{"id":700,"date":"2006-07-16T00:45:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-16T04:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/example.org\/there_is_always"},"modified":"2006-07-16T00:45:00","modified_gmt":"2006-07-16T04:45:00","slug":"there_is_always","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/?p=700","title":{"rendered":"There is always a price for striking out in a new direction"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the first things you learn about doing something new is that there are some people who will disapprove of the way you are doing it. These are "yesterday’s experts<\/a>" who are threatened by the changes that you represent. <\/p>\n

My good friend Fred First, bemoans the fact that a literary magazine and a book fair have recently turned him down<\/a> because his excellent book was not produced by a "reputable publisher".<\/p>\n

It makes me want to whack him up the side of his head because he still doesn’t get the fact that his work is valuable because of what he has written, not because of his publisher. <\/p>\n

He seems to think that a "reputable" publisher’s name on a book is an imprimatur that means something to prospective book buyers. It only matters to literary critics and they don’t buy books!<\/p>\n

Publishing houses do not set standards. They are desperately trying to defend their existing markets from incursions by self-published upstarts. <\/p>\n

If you have a book that is eminently worth reading, like Fred’s book, "Slow Road Home<\/a>"
\nyou don’t fret about certain distribution channels claiming that only
\n"reputable" publishers need apply, you just get out and promote your
\nbook at every opportunity.<\/p>\n

Books are sold mainly by word of mouth and it takes a while for even
\nthe most popular book to take off and become a best seller. Fred’s book
\nis highly recommended<\/a>
\nby many who read it and I have seen an increasing number of local
\npeople buying copies for friends who want to know what life is like
\naround here. I think it is just a matter of time until his book sales
\nmake him one of Floyd’s more successful authors. His success will come
\nfrom his efforts, and will be well-deserved.<\/p>\n

If you want approval, don’t do new things. Just keep doing safe
\nthings and conforming to established standards. You will continue to
\nremain invisible and will be wondering why non-conformists are moving
\npast you and seem to be having such successful lives. <\/p>\n

New ideas and new directions always have the potential for
\nunexpected failure, but overcoming failure and moving past it is what
\nlife is all about. That’s where the most interesting stories come from.
\nSo, expand your horizons. Try striking off in a new direction. <\/p>\n

It might give your life new meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the first things you learn about doing something new is that there are some people who will disapprove of the way you are doing it. These are "yesterday’s experts<\/a>" who are threatened by the changes that you represent. <\/p>\n

My good friend Fred First, bemoans the fact that a literary magazine and a book fair have recently turned him down<\/a> because his excellent book was not produced by a "reputable publisher".<\/p>\n

It makes me want to whack him up the side of his head because he still doesn’t get the fact that his work is valuable because of what he has written, not because of his publisher. <\/p>\n

He seems to think that a "reputable" publisher’s name on a book is an imprimatur that means something to prospective book buyers. It only matters to literary critics and they don’t buy books!<\/p>\n

Publishing houses do not set standards. They are desperately trying to defend their existing markets from incursions by self-published upstarts. <\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1804,1797,1823],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3R4iK-bi","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}