Ryan Field's Blog, page 507

Fred Karger Running for President...

For those who still don't know, there is an openly gay man running for President. His name is Fred Karger, with a hard G, and I've been posting about him for a while.

You can read more about him here. You can even see him speak in a video.

The reason I'm posting this right now is because of an e-mail exchange I just had with a very good lesbian friend in Brooklyn. We've both been following what's been going on with Fred Karger and we're both surprised that we're not hearing more about him. Most of the people we know in the lgbt community don't even know about him, which means they can't form an opinion about him one way or the other. The information is not getting out there.

I've watched Fred Karger speak. He's a fairly normal looking guy, who speaks just like any other fairly normal looking guy. Although he's a Republican, he's for all lgbt rights, as far as I can see. And I can't help but wonder that if Fred Karger spoke and acted more like Carson Kressley would he be getting more attention from the mainstream media?

I honestly don't know the answer to this for sure. But I can't help wondering, because it seems as if the only way a gay man can get attention in the mainstream is to go on Oprah and make people laugh.

Come on folks, just because the mainstream media has failed us once again, it doesn't mean we can't at least check him out and listen to what he has to say. You don't have to agree with him. All you have to do is know about him. This is important. And it is making history right now, as I write this post.

Digital Publishing In Russia...

The first article I'm linking to about e-books in Russia is about a year old, but I think it's still relevant. I've received a lot of the same feeback from my Russian readers (and readers in other eastern European countries) and in many ways I can sympathize with them.

This next article is even more interesting. It's from a blog titled "Thoughts on Digital Publishing," and this time it breaks some of the stereotypes about digital publishing in Russia.

I wish I could comment more on the topic. But all I know is what I hear from my Russian readers first hand. And speaking from an ethical standpoint, I'd never repeat anything personal anyone has said to me.

I value the opinions of readers, and I hope they continue to contact me and let me know more about what they want, knowing that I respect their need to remain anonymous. I'm especially interested in what readers in Russia and other eastern European countries think about e-books.

I will say this. The most interesting thing about e-books in Russia is that the concerns aren't very different from the concerns about e-books in the US, which includes fair prices, quality content, and the ability to share the same way they would share print books.[image error]

Sending Good Thoughts...

My good friend and blogging buddy, Ryan, is going through knee surgery this week and I wanted to do something to show that a lot of people are thinking about him and wishing him well.

He had the same surgery a few years ago, you can read more about it here on his blog.

He's one of those selfless people who is always trying to do good for other people. Hate to see him have to go through this so soon.[image error]

The Peter Principle and Publishing Blogs

Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that some publishing blogs are becoming so boring I don't even bother going there more than once a week. And these are blogs I used to love to read daily just to see what kind of information was up or what kind of advice was being offered.

Some don't even bother to post anymore. And these were regular daily publishing bloggers that posted something every day no matter what happened. I'm wondering if it's just that blogging is beginning to slack off because of other social media? Or is it that the publishing blogs I used to follow have run out of things to say?

For the life of me, I can't understand how anyone writing a publishing blog these days could run out of things to say. We are living in the most exciting times of the biggest publishing revolution since Johannes Gutenberg. In the past year or two there have been times I've actually felt swamped because of so many changes.

And yet I go to my favorite old bloggers, who have been writing great publishing blogs for a long time, and I see the same old things being repeated over and over again. On literary agent blogs, it's all about queries, endless, endless queries. I understand and respect the need for giving out information on how to query. I think querying is an art in itself and prepares authors in many ways. But there is a point when it become monotonous. I mean how many goddamn times can you talk about how an author misspelled your name, or even worse, referred to a manuscript as a fiction novel because the poor sonofabitch didn't know better. I want to know about the book in question, not the spelling errors or misguided use of jargon. Most of the authors I know don't even bother to query anymore because they've had it.

My point isn't to bash any bloggers in particular. What I'd like to see is more information being handed out about all the changes happening in publishing. I read one review blog in particular and I see links about all kinds of exciting changes happening almost daily and I'm not even all that fond of this particular blog. But this review blog is getting it right. The blogger has a passion for books and publishing and it shows in her posts. More than that, she's giving readers valuable information they normally wouldn't get anywhere else. She's been in top of digital publishing information and she gets points for this.

I would assume that most people who have been working in "traditional" publishing, like lit agents and editors, are thinking about how they will evolve with these changes. I started thinking this way eight years ago and slowly made the changes I thought were necessary for someone who writes in my genre. One of these days, in another post, I will go into detail about how what I write has evolved in the last five years. Right now, I'm still thinking about the future. I don't think anyone can predict anything that's going to happen in publishing in the next five years.

But at least talk about it and discuss it, instead of pretending it doesn't exist. Three years ago e-books were less than 1% of the market. A publishing professional sat at my dinner table and laughed at this, and then disagreed with me when I said the numbers would rise. This same publishing professional is now trying to figure out ways to get backlisted books up on Amazon in digital format...in secret. I think I just read digital books are now 30% of the market. I could be wrong on the exact numbers, so don't quote me. But the fact remains that e-books aren't going to disappear.

The main point I'm trying to make is that we're all seriously interested in learning about the changes happening in publishing, and reading about them from publishing professionals. There is nothing wrong with query posts and sticking to basics. But let's move on to something a little more stimulating once in a while. It's really getting tired. I know I'm still hungry for more information. I'm just not finding the resources anymore to get this information like I used to. And I miss that.

Then again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I've been reading a few of these blogs for too long and maybe I'm expecting too much from them. If you believe in the Peter Principle, and the fact that we all do eventually reach our own level of personal incompetence, it makes sense that nothing will last forever.

So We're All Supossed to Know What GPS Is? WTF?

This is a little rant about something I read on a book review blog the other day. The reviewer in question slammed a story because one of the characters didn't know what GPS was. It was suggested in this review that anyone under the age of 70 should know what GPS is, and therefore the author didn't know what she was doing.

Well.

I find this interesting. I'm forty; I still run every morning, still have a thirty-two inch waist, and have been told I could pass for someone in his thirties...well under the age of 70. I own two cars and both have GPS. I have an iPhone with apps for GPS. And I honestly could not tell you, in detail, what the hell GPS is about or how to use it.

Why?

Because I don't care. I don't need GPS at this point in my life, and frankly I'm not even sure I ever will. I know it's some kind of navigational tool. I would imagine it comes in handy for people who travel for work, especially in sales. I'm not knocking GPS. But I'm a writer. I work at home. I know how to drive into to New York and find the Lincoln Tunnel without any problems at all. I rarely take the Holland, but could find it just as easily if I had to. I know how to get to any place between Maine and S. Beach Miami without any problems at all. I know how to get to the airport and the train station. If I need specific directions, which is rare, I stop and ask for them. Or, print out directions from google.

I'm sure there will come a day when I do need GPS. I like knowing that it is there just in case I ever do need it. I've even been telling myself that I have to sit down and learn how to use it...just in case that day comes when I need it. But at this point, GPS isn't something I need.

Now, this is interesting. My parents are retired therapists. They have GPS in both their cars, plus on their iPhones. They are both over 70 and they both use their GPS all the time. In fact, they don't go anywhere without turning it on. They know so much about GPS it could put you to sleep.

My point is that I don't see how a character in a book not knowing what GPS is should be relevant to a book review. As an author, there are things the reader should take for granted and not question. If an author thinks a character shouldn't know what GPS is, I don't think it should be questioned. I just finished a mystery romance where a character didn't know how to operate his GPS. I explained why he doesn't know how to operate it. But I don't think it's fair to assume that just because most people care about GPS the rest of the world should care.

And when I see reviews like this, those that pick out snitty little things like GPS, I can't help but wonder what kind of person the reviewer is. What would make a person think this way? To assume we all know about GPS, and then condemn an author for not thinking this way. But more than that, if I had been reviewing that particular book, I would have been more concerned about the author's poor use of dialogue tags...there were adverbs in every example in the review. I would have been more concerned about the author's use of said bookisms...he grumbled, mumbled, and stumbled, three lines in a row, no joke. But the last thing I would have cared about was that the character didn't know what GPS is.

The Interesting Thing About Feet...

When I wrote a short story about a guy with a foot fetish, I had no idea I would be getting the responses I've been getting. I had a feeling there were more people out there who are interested in this topic, so to speak, but never expected to hear from so many...and so soon after the story was released.

Evidently, at least from the feedback I'm getting, this fetish involving feet doesn't have any restrictions either. I've received e-mails from men and women, gay and straight. And almost all reply with the same tone: discretion. And I appreciate that as an author who writes erotic fiction. Discretion is probably more important to the readers of erotica of any kind than any book review ever posted online. We still live in a society where things like foot fetishes, no matter how harmless they are, aren't taken seriously in public. In private, however, I'm learning this goes far deeper than I ever thought it would.

I honestly can't say when I'm going to write another story or book that focuses on foot fetish. I also know that a lot of people don't like it...I'm finding it's one of those things that people either love or hate. And, I don't want to get locked into one particular theme, ever. But I will continue to add this into other books I write. Even though the book won't revolve around a foot fetish I see no reason why it can't be explored in one or two scenes in a book. And I promise I won't make a joke out of it.

Here's a link where you can read more about the book.

And here's an unpublished excerpt.

When I walked into the gym, I saw these two
guys I didn't know very well. Though I didn't
know them by name, I'd seen them around
campus a lot. They were shooting hoops at the
other end of the gym. They were the only guys in
there, and when I opened the door, the clank from
the metal handle echoed so much, they both
stopped shooting and glanced in my direction. I
nodded and continued to the locker room, feeling
awkward and out of place. I've always found it
interesting that I often feel as if I'm intruding on
people because I'm gay. It shouldn't define me;
yet it does.

The one guy shooting hoops was about six
feet tall, with long, lanky arms and legs. His head
wasn't completely shaved, but his hair was so
short, all it would have taken was a few swipes
from a sharp razor to make him bald. He had a
dark olive complexion and a dark, well-trimmed
goatee that framed his lips. His legs were hairy.
He wore navy blue basketball shorts that sagged
below his knees, a white T-shirt that coveredmost of his crotch, and white Adidas basketball
shoes with those sexy little white ankle socks.

The other guy bouncing the ball was a little
shorter, closer to my height. He had dark curly
hair but not as short as the taller guy's. He didn't
have any facial hair, but he had the same olive
complexion. His baggy basketball shorts were
bright, school bus yellow and his T-shirt burnt
orange. From what I could see at that distance,
he wore bright green Adidas basketball shoes
with black ankle socks.

I'd seen both of these guys walking around on
campus more than once. They were always
together; they always kept to themselves. If I'd
run into them on a dark street, they would have
intimidated me. They looked like trouble. I'd
heard other people talking about them in the
student union and no one seemed to know what
their deal was.

Different Approaches in Getting Published...

One way to get published is to take the traditional route. You write something wonderful, finish it up, make sure it's as good as it can possibly be, and then you start querying literary agents. Don't even think about contacting a large publisher on your own. As the system stands now, and has stood since God was a boy, there is no way you'll ever get through to an editor at a large publishing house unless you go through a gatekeeper...which is the literary agent.

If you don't know how to query a literary agent, you can start by checking out this link. This is a literary agent who offers free advice about querying that's always as accurate as it can get about the query process. This link is a good example of the query process, as it stands now.

There's also another approach. You can looking into digital publishing and see what's been happening there for a very long time. You can check out this link to see what I'm talking about.

This is a publisher's blog where there are calls for submission all the time. You don't need a literary agent to contact them. You can do this on your own. Some offer advances, and they work exactly like "traditional" publishers work. The link I provided is only one example. There are many digital publisher web sites and calls for submission popping up daily for new authors. Silver Publishing, so I hear, is doing this all the time and keeping authors working round the clock. And I'm also hearing it's happening in all genres.

The last two novels I read...not including the Merv Griffin bio which is non-fiction and pure dish I paid way too much for...have been digital first books, written by new authors, and either self-pubbed or pubbed by a digital press. Both were excellent.

I'm not commenting one way or the other on which publishing approach is the best. That's up to the individual author, not me. We all have choices, and as responsible adults were are supposed to base our decisions on the information given to us. I'm just passing out information and showing new authors there are, indeed, choices.

Are Book Pirates Following This Important News?

This is interesting. Below I've copied and pasted the basics from this link, verbatim. And there's another link within this article that will lead you to a place where there is even more information. If you've ever pirated anything, you might want to check it out. If you've ever been pirated, you might want to check it out, too.

Basically, large Internet giants like Facebook and Google are protesting SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). They say it could lead to censorship. As an author who has experienced a great deal of piracy, I've learned a lot about this topic in the past three years. I've also refrained from forming any huge opinions as well. And I will continue to remain objective with regard to book pirates.

But I do have very strong opinions about censorship, especially if it involves online censorship. That's something I can live without.

Google, Facebook, Amazon Planning Internet Blackout to Protest "Big Brother" SOPA Bill by Lauren Kelley

The debate over SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) has pitted Hollywood executives and the Republican-supported Chamber of Commerce against, well, basically everyone who enjoys the free and open Internet, with critics saying that the legislation could lead to widespread Internet censorship.

Among those critics are major websites like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, which are considering imposing an Internet "blackout" in protest of the bill. The Daily Mail reports:

The battle over the SOPA bill has seen leading web firms square off against Hollywood media companies in a trade-off between Internet freedom and intellectual property rights.

Now it could burst into the open as technology giants are planning to 'censoring' their own homepages, according to a leading Internet lobby group.

Sites such as Google, Amazon and Facebook could temporarily replace their usual homepage with a black screen and a message asking users to contact politicians and urge them to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The move could come as early as January 24, when the bill is due to be debated in the House of Representatives.

One of the only major web companies to have supported SOPA is GoDaddy, which was shamed into reversing its support after throngs of customers (including heavy hitters like Wikipedia) moved their domain names elsewhere.

Read more about the background of the bill at the Daily Mail

P&E Reader Poll and "World-Mart" by Leigh M. Lane

This isn't an actual review. I still have about one quarter of the book left to read. And those who read this blog know I don't like doing full reviews very often anyway. But I've read enough to know that I'm enjoying this book enough to recommend it to other people. I've also read other work by this same author and I've never been disappointed.

"World-Mart," by Leigh M. Lane, is definitely one of those books you'll keep with you for a long time. It's dystopia, speculative sci-fi. It's well written with a quick pace, a comfortable tone, and the reader is drawn into the story from the beginning. It makes the reader think about what could happen, and hope and pray it doesn't happen.

I will post more about "World-Mart" when I'm finished, to wrap things up in a more organized way. But I wanted to post something about it now because there is a reader poll going on over at P&E and if anyone out there has already read "World Mart" I'd like to encourage them to go over to P&E and cast a vote for it.

I plan on voting as soon as I'm finished, which will probably be sometime on Friday. But if you have read this book and you do want to vote for it, you have to go over before January 10th.

Here are the rules for the P&E reader poll.

You can vote for "World Mart" here. After that, you'll have to leave your name and e-mail address. When you "submit" you'll be taken to a page that will explain everything.

And if you haven't read "World Mart" yet, you can check it out here on Amazon.

Short Galley Preview: "Cruising" A New Anthology by Cleis Press

I just finished reviewing the galleys for a new anthology that's being released by Cleis Press. The editor is Shane Allison. I've worked with him before and I consider him an artist and author, not only an editor.

My story is titled, "On the Bathroom Floor." I wrote it a long time ago, partly based on true experiences. My blogging buddy, Matthew Darringer, would like this book...at least I think he would. It gets into the reality of how gay men cruise, without making any political or social apologies to anyone. It is what it is; like it or not.

On the other hand, it's not romance. This is erotica about gay men. The subject matter is for adults only and it's different from what I usually write with regard to both content and storyline. And that's because I'm following the guidelines of the editor and the publisher. It's the kind of fiction I started writing twenty years ago as a freshman in college, for publishers like Cleis Press, before there was even a hint of something called m/m romance.

I'll post more when the book is released. Here's a quick excerpt that I've edited so it won't be x-rated on a pg-rated blog. It's also raw, before the line edits were submitted, so there might be an error or two.

On the
Bathroom
Floor
Ryan Field

When the weather is warm I like to jog at a small state park
on the outskirts of town, where it's thick with tall, green
cedar trees; where the wildflowers dot the hills with colors of
the rainbow in spring and where extremely horny straight guys
stop to use the restrooms on their way to work. It doesn't happen
every morning; about two or three times a month is enough to
create a certain anticipation of great pleasure so that the jogging
itself never becomes repetitive. It's a beautiful park,
with paved walking trails and open pavilions and a Pennsylvania
stone restroom haphazardly glazed in lime-green moss.

This place is frequented often by guys wearing jeans and
work boots, driving huge, extended-cab pickup trucks on their
way to construction jobs. Married men in dark suits that smell
like aftershave, driving four-door Japanese sedans on their way
to office jobs in the city come, too. Men of all ages and from
all walks of life who stop to use the restrooms and see what's happening on the down low. [image error]