Much has changed since the late sixties when I first self published my set of poems. What I produced then was a book created at the then new company called "Kinkos." On their copier I made 15 sets of my poems, and then had Kinkos use their special machine to bound each set with hard covers. Walla! My first published work. Now that was REAL publishing. It wasn't commercial, but it was getting my work out there.
Since then I have experienced many types of publishing: From the traditional publishing of my play, to three different types of "do-it-yourself." What experience has taught me is that there are many types, and degrees, of presenting your work to the public.
Way back when I made that first book of poetry, one of the avenues of publishing was the so called "Vanity" press. I remember one of the early 60 Minutes TV show, where they did an expose on one such company... pointing out how the company prayed on the "vanity" of writers, publishing elaborate books that the writer ended up storing in their garage. Vanity publishers have been around probably as long as traditional publishing. It used to be (with very few exceptions) that anything published outside the traditional realm, was deemed inferior, if not down right worthless.
That view has changed. Even though traditional is still viewed as the most legitimate means of publishing, it is certainly not seen as the only means of quality publishing.
Today, because of the sheer volume of information to be disseminated, other publishing means are more a necessity... without these "other means" so much quality work would go unpublished. It is still true that much junk is being published, but that, too, has always been the case... both in the do-it-yourself arena AND in traditional publishing. Traditional publishing does not necessarily me quality publishing. The first ingredient to quality publishing is quality content.
The Definite Advantage of Self publishing
For many, publication has been only a dream. But now, it can easily be made a reality. First off, self publishing is not a single method of publishing. It has become a term that encompasses a variety of ways of non-traditional publishing. The "ways" of doing this are many:
There are more, but here are three of the most common:
Some companies who will take your manuscript (for a fee) and do ALL the things the traditional publisher would do...The major difference between them and the traditional publisher is that you cover all cost of production.
The other end of the "do it yourself" scale is when you, the writer, truly take it upon yourself to do ALL the things the traditional publisher would. That is, you do layout and design, obtain and even arrange for the actual printing of the books. It is very hands-on and you have complete control over everything.
A third and "in-between" option is for you to do everything electronically can produce a book using your computer and then use print on demand technology. Or you could produce a totally electronic version of your book and have it available as a download online.
The point is that there are many ways to publish yourself, but that "Real" or "total" Self Publishing puts you at the helm, you making everything happen yourself. For more information or real self publishing, click here
Richard Gordon is a poet-playwright living in Lake Elsinore, California. He is the author of Martin and The Mountaintop: An illustrated Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. His play Bulldog and the Bear, won the coveted Lorraine Hansberry and the Michale Kanin play writing awards. For the last twelve years of his teaching career, Mr. Gordon taught Oral Interpretation at California State University at Fullerton.
The Joy of life...the Joy of people...has always been the underlying themes of his work. For the past 30 years Richard has been writing...not as a "writer" per se, but as a husband, celebrating his wife, and as a father lifting his children in song...and now as a grandfather soaring with his grandkids.
This guide to self publishing poetry contains two valuable bonuses. One, an informative booklet on how to perform your poetry better, and also an ebook on how to make chapbooks of your poetry. For more valuable information check out [http://www.dynamicselfpublishing.com].
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment