To Writers Circle Webscribe on Self-Publication

Dear Webscribe,

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/media/david-mamet-and-other-big-authors-choose-to-self-publish.html?pagewanted=all

Thanks for forwarding this article.  

I understand your dilemma in "rappin' round' " self-publishing.  You're not alone.  It is interesting to watch the evolution of this phenomenon's status in the publishing world.

Originally called "vanity publishing" a nomenclature that was, and may still be, accurate (in some cases), it has carved out a legitimate and recognized tier for itself for unpublished authors, and established authors as well.  To me, the concept has vastly exceeded its "vanity" phase and become simply a menu item in the vast array of commercial publishing services.  

The advantages enumerated in the NY Times article are pertinent for all the authors I know, and know of.  The higher royalties, the increased control, the extension of time applied to marketing, are all appealing features.  And elimination of the stress and anxiety of trying to sell yourself and your work to an agent or publisher, and the time you save by taking over the job for yourself (you  never get a rejection), seem true values to me.

The article helped me reach these conclusion.  Thanks for thinking about us and passing it on.

Bill Hines

Writing status

Saturday AM.  I was signed up for a "Pitch" at the Atlanta Writers Conference in May, but when I discovered that the fifty dollar pitch did not include the previous day's "Query Letter Critique", and that all the Friday sessions were full with a waiting list, I withdrew from the "Pitch" portion.  The refund will be less a $25 fee, but a pitch for the novel, RockParty, would be premature at this time.

I have editing corrections from seven critique group meetings backed up and waiting- totally unacceptable.  I am attending a free, AWC workshop on writing fiction today.  It is actually open to the public- at the Dunwoody Library.

Platform update: April 13, 2013

The discount web hosting site I have used several years does not have the support I need.  Since Mobile Me went defunct 6-30-2021, my website, chryscross.com, has not been online.  After researching, I decided on a new service called "IPage".  I have struggled all week getting the two domains transferred (finally successful) and set up.  chryscross.com is up and working fine, but, although it is transferred and published, the web can't find the file "rockparty.us".

I told my rep at IPage that I didn't want to think about any (marketing) enhancements until I get these two sites up and running as is.  I have a ticket (request) in to their customer service about RockParty.

I plan that one site will be the web page of a novelist, and the other the website of a novel.  RockParty.us will be the novel.  I will probably change the site name of the other to billhines.org, which is available.

Platform

I have avoided little daily diatribes in this blog, intending to avoid the appearance of vanity.  But more and more I am learning that blogging is an essential component of a modern day platform, which, as a writer, I need to develop and refine.  So look for more personal sharing from me in the future.

A note to the fundamentalist/literalist

     You divide the world into two categories of people: those who would tear pages out of the Bible that they don't agree with, and those who oppose tearing any pages out of the Bible.  Truth is, both sides "cherry pick" the passages to support their own beliefs, while ignoring those which dispute, or do not support, their beliefs (which is the same as literally tearing the page out of the Bible, although not as dramatic).
   
     The apologetics (arguments) of both of these groups are possessed by a devil called "the ego", which changes their motivation from "seeking truth" to "being right".
     

Uni Verses by Bill Hines

Some think Heaven is somewhere else,

Most believe that it’s up above,

Someone once said it’s all around us,

And a ticket there is bought with love.

I know a man from another world,

As a matter of fact, he’s right over there,

Another is in the space where I am,

But to see them is much more than rare.

How can there be a parallel universe?

Would it be great or worse than worst,

If proliferation of my verses,

Identified parallel universes?

Such an awful thought to grasp,

Who cares to ponder things like these,

To some, an inescapable task,

But how could anyone find the keys?

If you look at space, it cannot be curved,

But if you look at space, there is nothing to see.

So how can we tell, how can we measure?

We think that we know, but how can that be.

My Daily Prayer

My Daily Prayer

             There is a prayer with which we are all familiar.  Although it is called a prayer, in its written for, it looks like a poem.  No one knows who wrote it or when it was written, even though most people attribute its authorship to a 20^th Century protestant theologian.  I say we are all familiar with this prayer; actually, it is just the first verse that everybody knows and associates with its title.

            This ubiquitous prayer is found in more varieties of art forms and in more gift shops and bookstores than any other, even the Lord's Prayer.  If you haven't guessed by now, it is The Serenity Prayer, its authorship often attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr (a much disputed contention). 

            Another fallacy thought about the Serenity Prayer is that it is a creation of and owned by Alcoholics Anonymous.  That's because the Serenity Prayer is recited at the beginning or end of every twelve step meeting in the world, and there are over 300 anonymous societies that use the twelve step approach to deal with addictions ranging from substance abust to overeating, compulsive shopping to gambling and about 300 other things.  But, no, Twelve Step programs do not own the Serenity Prayer.

            I would venture to say that there is not one person here—youth or adult—who has not heard or read the first verse of this prayer.  I would also bet there are relatively few who have ever heard the full version, which I am going to read for you now.

God, grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can,

and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and

supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

Amen

            You might be asking why I am telling you all this.  The reason is that I want to talk about my (personal) daily prayer to God, which—coincidentally—begins with the first verse of the Serenity Prayer.

            Next comes a short phrase about God's will.  Do you want to do God's will?  The correct answer here is  "yes".  Well, how are you going to do God's will if you don't know what God's will is?  And even if you know God's will, how are you going to do it if you are not able?  So, after the Serenity Prayer, the second part of my daily prayer is:

     "Grant me the knowledge of Your will for me and the power to carry that out."

            Next, I address my stewardship of the time God gives me—the only time I have:

   "Grant me the willingness and ability to remain in this one and only day you have given      

        me and use it to the fullest."

            Then I pray for the two most important personal characteristics for me as a Christian:

     "Your will, not mine."

     "Keep me humble."

I truly believe that my God forgives my sins even before I ask Him.  This truth, this gift came by Jesus sacrificing His life on a cross so that my sins would be forgiven.  And even though I ask, every day:

     "Forgive my sins."

—and it is important to ask—I know that because of Jesus' death, I am forgiven. 

            I like and endorse the prayer of St. Francis, and I believe that it is my daily duty to seek to exhibit the love of Christ, subduing my own ego.  So I ask God to:

                 "Possess my mind and body and make me an instrument of your peace."

            My prayer is then ended with a summary of its most crucial components:

                 "Forgive my sins."

                 "Your will, not mine"

                 "Keep me humble."

            That's it.  God is satisfied when I pray it;  He is not happy when I don't, which leads to the last essential component of my daily prayer, found in its title:

                      "daily"

           Seeking Christian perfection is a lifetime, daily activity.  My seeking is kick started every day by this personal prayer.