I've written a few short stories, mostly memoir pieces that I hope to send to a publisher one day. But, I'm not the only one writing. Everyone who blogs is basically telling his/her story and hoping to get an audience that will read these.
I've looked at the idea of self-publishing, or setting up a web-site just for my stories. But, when I read crafted stories via internet, the experience doesn't feel right. There is something about the medium, the computer screen, that seems to work best with small pieces of prose and lots of pictures. It's a medium for advertising, for connectivity, for marketing.
Most bloggers write for their intimate family and friends, people who are following each other already, wanting to stay close. Some make friends across the web with people who have similar backgrounds. That's great. But those same people may not be interested in reading your creative output, and even less interested in rewarding you by subscribing, the way Dickens' fans bought his serial novels.
What are others doing out there?
13 comments:
I agree that reading blogs or information online is one thing while reading literature is something else again. I want the feel of paper in my hands and the ability to wander off to a favorite chair when I read stories.
And both sorts of writing and reading please me - as you well know!
Hey, welcome as an official 'follower', though you were my first secret follower. Between us, we could be filling up our blogs with many inside jokes, relating all kinds of markers known only to us. We can still do that, I guess, just as the new person at our writers' group incorporated his special imagery.
Just as I keep working on that Venice story that's haunting me, so I keep working on ways to get our stories shared somehow. Besides self-publishing, which is still called vanity press for a good reason, I don't see a quick solution. I'm sure some people are willing to dish out that much money to have ten people get a bound copy. Not me. I have to find other ways.
I love to write but don't feel that I have a "story" to tell. I love to read as well, but I, too, like the feel of the book in my hands, curled up in a chair, reading in bed. It just feels better to have the paper in my hand. A friend of mine is using the Kindle to read her books, but it just isn't the same. I want to add that it is more ecologically friendly to use electronic means of reading and one day I may move toward that, but not yet.
Are you holding out on us? I, for one, would love to read some of your stories. For me the words and the way they are crafted together makes a story - be it on screen or some form of hard copy. Sure, a book is great - but - if you have some stories that are worth a read then why not add another blog name to your existing blog site and then people could choose if they want to read your stories or just catch up on the every day sort of stuff we tend to blog about? There are some bloggers out there who do that. Some ask people to register and some are open to anyone.
I guess there is the thing about payment though! If you are writing stories as an income generator then publishing them on your blog is a no gain situation.
Am I on the right track here? Lately I feel as if I maybe raving on a bit - completely irrelevant to what the post was about?
I think I need to be in the same room as the person I am chatting with - easier to read their intent.
Bottom line is - I would love to read some of your stories.
Cheryl, I agree about keeping paper out of the dump. Have you noticed, though, that we still generate a whole lot of pulp?
Mary, no, I'm not leaving the blog, especially with good readers who take the time to post comments and give thoughtful feedback. Fortunately for me at this time in my life, I do not need additional income. The need is one of ambition. Who doesn't want to be recognized in some ways? Writers, like musicians and painters will continue to produce in obscurity because they love what they do. I will think about your suggestion of adding a companion blog just for the stories. Thanks for stopping by.
Me too, I want books and find it tiring to read long stories on a screen. The thing is, once you post a "book" on a blog, you cannot sell it to a publisher. I have no solution, either, but like your thoughts (and would like your stories, too).
In agreement about the book/screen debate, nothing quite like a book in your hands or to see your writing in published print. So glad to have 'discovered' your blog. You really must write your story - Your public awaits!
Angela, thanks for stopping in and leaving your encouraging words.
Marianne, welcome, and take a seat. We have a lot to talk about. Matawheeze and I belong to a writers' group here on the coast. We'd love to have you to join us, in some way. Have you always known that S. King was your model?
I'm a die hard reader so I tend to read anything I can find - screen, book or otherwise! I definitely like the portability of an actual book and the whole 'turning the pages' thing. I try to pass my books along and share them instead of having them collect dust when I finish. I would love to read more of your work. I like the idea of another blog just for that purpose but there are several small publishers who you might consider submitting to before you put it on the public blog. Good luck!!!!
I write for my family and as a bonus I have made friends (I include you among them).
I write so I don't have to repeat myself a million times about how I am feeling. My peeps know to just look at the blog.
I write so that my family will have something of me when I die.
I write because I fear being forgotten.
Love Renee
Renee,
You got to the core of it all. WE write because we want to leave a legacy of who we are, what we believe, how we loved and cared. Our words are more powerful and will speak across centuries and continents. When we're gone, the whole of us will be gone, but fragments will remain and reappear like agates on the beach. Our children and grandchildren one day will unearth these agates, discover something that seems to reveal only to them, and they will exclaim: "Grandma liked jam, like me."
Renee, thanks for stopping by.
LV, I didn't start to blog out of any frustrated ambition to write, although I have written scraps of chick-lit style novels in the past...
I like to read, and although I prefer books, I can read blogs and extracts just fine on the Internet...
I have known at least 5 people being picked up for books via their blogs, and I have only been around since January this year - I think that's heartening for such a gifted writer as you, non?
A Woman...,thanks for stopping by and leaving such warm commentary. It is good just to have eager readers out there, sharing and supporting each other.
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