tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15174206.post3124825189514016166..comments2008-07-02T11:11:33.452-07:00Wylie Merrick Literarynoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15174206.post-22653737162224483752008-07-02T10:56:00.000-07:002008-07-02T10:56:00.000-07:00Oh dear God, please tell us. I'm a guy and "Sex in the City" was really a horrible TV series. I have been forced to watch it three times and I'd rather go to the dentist for root canal surgery. And, yes, I do mean I was literally forced to watch it. Once I lost a bet and twice it was what I had to pay for my girlfriend to do something I wanted her to do for me. I know Robert and Sharene have no mercy for us guys but maybe some other people here do. What is the lesson us writers can learn from "Sex in the City"? For the love of God, have mercy on us guys and tell us.<BR/><BR/>As for the hidden hints, my guesses are 1) write what is popular, 2) be professional about being a writer, 3) know that writing is only part of a writer's job (do publicity and work on the marketing of your book), and 4) realize that you yourself as the writer is as much of a commodity as what you write. The more you can make yourself into a celebrity, the more it will help your book sales.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I think Ernest Hemingway wasn't that great of a writer but was a great promoter of himself which helped promote what he wrote.<BR/><BR/>There are six things I do wonder about:<BR/><BR/>1) Did I get all the hidden hints?<BR/><BR/>2) Will I ever get a reply to my white paper question to the "Questions and Answers" post? ;-)<BR/><BR/>3) What is the best way to pitch oneself to a publisher without an agent.<BR/><BR/>4) Is self-publishing a real option for a professional writer? I know some bestsellers were self-published, but I also know that bookstore chains are a very hard sell for self-publishers. The stigma of vanity presses being the cause of this.<BR/><BR/>5) If one can get promotion deals for one's novel, would that help sell the book to agents and/or publishers? I'm a marketer by trade so I have been thinking of getting businesses to do tie-in promotions for the novel I'm working on. When done, it will be the fourth one I have written. I think I have the salesmanship to get the businesses on board. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I'm thinking of going the self-publishing route since I believe I myself can get my novel promoted more than any publisher will ever realistically do for it and because I am willing to consider unconventional promotion ideas, possibly ones that publishers won't even do for a novel they put out since it isn't what they have done for any of their novels before.<BR/><BR/>6) The novel I'm currently working on doesn't fit into any genre. I guess then it would fall into the catch-what-remains "literature" category because of that. However, I do think it could establish a new genre. Something unique from all other genres and one that, when you think about it for a moment, has a natural, logical, and even expected formula to it. I have run this new genre idea past several of my fellow marketers and they think I'm onto something. However, I do know that founding a new genre would be quite a feat. Last one I know to do so was Edgar Allen Poe with mysteries. Should I mention this to agents and/or publishers as at least a possibility? That my novel could establish a new genre. Or not mention it and "simply" sell it for the "literature" category.Scott Jensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13975527382412965463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15174206.post-52404120431460547742008-07-01T17:23:00.000-07:002008-07-01T17:23:00.000-07:00Well, that's as good a reason as any to take a break and watch Sex and the City DVDs! Heh.Suzannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848888563329089356noreply@blogger.com