[J m HofMarN]

I give you More Venom To Gaia The collected poetry of ME.

Yeah I just wanted to announce it officially here. I hope a few people will consider buying it. This is six years of work finally condensed into book format.

This post has been edited by J m HofMarN: 05 September 2007 - 02:19 AM

[Bond]

Finally!

I'd review it on my Amazon account, but I haven't purchased anything off it, yet...

[J m HofMarN]

Thanks for the offer, Bond.

[civilian_number_two]

Wow! A topic I have no knowledge of and nothing meaningful to say about! I'd better post right away to make sure folks know I read it!

Not the book, I mean, but the topic! Wow!

[Jordan]

hahaha, I too will do the same thing.

This post has been edited by Jordan: 06 September 2007 - 10:54 AM

[Heccubus]

Wow! A topic I have no knowledge of and nothing meaningful to say about! I'd better post right away to make sure folks know I read it!

Not the book, I mean, but the topic! Wow!

Yes.

Additionally: Congratulations, JM. I would imagine that it feels quite pleasant to have work published and readily available to the world.

This post has been edited by Heccubus: 06 September 2007 - 11:01 AM

[Jordan]

Holy crap you published something? I miss read your post, congratz! You must have a lot of confidence to write poetry. I tried it once and couldn't take my own work seriously. You write it , read it, then toss it.

This post has been edited by Jordan: 06 September 2007 - 11:08 AM

[Slade]

Go bears! Rock out! It's even on Amazon. Now that is shiny. Now we just need the viral marketing campaign to exponentially increase awareness of the book's awesomeness. When I get some more money coming in, I'll have to buy the book, read it, and review it. Kudos.

And you other guys? You're really not helping things.

Bond: Make your first Amazon purchase JM's book! Support the cause, break yourself into buying books online, and... stuff! You could also actually read it. I've seen a bit of JM's work and for the most part it's pretty interesting, so I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Jordan]

I can take a guess at what his poetry is about:

His exellency, is old and tired
Freedom for the farmer
Free the political prisoners
For now we strike
Take heart

[Bond]

It's probably a lot more than La Marseileise, Jor.

And, yes, I have checked out the book on Amazon.

[mireaux7]

I give you More Venom To Gaia The collected poetry of ME.

Yeah I just wanted to announce it officially here. I hope a few people will consider buying it. This is six years of work finally condensed into book format.

hey, how do you get a book published? ive got tons of stuff ive written, id like some of my work to get published.

hook me up with the details...who do i contact, etc.

[Just your average movie goer]

I think JM's been playing at the game for a lot longer than any of us. From the little experience I've had, I've found that having a great book barely factors into the publishing process at all. You've got to know how to play their game, pitch your manuscript, find the right people and contacts etc... what's sad is that the necessary skills for these things are not in any way related to the skills required to be a good writer - and because of this, many fine writers are unable to get their work published. What's worse is that other people miss out on reading this work because at the end of the day, these things should be shared.

The system that the publishing industry uses is extremely discouraging and causes a great deal of unnecessary frustration to aspiring writers. Firstly, you need to make a submission package where you include some information about your manuscript, a synopsis and a sample chapter or two. Then the publisher or agent will ask you if they want to see the manuscript. This process could take half a year. So all that time, the aspiring writer is uncertain whether their work is getting any closer to getting published. To add insult to injury, a large quantity of these submissions are returned unread, evidenced by form rejection letters. Six months have then passed and the writer is back at square one. With a system like that, it is little wonder that many writers simply give up.

I'd say that JM must have persevered through all this and I congratulate him for it. It's not an easy thing.

I myself am in the catagory of writer who gave up after the initial rubbish. I just found that it was too taxing, time consuming and insulting. I can't think of too many industries where you could be act as slowly as publishers - nor can I think of too many where people get away with giving such little professional courtesy. Honestly, authors should be allowed to simply submit a complete manuscript at the beginning of the process. People in the publishing industry would not have to read every manuscript that came through their door in their entirety. If they liked what they read of a manuscript, they could continue perusing it. If they didn't, they could just put it down and send it back - and save months of waiting for the author.

The other major problem is that there are not many people in these industries who are prepared to take risks. They don't want the responsibility of signing a new author. What if their books don't sell? They don't want that on their heads. And it all works together to create a stale industry where we're subjected to an endless bombardment of interchangeable Tom Clancy and Dan Brown novels.

Anyway, congratulations, JM. Good luck with the book. Unfortunately, books of poetry are not my thing but if I was an editor in a publisher that published poetry, I would have the courtesy to read a little of your manuscript before deciding whether or not I liked it.

[J m HofMarN]

Wow thanks to all of you for the support and interest, if not in my book at least in the topic. It is a fine thread indeed.

Hecc- Actually it's my second. The first one was largely written on the forums here and then I beat Slade mercilessly until he edited it for me and made it a proper book. Not that that's uncommon. I beat Slade mercilessly before anything of interest happens.

Jordan- I did a good bit of free verse, and a lot of it involved drug use. Free verse isnt as laughable as some rhyming poetry so its easier to get into, especially with a gut full of liquid courage or a lung full of smokey... stuff.

I can take a guess at what his poetry is about

Nonsense, not all my poetry is like that...
Only about one third.

Slade- Actually if you've bought something on amazon before it'd be a massive help if you could post the cover picture, I'll email it to you sometime.

Mireaux- There's a gnome that lives in my closet. He makes books for me. Sometimes I have to let him touch me in return. I call him Mister Bo Jangles.

Either that or what JYAMG said.

Aforementioned movie goer- Yeah, it's a bitch. I'm still not properly published anyhow. I need to rustle up an agent and a contract with a New York house once I can pay for some editing.

[Bond]

Well, I wish you all the best of luck, J m.

[sesame_street_hustler]

what will probably be printed in JM's new book, in his "about the author section":

JM writes various suspense, fiction & science fiction novels. He holds a master's degree in English Literature. He hails from Pahrump, Nevada..is married with two kids and owns a maltese and two dobermans. In his spare time, he enjoys gambling in Reno & Vegas and sharpening his skills in backgammon.