Comments on: Lawrence Block Says It Perfectly

By: Russ

Russ — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:25:03 +0000

Thanks for sharing LB blog. I bookmarked the site. Very interesting.

By: Kort

Kort — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 05:27:21 +0000

After talking to her over lunch, I really want to send this to my aunt. She is absolutely convinced I shouldn’t self-publish. Thing is, I’ve been planning to self-publish for almost 7 years now. I wonder what she’ll do when I start making more money than she does . . .

By: Lee

Lee — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:34:29 +0000

Looks like he isn’t the only one:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2134534/Childrens-author-GP-Taylor-hes-decided-self-publish.html

By: Gretchen Rix

Gretchen Rix — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:57:53 +0000

One of the first things I did this morning was log into amazon.com and buy a couple of his books. His blog has put paid to any doubts I had about self-publishing. Thanks you both (and Kris, too).

By: Stephen Knight

Stephen Knight — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:09:41 +0000

“Now that she was doing so well, she said, publishers had come around, telling her how much they could do for her. “I tell them I already know what they can do for me,” she said. “They already did it.”

No kidding. Once all the heavy lifting is done, publishers kind of remind me of vultures dropping by with hopes of being able to snatch a few mouthfuls.

By: Ellen O'Connell

Ellen O'Connell — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:10:41 +0000

My favorites are:

“Is The Night and the Music making me rich? No, hardly that. But it’s making me happy.”

and from an LB comment:

“Instead of waiting forever for a publisher’s sales reports (which I sometimes suspect are as much creatures of the imagination as are my novels)….”

The second quote made me think of some of the things Kris has written about.

By: Lee Allred

Lee Allred — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:45:14 +0000

From Lawrence E. Block’s post:

“…publishers had come around, telling her how much they could do for her. ‘I tell them I already know what they can do for me,’ she said. ‘They already did it.’”

Priceless.

By: Ty Johnston

Ty Johnston — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:50:11 +0000

That’s an amazing tale, and to think it came from Block. Who would have guessed even a year ago, huh?

Funny thing, the cover of “Hank the Cowdog” looked familiar to me for some reason. Wonder if I ran across it somewhere? Hmm, something to ponder.

By: Steve Lewis

Steve Lewis — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:47:51 +0000

I agree, great article, Dean. I know I’ve said this before but to get all of these changes from Lawrence Block’s perspective is mind boggling. He’s seen everything. I own all of his books on writing and now adding his blog posts to that: Wow. I love pretty much everything he’s ever written and to see him still going strong and even thriving in this new enviroment is amazing. I hope he does so for another twenty years. Or more. (grin)

By: Martin L. Shoemaker

Martin L. Shoemaker — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:50:26 +0000

That’s a pretty good article, but it’s too late for me. I’m already sold. Kris finally pushed me over the edge when she quoted Clay Shirky: “Publishing is a button.” Yeah, it’s bumper-sticker-simplistic, but it’s also pretty hard to argue with. It’s going on my wall.

I won’t say I would say no to traditional publishing; but self-publishing is now my default plan.