tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post115019063056468060..comments2024-03-28T13:18:28.238+00:00Comments on Grumpy Old Bookman: Does Sandi Thom show writers how to do it?Michael Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11338398159818400930noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1173022166016367152007-03-04T15:29:00.000+00:002007-03-04T15:29:00.000+00:00that is so not truethat is so not trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1173022067065922462007-03-04T15:27:00.000+00:002007-03-04T15:27:00.000+00:00that is so not truethat is so not trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1173022019268153912007-03-04T15:26:00.000+00:002007-03-04T15:26:00.000+00:00that is so not truethat is so not trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150465776705277262006-06-16T14:49:00.000+01:002006-06-16T14:49:00.000+01:00Hello-I just stumbled onto the GOB blog. Thanks fo...Hello-<BR/><BR/>I just stumbled onto the GOB blog. Thanks for the thoughtful post! As a writer myself, I am always hoping to find some way to get away from the feeling that short fiction writing (except in the case of a lucky few) is nothing but a glorious hobby, and if we could find new, simpler (and maybe more transparent) way to approach the business of writing, it would be a boon to many of us.<BR/><BR/>One new idea that I found especially compelling is One Story, a journal that publishes only one short story at a time. I recently subscribed to it and the journal itself is tiny, maybe the size of a CD booklet. It’s very portable and because it basically flimsy, you don’t feel compelled to worry about it in terms of shelf space or getting finger prints on it etc. Because it’s only one story , you also don’t feel intimidated in the same way that you might if you get a regular literary journal which often contain hundreds of pages of stories, poems, essays etc. (‘Geez- when am I going to have time to read all this?’)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, before this becomes a long advert for One Story (too late), what I have been toying with is the idea of simply producing individual short stories in a CD booklet format. I think you can do this using some simple tools: a color inkjet printer, glossy printer paper, a paper cutter and one of those extra long staplers that allows you to saddle bind (is that the right term ?) the booklets and then simply giving them away. Alternately, it might be cheaper to use a print house to produce the booklets for me.<BR/><BR/>The trick, as far as I can tell is- and here’s the difficult part would be to produce them for under $1 each. Also, the design level would to be high, it would have to catch the eye. Further, I would have to have a very clear target audience in mind- people who specifically enjoy the type of writing (who are few and far between)– which means a lot of them would go out by mail. Finally, and here’s the real trick, I’d eventually have to find sponsorship (grants? advertising?) for this series. I guess the general idea would be to move from the reader pays for the book to a sponsor/ commercial advertiser pays which- let’s face it- is how most of the web operates. I don’t think I’ve ever paid for web content for anything.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, it’s not an entirely formed idea, and it’s not necessarily even a good idea, but it’s been on my mind.<BR/><BR/>Okay, blah-blah-blah, I’ve gone on far longer than intended.<BR/><BR/>- thanks for blogging<BR/><BR/>ArmandArmandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04242931849146868755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150406237074595722006-06-15T22:17:00.000+01:002006-06-15T22:17:00.000+01:00All I know is that I can't drive and read but I ca...All I know is that I can't drive and read but I can drive and sing out of tune to songs I like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150389396483046682006-06-15T17:36:00.000+01:002006-06-15T17:36:00.000+01:00Norbert, I'm afraid I disagree. Length is only one...Norbert, I'm afraid I disagree. Length is only one factor, perhaps in some cases an important one, but there are too many magazines, the New Yorker among them, publishing fiction online which is read regularly - perhaps often printed out, but certainly accessed by readers. A real problem is sifting wheat from chaff (now I know what slush pile readers must feel like!), locating your niches of interest. But of course you're right that it's impossible to predict where the technology will take us.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150383266877219312006-06-15T15:54:00.000+01:002006-06-15T15:54:00.000+01:00I have been experimenting with a sort of surreal f...I have been experimenting with a sort of surreal fictional blog:<BR/>http://trouserquand.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>for a few months now, and I think it has hit upon a problem with this sort of approach, and that iis the limit to the number of words people are willing to read on the computer screen. <BR/><BR/>In short,I don't think the traditional short story will work, as it is too long for comfortable screen reading. Perhaps something like 'flash' fiction could work. I think about the length of an average blog post, or on-line newspaper article is about the limit.<BR/><BR/>Although, it seems that video, cartoons and suchlike are now taking over from the written word as internet speeds and capabilities increase, so maybe the golden age for the written word on the web is already over.David Hadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05510828634517689127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150314212606066272006-06-14T20:43:00.000+01:002006-06-14T20:43:00.000+01:00You can't milk a fishYou can't milk a fishAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150312035819723402006-06-14T20:07:00.000+01:002006-06-14T20:07:00.000+01:00Susan, I agree completely. There are many authors ...Susan, I agree completely. There are many authors who would argue that the great short stories are even harder to write than a novel, because there's so much less room for error. Every word has to count. You don't just read a wonderful poem once, do you?Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770069472552779217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6656468.post-1150286932828679882006-06-14T13:08:00.000+01:002006-06-14T13:08:00.000+01:00Did Richard and Judy's book club on their show gen...Did Richard and Judy's book club on their show generate a huge amount of success for certain authors. I'm not sure if the internet has big enough celebrities to do similar things. You'll always have to tack the literature onto the side of an existing product.<BR/><BR/>Or wait patiently for me, I'm currently building up a following a la Sandi Thom by broadcasting as eries of webcast gigs over on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEaEa7hgzy4 have a lookChris Gilmourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14527672702704849717noreply@blogger.com