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Hi Folks. The newest WP posting template is not very usable by bloggers using speech programs like JAWS. I am working on figuring out these blocks and tiles but so far it has been an effort in futility, even using the work arounds. This has been the reason why I have not been posting very much lately. I hope the Word Press people listen to my prayer and improve the mess they’ve created for folks using assistive technology.
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I’ve been cleaning out the old paper files and found this gem. I have the faintest memory of writing it. I guess I’ll keep it for the next collection. When I first took the path to being an indy author, I thought I would never have enough to fill one book. Now my third book is going to be released soon and a fourth will eventually come about as well. stuck by ann Chiappetta Being stuck sucks. Gum on the shoe, pig in the mud, tight ring on the fat finger Writer’s block words tugged out tortuously one by one like forcing recalcitrant children to obey Job block despising the daily struggle despairing of the courage needed for change wallowing in the muck of my own making unable to pull free Parent block faced with rebellion with disrespect and demands They tear into each other and I bleed I scream but they hear nothing I cry but they can’t see Their worlds revolve around their own orbits I am invisible on a different planet unless their needs demand they visit Life block Where is the joy that sparks creativity, the gladness found in favorite pastimes, the peace that comes with connecting ? I am frozen in a frigid place an ice-woman trapped in her self-imposed block with no pick no companion no promise of a meltdown blocked stuck silent. 8/14/02 stuck f .l: r Being stuck sucks. Gum on the shoe, pig in the mud, tight ring on the fat finger Writer’s block words tugged out tortuously one by one like forcing recalcitrant children to obey Job block despising the daily struggle despairing of the courage needed for change wallowing in the muck of my own making unable to pull free Parent block faced with rebellion with disrespect and demands They tear into each other and I blee I scream but they hear nothing I cry but they can’t see Their worlds revolve around their own orbits I am invisible on a different planet unless their needs demand they visit Life block Where is the joy that sparks creativity, the gladness found in favorite pastimes, the peace that comes with connecting ? I am frozen in a frigid place an ice-woman trapped in her self-imposed block with no pick no companion no promise of a meltdown blocked stuck silent. 8/14/02
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Big news: my third indy published book will be out in a few months. It is called WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS, edited and prepared by DLD Books.
I am excited and have marketing plans ready, yet, part of my mind is already moving onto the next book, a fictional account of a family like mine, effected by trauma like mine. Yet it is not my story. It is developing into a story that encompasses more than my own life experiences and it is my goal to publish it by 2021. Will this be my breakout novel? Probably not, I am just not going to jump to the top of the slush piles unless I am very lucky. Will it be well written? Yes. Like my other books, it will have a great cover, be edited with detail and care, and touch the other folks who read it. I think this is far better than being famous. As of now, though, it may not be in the local library in print.
Why do I say this? The struggle to be issued a Library of Congress Catalog number for the new book has turned into a barrier for more than one reason. I lost out on this for my first two books due to my being a new indy writer and assuming a LOC catalog number was part of the process with the book editing and preparation services. I assumed wrong and cannot go back to correct this error; the Library of Congress does not allow a book to be cataloged after it is in print, the number must be requested before release and along with the ISBN or one loses the chance. As the preparation for my new book progressed, I found out that since I am not a writer being represented by a traditional publishing house and because Kindle Direct Publishing acquired Create Space and no longer offers LOC catalog registration, I have to somehow manage to request it on my own.
The Library of Congress does not offer a clear path to this process and it is also not accessible to blind authors. Finally, the LOC also has a disclaimer that it can reject indy books without an explanation.
Talk about bursting my bubble; my dream as a child was to be able to go into a public library and know my book was there and assigned a Dewey Decimal. Now, my dream is still on hold, I am being informed indy authors can be rejected. Whatever happened to this Country affording the average person the chance to attain their dreams? Is the LOC so clandestine and elitist? Is the system overwhelmed with the indy market?
Personally, I think all three questions are accurate and this is troubling. My books can stand up to the assumed critic, for sure. I believe my books are solid, readable, grammatically correct and understandable books. I sure hope the LOC finds a way to ease open the door because right now it’s looking like I need a publishing house pedigree before I can enter a traditional library to request a copy of my book. What is even more unclear is the recorded books offered by the LOC for persons with disabilities will not send the recorded book over to the print book for regular print book catalog. One’s recorded book may not have the print book available for request. If the National Library Service for the Physically Handicapped (NLS)takes the time and effort to actually read and record the book, why can’t issuing a catalog number for the print edition also be done?
Indy authors like me may be thinking as I am, that the system is failing the average, tax-paying folks who have worthwhile contributions. And, this, folks, is what burns. It is a form of discrimination because it is upholding standards that are no longer applicable and exclude worthwhile contributions. The publishing world has shifted to try to meet the needs of the world’s readers and indy authors are more and more popular and gaining fame and fortune. One would think the LOC could establish an indy book registration process or a reciprocal recorded book/print book catalog process. Please, if someone reading this can actually get this post into the hands of someone who can make a difference for me and the other writers who are in similar circumstances, leave a comment.