Friday, February 18, 2011

What is the Purpose of Authonomy?

There is some confusion about the purpose of Authonomy. Someone has mistaken it for a mere hang-out for wannbe writers. That is SO not the case.

First, human nature is that people stick with people they like. It is called support - which carries the connotation of "carry."

I was in ABNA when I came to Authonomy - I saw a book that I felt in LOVE with - 'Catch a Falling Star.' I joined Authonomy to back that book, and left it on my shelf until it hit the ED. HC panned the book. It was painful to watch. But the author did not let that stop her. When the book hit the Kindle Store, people went nuts over it. (As soon as I have time to read it again, I'll buy it.)

Isn't that what Authonomy is about? You read something, you love it, you support it there with a shelving and a comment. Then when it hits the Market place, you support it, buy it and maybe even review it?

I've had many people there (first time around) say they would buy my book, if they could. I'm back to launch a second book - there, then in the market place.

It is the logical progression of this site - we come in, edit our books with the support of other writers and either hit the ED, get picked up by an agent, get signed with a publisher or self-publish it as pulp fiction.

What that poor young man doesn't understand is the purpose of Authonomy - TO LAUNCH BOOKS. Once HC gets an idea of what the market REALLY wants (by watching books succeed in the market) then they shift their direction to signing books that SELL.

Isn't that what we are really there for? To find the cream of the crop and help it rise as high as it can???

Why the f@#k go there if not for that?

The only thing this poor young person has discovered is that Authonomy WORKS.

Silly child, wake up and smell the coffee.


Writing is an art - (rolling eyes) but publishing is a business.

2 comments:

Rosanne Dingli said...

I'm glad you see it differently from what it's turned out to feel for some. Starting out as a clever idea by HC, Authonomy has proven to be different things for different writers and readers. Attention is hard to come by if you are a new writer, and it's one place you will get some. It's not always of the kind or quality you seek, however.

K. A. Jordan said...

Hello Rosanne - good to see you again. My opinion of Authonomy has gone from positive to negetive - and lately back to positive. Since the drama has died down and they fixed the algorhythm that powered the rating system - I went back to see what was up, and help launch my second novel. The book has been up 1 full day, and has gotten some support.

You are very correct, things can go badly there. I was around in the early days when you could use the site to polish a manuscript - it is also a good place for a newbie writer to get some exposure and some help if they talk to the right people.

The site is still a good place to take a manuscript for a test drive.

I think the most important thing is to keep your expectations from getting too high. Chasing the Editor's Desk would not work for me, but I've learned SO much from the people branching out into Indie publishing.

Keeping a healthy perspective is the key - getting too hyped up is bad.

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