E. Christopher Clark - Author and All-Around Geek
Monday, July 13, 2009
On Your Own…
Over the weekend, several friends sent me news that an independent author selling his book through the Amazon Kindle store had landed a book deal. The message there seemed to be, “Yes, Chris, you can do it on your own if you have a good product and if you’re sufficiently motivated.” And, therefore, I was encouraged when I read the article. Because, hey, I do have a good product. And I am getting very, very motivated by the success stories I am seeing in other industries.
I also read today an excellent post by my friend Andy Hicks on how Fritz Wetherbee and public television were doing the Nine Inch Nails model of media distribution years before Mr. Reznor himself figured it out: quality stuff for free that, if you like it, will prompt you to support the content producers with your donations.
And, last but not least, I read this article by Chris Brogan on distribution as a key to personal branding. “Distribution’s where it’s at,” Chris writes. “Who gives a crap if you pour all kinds of great intent and messaging into your product if no one knows who you are? Who cares if someone knows who you are, but they can’t reach you?”
All of this has me thinking about if and how making books on your own—specifically books of fiction—can be done. And of course I’m still wondering if it should be done, given the bad rap that self-publishing has always received and seems likely to continue receiving for a good, long while (as long as the gatekeepers remain the same, at the very least).
What do you think?
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
THE WAY THEY WERE INSIDE - NH 48HFP 2009
This week, we feature someone else’s story here on the blog. My friend John Herman wrote and directed the Purple Finch Moving Picture Society’s 2009 submission to the New Hampshire 48 Hour Film Project. The film is titled The Way They Were Inside, and aside from featuring great performances by Emily Briand, Chuck Galle, Brian Paul, and too many others to mention, it features a cameo by my daughter, Kaylee Clark.
As I sat in a darkened theater in Londonderry, New Hampshire last night, surrounded by the cast and crew, to watch our film and the handful of others that were screening alongside it, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. I keep trying to write a sentence here that would describe what I felt without spoiling it for you, but words are failing me. So, I’ll just close with this: John and company crafted a touching, funny film, and Kaylee, Stephanie, and I were proud to be a small part of it.
Enjoy! And when you’re done, leave a comment (either here, or over on YouTube).
Monday, June 15, 2009
Lesley University Writers’ Conference - July 2009
Joyce Wadlington, Director of Continuing Eduction over at Lesley, sent me a reminder about the 2009 Lesley University Writers’ Conference and I thought y’all might be interested in hearing about it.
The conference runs from Sunday, July 29 through Friday, July 31. Faculty includes Afaa Michael Weaver and Steven Cramer (Poetry), David Elliot (Children’s Book Writing), Marcie Hershman (Nonfiction), and Rachel Kadish and Michael Lowenthal (Fiction). The guest authors this year are Julia Glass, M.T. Anderson, and Gail Mazur.
Participants of past conferences have given kudos to the program, calling the craft lectures “fabulous” and saying “I couldn’t imagine a better total immersion in a writing environment.”
For detailed information, visit www.lesley.edu/info/luwc. But hey, while you’re here, why not check out my interview with Steven Cramer, one of this year’s faculty members?
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Gary Vaynerchuk at BookExpo America 2009
If you write books, edit books, or sell books—in short, if you care about the production and sale of printed matter in this modern age—this video of Gary Vaynerchuk’s presentation at BookExpo America 2009 is a must-watch. I’ve been writing about the wisdom of Vaynerchuk at Geek Force Five and on my Twitter page for some time now, but this is the first time he’s spoken specifically about books, and it was extraordinarily illuminating for me.
Check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Writers and Strippers
Here I am, thinking that my interest, as a writer, in the lives of exotic dancers and porn stars is an anomaly, and then along comes novelist Ben Greenman, writing a piece for MaudNewton.com on “the affinity of writers & strippers.”
As we were walking back to my hotel, it occurred to me that strippers and writers aren’t very different. Both of us demonstrate our skill for the benefit of others, never knowing exactly how we will be repai… No, no. It didn’t occur to me. That’s ridiculous. Strippers and writers are nothing alike, except for their common humanity, and their outsized expectations, and their sadness when those expectations aren’t met, and their essential fragility.
The article is definitely worth a read. Check it out here.