tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post115108668834806424..comments2024-02-23T03:28:33.435-05:00Comments on Culture Industry: My Life in Publishing iMark Scrogginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01431113440875342809noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151188966318533772006-06-24T18:42:00.000-04:002006-06-24T18:42:00.000-04:00gd to knw. smtms i can't even decipher nts i wrt t...gd to knw. smtms i can't even decipher nts i wrt to me. ;) i was afraid it might be read as "recommended" or something. i try not to gibber in public (or talk to myself) but i frequently fail.shannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17706867356078179503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151175235376879232006-06-24T14:53:00.000-04:002006-06-24T14:53:00.000-04:00Yes, an astute point, Ian.Shanna, yes, and as I no...Yes, an astute point, Ian.<BR/><BR/>Shanna, yes, and as I noted early on in my post, for me it's more about feeling that one's peers/friends respect what one is doing--that a self-published book is not automatically dismissed, but rather allowed to "speak for itself." Exactly. (I think "rec'd" is pretty standard by now.)Jessica Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04717874657318262267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151159318769175902006-06-24T10:28:00.000-04:002006-06-24T10:28:00.000-04:00sorry, my own shorthand. rec'd = received. and i o...sorry, my own shorthand. rec'd = received. and i omitted "lot" in "not a whole lot of control." <BR/><BR/>more coffee please.shannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17706867356078179503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151159215920231832006-06-24T10:26:00.000-04:002006-06-24T10:26:00.000-04:00that's a good point, ian. i've done both, and auto...that's a good point, ian. i've done both, and automatically prefer self-publishing for certain kinds of things, while still seeing the appeal (mostly logistic in re: to distribution and context) of going the other way. <BR/><BR/>henry's certainly right too about legitimacy being conferred, but i think what some of us are lamenting is that legitimacy/acceptability/professional status is often conferred for reasons other than *what we have actually written,* more so than with other arts (as jessica has noticed). there's not a whole of control a writer can exert over how she is rec'd, which is why it's best not to worry about that too much (as much as possible), but we can try to change the culture, via these conversations and simply by doing what we are doing.shannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17706867356078179503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151092868868172212006-06-23T16:01:00.000-04:002006-06-23T16:01:00.000-04:00The decision to self-publish is a decision to self...The decision to self-publish is a decision to self-publish ONE BOOK, not a decision to never publish anywhere else or necessarily a statement on the current condition of the publishing world.Ian Keenanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16596558654735506132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151092102220169462006-06-23T15:48:00.000-04:002006-06-23T15:48:00.000-04:00Our confidence or lack thereof (as writers) is our...Our confidence or lack thereof (as writers) is our own; legitimacy - at least in the social world - is granted to us by others. <BR/><BR/>So, on the face of it, self-publishing is not automatically "legitimate", either officially, in Mark's terms, or otherwise.<BR/><BR/>But we want to be "legit", at least sometimes we do. We want to be accepted - fully - by others, for what we think we have actually accomplished. (I say "sometimes" - because I think there are also psychological or moral motives which actually inhibit some people, sometimes, from claiming their place in the sun. They *prefer* the shadows. They defeat themselves.)<BR/><BR/>Maybe there will be a blurring between publishing & self-publishing - an atmosphere in which reviewers and editors will find it more natural to read, consider & evaluate, self-published work.<BR/><BR/>I hope that happens. (I have a lot of self-published books out there, waiting!) I think Jessica's comments help promote that.Henry Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06763188178644726622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11295909.post-1151089235331447152006-06-23T15:00:00.000-04:002006-06-23T15:00:00.000-04:00Hi Mark, thank you for saying that my post was "le...Hi Mark, thank you for saying that my post was "level-headed & straightforward." I'm glad that it was for you, since there seem to have been some misunderstandings among others. Lorraine Graham and I have been discussing this privately, and have arrived at your summation: "get over it, girl/boyfriend!, get out there and put your stuff into the world!" But we have also concluded that this is a hurdle that all poets must, at some stage of development, scale: that is, placing and understanding oneself vis-a-vis that which is named "legitimate," and coming to understand one's own work as "legitimate" (even without the publishing factors). I hope that my post helps some of my peers with this process because their anti-self-publishing comments annoy me.<BR/><BR/>Thank you, too, for the extended list of authors who have self-published. Looking fwd to the promised continuation.Jessica Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04717874657318262267noreply@blogger.com