I do all my writing alone.
But, I’m not lonely when I do it…
There’s always my Ol’ Muse there to keep me company :-)
But, writers show a vast range of differences in the ways they approach their craft.
And, with the amazing communication opportunities we now have, many writers are opening their study doors to other writers.
I get my own creative writing done while alone; but, I do hang out with other writers and share knowledge; and, I do turn my words over to editors, even if I don’t always do what they suggest :-)
Also, the whole frenzy of revolution in self-publishing is opening minds to new ways to accomplish what a writer must do, which leads me to an article on Joel Friedlander’s blog—Why Self-Publishers Should Go it Alone, Together.
The guest author, Jordan Rosenfeld, begins with:
“You’re interested in self-publishing because you’re ready to go it alone, so it might seem a little strange for me to suggest that you go it alone—with other people. Say what? Bear with me, and I’ll lay it all out.”
She goes on to relate a bit of her experience in trying to traditionally publish a novel, then talks about considering self-publishing.
She got to sharing her concerns with a writing friend:
“…Chelsea and I soon realized that we knew lots of talented writers with other skills (because all writers soon realize they need a backup plan): graphic designers, photographers, editors, marketing pros, social media experts, journalists, and so on.
“What if we came together to support one another, and cross-traded services?”
Well, they did get together and formed a Writers’ Collective—IndieVisible.
From their WebSite:
“We are a powerhouse collective of independent writers who use joint resources and collaborative social media to deliver quality books to the masses without pushing our work through a big house. We work with top notch editors, illustrators, graphic designers, and PR gurus, keeping all aspects of industry-related work within our ever growing family of freelancers, supporting a thriving community of entrepreneurs. We are real people, with a real desire to have real careers as best-selling authors. We’re reinventing publishing so that it works for us, and for our readers.”
Whew!
Back on the blog post, Jordan says:
“I want to make it clear that while we share resources and have the option to publish our books with the “I.V. Ink” logo, we are all independent publishers of our own work. We own the rights to our work and do not share profits with one another, though we do offer each other free or bartered services.”
There ya go…
One more excerpt from the blog post:
“Oversight: When you go it alone you leave yourself open to mistakes that you make because you don’t know you’re making them. In a collective you have people to edit and proof your work, give pointers and advice on your cover, help you brainstorm ideas, and tell you honestly what needs work.”
She then expands on those ideas with these topics:
Resource & Talent Sharing
Moral support
Joint Promotion
United Front
Professionalism
Creative brainstorming
More to offer
Success by Association
Their approach to independent publishing won’t work for every author, for a variety of reasons; and, some Indies do accomplish all aspects of publishing by themselves; yet, certain aspects of a Writers’ Collective might be worth any author’s consideration…
Now, let’s consider a Collective that’s got very different stripes.
There’s a library in Modesto, California, USA that’s part of the Stanislaus County Library System and they’ve begun organizing a Community Novel Project.
From an article in the Merced Sun-Star, we have this:
“The Stanislaus County Library…has brought a diverse group of 15 writers together to pen a book. Each author will write one chapter, and the finished project will be bound and published in November.”
“Project members, selected from close to 40 applicants, range in age from 20s to 80s. They include published authors, a retired professor, a college student, a math teacher, a computer programmer and more.”
“…the novel will be a mystery set in Stanislaus County about a couple who find a trailer that had been submerged in an area waterway, but is now visible because of the drought. The couple then try to piece together where the camper came from and to whom its contents belong.
“Each author has two weeks to turn in an edited draft. The first draft will be given to the next author a week into the process, and so on until the final chapter.”
“The novel will begin publishing a chapter a week on the library website in April. During the writing process, there will be a contest for a local artist to create the book’s cover art. The completed work will be published online, in audio format and in print. A book launch will be held Nov. 16, which will feature Lemony Snicket series author Daniel Handler.”
So, two very different approaches to writers working together…
Does either one intrigue you?
Think you’d ever become involved in either type of project?
Please, do, leave your Comments :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Leave A Comment, Use The Link At The Top-Right of The Post :-)
For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com
* Google Author Page
GRAB A FREE COPY of Notes from An Alien
Go Ahead, Share This Post:
Like this:
Like Loading...
World News
Notes from An Alien 