Have you felt alone as a creative"
by Kenneth Shumaker July 3, 2017, 6:51 pm 85 Views 3 Votes
Notes from InUPress
By Kenneth Shumaker
Have you felt alone as a creative?
Hello, I've been sitting here wondering who I can talk with about publishing work issues, and I draw a blank. I've been at it for a year as publisher, my work has been published since 1983 and I still sit here alone most of the time.
Don't get me wrong, I have friends who are authors, and writers who I can talk with. But few agents, editors, marketers, promoters, or publishers who'll communicate with me even about basic concepts. Not unless I put hundreds of dollars in their pockets.
I find this ironic.
I am online every day working. I listen to a minimum of five podcasts and vlogs daily, reading blogs, watch vlogs of authors, agents, editors, marketers, promoters, and publishers, who almost all proselytize to reach out to the community and network by connecting. They also preach to network and be part of their community.
I thought, okay I want to learn, I want to be part of these communities, I've gone as far as I can alone. So, I listen. Learning the methods which they teach, I wrote thirty people, at least I thought it was thirty people. Fifteen high visibility A list and B list people and fifteen lower list level people, with an open invitation email, after I studied each of their works and bios. I wrote them briefly discussing what I liked about their work and in a brief line asking if we could open a dialogue.
Guess how many responded!
Three. Two were secretaries from two of these people saying that if I wanted to know more about what the author had to say I should join their mastermind courses, (Which cost over $2,000 for a one year course, in each case), while the third who responded, offered to do editing for me, asking me to send them a sample for a quote on their fees for their work, nothing else in her response.
Is this the open friendly community we have?
So, I contacted an editor who follows me on twitter and after a brief email exchange I paid her to edit a piece of my work. I asked if she would connect in networking, as she was promoting the networking concept. She said if I wanted any networking or community, to join a Facebook group, or join LinkedIn. That was her response even after I paid her to do work for me. I had already joined both and in the three months I've been in Facebook groups, and two years in LinkedIn, I get very little real connection, and nothing to do with my work.
With any connections I do make, anytime I bring up publishing, I receive silence. Anytime I mention my own writing, I receive silence, yet these groups run on and on about the same dead writing topics, just worded differently. I spoke with one author on his own Facebook page, it was an half-an-hour discussion and we talked about his work, he never asked about mine, I liked and followed his page, he never returned the favour. I joined a University professor's LinkedIn profile writing group page discussing online business, tried talking with him, but get little from him, other then his blog posts. I follow many agents, authors, editors, and publishers and I have several hundred following my Facebook, and LinkedIn pages, and three thousand following my Twitter pages, but will any of them talk with me? No! Not unless they're trying to sell me something.
I must add a caveat, this all applied until two weeks ago, when I took a different tact, I now communicate somewhat effectively on a Facebook motivational group and now in the Virily blogging community, but it can still be slow and frustrating sometimes having to weed through messages to get direct communication with meaning.
So, what I'm saying if you are trying to connect and network with other creatives and you are feeling alone, you're not alone. There are others out there too, like you. But you must talk with each other with purpose and meaning, not make it a one-way street waiting for the others to talk to you. Talk with the people you follow and don't just try to sell to them.
Let's talk. If it's about writing, publishing, reviews, beta reading, you name it, if it has to do with writing or publishing, or our creative articles, I'm open to talking. I'm the author and publisher, Kenneth Shumaker (Rusty Knight) with InUPress (Inevitable Unicorn Press).
I appreciate your time and will try to respond quickly to your questions and comments.
Sincerely, Kenneth with InUPress.
By, Kenneth Shumaker
© 2017 by Kenneth Shumaker with Inevitable Unicorn Press
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system (except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or other endorsement or in a recommendation to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Internet) without permission in writing from the publisher. However, when contacted the author may be generous with reprint rights and articles.
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About the author: Kenneth Shumaker (Rusty Knight)
Following a long break, Kenneth recovered his passion for writing. He is a science fiction and fantasy genre author with Inevitable Unicorn Press (InUPress) as well as a non-fiction author. Kenneth has been blogging with the Owerton Challenge and other blogs for many years. He now writes several serial short stories. Kenneth's two businesses, his wife, his two children, and his six grandchildren keep him somewhat busy.
Join Kenneth Shumaker (Rusty Knight) in his journey with the Dragoman Bloodgrue Volume collection anthologies of serial series episodes. 'Dragoman Bloodgrue, Volume I: Fare Where?' is the first episodes of the Bloodgrue serial series. Read how Bloodgrue tests the patience of the gods' resolve. Do the gods let the brave be fools? Is Bloodgrue brave, or a fool? Follow Apprentice Dragoman Bloodgrue to see where his life's path wanders. In 'Dragoman Bloodgrue, Volume I: Fare Where?' we are introduced to a young Apprentice Dragoman Bloodgrue as he begins his journey climbing the social ranks of Mount Oryn in North Docks.
Discover this new novel, 'Exhaust from the Tin Woods' published by InUPress written by Eric J Kregel, it is out now on Amazon (Kindle and paperback), Etsy, InUPress, and Kobo.
challengeseriessocial mediastorage
Written by Kenneth Shumaker
With a love of fantasy and science fiction, I took first to writing science fiction. Then after years of role-playing gaming, I started writing fantasy soon crossing over into sci-fi fantasy. Writing primarily in these three and becoming traditionally published I saw how other writers struggled as well, so I took to helping by writing discussion papers and other non-fiction articles. After years of writing and a few years of being traditionally published I started my own publishing imprint and publish other authors further expanding available reading material.
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