Sunday, November 13, 2011

Silk For Moisture, Mud for Shine by Amanda C. Davis

Silk for Moisture, Mud for Shine by Amanda C. Davis was in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror Special Edition of Emerald Tales: Follow the Butterflies. It is now published by Dunesteef Audio Fiction Magazine Episode 116. So if you missed it when Emerald Tales was in print, now is your chance to listen to it. You can find it here.

Off on a tangent, I think I was the first to publish a short story written by Aubrie Dionne and yesterday she had a book signing in Barnes and Noble for her first novel Paradise 21. (If I am wrong about this Aubrie, mea culpa) And Jason Flum who I know I published his first short stories has an agent. And as I see these wonderful things happening for the newbies that I published, I can't help but smile. It's a great feeling to see you all go on to bigger and better things. I feel the way a first grade teacher must feel when one of her students wins the Nobel Prize or become President of the USA.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Don't take my word for it

This is not a religious post, though I am going to use something the Buddha said as a springboard. You don't have to be a Buddhist to use it.

One of the things Buddha told his first disciples is do not accept what I say because I said it. Check it out for yourself. If it makes sense to you, then keep it. If it does not make sense to you, then do not adopt it.

This approach not only to religion, but all other aspects of one's life as well is very good advice to follow.

Sticking just with publishing, if one of the top agents suggests something but it doesn't sound right to you, then check it out. If after thorough examination you still don't agree with what they said, then set it aside. The same goes for any industry bigwig or those advertising themselves as experts. Check them out. Thoroughly.

We're all human. We all have our blind spots, pet peeves, and personal crusades. We can be right about one thing, but absolutely wrong about another. From the top of the publishing food chain to the bottom, you will find people who know what they are talking about most of the time but not all of the time.

This includes me. Don't accept what I say here because I have a small publishing company or because I state my opinions rather strongly. Check it out. If what I say doesn't make sense to you or your don't agree with me, then don't take my opinion on as one of your own. Because I could be wrong or I might not have been clear trying to express my thoughts.

Be a skeptic.