March 29, 2025

Saturday

Once upon a time, I used to watch a soap opera called Another World. I was just a kid, but the character of Felicia Gallant caught my imagination. Played by the elegant Linda Dano, Felicia was a big-time romance novelist. The character was based on real-life writer Jacqueline Susann (Valley of the Dolls). Felicia was glamorous, successful, living that 1980s big life. We’d see her typing her novels and talking about her career at Cory Publishing. Oh, part of me was inspired by this character.

As you can see from the above photos, my life didn’t quite turn out to be as glamorous as Gallant’s.

I suppose there is still time.

Social Media Break

I’ve been working up to taking a large break from Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky (a recent addition basically just to hold my name/place). I quit Twitter long ago and never liked it. I see no need to hold a place there. I WILL NEVER HAVE AN X ACCOUNT so if one pops up, it’s fake.

At some point, I may decide to delete all social media accounts so that there is no question about fakery. I am also wary of account “takeovers” by bad actors. I’ve known people who have been locked out of their accounts by hackers. However, burning bridges isn’t something that professional writers should do lightly. I’ll give myself a little while longer to decide what, if anything, I want to do.

Although, even as I type this, I’m feeling strongly that I might want to delete them permanently.

These platforms do not really help me find new readers, especially if I’m not keen to pay $$$$$ in advertisements.

I have other ways of connecting with friends and family. I’d rather text, email, send real letters, talk on the phone, or video chat. And once I’m back on the mainland, hanging out IN REAL LIFE.

I’ve given everyone lots of notice that I may be leaving the platforms, so I don’t think they will be surprised to not find me there. Yup, I deleted the apps off my phone. I’m still using Messenger and What’s App, at least while I’m overseas.

Publishing

I’ve been rereading a book about the history of publishing, where it stands today, and how authors are faring in the current environment. The Untold Story of Books, by Michael Castleman is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the publishing industry. Once again, I’m reminded that the chances of becoming a runaway best-selling author like Ms. Gallant are similar to winning the Megabucks.

So here’s my plan for now: Write a bunch of books and short stories over the next couple of years, submit the stories to magazines and contests, and once I have some full-length books completed, I will figure out what to do with them.

I could even print some up at my own expense and sell them out of my house and at live events and from my website. You better believe I would make sure they were professionally-edited, proofread, designed, and bound. If I do this, I will create beautiful objects that my readers will be pleased to have on their shelves. Ebooks (which I could offer for those who prefer or need the large-print/different fonts) will BE THE SAME PRICE as the print versions.

I don’t want to be famous. I just want to find the readers who will love my stories, characters, and style. It’s kind of a simple desire…but one that’s hard to accomplish because it’s ever more difficult for readers and authors to find each other.

Whoever figures out an easy, low-cost way to match readers with authors will make a lot of money. Maybe we just need to get back to local libraries and bookstores which could/should/do vet both trad and indie-pubbed books.The hard part there is the sheer volume of books published every year. Booksellers and librarians are already inundated with authors hoping to get an eyeball and inclusion on the shelves, so these awesome but overwhelmed book heroes tend to focus on traditionally-pubbed books and some indie authors who are local to that community.

Anyway, just my thoughts today. I really need to stop worrying about publishing and get back to my writing. As someone once wrote, “That’s where the fun is . . .”