NEW WORLD, OLD DREAMS, SAME HURTS

I read an intriguing post by John Ling:
http://johnlingblog.wordpress.com/

He recounts where he was in his writing dream in 2001:

The path to publishing a novel was strictly linear:

you had to secure a literary agent,

who would then secure you a publisher,

and within 12 to 18 months, your novel would be manufactured, distributed and appear in bookstores.

Point A to Point Z.

No exceptions.

He chased the dream for over ten years, gaining rejections and bruised self-worth issues.

He began to understand the way the game was played:

if an editor gave the green light to a manuscript,

shepherded it through publication and it failed to sell adequately,

it was his or her head on the chopping block.

So it became easier to say no rather than say yes.

Corporate interests, no literary love, prevailed.

He registered a company called Kia Kaha Press,

and he self-published his novel, The Blasphemer, on Amazon.

And in just a month, it rocketed to the top of the bestseller charts.

How many of us have the money, time, or know-how to start our own publishing company?

Kindle Direct Publishing allows us to self-publish, but we languish in the dark along with the unseen mushrooms of thousands of other dreamers.

So how do we draw lightning to our novels? What is the magic lightning rod?

Image courtesy of the fabulous Leonora Roy