Publishers Weekly's Who's Who Of Self-Publishing Launches

As I mentioned back in August, Publishers Weekly decided to create a sort of Who's Who of Self-Publishing, charging self-published writers $149 for a listing in their supplement and the chance to be reviewed. Well, that supplement has been released:

This, our first PW Select supplement, received approximately 200 books for us to announce to the industry. From among these submissions we committed to reviewing at least 25. Although these authors paid a fee to be listed in print (and in an online database), we reserved the right to decide which books we would review, and we vowed to review them with our customary standards. As is the case with the output from general trade publishers, we do not (and cannot) review everything—38 titles get that treatment here (beginning on page 23)—and we found some gems: Tim Anderson's marvelous memoir-cum-travel tale, Tune In Tokyo; Dorothy Dierk Hourihan's sweet, sepia-toned portrait in 1919: A Kansas Tale; and William Bennett's resonant allegory for children, The Christmas Gift, among others.

"Approximately 200 books" at $149 a pop comes in at just under $30,000 in PW's pocket. Honestly, I'd expected a lot more self-published writers to list themselves, but I'm glad there wasn't. Maybe if fewer and fewer self-published writers buy into this scam, PW will see the error of their ways and discontinue with this ridiculous idea. Then again, maybe not. After all, they do want to remind you of the few self-published writers who have hit it big. So maybe, just maybe, you will too. With a fee of $149, of course.

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Nanu Nanu

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Just got home from the Morgantown, West Virginia area where I spoke to small group of writers last night. The drive there was hellish -- the weather was fine starting out but then, after an hour or so, it started to snow and things just went downhill from there. We were making somewhat good time until we got about 10 minutes away from our destination and then got stuck for about 40 minutes in a long pileup on the interstate because of an accident. But today on the way back? The weather was perfect and we had no problems whatsoever. Anyway, it was a good time, so thanks to Morgantown Poets for inviting me, especially those who braved the cold and ice to attend. I have a story featured today at Nanoism, which I believe is one of the best markets for Twitter-fiction. Here's how the story came about: when putting together the design for the anthology's cover, my editor asked me if I could try to write a story that had the words hint and fiction closer together. They weren't happy with the wording of the story already written, thinking those two words were too far apart. So I did, but the words were way too close together, and the designers went with a different wording, and there's today's special behind-the-scenes look at the making of the anthology. I did include the story, which I titled "Definition," in Eight Hints, which, until now, contained two unpublished hint fiction pieces. I actually have several left over and will be taking the rest with me to AWP, but since I love and appreciate all of you who read my blog, if you'd like a copy of your own, send me an e-mail at robert (at) robertswartwood (dot) com with your name and address by midnight Sunday EST and I'll drop one in the mail and you should (in theory) receive it in time for Christmas (it, like the anthology, makes a great stocking stuffer).

And speaking of Christmas, if you like SpongeBob SquarePants and Legos (because who doesn't?), then you'll love this:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLuK-QEOmcg

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More Hint Stuff

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A reminder that I'll be speaking tonight at the Monongalia Arts Center at 7 pm. So, you know, if you're in the Morgantown, West Virginia area, why not stop by and say hi. It's sure to be an interesting experience seeing that I'm still fighting a bad cold. Along with the usual DayQuil and NyQuil, I took this tonight:

As you can imagine, it didn't taste very good, but hopefully it'll do the trick.

Lyle Rosdahl of the San Antonio Current has this to say about the anthology:

I’m a bibliophile and a lover of language. That’s why I claim that books make the best presents for the holidays. And in the spirit of the Flash Fiction section, I’m recommending Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, edited by Robert Swartwood. Not only is the name of the form brilliant, the stories are too. Here’s an example by Joe R. Lansdale, taken from the first story in the book. It’s called “The Return”: “They buried him deep. Again.” The obvious point is that it hints, like the most brilliant stories, at something outside of it — a cultural reference or the lumbering body below the surface of the page, the words, the meaning. These are the perfect stories to thumb through on a sunny winter morning. Happy holiday reading.

And the Booking Mama also recommends the anthology as an excellent holiday gift:

Coming from someone who can't stop talking or typing, I'm in awe that authors can successfully convey story ideas in so few words. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and the depth of so many of the stories. Some actually made me reflect on the characters, some hit me like a punch to the gut, and others left me wanting more. I honestly didn't expect these few words to have such a powerful effect on me.

Have you seen the trailer for the documentary Bad Writing? Well then, here, you have no more excuse:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raWLS2_PEfI

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Tramp Stamp @ DSM

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My 200-word story "Tramp Stamp" is featured today at the very awesome Dark Sky Magazine. It is, as you may have guessed, about a tattoo. Speaking of which, I've started watching Prison Break and the main character has the blueprints of the prison as well as other clues tattooed on his entire upper body. I'm about halfway through the first season and enjoying it, but am curious to know whether it stays enjoyable through the next several seasons (because I'm assuming they actually break out of prison in the first season). Anybody?