Comments | giselle_lx: Re-virginization Hurts, or Why the Internet Shouldn't Host Your First Book

giselle_lx

Re-virginization Hurts, or Why the Internet Shouldn't Host Your First Book

Sep 10, 2011 17:42

Rant. Brace yourself. This is me not being terribly nice, but being very real.

First rights are important in publishing. This is why where you publish your book matters. Yes, it's true that more good publishers are willing to take a risk on something that's been self-pubbed or badly pubbed (provided the rights have reverted), but it's also still ( Read more... )

blog post, publishing

Comments 7

inautumn September 10 2011, 21:53:28 UTC

:o I wondered where that went when I tried to comment...

Forgot a period, whoops.I think this was very thoughtful, and I appreciate how frank you were. Sometimes it sort of seems like that's the only way to get a point across in this fandom ( ... )

giselle_lx September 10 2011, 22:05:50 UTC

Yeah sorry. :P I was having major, major issues with lj cut, so I deleted the whole thing and started over.

Now, the funny thing is, I *do* think you can file the serial numbers off a fic. But I think it looks VERY different than people think it does, and by the time you've done it, you've usually written what is more or less an entirely new novel anyway.

For me, far easier to just start fresh. And it keeps your options much more open.

inautumn September 10 2011, 22:12:57 UTC

Yes and you don't have to agonize about what you're going to do about the fanfic it originated as, should it come to that.

Publishing's Catch-22 arfalcon September 10 2011, 21:57:55 UTC

Excellent post. I hope there are exceptions for the sake of our friends, but your arguments are sound. And the "Re-virginization" title is brilliant. It definitely caught my attention.

Anne

Re: Publishing's Catch-22 giselle_lx September 10 2011, 22:03:41 UTC

I think we're already seeing it. Sleepyval, for instance, has seen that in order to truly re-work AA5, it's going to be so different from the fic that there's no point in not having the fic posted.

I believe strongly that fic is fic, and should stay that way. If you're truly a writer, you have more than one book in you if you dig deeply enough...so why start a career off on the wrong foot, you know?

miaokuancha September 11 2011, 15:15:08 UTC

Heh, I'll go you one better in the bitch department ( ... )

(The comment has been removed)

giselle_lx September 14 2011, 00:05:21 UTC

I should get more ranty more often.

re: virginity, to extend your analogy I think it's more that it's like a person who doesn't care about their virginity trying to hunt for a partner among a cohort of super-dooper conservative Christians. It doesn't matter whether or not you care that you've put your stuff out there...*he* does, so you're not going to find a husband there.

But yeah. I take my cue from minisinoo on the fanfic/profic thing. I put my all into my fic...it means a lot and I work hard on it. But at the ened of the day, it's the equivalent of flushing my work down the toilet. It's not reusable. It's just for fun.

I hope you're well, too! I was on the university shuttle the other day (school is back in) and it turns down 23rd right next to the church that was in "Geraniums." I thought of you.