Hey, my apologies for referencing a disco song, but as much as I like Yngwie Malmsteen, I won’t subject you to “Now Your Ships Are Burned.”
Anyway, Jon Del Arroz writes on blacklists, the need to make others aware of them, and more importantly , the need to, as Vox would put it, to develop alternate platforms.
More to the point, to forge forth and not look back.
It all comes down to blackballing again. And here’s where I call to you writers: burn the ships and don’t look back.
By which I mean get rid of these middlemen and gatekeepers who have this mentality. You don’t need them. You don’t need the contract they offer you to be legitimate in the world today. Amazon, evil corporate monopoly that it is, has leveled the playing field and gotten rid of all barriers to entry. A “real” publisher won’t market you anyway — they don’t spend resources on new writers, only established brands. You’ll be left in the wind there as much as you are on your own, but without control of your own product, and receiving a lower percentage on every sale for your work. There is literally no benefit to these middlemen’s existence. They are only there to tell you what you’re allowed to write and what readers are allowed to read. Their opinions might not even match up with readers at all.
You are a real writer. If you’re getting good feedback on your work, don’t hesitate. Put it out there. That’s the only way to get ahead: especially if you’re white, male, Christian, conservative, any or all of those things. They gatekeepers hate you for who you are, and it doesn’t matter how good your work is. Stop giving those Christaphobic racist, sexist bigots validation by seeking yours through them.
And if I can’t in good conscience subject you to that one particular track off of Rising Force, maybe I can give you a decent substitute:
