Shouting into the Wind

A few days ago, I was scrolling through Twitter when I found one of those tweets that looked like it was going to be a happy story, but it turned out sad instead. A major publisher had written someone an email saying they loved her book, but they couldn’t accept it because she didn’t have a large enough audience. She was confused and upset. She had never heard of this requirement before. Other writers swooped in to console her, telling her to just self-publish it; she’d make more money anyway. Others piled on, suggesting an array of small publishers — she didn’t need that negativity in her life. Still others told her to fire her agent and get a better one.

Going down the list of comments, I wanted to rip my hair out. So many people were chiming in with advice ranging from mediocre to terrible. Good bits of advice were few and far between.

Everyone’s an Expert These Days

Did you know I’m a Nobel-Prize nominee? That’s pure, clean truth, sonny. Don’t bother looking it up. They won’t release their list of nominees for 50 years. I’m also an award-winning author. I won an award in the 6th grade. And in high school. Clearly, I’m better than you, and so are the 80 million other self-published authors on social media who’ve figured out a way to look important. Sigh.

Don’t get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with self-publishing your work. It can be highly rewarding in many ways. It’s just that it has an image problem in the form of unprofessional “professionals” who don’t know the first thing about how to be successful, who try to fool people to get ahead. You also don’t have to win awards to be a great author.

Also, and I know this will hit some people where it hurts, it’s okay not to be an expert in something. We’ve all got strengths and weaknesses, which is why it’s a great idea to take advantage of professionals in the writing community — the real professionals.

Who the Heck Am I?

I’m glad you asked. I’m a restless soul who used to work in marketing. I’ve worked with hundreds of auto dealerships nationwide as well as thousands of Realtors who needed to stand out from the crowd. In so doing, I’ve created countless brand-driven blog posts, put together a decently large slew of visual elements, and even tinkered with a few websites (I’m definitely not an expert in web development). I have both an undergraduate and graduate-level education in Creative Writing and English (I’ll be concluding my MFA this year), including a graduate certificate in Professional Writing (that’s marketing for the publishing industry). I’ve also judged the international NYC Midnight writing competitions for nearly five years, and I’m the resident Smartmouth-in-Chief of this blog. It’s my goal to use everything I’ve learned to help anyone who hasn’t had the chance to walk in my shoes.

So, if you’re looking for a place to find advice that’s sturdier than a cardboard box, stick around. I learn new things every day, and I’m trying to build up an authorly presence just like everyone else, so I’ll let you know what I’ve learned.

Until then, good luck and keep writing.

J.L. Amos