Feeling Introverted

The day before yesterday, I received a rejection. It par for the course. Still, with all the changes going on in the publishing industry today, I have to wonder what the correct course of action is.

The all illusive golden ticket is even more out of reach than I had thought when I first started this journey. My agent says, "No one wants you unless you're J.K. Rowlings, or Patterson,"

Here's what I have to say about that. They didn't start out as the stars of the industry. In fact they were where I am right now. They all played the waiting game and were all rejected at some point in time or another. I don't know what to think about the critique, because I didn't receive one. I do know that if I had just a single shot from a publisher, I would do what I needed to make sure it was worth having. I know there are a lot of writers out there who say the same thing and mean it as much as I do. I also know there is such a thing as crawling before you walk. Meaning, I know without a doubt that this part of the process is me crawling on my knees, through a patch of broken glass, up hill.

The latest news in the publishing world is all about Amazon. They have decided to also take on the role as a traditional publisher. Can you see what I mean about changes int he publishing industry? If you would have asked me a few years ago, I would have said no they aren't going to do something like that. Today though, with all the available technology, it almost makes sense to open up a publishing company in the middle of being a distributor.

What does all this mean for us lowly writers who just want to get our work out there for all the world to see? For one, it means the industry is going to freeze everything and those who can't keep up will fade away. It also means that one of the biggest distributors known to man when it comes to just about everything is taking over. I don't know what the guidelines are as of yet. I don't even know what it would take to become a writer through the traditional part of the company. What I do know is the self-publish section of Amazon is extremely successful and finds some wonderful writers who would otherwise go unnoticed.

Is it even necessary to have people like agents or even go through the traditional route anymore? I don't know. What I do know is everything changed the moment Amazon said we're going to traditionally publish novels. It is now even more difficult to become one of the J.K. Rowlings or Stephen Kings of the world. Hey how about this, I'm just going to do what I do and let the chips fall where they lay.

What I'm hoping happens is a small publishing  company that has a good reputation picks me up. It isn't because I think it would be easier, it's because right now, I feel like I would be so lost in the middle of all the names out there. Hell, what do I know, I'm already lost...I'm a writer, we live in the land of the lost.