Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 238
June 22, 2011
Alice Ozma's 'The Reading Promise'
Imagine this: your nine-year-old daugher asks you to promise to read her a story every day for a hundred days. Then, once the habit gets going and a streak is underway, the reading lasts for 3,218 days until your daugher leaves for college.
This is the basic story behind Alice Ozma's book The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared . I like the concept of the promise, the idea that stories and story time can mean a lot and make a difference, and then become a tradition.
Osma told NPR that "I think that once you start something like that, it's very difficult to stop; it seems very weird after 100 nights of reading in a row to say, 'Let's not read tonight.'"
My parents read me stories when I was young. I don't think any of us thought about continuing the streak until we left home for college. At some point, my brothers and I shifted over to reading the books we received for birthdays and Christmas, and then those we could check out from the school library.
We had other traditions, one of them being our own "Jeopardy"-style question and answer game that we played from time to time around the dinner table. This was our tradition. The idea, in this day and time, that families can establish traditions, whether they're storytelling or reading, is one that gives me confidence that we, as a people, are not as doomed as some of the news reports might make us appear.
The Reading Promise was released in May from Grand Central Publishing. Publisher's Weekly wrote in its review that "Ozma's account percolates chronologically through her adolescence, as father and daughter persevered in their streak of nightly reading despite occasional inconveniences such as coming home late, sleepovers (they read over the phone), and a rare case of the father's laryngitis. Ozma's work is humorous, generous, and warmly felt, and with a terrific reading list included, there is no better argument for the benefits of reading to a child than this rich, imaginative work."
I hope the book is a success and gives a lot of parents and children the idea of doing the same thing.
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Once Upon a Time - The significance of stories in our lifes on "Sarabande's Journey"
--Malcolm
June 15, 2011
Black Swan, Glacier Park, Sarabande and Rain
First, the rain. How nice to hear a serenade of thunder as a soaker of a rainshower moves through the Commerce, Jefferson and Athens realm of northeast Georgia. It has been very dry again this year. Almost wish I had a tin roof to hear the percussion of the drops.
I am nearing the end of "Sarabande," my sequel to "The Sun Singer." Now I'm in limbo, the limbo of being excited about sending it off to the publisher, yet still having a little bit left to do. My protagonist, Sarabande, and her giant Friesian horse Sikimi have taken me on a journey I never expected. What a trip. I hope my readers will like it, too.
As I wrote in a recent post called Me and My Shadow, the events in an authors life impact his fiction. Had I written "Sarabande" a year ago, it would be a different book. Perhaps better, perhaps not. My muse, I think, leads me to write it when I'm "supposed to" write it.
Black Swan
When I finally watched Black Swan on the DISH-pay-per-view, "Sarabande" changed. I'm not sure how or how much. As a heroine's journey, "Sarabande" is about a female protagonist on a journey toward wholeness. This is not the plot, but the result of the plot. To achieve wholeness, one must confront the parts of himself/herself that have been repressed or denied. In Jungian psychoanalysis, such attributes form "The Shadow."
The film Black Swan dramatized the fight between a ballerina and her shadow. As a thriller, Black Swan made the battle literal rather than internal to the Natalie Portman character, Nina. Sarabande is also confronting her shadow, though unlike the director of the film, I'm not making thoughts/fears appear in the story as actual events. The film impacted me as well as my manuscript. I may never know exactly how, but I'm pleased about it.
Glacier National Park
My new e-book Bears; Where They Fought: Life in Glacier Park's Swiftcurrent Valley went live today on Kindle and on Smashwords (multiple formats). The 99-cent e-book looks at some of the historical milestones on the eastern side of Montana's Glacier National Park.
The title comes from a chance siting by a Piegan hunting party of two fighting grizzly bears in the present-day location of Lake Sherburne. The Piegans named the location after what they saw and the story that came out of it. Later, a mining boom town sprang up on that site, giving rise to cries of copper, gold and riches. The town didn't last because the mineral deposits were less than expected. Today, the remnants of the 1900-1910 town of Altyn lie at the bottom of the lake.
The boom town's location is less than a mile away from Many Glacier Hotel, and it makes up just one of the stories that history books, the four winds and the shining mountains have to tell about the valley that attracts so many tourists each year. I'm partial to this valley because I worked there as a seasonal employee years ago and am now finishing the third novel I've placed in the world stair-step valleys and glacier-fed lakes.
--Malcolm
I am nearing the end of "Sarabande," my sequel to "The Sun Singer." Now I'm in limbo, the limbo of being excited about sending it off to the publisher, yet still having a little bit left to do. My protagonist, Sarabande, and her giant Friesian horse Sikimi have taken me on a journey I never expected. What a trip. I hope my readers will like it, too.
As I wrote in a recent post called Me and My Shadow, the events in an authors life impact his fiction. Had I written "Sarabande" a year ago, it would be a different book. Perhaps better, perhaps not. My muse, I think, leads me to write it when I'm "supposed to" write it.
Black Swan
When I finally watched Black Swan on the DISH-pay-per-view, "Sarabande" changed. I'm not sure how or how much. As a heroine's journey, "Sarabande" is about a female protagonist on a journey toward wholeness. This is not the plot, but the result of the plot. To achieve wholeness, one must confront the parts of himself/herself that have been repressed or denied. In Jungian psychoanalysis, such attributes form "The Shadow."
The film Black Swan dramatized the fight between a ballerina and her shadow. As a thriller, Black Swan made the battle literal rather than internal to the Natalie Portman character, Nina. Sarabande is also confronting her shadow, though unlike the director of the film, I'm not making thoughts/fears appear in the story as actual events. The film impacted me as well as my manuscript. I may never know exactly how, but I'm pleased about it.
Glacier National Park
My new e-book Bears; Where They Fought: Life in Glacier Park's Swiftcurrent Valley went live today on Kindle and on Smashwords (multiple formats). The 99-cent e-book looks at some of the historical milestones on the eastern side of Montana's Glacier National Park.
The title comes from a chance siting by a Piegan hunting party of two fighting grizzly bears in the present-day location of Lake Sherburne. The Piegans named the location after what they saw and the story that came out of it. Later, a mining boom town sprang up on that site, giving rise to cries of copper, gold and riches. The town didn't last because the mineral deposits were less than expected. Today, the remnants of the 1900-1910 town of Altyn lie at the bottom of the lake.
The boom town's location is less than a mile away from Many Glacier Hotel, and it makes up just one of the stories that history books, the four winds and the shining mountains have to tell about the valley that attracts so many tourists each year. I'm partial to this valley because I worked there as a seasonal employee years ago and am now finishing the third novel I've placed in the world stair-step valleys and glacier-fed lakes.
--Malcolm
June 4, 2011
Saturday's Story
While writing a post about writing prompts, it occurred to me that the best writing prompt is probably "Get Off Your Ass and Write."
Otherwise, Jack Heffron does sum it up when he says, "If you want to write, you must begin by beginning, continue by continuing, finish by finishing. This is the great secret of all. Tell no one." Yet, I find that that's easier said than done.
I seem to be impacted by every uproar that comes through our lives. It might be financial worries or somebody's health or car trouble or a sick pet, but it gets between me and my writing. What about you. Do various crunches, hassles, worries and issues make it hard for you to get off your ass and write?
In my Malcolm's Round Table blog I note that most of the summer reads the newspapers and magazines are talking about come from BIG PUBLISHING. Somehow, we're all failing to get the right kind of word out to the right kind of people about independent publishers and their novels.
If you live in Montana, this post has some Glacier National Park volunteer opportunities.
We're having hot, sunny weather here in Jefferson, Georgia. Too hot to consider mowing the yard, even though it needs it. I'd rather continue reading THE HISTORIAN and doing a few updates for my website.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend filled with manuscripts and books.
--Malcolm
Otherwise, Jack Heffron does sum it up when he says, "If you want to write, you must begin by beginning, continue by continuing, finish by finishing. This is the great secret of all. Tell no one." Yet, I find that that's easier said than done.
I seem to be impacted by every uproar that comes through our lives. It might be financial worries or somebody's health or car trouble or a sick pet, but it gets between me and my writing. What about you. Do various crunches, hassles, worries and issues make it hard for you to get off your ass and write?
In my Malcolm's Round Table blog I note that most of the summer reads the newspapers and magazines are talking about come from BIG PUBLISHING. Somehow, we're all failing to get the right kind of word out to the right kind of people about independent publishers and their novels.
If you live in Montana, this post has some Glacier National Park volunteer opportunities.
We're having hot, sunny weather here in Jefferson, Georgia. Too hot to consider mowing the yard, even though it needs it. I'd rather continue reading THE HISTORIAN and doing a few updates for my website.
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend filled with manuscripts and books.
--Malcolm
June 3, 2011
Not flu, not strep nor staph, but WINDOWS RECOVERY B
Yesterday was virus day. So, here we go again.
The last time a rogue warning-of-dire-consequences virus hit my computer--in spite of my existing virus protection software--STOPzilla was the only application that would get rid of it.
Yesterday, STOPzilla saw the threat, but didn't block it. My screen was filled with a purported virus-fixing program that was, itself, the virus. It pretends to run tests. It keeps pretending to run them no matter what one clicks on. In the process, it hid all the files and programs on my computer except for my browser. This made it appear that all the HARD DRIVE FAILURE and RAM MEMORY FAILURE warnings were true.
The virus, called "Windows Recovery B" and its associated "Explorer Policies No Desktop" left my browser there so I could click on their BUY NOW fix it solution (for a mere $69). I didn't buy.
STOPzilla went nuts with its warnings. When it displayed a warning, I had it erase the infection and reboot the computer. The thing is, the virus was still there.
If you get this one, I finally got rid of it with the Norton Utilities. That didn't get all of it, but the package includes a hyperlink for the Norton Eraser and that got rid of the rest...almost. I still had to find and download a copy of unhide.exe to restore my files and programs.
Things are getting back to normal except for the little hijacker virus that came along with the package. It re-directs the web links I click on to ads and other pages. So far, two programs that are supposed to clean it up HITMAN and ADVANCED SYSTEM OPTIMIZER are not getting rid of it.
Needless to say, I once again come to the inclusion that the Internet is more dangerous than a jungle.
The last time a rogue warning-of-dire-consequences virus hit my computer--in spite of my existing virus protection software--STOPzilla was the only application that would get rid of it.
Yesterday, STOPzilla saw the threat, but didn't block it. My screen was filled with a purported virus-fixing program that was, itself, the virus. It pretends to run tests. It keeps pretending to run them no matter what one clicks on. In the process, it hid all the files and programs on my computer except for my browser. This made it appear that all the HARD DRIVE FAILURE and RAM MEMORY FAILURE warnings were true.
The virus, called "Windows Recovery B" and its associated "Explorer Policies No Desktop" left my browser there so I could click on their BUY NOW fix it solution (for a mere $69). I didn't buy.
STOPzilla went nuts with its warnings. When it displayed a warning, I had it erase the infection and reboot the computer. The thing is, the virus was still there.
If you get this one, I finally got rid of it with the Norton Utilities. That didn't get all of it, but the package includes a hyperlink for the Norton Eraser and that got rid of the rest...almost. I still had to find and download a copy of unhide.exe to restore my files and programs.
Things are getting back to normal except for the little hijacker virus that came along with the package. It re-directs the web links I click on to ads and other pages. So far, two programs that are supposed to clean it up HITMAN and ADVANCED SYSTEM OPTIMIZER are not getting rid of it.
Needless to say, I once again come to the inclusion that the Internet is more dangerous than a jungle.
May 30, 2011
Weekend Update - 'The Historian,' 'Healwoman,' and the Novel in Progress
Other than the fang-in-cheek vampire spoof by Rhett Devane and Larry Rock, Evenings on Dark Island , I don't recall ever reading a vampire novel. But, since I enjoyed reading Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves, I couldn't resist turning to her earlier book The Historian. Quite likely, I'm the last person in the universe to read it.
I'm enjoying it, though I do question why some of the place descriptions are detailed to the point of approaching the kind of focus I'd expect in a travel book. Nonetheless, it's keeping my attention very well.
Teaser Tuesday
If you follow the Teaser Tuesday meme from Should be Reading, my teaser for this week is Janet Lane Walter's Healwoman: Dark Moon. You'll find it on my Writer's Notebook blog.
Old Poetic Form
I tinkered around with an old poetic form for my Memorial Day status on Facebook called bob and wheel. It's most often associated with the Pearl Poet's 14th century romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I won't claim to match that wonderful old classic, but I had fun playing with the form to express my opinion about the use of a day intended to remember our fallen troops for sales and bargain hunting trips:
You're gone,
Men of station and steel and story,
In memory soldiering on,
While we praise your power and glory
Seeking bargains for house and lawn.
Sarabande: My Novel in Progress
When I'm working on the final portions of a novel in progress, I often feel rather drained. Everything I've imagined saying, now has to be said--with strength, with grace and with excitement without spoiling the effect with purple prose or missed opportunities. Sarabande is no exception.
The novel is the story of a young woman who is haunted by the ghost of the sister she killed three years earlier in self-defense. Now she goes to the underworld to find and confront the malicious ghost. The holiday weekend has given me a great opportunity to dive into that confrontation. To keep myself grounded, I wrote a lighthearted post on my Sarabande's Journey blog about leaving characters in tight spots.
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I hope you have had a great weekend filled with reading, writing, memories and families.
--Malcolm
New from Vanilla Heart Publishing: Jock Talks - The Collection. For satirical e-books in one for only $3.33 on AllRomance. Enjoy the humor!
May 25, 2011
How to Avoid Becoming Dr. Gregory House
Insanity is like steam in a pressure cooker. It's persistent, and if it isn't released into the world in small doses on a regular basis, an explosion occurs. If you've ever cooked with a pressure cooker with a faulty safety value, you know how unpleasant such explosions can be.
This past season, the writers of FOX Broadcasting's House, M.D. ended up with a faulty safety valve. The show exploded all over the network ceiling. (It's not yet clear whether the writers or the network are aware of this yet.)
Like House (the show and/or the character), a little bit of insanity goes a long way. In small doses, insanity is creative and rather bracing. In large doses, it drives people crazy.
As a writer, I use insanity the way power companies use nuclear fission. I create stories; power companies create electricity. Stories and electricity are pretty much the same thing because they come from the same place.
If you're not a writer, you don't want to go to that place. It's best to leave such journeys to the professionals rather than trying them at home. Once you go to that place, you have to keep going because the demons and other strange powers who live there know your name. Your absence from their world will not make their hearts grow fonder.
Once you go there, don't be a stranger. As long as your mind has a functioning safety valve, you'll probably be okay. You will avoid turning into House by confronting your demons often and by letting bits and pieces of them into the mainstream through your music, writing and other forms of art.
In her recent book, The Use and Abuse of Literature, Majorie Garber concerns herself with the way literature means what it means. The book has an interesting, albeit a false premise. Literature doesn't mean anything because that's not its intent. It's escaping steam. It's electricity. It's how writers avoid becoming Dr. Gregory House.
I have tried a variety of safety valves to keep the pressure of my demons from exploding like spaghetti sauce in an unfortunate pressure cooker. Writing is the only thing that works. Writing is, by no means, the perfect answer. The best answer is not to journey into the world of demons in the first place.
But they (whoever runs the dark side) have done such a great job with the place. It feels like home. It has a porch light on every night. It has everything a person could ever want. That's the problem, of course.
Writers often wax philosophical or poetical or cute when they discuss the house of demons. We say it's our muse. We say that our best stuff comes from our muses and, while that's true, our muses are more like Darth Vader and Gregory House than Betty Crocker.
So, here's where we are. Once you step into the house of demons, the only way to avoid becoming Dr. Gregory House is by: (a) Visiting (rather than ignoring) the house on a daily basis, (b) Placing the pearls of wisdom and weirdness found in the house into politically correct poems, paintings and sweet-looking animals and cherubs, (c) Leaving the house before it's too late.
The writers who control Dr. Gregory House forgot the rules and ended up with a House who is too much House. Sensible writers need to avoid that, and when they're successful the result is literature.
--Malcolm R. Campbell releases the dark side into the world in part through the satire of his alter ego Jock Stewart, most recently in "Jock Talks Lightning Safety," co-authored by Smoky Trudeau Zeidel.
This past season, the writers of FOX Broadcasting's House, M.D. ended up with a faulty safety valve. The show exploded all over the network ceiling. (It's not yet clear whether the writers or the network are aware of this yet.)
Like House (the show and/or the character), a little bit of insanity goes a long way. In small doses, insanity is creative and rather bracing. In large doses, it drives people crazy.
As a writer, I use insanity the way power companies use nuclear fission. I create stories; power companies create electricity. Stories and electricity are pretty much the same thing because they come from the same place.
If you're not a writer, you don't want to go to that place. It's best to leave such journeys to the professionals rather than trying them at home. Once you go to that place, you have to keep going because the demons and other strange powers who live there know your name. Your absence from their world will not make their hearts grow fonder.
Once you go there, don't be a stranger. As long as your mind has a functioning safety valve, you'll probably be okay. You will avoid turning into House by confronting your demons often and by letting bits and pieces of them into the mainstream through your music, writing and other forms of art.
In her recent book, The Use and Abuse of Literature, Majorie Garber concerns herself with the way literature means what it means. The book has an interesting, albeit a false premise. Literature doesn't mean anything because that's not its intent. It's escaping steam. It's electricity. It's how writers avoid becoming Dr. Gregory House.
I have tried a variety of safety valves to keep the pressure of my demons from exploding like spaghetti sauce in an unfortunate pressure cooker. Writing is the only thing that works. Writing is, by no means, the perfect answer. The best answer is not to journey into the world of demons in the first place.
But they (whoever runs the dark side) have done such a great job with the place. It feels like home. It has a porch light on every night. It has everything a person could ever want. That's the problem, of course.
Writers often wax philosophical or poetical or cute when they discuss the house of demons. We say it's our muse. We say that our best stuff comes from our muses and, while that's true, our muses are more like Darth Vader and Gregory House than Betty Crocker.
So, here's where we are. Once you step into the house of demons, the only way to avoid becoming Dr. Gregory House is by: (a) Visiting (rather than ignoring) the house on a daily basis, (b) Placing the pearls of wisdom and weirdness found in the house into politically correct poems, paintings and sweet-looking animals and cherubs, (c) Leaving the house before it's too late.
The writers who control Dr. Gregory House forgot the rules and ended up with a House who is too much House. Sensible writers need to avoid that, and when they're successful the result is literature.
--Malcolm R. Campbell releases the dark side into the world in part through the satire of his alter ego Jock Stewart, most recently in "Jock Talks Lightning Safety," co-authored by Smoky Trudeau Zeidel.
May 21, 2011
The Week in Books
This past week, I finished two wildly diverse books, Dorothea Benton Frank's Lowcountry Summer and Naomi Ruth Lowinsky's Adagio and Lamentation . Then, even though I never thought I'd read a vampire-related book, the strength of Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves lured me into starting The Historian .
In a return to Tall Pines Plantation, Lowcountry Summer looks into the troubled lives of Caroline, Trip, and Rusty in the Southern world still under the influence of the late Miss Lavinia. Dot Frank fans won't be disappointed.
I already know the work of Naomi Ruth Lowinsky through her wonderful memoir The Sister from Below: When the Muse Gets Her Way and The Motherline: Every Woman's Journey to Find Her Female Roots , so I looked forward to reading her collection of poems, Adagio and Lamentation. I wasn't disappointed. I posted my review of the book today on Malcolm's Round Table.
More Satire on Kindle
Vanilla Heart Publishing
released the latest e-book in the "Jock Talks" satire series yesterday. I co-authored Jock Talks Lightning Safety with Smoky Trudeau Zeidel as a parody of the helpful hints feature stories often found in newspapers. En route to a lot of laughs, we debunk real, widely accepted lightning myths.
Here in northeast Georgia, we're expecting another hot weekend. It might be the perfect time to stay inside and read.
--Malcolm
May 18, 2011
'Jock Talks' Series Now in All E-Book Formats
The "Jock Talks" series of noir satirical news stories is now available at OmniLit and Smashwords as well as on Kindle. Jock is the first name of my old-style investigative reporter, not an allusion to sports!
Available formats at Smashwords, all for 99 cents are online Java or HTML and downloadable Epub (Stanza), Kindle (mobi), PDF, RTF, LRF (Sony), PDB (Palm) and plaintext. Free samples are available in most of the formats.
Take a look and have fun.
--Malcolm
May 13, 2011
What's it like to be struck by lightning?
Smoky Trudeau Zeidel (The Cabin, Redeeming Grace) has written a Kindle e-book called In a Flash about getting struck by lightning 22 years ago.
As it turns out, the aftermath was worse than the event because the lightning bolt blotted out her short-term memory. Witnesses had to tell her what it was like because she didn't know it happened until she woke up in the hospital.
The years since June 11, 1989 have been a perilous journey of pain, hospitals and multiple surgeries. She stopped by Malcolm's Round Table today to talk about the experience and the book. I hope you'll drop by for a visit.
Sarabande
I'm currently working on the last chapter of my novel in progress, my sequel to The Sun Singer. While the work has been slow, I'm happy with the overall plot, theme and approach. Needless to say, there's plenty of work left to do.
Have a great weekend!
--Malcolm
If you like the fake news stories in "The Onion," you'll love the tongue-in-cheek satire of my "Jock Talks" series of e-books. They reature the insane reporting of my alter ego Jock Stewart. They're available on Kindle and at Smashwords. To tempt you, the first book, "Jock Talks Satirical News," is free!
May 10, 2011
A Rare Commentary: another closed door
Writers are advised by everyone to never utter a discouraging word in public about anything in the publishing industry. I could spend the entire post saying why it's not a good idea for me to write anything under a title called "A Rare Commentary: another closed door."
It's generally assumed that successful writers have no reason to grip, so griping just draws attention to one's lack of success. Or, griping indicates sour grapes or garden variety jealousy.
However, since I do not write short stories or have any desire to edit a collection of short stories, that means I have no dog in this hunt.
The Closed Door
I find it disappointing that a publisher with a brilliant series of short story books, namely the Akashic Books Noir Series, can (on the plus side) state that they are dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers.
But then on the other hand, state on their submissions policy page that Unfortunately, Akashic Books is not accepting new submissions at this time, as our small staff is overwhelmed with work on our current release schedule and forthcoming books. To uncover other publishing opportunities, we suggest you follow the threads at Publishers Marketing Association and SPAN: Small Publishers of North America, both organizations of independent publishers.
I Understand Their Pain
Almost nobody expects the handling of unsolicited query letters, much less actual manuscripts, to pay dividends to a publisher's or an agent's staff. Yet, it seems somewhat paradoxical for a publisher that wants to offer an alternative to BIG NEW YORK PUBLISHERS to use the very same closed door submissions policy statement that BIG NEW YORK PUBLISHERS use.
Most of the publishers and agents who still accept unsolicited queries have a disclaimer that says, "if you don't hear from us within six months, it means your manuscript is not right for us." Unlike the old days, nobody has to send out a rejection slip. A good editor can click through e-mails at light speed, rejecting (by deleting them) queries at light speed.
So, allowing unsolicited queries won't break the backs of the staff; and, it's simply the right thing to do if one really is who they say they are: an alternative.
It's The Thought That Counts
If Akashic Books weren't stepping forward as an alternative to the same old, same old of mainstream publishers it might help the PR and marketing side of the business if the submissions policy sounded slightly less mainstream. And, it would look better to the writers who, one day, the publisher might actually be interested in hearing from.
--Malcolm
It's generally assumed that successful writers have no reason to grip, so griping just draws attention to one's lack of success. Or, griping indicates sour grapes or garden variety jealousy.
However, since I do not write short stories or have any desire to edit a collection of short stories, that means I have no dog in this hunt.
The Closed Door
I find it disappointing that a publisher with a brilliant series of short story books, namely the Akashic Books Noir Series, can (on the plus side) state that they are dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers.
But then on the other hand, state on their submissions policy page that Unfortunately, Akashic Books is not accepting new submissions at this time, as our small staff is overwhelmed with work on our current release schedule and forthcoming books. To uncover other publishing opportunities, we suggest you follow the threads at Publishers Marketing Association and SPAN: Small Publishers of North America, both organizations of independent publishers.
I Understand Their Pain
Almost nobody expects the handling of unsolicited query letters, much less actual manuscripts, to pay dividends to a publisher's or an agent's staff. Yet, it seems somewhat paradoxical for a publisher that wants to offer an alternative to BIG NEW YORK PUBLISHERS to use the very same closed door submissions policy statement that BIG NEW YORK PUBLISHERS use.
Most of the publishers and agents who still accept unsolicited queries have a disclaimer that says, "if you don't hear from us within six months, it means your manuscript is not right for us." Unlike the old days, nobody has to send out a rejection slip. A good editor can click through e-mails at light speed, rejecting (by deleting them) queries at light speed.
So, allowing unsolicited queries won't break the backs of the staff; and, it's simply the right thing to do if one really is who they say they are: an alternative.
It's The Thought That Counts
If Akashic Books weren't stepping forward as an alternative to the same old, same old of mainstream publishers it might help the PR and marketing side of the business if the submissions policy sounded slightly less mainstream. And, it would look better to the writers who, one day, the publisher might actually be interested in hearing from.
--Malcolm
