{"id":22926,"date":"2020-04-03T03:00:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T10:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=22926"},"modified":"2020-03-31T03:23:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T10:23:02","slug":"breaking-the-rules-by-catharine-bramkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/03\/breaking-the-rules-by-catharine-bramkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Rules by Catharine Bramkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Breaking<\/a>Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist\u00a0Catharine Bramkamp<\/a> as she shares with us \u201cBreaking the Rules.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/p>\n

For years I have separated writing from promotion.\u00a0<\/strong>Writing is fun.\u00a0Promotion is annoying.<\/span><\/p>\n

But in these rule breaking times, we need a different approach to how we drag our books across the finish line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As artists, writers can approach our books with the same spirit as artists who create public art.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because a book IS public art.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

With that in mind, we can approach our writing, publishing, and promotion as all part of making art.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Publishing is personal and promotion is process.<\/span><\/p>\n

In her book and TED talk<\/strong>, <\/span>Green Light Your Book<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Brooke Warner makes the same encouraging claim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Treat publishing your book as part of what you do, not the second, lesser piece of your art but as the extension of your work.\u00a0The public part to be sure, but important nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally published authors have been either uninterested or encouraged to be uninterested in the production of their art. But as you know, the luxury of indifference has changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking the<\/span> Rules: Write Your Own Definition of Success<\/span><\/h2>\n

The good news is that safe under the umbrella of \u201cart\u201d you can write your own definition of success, and you can follow through based on your personal vision and goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have always marveled at the tenacity and endurance of artists<\/strong> Christo and Jean-Claude<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>as they waded through the endless permits and processes in Sonoma and Marin to build their <\/span>Running Fence<\/span><\/a>. But for them, it wasn\u2019t a tedious necessity, all those meetings were part of the art process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their art wasn\u2019t just about the wild final build: the wrapped islands, the Gates in NYC Central Park, the billowing fence snaking over the pastures of Marin County.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their art was the whole of the idea, the meetings<\/strong>, the permits, the conversations about the work and what art was supposed to be and represent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every meeting was in service to their vision: what they wanted to plant in the ground (like an umbrella, or many), what they wanted to share with the public. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In ancient times<\/strong>, authors wrote and someone else finished up the book and brought it to market.\u00a0But on closer observation, that hands off approach was never really good enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles Dickens who was already successfully published, still wanted to control every aspect of his vision for his Christmas tale, hiring an artist, approving the printing and binding to bring\u00a0<\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0to stores by December 25. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Twain experimented with a printing press that would work faster and speed book production not only because it was interesting<\/strong>, but it was a way for him to control and produce his own books. (He lost money on the press, but that wasn\u2019t the point.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia and Leanord Woolf founded their Hogarth Press specially to produce Virginia\u2019s novels. Her sister Vanessa created the dust jackets and Leanord distributed the books. Later the press would publish TS Eliot\u2019s work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider publishing as part of your creative process.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like Dickens, you can control the cover. Like the Woolfs, you can control the press and the distribution. You get to choose when your books are free or discounted. You get to choose who handles the distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n

All great<\/strong>, but what does it mean if you are just beginning to own your process?<\/span><\/p>\n

One decision is whether to publish directly through <\/span>Amazon (KDP Select)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or as your own publisher.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The advantage of being or using a small publisher is the book is not exclusive to Amazon, but can appear in Ingram and be purchased by libraries and brick and mortar stores. (You can still use Amazon as your main distribution).<\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking the<\/span> Rules: Be Your Publisher<\/span><\/h2>\n

To be your own publisher all you need is a\u00a0business name,\u00a0a website featuring a page devoted to your press, and a collection of ISBNs for your books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bowker<\/strong> (<\/span>Bowker.com<\/span><\/a>) sells ISBNs in lots of one or ten numbers.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

One ISBN is $125.00 with the option to pay $25.00 for a bar code. (Don\u2019t pay $25.00. You can download your barcode for free from another site.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Or you can purchase ten ISBNs for $295.00.\u00a0Certainly a bargain, but often more identifiers than an author\/publisher really needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m offering Writers Fun Zone readers an alternative:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n