tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post7898533437503954089..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Moral Fiction in the Imperfect Tense, Part IIDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-44848530977516991052018-01-04T22:04:35.528-05:002018-01-04T22:04:35.528-05:00I came across a great novel (read this with cautio...I came across a great novel (read this with caution as I don't read too many novels) by Christopher Beha called What Happened to Sophie Wilder. It would be in this category of edgier subject matter but it realistically portrays a Catholic convert who doesn't find all the answers with her conversion but struggles with her faith. The author grew up Catholic but is only nominally so now. But it would be nice in a Catholic publishing house because it has a well-informed view of the faith.Jeff Stivershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09448876303849581100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-15737345241881968822017-12-19T12:06:05.611-05:002017-12-19T12:06:05.611-05:00I should have remembered this was a friend of E...I should have remembered this was a friend of E's. If the friend is trying to publish in the Philippines, it may still be more viable to publish traditionally. Small presses may have more power and reach, too. (A lot of countries that have their own local languages have more widespread interest in getting more writers in print. Ireland was one such country, where it was normal for a good chunk of the neighbors to have books out in Irish and/or English.)<br /><br />OTOH, in the developing world, a lot of people have cellphones who don't have libraries. So ebooks probably have more reach.Bansheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594214770417497135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-57519126781674615852017-12-19T11:59:53.508-05:002017-12-19T11:59:53.508-05:00In this day and age, why would anybody want to pub...In this day and age, why would anybody want to publish traditionally? <br /><br />To give money away to agents? <br /><br />To waste time that could be spent writing novels?<br /><br />I realize that you have a traditionally published writer in the family who has done quite well. But that's like having a lottery winner in the family; it's not a realistic example of a business model.<br /><br />There was a nice analysis run recently of traditionally published Big Five writers of the last ten years. Basically, the field was restricted to a couple hundred people, in a world where perhaps millions of people have good novels in them. Also, almost everybody (outside some small genre niches) was an MFA from an Ivy League college, living in New York. (Often they were people with multiple pre-existing social links to the editors. But again, there are thousands of people who live in that small circle, so it's still a diceroll.)<br /><br />Small presses can be a viable option, if the owners are savvy and hardworking. But you really have to trust the people, and they really have to know what they're doing. A lot of bad stuff has happened with small presses.<br /><br />So yeah, you can play the lottery and suck up to your betters and plead for your rights if you win; you can besiege a reputable imprint Baen Books for its few openings (if you write sf/f) -- or you can just write, and self-publish what you write. The more you write and publish, the better you are likely to do.Bansheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594214770417497135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-80195324536772606342017-12-15T08:08:58.731-05:002017-12-15T08:08:58.731-05:00You get more money from self-publishing. I think t...You get more money from self-publishing. I think there are benefits to doing both routes, but if she wants to get published then self-publishing may be the best way to get started. Hugh Howey started self-published and then was picked up by traditional publishing. Zinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503175192104312400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-90964287647415703952017-12-14T16:54:16.838-05:002017-12-14T16:54:16.838-05:00+JMJ+
And I just read Part 1. Amends was self-pu...+JMJ+ <br /><br />And I just read Part 1. <i>Amends</i> was self-published. Exactly what my friend doesn't want to do with her own novel. She just feels that there's still something to be said for the traditional route. Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-44325968868528054082017-12-14T16:41:41.041-05:002017-12-14T16:41:41.041-05:00+JMJ+
A friend of mine finished NaNoWriMo with a...+JMJ+ <br /><br />A friend of mine finished NaNoWriMo with a Dystopian novel that she would like to shop out to publishers. But she worries that it's too "niche" for everybody: non-Catholics won't like it because they won't understand the Catholic references; atheists won't like it because it doesn't actually attack religion; and Catholics won't like it because . . . it has gay characters. She seemed quite convinced that the last point would be a deal breaker for Catholics, and the discussion that that sparked seemed to back her up. Granted, she was discussing it with exactly <i>one</i> commenter. <br /><br />But now I'm wondering . . . Who published Eve Tushnet's <i>Amends</i>? Are they looking for more edgy fiction? And yes, I'm truly "asking for a friend." Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.com