I Live in Tumbleweed Times

I read a post by David Gaughran that made me open my eyes.  You can read it in the link below.

The Author Exploitation Business.

As for my thoughts on the subject, I’d like to begin with the sentence, “I live in tumbleweed times.”

I say that I live in tumbleweed times because things in the literary world and slowly progressing along the marketing streets like tumbleweeds.  Reading David Gaughran’s article made me realize how young I am and how the business of publishing has changed since my hands first touched a book and since the first book was published by a major company.  As someone wanting to major in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis, I constantly fear about the day that after I complete my MFA that I’m going to have written several books, none of which have been published.  Even worse, I might be helping get another book off the ground because I know Japanese, and would end up working as an interpreter for a Japanese author or a translator for a manga or Japanese novel.  It would help me earn money on the side, but even then…

Being an author is such a beautiful job.  But it’s tough.  And it’s tough because the people that claim that want to help you only want your money.  They want your rights to sell the book so that they can’t fight against you.  It’s like going to a shady shop knowing exactly what you’ll get.

Still, the industry is changing.  Social media is facilitating self-publishing and getting writers to fend for themselves and the rights that are theirs to keep forever.  And I’m going to be dealing with that in only a few years time once I graduate and put myself in the real world.

It’s scary to think about, I’m glad I can hold on to a branch of the tumbleweed for hope.

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