Thoughts on the Publishing Industry

I'm newbie writer, but I've been thinking about this industry called publishing lately. It seems so antiquated after I've worked in technology for so long.

1. Most publishers require you to USPS mail them your work.
2. They also ask that you enclose an SASE.
3. They often state that response times are 3-6 months.
4. Many state to specifically AVOID sending them anything via email... even a query.

Snore. Most of the burden is placed on the writer. Perhaps, the process is intentionally cumbersome so that it wards off those that aren't very serious about it. On the other side of the coin, maybe there just aren't enough people to read articles and manuscripts on the publishers end, so they need to bottleneck to stay somewhat up to speed.

Where's the equivalent of the writer's market for the publisher? Why don't we simply log our work into the database, with the ability to push the piece to a handful of publishers or browse the requests that they have for pieces to be written? It's like we really need a Craigslist for writers and publishers... or an eBay... bringing buyers and sellers together... writers' circles to assist with editing... reputation ratings that work like digg, where the best articles in a genre bubble to the top where they can be auctioned off to the highest bidder?

Let's go people!

Empty Tank Alert: You have .28 miles left

I'm beat. I've been saying it all week because it's true. It's a physical and an emotional beating. Physically, I'm tired of driving all over town on all these dates or meetings... I've stopped calling them dates because there doesn't even seem to be much pre-qualification associated with them anymore.

Can you type in complete sentences? Sure, let's meet. I've even been ignoring the typical spelling and grammar errors that drive me nuts.

Emotionally, sifting through all the emails from Match.com and Craigslist, plus keeping all of my inquisitive friends in the loop, just gets tiring. It's also tiring to not see a great match in all of the traffic that I've generated this week with the "TailDating" thing.

The tank needs wine (said in your best "The Donger need food" voice).

I'm trying to remember all the crazy things that I've seen this week:

• If you're approaching 50 and send me a photo of your 21 year old son throwing up gang signs, I'm not interested on several fronts no matter how nice you seem.
• If you send me a photo with a cig dangling from your lips, I'm not interested.
• If you live more than 30 minutes away (by car), I'm not interested even though seeing how you TailDate college-style might be fun.
• If you just want to "date" with no cares in the world or no discussion of a future, then I'm not interested.
• I've you've got 10 cats, I'm not interested.
• If your email address has "dirty" in it, then I'm not interested.
• If you refer to yourself as a "princess," then I'm not interested.

If you qualify for any of the above, then please reread the "things I want."

Going to happy hour and having wine now... and yes, I'm taking a book and I'm going to read it in the middle of the bar no matter how crowded it is. Refill. Recharge.

Rappin' with a Local Reporter

Just got off the phone with one of Kansas City's finest newshounds. I won't yet reveal the name of said journalist, but let it be known that I very much enjoyed the conversation! We spoke of life, career and the chase for love.

More specifically, we conversed about dating in the mid-west compared to other places in the country. We spoke about how online dating here seems to be mostly filled with people that are new in town. We spoke about how Craigslist is a crap shoot. We agreed that the traditional network is still the way that most people meet, i.e. friends of friends, but that you can exhaust that network quickly. Without new ways to increase that network, you find that it becomes stale.

Yet, that is where the new social networking tools help you to see who is in your extended network. If you are single and on Facebook, then you've probably looked at your friends' photos and wondered, "Who's that girl?"

Ya just never know. We also spoke about this "TailDating" thing and how the experiment is going. Ms. Journalist and I will look to converse again on Friday.

Stay tuned!

TailDating: Update #1 (Monday Night)

This is the first update to the TailDating (dating at a tailgate party) foray that I have in progress this week. You can read about the beginning of the idea here.

I have a few days to find a date to the Raiders @ Chiefs game this weekend. So far, we've had entries from two girls, both who found the ad that I posted on Craigslist. Others have chimed in and sent the link to family members, friends and peers. Thank you!

We also received some fantastic promotion from Tony's Kansas City blog, check out what he had to say.

Keep it going!

Read the second update.