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Sunday, August 29, 2010

As time goes by - Dara Girard

More than six years ago I wrote a series of essays for writers, professional and aspiring, to motivate those who have faced doubts, disappointment, rejection and other obstacles in the writing life, and encourage them to HANG IN THERE.
That book eventually became The Writer Behind the Words: Steps to Success in the Writing Life. The first edition came out in 2005 and the second in 2007. Now in 2010 the book is available on Kindle and in other e- formats.
In a recent interview on “Canned Laughter and Coffee” one of the hosts asked me if I hoped that having an e-book version of the book will give it new life. I said yes, but now that I think about it, the book never died.
The publishing industry treats books like produce. Meaning that a book has about four months to catch an audience before it’s destroyed. Dean Wesley Smith has a great essay called “Books are no Longer Produce” that expands on this idea. The truth is although books are treated like a carton of yogurt with an expiration date, they have a longer shelf life. Like all works of art, books are timeless, waiting quietly for their stories and knowledge to be discovered.
So as I embark on this new e-book venture, I want to encourage others who have stories or ideas to share NOT TO PANIC. You do not need to worry about rushing your book to market or about missing the latest trend or a fad. Fads fade. Good ideas and stories never do. Write on!

Dara
http://www.daragirard.com/

2 comments:

practimom said...

thanks for the words of wisdom! i wish i had an imagination to write a story!

Christina Hollis said...

Good post, Dara. Writers need all the reassurance they can get.