Saturday, September 8, 2012

Revolver and Bozell Books - New & Fresh or SOSDD?

Just when I thought there were some new and exciting options for indie authors, digging deeper reveals the two I checked out are the same old s**t, different day (SOSDD).  Enter the new ballsy literary journal, "Revolver," and the new self-pub division of Bozell.
To summarize - *Sigh* and *tsk, tsk, tsk* - Yep, that about sums it up.

Revolver) is a new literary journal, claimed to be "rowdy." Their editing staff wants prose that hits you like a bullet to the brain. Now, excuse me if I missed the point, but if writing hits me that hard, I'd either be dead or in a vegetative state, and neither outcome appeals to me. "But, hey," I thought, "let's see how gutsy and fresh these folks are!"

After briefly creating an account in Revolver, I eagerly proceeded to the submission process. I have six titles that are between 1,000 and 5,000 words, which qualified me to submit up to 3 as long submissions. "Oh, this is going to be great fun," I thought, just before wetting myself.  After stepping out for a quick "Depends" change, I giddily clicked on the "Submit" button.

"Crash!" cried the brick wall: There before me sat the cold and unblinking block that demanded a cover letter. Flooding my brain, um … kinda like a bullet hitting it, I suppose … were the memories of dozens of rejection letters from agents and publishers.  I meekly went through the mechanical exercise of cranking out a cover, but then deleted it; the pabulum had no soul.

As I suspected, Revolver's "Legal" page on its website reads exactly like the submission process for traditional-publishing's model. Then, I determined after sifting through the cover letters, they'll take a month or so to get back to the author regarding pub'ing. *Yawn* – not exactly the ballsy, rowdy, indie environment I've chosen to be accustomed to.

In my opinion, Revolver provides its investors with an easy way to gather edgy and inspired works for free, and then make money off the included titles by selling the printed version of the Revolver journal to retailers (I did read that sales objective somewhere, but I'm not wasting any more time searching for it again). Nowhere, btw, in Revolver's "Legal" page, do they mention paying royalties to writers.

Then, tonight, I looked into Bozell Books, the supposed self-pub division of Bozell. "Oh, whatever," I spat as I read the bilge identifying Bozell Books as yet another vanity publisher. Their hype read like an uninspired Dilbert cartoon. Steer clear – no matter how they package it, their offerings are the playground of vanity publishers. I expected better out of Bozell – not another "me too" offering in a tired, worn-out, and bloated market segment.

I hope this post helps you leapfrog the SOSDD in your search for publishing's new frontiers.

With kind regards,
LC

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