Full Frontal Freedom
I sometimes mention how I’m not the biggest fan of musical comedy, torch songs, and most of those performers considered “gay icons.”
I like more contemporary forms of art, especially with music and dance, and this particular youtube video titled Full Frontal Freedom is about as good as it gets. I found it on twitter thanks to m/m author, Carter Seagrove.
Will Gay Identity Disappear?
Here’s an interesting article that talks about the fears of some in the LGBT community, where they worry that gay identity (which I guess means gay culture) will disappear now that same sex marriage has become legal on a federal level thanks to the SCOTUS ruling last week.
They cover a lot in this article, and I highly suggest you read it. But I thought this was one strong point.
What we’re also witnessing is that the culture is much more diverse than we’ve been ready to admit. It’s easy to put aside your differences when you’re united around a single cause, like fighting the AIDS crisis. But now that we don’t have that focus, we’re discovering that there are a lot of people in our community who are quite content to live quiet lives that look like everyone else’s–raising kids, caring for elderly parents, living in the (gasp) ‘burbs, working in office cubicles. And that’s not a bad thing.
There’s more here. The comments are mixed. I honestly don’t know how I feel about this. Wait. Yes I do. Of course it’s going to change things. How could they not?
Is It Hard to Make Gay Friends?
Here’s an article about how some gay men find it hard to make other gay friends. This I can relate to well. I remember the first few times I started going to gay bars in the 90’s. I felt so isolated. I was alone and didn’t think I’d ever make a gay friend. I kept wondering where do they all meet each other to form these friendships?!?
And while that means there are plenty of fish in the sea for awkward dates or late-night texts, making gay friends is often an entirely different story.
Lines can get blurry when two guys who are into guys embark on a plutonic relationship, but the value of having like-minded friends in your corner ready to go to bat for you is substantial.
It always happens on its own, in its own time.
THAT Self-Publishing Quality Myth
No links to this one. It’s just me.
Over the weekend I noticed several comments online about the “quality” of self-published books. Most of those comments came from those associated with small indie presses that are struggling to survive in the post e-book boom days.
I’m sure there are self-published books that lack quality. But then think about Fifty Shades of Grey, which was published by a huge publisher, made millions of dollars, and many think of it as the worst novel ever published. The question of quality is often subjective, not objective.
Then consider the fact that most indie authors are working hard to get good books out to readers at less than half the cost the readers would normally pay for books released by small presses. What’s the best way to target the competition? Bad mouth “quality.” Some small presses have this creepy cult-like stable of authors who ban together and say things like this to readers.
If that’s not enough, think about all the self-published books out there that were once published by publishers and have been re-released. That’s right. With so many small presses going out of business these days, authors are getting the rights back and re-publishing books that have already been edited and proofed by publishers. They are still considered self-published books.
And there are those books that went out of print with big publishers. Authors and literary agents are now self-publishing those books and re-releasing them all over again and many books are finding new lives and new audiences. Readers are paying far less in this case, too.
I’m not slamming any publishers. For the last few years I’ve indie pubbed my own books and I’ve continued to work with publishers. But the next time you see someone make a general statement about the “quality” of self-pubbed e-books take a closer look at the source. This “quality” myth has been an ongoing issue in the publishing community since the beginning of e-books and I’ve seen books slammed for “quality” that had one or two words spelled wrong. In other words, you can’t depend on anything you see anymore, anywhere.
The fact is that most of the time when I see someone complaining about “quality” it’s either someone who can never be pleased with anything, someone with an agenda, or someone who is just repeating something they overheard because it sounds good and it makes them appear knowledgeable.
There’s also this. Many, many self-published e-books out there right now are being produced and distributed by people with a lot more experience than most of the smaller newer indie presses. Of course readers don’t always know this, which is unfortunate. I have over twenty years experience in publishing, as a writer and an editor, plus a degree in English, and I have sometimes found it difficult when working with small presses because they don’t have half the experience I have. Anyone can start a small press in their basement and call themselves a publisher. And they do. Remember Silver Publishing? There’s nothing wrong with that, but they’re no different from anyone else out there self-publishing their own books.
These are just a few basic points about the “quality myth” and self-published books. I will post more on this topic in the future.
Here’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about. This book below, Loving Daylight, was written and published specifically for The Home Shopping Network a few yeas ago, through a publisher I was contracted with at the time. I never promoted it because it was just for a romance collection. When the rights reverted to me a few months ago I decided to indie publish it, with a new cover, and release it at more than half the price for which it originally sold.
