Charlie, can you define "legal title" for me? (Since that is the crux of your definition of self-publishing and I want to make sure I have it right when I spout off.)
Thanks
Teresa, perhaps our definitions are at odds. I define self-publishing "as" owning rights as well as "owning" the entire production process (read: overseer. Not unlike the person who builds their own home becomes the general contractor when they oversee all the business/construction details.)
A print shop which also provides "polishing" services could easily be part of the self-publishing business model if the person doesn't trust themselves to do all the upfront work of editing, proofreading, etc, and the shop fully discloses their practices and pricing.
This is a business model and must examined in that light.
As for entities like PA, they are definitely in the vanity press category as THEY own the rights to your work and no monies flow your way without shenanigans (read: sales to self and family and friends)
However, some vanity presses serve a purpose, if that purpose is stated upfront. Entities like x-libris can be fine for the person who has compiled a cookbook of favorite family recipes and expects a small market among acquaintances or neighbors. Of course, they do the marketing and sales and x-libris shares in the profits.
Again, I believe all this means is that a writer needs to know more than the mechanics of writing/story telling. They need to understand the business of publishing and then decide where they fit into the scheme of things. (I say this as someone who is amazed at the number of my own acquaintances who fall for schemes and scams, yet was able to find the truth well before I went on my own actual search for answers.)
About Temma ... don't confuse self-publishing, where the author owns the rights to his/her work, and vanity presses, where the publisher owns that right (and you pay them for that privilege.)
The first "scheme" from Temma is self-publishing pure and simple. It's a business plan. The second, well, since they don't spell out who owns the rights or the details in that regard, I couldn't tell you what I think, but they are in line with X-Libra, and others of that kind, as far as cost. This doesn't make them evil; this doesn't make them a scam.
The bottom line as I see it is this: as a writer you need to understand the marketplace, know what the options are, know which options are questionable from a publishing standpoint and THEN make an informed decision.
About the Kingsfield Publication's PDF thing ... interesting stuff, though something inside of me keeps screaming: erroneous premises.
At first it almost sounded like he believed what so many authors who publish at say, PA, believe: the best don't get published, the deck is stacked against them. Then he did hit upon the slush pile realities: a lot of it is bad, though he never did SAY that as such (and how much of it is bad is never addressed the way it is addressed in other arenas.)
Assuming he is only talking about that thin percentage of well-enough written work, then perhaps there is truth -- randomness plays a bigger role than we want to admit.
I am not sure this is true. Editors are not interested in letting the good ones get away, but they are constrained by economics of their house, by what the public wants to read and by their own preferences as to what works. None of those things are bad, and yes, every now and again, the best get away (and maybe even disappear.) Of course, I would bet, that those that got away are as rare as the examples he cited.
As for reading fees -- the man is in the business himself and I wonder at his own motives. If a person wants a reader who supplies commentary of worth -- he should be pointing them to a critique group and perhaps that is what he really should be saying: we won't bother with reading your slush unless you demonstrate to us that you've gone the extra mile to have others review it and that they have found it worthy.
Axe in head link ...
Many years ago I read a linguistics book which pointed to the uselessness of many Berlitz-for-traveller type books. It referenced an old Dutch into English book that contained the phrase: Quick! Call the constable, my postillion has just been struck by lightning.
Had to look up postillion (far left horse in foursome of horses drawing carriage). Of course, I showed it around and all my friends laughed, but it wasn't until months later that we really appreciated the phrase. While watching Ben Hur (a birthday treat for a friend who had never seen it), a shout went out from the crowd during the chariot races: Quick! Call the constable, my postillion has just been struck by lightning.
Paul, I do not believe anyone is claiming religious persecution in the Columbine case. I believe the story is just pointing out the price one might need to pay for their beliefs (which on a one-to-one basis is much different than persecution as a practice of culture -- and can be true across the spectrum of beliefs.)
Alas, with Schiavo, I wish they had let her die when she first suffered the brain-damage.
A few comments -- first, thanks for the link to that crocheted hyperspace thing.
Next, Cassie Bernall ... now, I have no idea why that kid in Minnesota went on a rampage, but go on and completely dismiss Cassie's story is a spin on the truth. What the Columbine gunman actually asked her (if anything) is moot; the information on her spirituality comes from her personal journals. Her father tours churches and uses her own writings and drawings in his messsage.
2. Schiavo -- I wish they had pulled the tube 15 years ago. I ask why it didn't happen then as it now makes this decision difficult on a moral level. But, apart from the specifics of her case, one could argue that this issue now impacts on issues regarding the handicapped. Would someone suggest you could refuse to feed a severly handicapped person just because they were too brain-damaged to feed themselves? I am not trying to make a moral judgment here, I am just tossing out ideas that might be of concern.
Teresa, I am always amazed--and impressed--by the wide range of your interests and knowledge. Thanks for being one-stop shopping for lazy-ole-me.
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