Comments on: Impulsivity, Fear and Flash

By: Featuring Women Writers on WWWB 2013 - Women Writers, Women Books

Featuring Women Writers on WWWB 2013 - Women Writers, Women Books — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:05:41 +0000

[…] Inspirational Women Writers – Jan Merry Handy Writing Tips – Julie Tetel Andresen Impulsivity, Fear and Flash – Jodi Barnes Literary Sex Change, Using a Male Pseudonym – Rosemary Friedman Writing […]

By: Blair MacGregor

Blair MacGregor — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:45:02 +0000

Even after I’d researched all I could about the process of publishing my own work, I held on to that same fear of, “What would others think of me?”

Then I woke up to the fact that many traditionally-published writers were choosing to self-publish for a variety of reasons. Then I realized self-publishing couldn’t hurt my career, because my writing career would be between myself and my readers–period.

Good for you for making the jump. 🙂

By: Randy Kraft

Randy Kraft — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 01:14:56 +0000

I love it. There is a time for everything, including spontaneity, and this crazy book business demands a new approach. You must feel like you cleaned out your attic. Brava.

By: Lynne Spreen (@LynneSpreen)

Lynne Spreen (@LynneSpreen) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 13:46:19 +0000

Jodi, I worried and fretted over indie-pubbing my book. I grieved about letting go of my lifetime dream of The Two Big Phone Calls (i.e. “Yes, Lynne, I’d love to represent you!” and then “We sold your manuscript for big bucks!”) But the world of publishing had changed, there were fewer publishers, and I seriously doubted they’d be interested in a midlife coming-of-age story. Also, frankly, it pissed me off that authors were expected to do all the marketing – like the Little Red Hen, I wondered why I should share my bread after making it all by myself.

So I learned all I could about independent publishing and now I wouldn’t do it any other way. I like the control, speed to market, ability to change things (like when my novel won an award, the cover design), and the royalties. Far from impulsive, my decision to indie-publish was one of the most thought out and gratifying of my life. Best wishes, your Xmas book looks wonderful!

By: Kathleen B. Jones

Kathleen B. Jones — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:35:25 +0000

Thanks for your essay and the encouragement to continue to experiment. My own new book, which will be independently published at the end of this month, Diving for Pearls: A Thinking Journey with Hannah Arendt, shares with yours an almost-not-allowed-into-the-world experience.

I, too, have published through the more traditional venues and been beholden to the idea of review, revise, resubmit, since I have worked as a professor for more than thirty years. And, like you, I resisted independent publishing because I worried my book wouldn’t be judged as a work of quality. In other words, I allowed my own prejudice to become an obstacle to the book’s release, even though I had “vetted” it with colleagues and other writers. But when I had an independent editor evaluate the MS and provide needed feedback, and she came back with supportive comments and encouragement, I took a leap.

In the end, it really wasn’t any more an impetuous decision than yours!! Congrats!!

I look forward to reading….and LOVE the cover art!!

By: Laila Blake

Laila Blake — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 16:28:36 +0000

I think you are so right about impulsivity – it can be a great thing, if you do it for the right reasons. And it sounds like you did: experimentation, charity and experience – and, not to forget, a book that also sounds like an experiment to you, not something that you hope will catapult you into bestseller ranks and be the immediate foundation of your career. You also have a platform and in the end, it doesn’t sound all that impulsive even ;).
I have seen a lot of cases where the different kind, you know, the dangerous kind of impulsivity really ended up in terrible decisions, but that doesn’t mean all spontaneity, all desire is bad. Can’t wait to read this :).

By: Jodi Barnes

Jodi Barnes — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:54:23 +0000

Thank you, Sylvia and Anora! I so enjoyed writing it and letting my imagine run wild! Thank you both for your support, too. It means a lot to me!

By: Sylvia Freeman

Sylvia Freeman — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 21:27:55 +0000

Good for you Jodi! Looking forward to reading it during the holiday season.

By: Women Writers, Women, Books

Women Writers, Women, Books — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:10:29 +0000

Jodi,

Thank you so much for sharing your adventure with moving into independent publishing, and your 14 Words for Love initiative. I really enjoyed participating in the 14-word poems. After a while it became second nature.

My copy of Santa Breaks Bad arrived and it’s a real pick-me-up of spirit and fun.

Anora McG