Comments on: Black Dog Fall

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 12:13:54 +0000

Your words have caused a very rueful smile this morning.

As a consumer of books rather than a producer of them I have been shocked at the bitchiness and nastiness of some writers over the success of others – be it in the realms of something they view as ‘trash’ fiction or something that, God forbid, has been published independently.

Do readers really want the BIG BOOK? Would they rather not have a stream of books, on the quality of which they can rely? It seems to me that the authors who are banking the bucks at the moment are the ones who have Steven’s process in place and churn…..

One definition of ‘pro’ is ‘conscientious workmanship’ – not necessarily as an expert but with a willingness to do the work. It saddens me that so many professionals are apparently damned for this.

Your closing reminds me of the old adage about being careful what you wish for…

This blog never fails to deliver words that cause me to think and adjust my own attitudes as a result. Thank you.

By: S. J. Crown

S. J. Crown — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 14:20:40 +0000

The idea of the Black Dog as dark force is as old as the English Moors. Reading this, my inner Sherlock Holmes conjures up images of The Hound of the Baskervilles, another fraudulent Black Dog.

Actually, it seems to me this whole post makes a pretty decent argument for authors to go Indie.

By: david Y.B. Kaufmann

david Y.B. Kaufmann — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:12:24 +0000

This caught my eye: “Putting your butt in front of a book and declaring to the rest of the world that you think it is exceptional takes serious courage. Doesn’t having that courage give you the license to pass judgment about the crap too?” Especially the first 8 words.

Now I have to think about metaphors and Black Dogs and start reading Churchill. And I just discovered something about your past history (not in or from this post) that raises the admiration meter. Thanks Shawn!

By: Basilis

Basilis — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:24:36 +0000

I’m amazed by this analysis!

And deeply troubled once again…

I would dare to further say that this dog-like Resistance is a hybrid of the Cerberus and the Hydra. It’s a fast animal, that smells your fear and if you cut the one of the three heads two new will grow in it’s place.

If you don’t understand which is the trick to deal with it you are going to be in deep trouble very soon!

But, since we are all actually believers of the Big Book and raised with the pay off concept (no matter how judgmental we are when we talk about the consequences if we let it rule our lives), maybe the guy that understands that the dog-like Resistance is a beast that can’t be tamed, that he will deal with it for the rest of his life, that one day he might manage to leave it with a single head,or at least will not allow with his actions to grow some more and be more powerful, then this guy might actually be called a Pro.