"Ads provided by Google and not endorsed by AW"

Still not good enough.

I'm sorry, and I'm not.

I love AW. I appreciate everyone's cooperation and especially the dedication of the Mods. And I certainly understand someone wanting to make a buck... I sure as hell do.

But allowing an advertisement endorsing LuLu as your banner (regardless if it's provided by Google or not) when there are so many rants against self-pubbing is troubling. Even hypocritical. Please don't take this as a jab against the wonderful folk who run AW, I really appreciate you all, Jenna et al. But isn't there another sponsor more worthy? Dictionary.com or B&N or Amazon or something?

Consider all the first-timers that come here. They may see the ad and despite the disclaimer, may reason that if a writer's site features this ad, it may be the way to go. And self-pub may indeed be the way to go for some, but as a whole, we all know that it can be a wasteland for beginners with big dreams, little patience, and an unwillingness to go about things through proper channels, whether they've tried those channels and failed or whether they see this as a shortcut.

Think about how that first-timer will feel after clicking on that ad, forking over the dough, then finding all the anti-selfpub threads here. Confusion will be the least of their feelings. They may feel betrayed or even duped.

This may or may not be the apporpriate thread for this subject, but OFFICE PARTY or TIO just don't get the same attention that this one does (thanks in large part to the wonderful and selfless work of UJ, no doubt). But since we come to this particular thread to find out different aspects RE: novel writing, I thought it was more than appropriate to post my concern.

Hoping I don't get banned,

Respectfully,

gp

wee said:

Wait, this rant is coming from someone whose signature says Take the Money & Run! ??

I'm sure that if you will make an appropriate-sized donation to AW, or if everyone was required to use the donation option before they could view or post here, then those ads could come down right away!

Click to expand...

I did donate. I would love to do so again before the holidays but I don't know if that will be possible.



My apologies to those I offended with my post. The reason I originally posted my rant comes from me nearly falling for a less than honest POD that I was convinced would help realize my publishing dreams. I stopped midway thru the process about a week after first discovering AW and other sites and reading about the pitfalls of self-pubbing if your intent was to have that self-pubbed book "noticed" or "picked up" by publishing companies or agents. (IN GENERAL: it won't be properly edited, it probably isn't ready, little or no promotion, etc) I felt saved.

My only concern was for people who--like me back then--didn't know any better about how the publishing machine works, and that forking money over to POD would not necessarily help me to get that particular story published by a Publishing company.

Those who already know what they're getting into and still decide that POD is right for them have every reason to pursue that avenue and I do not look down my nose at them. They've already weighed the pros and cons and have made an educated decision that's good for them. It's the people--again, like me back then--who think this might be a quicker way of doing things that I thought might be disappointed. Or not. Yes, I was impatient back then and not willing to do everything I could. AW has helped me navigate a different course. My post was concerning people with the impatience and unwillingness to go through the publishing process, and who are otherwise unaware of how getting published by a publishing company really works--the same traits I had. It was not meant as an attack on those of you who use POD, but know what you're doing.

Again, I regret that I've offended some here. Was not my intention. I'll retreat to my cave and avoid future rants against ads here.

As for Take the money and Run! sig, that's my response toward advances, in general. It's not my motto on how to live life or run a business. Sorry if it made for some confusing or hypocritical appearances. Though I can see how someone would see that. And I certainly don't expect those who run AW to avoid making money. I just had a concern about one particular ad. Concern has been addressed. Perhaps I was making too much of it.



ETA: when I nearly went the POD route, my writing was considerably worse than it is now, only I didn't know it at the time. It's improved--I think--since then. But in those days I was convinced that agents had other reasons to reject me, and that it couldn't possibly be my writing. I know better now. But I was convinced that self-pubbing would generate enough interest in my work that I could then more easily get an agent. But I'm sure few if any people would have bought it. I'd been toiling in plays and screenplays, but my novel writing was that poor. It took lots of books and lots of hours at sites like this one for me to realize that and improve. So I was concerned a newbie in the same boat I was in may see that ad and figure right away that it was the only (or quickest) way to go before educating themselves and making certain that it was truly the best way to go. Someone who chooses that road after reading about the pros and cons of POD is not hurting themselves, and obviously is doing what's best for them. I'm sure they're getting what they want of it and use it to their benefit.

wee said:

I wasn't offended, and my post was strongly worded but partly tongue-in-cheek. I just wanted to make the point that you can stand on street corners with a bullhorn, but you can't save people from themselves. The same people who don't research the writing industry before getting jumping in with both feet ... probably also invest in oil wells that never get drilled & always lose their warranty cards. Help those who want help & don't sweat it past that.

Also, thank your lucky stars you were wise enough to keep doing research & to pull out when the light dawned.

wee

Click to expand...

Point taken and I agree. But some folk may be real greenhorns when they arrive here and may not know any better to research things before diving into a commitment. Most of us, I'm sure, have had "the vapors" where we thought we knew it all because we hadn't seen anything that offered a differevt POV or a view of the Big Picture. Usually the vapors come the second we write THE END after our first novel... at least, that was my experience. I am grateful that I didn't go the POD route ONLY because it would not have led me to my desired goal. And I would've been out a few hundred bucks. If my goal had been different, it would have been the perfect choice.

And I am very thankful that most of you see that I probably was a bit too flustered, and a bit heavy-handed in my initial post, but I did not mean to attack AW or the people who successfully use POD. I'm very thankful I don't have to feel like the village idiot that walks thru town with my head down, torch in-hand, while everyone else in town turns the other way and says, "Oh, God, it's him again. How do we get him out?"

I like this town too much.

Cheers.

gp