From: melyons at adelphia.net <melyons>
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 11:31:57 -0400

 Courage is called for after publication, too, especially when a writer sees used copies of her new book available on Amazon even before the first review has appeared. It happened to me just this morning. Seventeen used copies of my latest book are available, with nary a review in sight.

Those who want to encourage writers might consider giving review copies away to children (not libraries) instead of selling them as used books. This would be a treat for kids who don't own many--or any--books. It also supports unsalaried, un-tenured, un-health-insuranced writers who pay their full social security and work without sick leave, professional leave, or vacation days.

For more on Amazon's controversial and harmful used book policy, see the Author's Guild of New York web site.

Thanks for letting me vent, Mary

Mary E. Lyons www.lyonsdenbooks.com


---- 4joyces at mchsi.com wrote:
> Thank you, Lee, for your warm, true answer to Monica's post:
>
> "No writer ever set out to write a bad book. Publishing just one book should
> give one the feeling of bringing something into world that hasn't appeared
> before."
>
> There is nothing like the terror and elation of starting to write a new book, of
> scrambling around with a bunch of ideas until they begin to coalesce, and never
> being sure that the whole thing will be worth anyone's while.
>
> If we really--any of us, published writers or not--let our fears immobilize us,
> nothing would ever get written at all. And we would never "bring something into
> the world that hasn't appeared before."
>
> Here's to courage!
>
> Joyce Sidman
Received on Mon 17 Oct 2005 10:31:57 AM CDT