700,000 Indie Authors - Who will make it? Why?
On March 6, 1944, The Eighth Air Force bombed Berlin. Nearly nine hundred American bombers took
part, including the B-17G named Little
Willie from the 388th Bomb Group stationed in Knettishall,
England. Over Berlin, flak knocked out
two engines and sent Little Willie
into a dive. Lt. Bernard M. Dopko, the
pilot, struggled to regain control as the plane dove towards the suburbs of
Berlin, pulling out below fifty feet.
Bombardier William Kelly warned, “Look out, Dop, you’re going to run
into the curb!” For the return flight
over Germany, Little Willie flew
below 100 feet at 115 miles per hour. At
one point, Dopko had to bank the craft between two church spires because he
could not fly over them. With its radio
shot out, the bomber was unable to make contact for nine hours and was listed
as missing in action. Finally, as Little Willie cruised ten feet over the
English Channel, Dopko coaxed a third engine back to life long enough to climb
to 5,000 feet, high enough to reach Knettishall. After nine and one-half hours, Dopko landed Little Willie back at Knettishall. Little
Willie had made it home.
From the book – Bomber Missions: Aviation Art of World War
II
Little Willie Coming Home Artist
– Keith Ferris
Now I’m going to revise and reapply the story. Today there are 700,000 independent authors
plying their trade. They are stationed
in every city, town, and hamlet, on the face of the planet. Every day they blog, tweet, post and finally
send their books on missions into the unknown, where they are shot at and often
hit. In an instant many find themselves
diving toward the ground, engines shot out, and communication gone. They fight to pull out of the dive and fly
their wounded books to the safety of sales and fan acclaim. Many of them are listed as missing in action.
Are you MIA? Are
you struggling to find success in your mission as an Indie Writer? Are you going to reach deep and find the
strength and resolve to complete the mission?
Luck didn’t bring Lieutenant Bernard M. Dopko home; his resolve,
dedication, and total commitment did. A
successful writer has to have the same tools that Dopko used to bring Little Willie home.
