Thread: any writers?
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Old 01-02-2006, 02:16 PM
Tony_P Tony_P is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Astoria, NY
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Default Re: any writers?

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Not really sure about the feedback. I've written things over the years but never seem to finish them. I like writing better than reading.

Did you know that you can publish any book you write, though?

My mom has written two books and published them via "xlibris.com" I believe. She's written a book called Norwegian Wood which is (blatant plug) a fictional account of real events that took place in Norway during WWII. I think it cost her ~$500 to get it published. It's print-on-demand publishing, though. So you won't find it in stores. But if you go to Barnes & Noble or whatever, you can request it and they'll print order it in about 2 weeks.

Thought you might like to know, in case you ever finish one worthy of binding! I'd love to some day, but right now, poker is my clock-killer! Good luck.

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I'm still not decided on whether cheap self-publishing is the best or worst thing to happen to the literary world. On the one hand, I think it's wonderful in a case where someone has written a technical volume that would have a niche market. On the other hand, it allows any rube with a PC and $300 to publish their crappy psuedo-pornographic harlequin-rejected romance novel.

I also worry that the ease of self-publishing could lead writters with publication-worthy work to shy away from taking the time to submit to publishers. The result would be a work that could possibly be a best-seller being stuck with triple digit sales because the author thought it would just be easier to use iUniverse. Self-published books are very rarely stocked in bookstores because they are almost always Print-On-Demand and the bookseller is forced to take on the full risk of stocking the book, since it will not be returnable.