Dear Lit Loves,
Greetings literary lovies! Well, have you ever heard the song entitled "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister? (Okay, if you are 35 years of age or younger I'll wait while you toggle through social media to find the song and listen to the lyrics). It's absolutely one of my favorite songs. And presently, I'm listening to it on constant rotation for a serious reason: I had one too many literary agents turn down my memoir manuscript because I "don't have a national media platform and pre-existing audience in the tens or hundreds of thousands via social media." So I finally have gotten fed up and am throwing down the gauntlet. You know why I'm throwing down the gauntlet? Because it used to be that a book was acquired based on the meaningfulness of the story and the strong writing. Well as far as I'm concerned that should still be the case.
And agents as well as other acquaintances keep asking me (pestering is more like it) with the questions: Why don't you do Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Pinterest? YouTube? Tumblr? Flickr? Snapchat? Simple answer: I think all social media feeds narcissist tendencies and behaviors. Truly, I don't want my life or the people in it displayed all over the internet. If I wish to comment on an issue, I'll write about it via my blog, website or manuscript so I'm not limited to 143 characters. I have better things to do with my life than tag pictures and people that I like. That's observing life, not LIVING it. And honestly, this Facebook thing with people being able to "unlike" you? Puhleesse! This is not junior high school, folks! As a writer I will engage in having a blog and a website. And that's more than enough to keep up with on a frequent basis.
So here's the deal: As far as the literary community is concerned I'm going rogue. Yep, you heard me correctly. I finished my manuscript, edited it, revised it, and now I'm taking the self-publishing route. Everything's finished with the exception of the book cover and that's happening right now. Eventually, you will have access to my books through paperback and ebook. Now I'm not expecting Julianne Moore who appeared in the movie Still Alice which was originally a self-published work to call me, but if she does, I'll take the call after verifying it is actually her. I'm not anticipating Reese Witherspoon to even hear of my book, read it or much less call me and ask to purchase the movie rights, but she did star in the movie version of Legally Blonde which was originally a self-published book. If Reese calls though, I will take the call upon verification that it is actually her. I'll be looking to hear her southern accent for sure. My point is this: sometimes you can't let your dreams linger in the closet or get stuffed in a corner. No, sometimes you have to go make it all happen by yourself because even though no one else believes in you, it's enough that you believe in yourself and your work. I'll be posting updates as the self-publishing process takes its course. And I'll still be posting reviews of memoirs I recommend though I do not read celebrity memoirs. I read books by real people with real lives and real issues because I like the average person, the underdog, and the alleged "nobodies" (literary agent term not mine). We will all have to wait patiently and see what this nobody from nowheresville does, okay? Can you say, MOTIVATED?!
Till my next post,
Grace
(Amy)
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