Killing the Sacred Cows - One Got Away

I pulled up my RSS feed yesterday - wondering what I was going to find in Dean Wesley Smith's folder.

It was an installment of 'Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing' - I rubbed my hands together with glee. Then I noticed it was the AGENT Myth.

I dropped every thing  I was doing to read it.

Series Note: I am now working on updating each chapter and putting together this book, finally, after over 100,000 words that started back in 2009. So I am updating each chapter and putting it up here now for those who have not seen them.   

However, since I started this series, agents and what they are doing in publishing has changed dramatically. In fact, things have changed so dramatically since I started this book concerning agents, I am not, repeat, not going to include the agent posts as reprints here.
Why? Can’t stomach it is why...

I understand that. I can't stomach the propaganda any more myself.

For me, as I said many, many times - it started with #QueryFail. My first, and I hope my last, glimpse into the mind of the Slush Pile Bees - who ridiculed and sneered their way into my brain forever.

They had nothing but contempt for the people who created their jobs. It was a level of unprofessionalism that I've never seen before - and I've seen some very bad shit.

However, DWS had some really good advice:

My Suggestion of What to DoThe publishing business is changing so fast and so quickly, I doubt agents will be of value to most writers in two years.So just do it yourself for two years.

It has changed. Agents have gone from being the God-like Gatekeepers to being con-wo/men who will take your money for something you can do better yourself - like self-publish.

I'm slowly working my way backwards from a global marketing campaign to a local one. Just like my friends at Year Zero, I'm going ahead with readings on the local level, while having the books out globally.

To that end, I will be reading part of 'Swallow the Moon' at Moonlight Serenity Bath Products the second Saturday in October.

Unfortunately, I won't have any paperback books to sell. But I might be able to collect email addresses so I can send out notice when I have them.