.wslpfm.com/stream.php

 

I know this is too early for most of my west coast peeps so don’t fret if you can’t drag yourself out of bed at 5am PST. I will be posting a recording of the interview on my blog after it airs, which I will share in all of the usual places.

But you’ll have to actually be in the Adirondack region if you want to catch me at the book fair. I will be there selling and signing Sometimes That Happens With Chicken and I will be participating in a panel discussion at 3:00.

Sunday, November 7

11:00am – 4:00pm*

15th annual Autumn Leaves: Glens Falls Chronicle Book Fair

The Queensbury Hotel

88 Ridge Street

Glens Falls, NY

*3:00 Panel Discussion – How I Got Published 

 

More than 100 presenters are expected, including authors, booksellers, publishers and book-related groups. There will be book signings all day, readings and panel talks, slide-illustrated talks, children’s activities, and much more. And it’s all free, so I hope to see all you Adirondack book lovers and fans of Chicken there.

I’d like to thank Paul Varga at WSLP FM and Cathy DeDe at The Chronicle for these opportunities to spread the word about Sometimes That Happens With Chicken and indie literature. I’m looking forward to a few nights with my fam and another good dose of hometown support.

Now, I have to finish packing so I can head to the airport in a few hours. It will be late and cold when I get to Albany airport but I can’t wait! You can follow my trip on twitter (@WandaShapiro) and on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/wanda.shapiro), and please spread the word.

ttyl

Wanda

Heading East For My First Book Fair

Sunday November 7^th I will be appearing at the 15^th Annual Chronicle Book Fair in Glens Falls, NY. I was honored to receive an invite from Cathy DeDe, managing editor of The Chronicle, Northern New York’s Leading Newspaper.

Sunday, November 7

11:00am – 4:00pm

15th annual Autumn Leaves: Glens Falls Chronicle Book Fair

The Queensbury Hotel

88 Ridge Street

Glens Falls, NY

 

I will be there selling and signing Sometimes That Happens With Chicken and I may be appearing on a panel discussion. The panel discussion schedule is not yet final but I’ll keep you all posted when I get the final schedule from The Chronicle. Over a hundred authors, booksellers, publishers and non-profit groups will be there offering book signings, displays, readings, panel talks, children’s activities, demos and more.

This will be my first book fair and it’s an added bonus that I’ll be returning to my hometown for this event. I’ll only be there for a long weekend, but the fall is my favorite time to visit the Adirondack Mountains and it’s always nice to spend some time with family.

This event is free to the public and should be a wonderful day. Hope to see all of you Adirondack book lovers and fans of Chicken there.

ttyl

Wanda

Why Indie Literature

I’ve been reflecting recently on why I decided to go indie. There was a time when writers only self-published if they were sitting on a pile of rejection letters (and a large sum of money) which created a stigma of desperation, but times are changing and more and more writers like myself are choosing the indie business model  proactively, foregoing traditional publishing models entirely.

While some writers are still driven by anger and rejection, for me, going indie was business decision made after a good deal of research and soul searching. It was not a decision I made lightly, and it was not a simple decision, but in the end it was not a difficult decision.

Here’s why I decided to go indie:

Because I realized I could.

There was a time when I thought it was impossible to self-publish literary fiction successfully, but I gradually became aware of the advances in technology that are empowering writers in the same way film makers and musicians were empowered by technological advances in their respective fields.

Between print-on-demand technology and the social media revolution, I realized there was nothing standing between me and my audience. Aaron Shepard’s book Aiming At Amazon clued me into the wonders of Lightning Source Inc.’s international printing and distribution services and my friends were beginning to drag me kicking and screaming into their 21^st century, social media based world of uber-connectedness. Despite the fact that the majority of self-publishing success to date has been in the non-fiction and commercial fiction arenas, I could see that there was nothing between me and my audience expect my laptop and an internet connection.

Any doubts I had once I realized what was possible were rooted in the bad reputation self-published fiction has amassed which is not unfounded.  It’s true that many self-published novels are downright embarrassing but I saw an opportunity to bring a new level of quality and professionalism to the self-publishing arena. 

I could see I had a lot to learn, but I’ve always been a do-it-yourself kind of girl and Google has made it possible to learn anything. I’ve also had the good fortune of working in a wide range of industries which has given me confidence in my ability to learn new skills and become fluent in new technologies. When I considered the various roles that go into the production and promotion of a novel, there weren’t any rocket scientists on the publishing house org chart.

In the past, if you wrote a novel, you needed a publisher (preferably a big one) for printing, distribution, and publicity—but given the evolution of technology, the established publishing industry really has outlived its usefulness in all three arenas.

Because the publishing industry is in shambles.

There was a time when a writer couldn’t complain about the publishing industry without out sounding whiney, but those days are long gone. The demise of the publishing industry has been on the front pages for years now and long before I realized what was possible, news coming from the book world had become increasingly frightening for wanna-be writers.

The publishing industry which once harnessed the economies of scale is now being crippled by the diseconomies of scale and the horror stories of writers caught up in the turmoil are well known. Books are being orphaned, industry professionals are changing jobs like it’s a game of musical chairs, and the big publishers are paring down imprints left , right and center. The corporate scramble to restructure and remain viable has left writers in the lurch.  

While some writers are attached to the dream of the book deal, I wasn’t sure if I wanted decisions being made about my book by conference rooms full of disgruntled publishing industry professionals who have been through pay cuts and layoffs. While many of them may be well meaning book lovers, they’re still in conference rooms and they’re similarly caught up in the scramble to restructure and remain viable.

By the time Black Wednesday happened, I had already decided to go indie, and now, bad news from the publishing industry isn’t frightening at all.

Because big publishing isn’t selling literary fiction well.

Aside from the general instability in the publishing industry, the plight of literary fiction is also well documented.  News from the book world has been frightening for writers in general, but it has been downright horrific for authors of literary fiction. And it started getting scary for literary authors, long before the publishing industry was in obvious turmoil.

Given my desire to actually make a living as a writer, and given my desire to continue writing literary novels, I had to face the facts. These days, a literary author can get a book deal with Random House, and still not make a living as a writer.

It’s no secret that the majority of the publishing industry prefers properties it deems more commercial and when advances went through the roof for those properties, they got lower and lower for the literary ones. In the literary arena, advances have gotten smaller and print runs have gotten smaller and publicity budgets have gotten smaller. Given these trends, the limited print run model has been particularly devastating for literary authors. This model doesn’t give writers a long enough window in which to build an audience and too often literary novels end up remanded and go quickly out of print.

That’s not to say traditional publishing isn’t selling some kinds literary fiction well, but at the moment their successful titles seem to be international/immigrant fiction which I love reading, but don’t write. My fiction leans slightly towards the avant-garde side of literary fiction and the publishing industry doesn’t think there’s any money in it.  

The publishing industry blames a mythical shrinking literary audience for their business decisions but it’s simply not true. The film and music industries tried perpetuating similar myths but the popularity of indie films and music proved them wrong a long time ago.

Because readers are ready for indie literature.

The indie business model is about individual artists and entrepreneurs leveraging available technology to bring products or services directly to audiences and markets. Indie ventures are having success across a wide variety of industries because they bring a level of originality and quality to otherwise homogenous markets. This hold true for all kinds of indies, from film makers and musicians to crafters and coffee shop owners.

Where they can, people across the country are opting for Local Grinds instead of Starbucks, the band you’ve never heard of instead of the band everyone’s heard of, the movie that plays in one tiny theatre instead of the movie the plays in every theatre in America, and that t-shirt on Etsy instead of that t-shirt at Target. Not everyone, but there will always be a segment of the population that is dissatisfied by the homogenous albeit multitudinous variety of products provided by large corporations. 

Readers are no different and in my opinion, literary authors are particularly well positioned at the moment to be the next industry to go indie in a household-name kind of way.  We forget sometimes, but “indie film” and “indie music” were not always part of the American lexicon. And there was a time when no one thought an indie film could win an Oscar. But now, “indie film” means something and we all know what it means. And now of course, the film industry, and the music industry, are scrambling to reproduce and emulate the increasingly popular indie films and indie music. Even Target is trying to bring an Etsy-esque motif to their products.

We are bound to see the same progression in the publishing industry. Indie literature is not a household word yet, but it will be. For sure. And when I took a step back and looked at my own writing career, the writing on the wall was so clear and easy to read.

In defense of their own business decisions, the publishing industry attributes its abandonment of literary fiction to a shrinking literary audience but readers are ready for indie literature.  I knew that when I decided to go indie and since the debut of Sometimes That Happens With Chicken I’ve realized readers are even more ready than I thought they were.

And those two little words say it all – Indie Literature.

Indie literature is exactly what I write. Sometimes That Happens With Chicken is indie literature. And indie literature explains everything about my business model. And my audience, my audience loves indie literature. And when they hear those two words together, they know exactly what I’m talking about.

That’s why, in the end, going indie was not a difficult decision.

I’ve been called a pioneer, but I’m always a little uncomfortable with that description because to me the word pioneer connotes risk taking. And when I took a long hard look at my writing career, a book deal with Random House looked a whole lot riskier than One Girl One Novel.

_____________________________________________________________ 

If you’d like to read some of the recent blog posts and articles that lead me to reflect on my indie business decision check out the following:

Examples of Indie Publishers Who Inspire Me – By Tara Maya

Wall Street Journal: Authors Feel Pinch in Age of E-Books – By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg

Do Not Cry For Me Wall Street Journal – By Wanda Shapiro

IndieView: Wanda Shapiro, author of, “Sometimes That Happens With Chicken” – By Simon Royle

Thanks to everyone who supports indie literature and Sometimes That Happens With Chicken in large and small ways.

ttyl

Wanda

Do Not Cry For Me Wall Street Journal

I must respond to the Wall Street Journal’s recent story, Authors Feel Pinch in Age of E-Books, which discusses the plight of literary novelists who are finding it harder and harder to make a living. According to the Journal, e-books are to blame but as an indie author of literary fiction, I have two things to say to that. First, stop blaming e-books, and second, don’t cry for me Wall Street Journal.  

According to the Journal, e-books are bad for debut novelists. Supposedly, the lower prices of e-books and the increasing sales of e-books are to blame for lower advances, less risk-taking, and a loss of patience for the cultivation of young novelist. The article talks about the general decline in book sales, shrinking retailers who are buying fewer titles, publishers who are making fewer deals (especially with new writers), and authors with fewer meet and greet opportunities who are making half as much per e-book. We’re lead to believe that e-books are killing literary authors who weren’t suffering at all before the advent and wide spread popularity of e-books.

While there’s a lot of truth in this article, blaming it all on e-books is not a logical conclusion. It’s true that literary authors have been a particularly hard hit segment of the writing population, but literary authors were having a hard time making a living long before e-books, and publishers are not without culpability. Publishers blame the readers for the decline in literary fiction but they’re the ones who publish the books and it’s no secret how they feel about literature.

It’s also no secret that the publishing industry is in shambles, I can only guess the Journal made such an illogical leap because the general state of the publishing industry is being blamed with increasing frequency on the rise of the e-book. This article gave an accurate albeit grim picture of the publishing industry from the point of view of a literary novelist but few of the supporting facts have any logical connection to e-books.

Let’s face it, authors of literary fiction were abandoned by the majority of the publishing industry a long time ago and if we’re going to talk about the grim truths of the publishing industry we need to stop blaming e-books. The only one who can be blamed for the current state of the publishing industry is the publishing industry. It’s not technology’s fault and it’s not the economies’ fault and it’s not the readers’ fault.

E-books are a convenient scapegoat but technology should not be blamed for the woes of the publishing industry, which started making bad business decisions long before Kindle and long before Amazon. They started conglomerating, got greedy, and started making some really bad business decisions. According to the NY Times, seven out of ten titles don’t earn back their advance, and that is just bad business. I don’t care what your business does, if 70% of your projects don’t make a profit you need to take a long hard look at the way you’re doing business.

When the publishing industry joined the conglomerating frenzy, no one considered the diseconomies of scale and they allowed overhead expenses to sore out of control. They started paying out huge advances, and they have clung to the offset printing model despite the advent of print-on-demand technology. It was the publishers who encouraged the conglomeration of books stores which homogenized a previously eclectic and personal retail environment and they failed to evolve when readers and technology evolved. 

Regardless of who you blame, I think we can all agree it’s not a pretty picture. And I appreciate the Wall Street Journal speaking up on behalf of literary novelist everywhere, but this article presumes that I, as an author of literary fiction, am beholden to this bloated and sickly publishing industry. If that were true, I would welcome the Journal’s pity but really, don’t cry for me Wall Street Journal.

E-books are good for me. And so are all of the other advances in technology that are scaring the pants off the publishing industry. With the advances in personal computing technology and print-on-demand printing, I can now do everything Random House does—at home, in my spare time, with my laptop and an internet connection.

But more than that, the current state of the publishing industry relative to literary authors is good for me too. Writers in all genres can now take advantage of technology and self-publish their work, but writers of literary fiction are the ones who stand to benefit most from the crumbling of the industry that has abandoned them.

The publishing industry (and their continued trend of bad business decisions) has created a vacuum in the literary arena and, in my opinion, literary authors should be doing cart wheels. I write literary fiction and I’m confident I’ll be able to make a living as a writer. It’s only been a few months since the debut of my first novel but I’m leveraging available technology and bringing indie literature directly to my audience which is primed and ready for a kind of quality that the publishing industry isn’t providing.

The publishing industry has squeezed out quality literature in much the same way the film and music industries homogenized. And those two industries were turned upside down a long time ago when technology made it possible for individual musicians and film makers to go indie. Since then, indie films and indie music have been satisfying audiences with a level of quality and originality that large media producers are not providing.

Some people say literary fiction is dying because there’s no audience left for it, but that’s not true. The literary audience hasn’t gone anywhere and I can attest to that. I got an email from one of my readers who said, “I’m not a novel kind of person. You know why?  Because they don’t make novels like yours that often. Otherwise I would be reading novels left and right.” And another reader said Sometimes That Happens With Chicken, “blazes beyond what we have come to expect from modern fiction.”

Readers are ready for indie literature and since I run my own publishing company, I’m not at the mercy of other peoples’ bad business decisions. I can keep my overhead low and my profit margin high and I can guarantee that a quality product reaches my audience because there’s no part of my writing career out of my control. I’m not at the mercy of a large corporation that is struggling to remain viable and there’s no chance my novel could be orphaned or go out of print. I haven’t sold enough novels to quit my day job yet, but I’m working on it and I’m not the only one. 

It’s true that some literary authors are really suffering, and I’m sure they were grateful for the Wall Street Journal’s sympathy. I feel sorry for them too but I wonder why they don’t embrace the chaos and retake the reigns of their own careers. Readers are ready for indie literature and some of us are feeling rather hopeful despite constant stream of doom and gloom. 

That being said, I would like to thank Jeffrey Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal for bringing the current state of affairs to light in such a prestigious venue. Whether I agree with Mr. Trachtenberg’s conclusions, he provided a very accurate picture of the current state of affairs and I am always appreciative when someone shines a light on the literary arena which is so often in the shadows.

I would also like to thank all my readers and supporters who have embraced indie literature and Sometimes That Happens With Chicken during this tumultuous time in publishing. There was a time when articles like this were nothing but depressing. But now, with my audience behind me, the harsh realities are somehow reaffirming and reassuring.

ttyl

Wanda

Banned Books Week 2010

Today kicks off banned books week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. This campaign raises awareness of banned and challenged books like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Madame Bovary, and Lolita. We tend to think of the famous examples but many books have been banned in small and large areas of the world.

The American Library Association along with the other sponsors of Banned Books Week have put together this great list of books that have banned and challenged in the last year. Click on the image below to read the entire report.

This report reminded me that the majority of censorship and attempted censorship is not widely publicized. When an entire country or region bans a book, we all hear about it, but localities and school districts frequently challenge and ban books within their own jurisdictions.

I was appalled the first time I was confronted with this kind of censorship, at my own high school when I went searching for another John Irving book. I had come into possession of The World According To Garp and fell in love. But when I went to search for more, I was told that John Irving was, “not appropriate for a high school library.” I was similarly shocked when a teacher called novels by my new favorite author, “trash.”

I was appalled though I felt I had little recourse. I did the only thing I felt like I could do which was buy every John Irving book I could get my hands on. I considered writing a letter to the school board but mostly I just complained to my mom who proceeded to assist with my mission to buy every John Irving novel I could find.

More recently, I purchased a book on Amazon called Operation Dark Heart which was effectively banned when  9,500 copies were purchased and destroyed by the US government. I first read about Operation Dark Heart in the New York Times article Pentagon Plan: Buying Books to Keep Secrets, when the decision was still pending.

A short time later I received a polite email from Amazon stating that, “Operation Dark Heart is no longer available from our supplier,” and the New York Times reported Afghanistan: Copies of a War Memoir Are Destroyed. I was similarly appalled compared to my John Irving experience, but this time I wasn’t shocked. The Pentagon was intervening on grounds of national security and I knew nothing or no one could stop them.

But, according to the New York Times, 100 uncensored advanced copies slipped into circulation before the Pentagon could intervene. I would love to get my hands on a copy but supposedly they’re selling for thousands of dollars online. Thankfully, it’s getting harder and harder for any organization to censor anything. The Pentagon spent $50,000 and destroyed 9,500 books, but I’m sure I’ll be able to read their deep dark secrets online before long.

Whether it’s a local high school or the United States government, it’s still censorship and those of us who are passionate about books don’t take it lightly when people and organizations tread upon the First Amendment. And it makes me wonder if Sometimes That Happens With Chicken will ever be challenged or banned.

If you’re passionate about books and the First Amendment, help me raise awareness by sharing your own experiences below and take a moment to support Banned Books Week on facebook.

Wishing you all a happy Banned Books Week and stay tuned for a blog post all about why I decided to go indie.

ttyl

Wanda

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