Good morning. I’m a little shook up this morning, but feeling mostly blessed. One of my grandsons, a pilot for several years, crash-landed his one-hour old plane in a field outside of Oklahoma City yesterday afternoon. Everyone is okay—but he said it was a mighty frightening ride. The engine quit over the city an hour after he bought the plane. Yes, he had inspectors go over it before purchasing it. No one knows what caused the engine to fail, yet. But the plane looked in good shape on the ground, so I’m sure the FAA will find out what went wrong.
This is actually the 3rd near tragedy among my grandchildren in recent years and in all 3 cases, they walked away unscathed—at least physically. I don’t think you ever get over a near-death experience.
Fast Food Publishers
I came across a paragraph I wrote in an article some months (or years) ago and thought I would share it with you. It is my attempt at using metaphors with regard to hiring a pay-to-publish publishing service.
“Sure there are fast food publishers who will take your money and promise you a nutritious meal. But, before you eat it, you really must dissect the ingredients, study the recipe and question others who have been served by this establishment.”
Do you like it? I thought it was rather clever and descriptive.
Is this the truth that you have discovered in publishing? Have your experiences or those of others convinced you how important it is to study the publishing industry—know something about the processes, your options, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibility as a published author?
I’d like to hear your stories—both positive and negative—related to your publishing experiences.
Patricia Fry PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave your comment here.
My very first short story ever to appear in print appeared in Hob-Nob for Children about 17 or 18 years ago. I’d written a simple little fiction story, sent it off, and a few weeks later I received a postcard in the mail.
It was from the senior editor/owner of the magazine. She used one whole side of the post card to detail her recent trip out to California from Pennsylvania. I read through it sort of scratching my head. When I turned it over, it was a congratulations! My story had been accepted and I could expect 3 sample copies in the mail a few weeks later.
I squealed and jumped (I think my head almost hit the ceiling). My first acceptance in a round-about-way. I went on to publish 2 more in Hob-Nob before moving on to other things.
Debbie