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In regard to Linford's post

Howdy, all.

I've been thinking about Linford's message for a couple of days now.  (Is
is polite to speak of someone in the third person when he is supposedly not
present, even though we know him to be eavesdropping?  And if I address
Linford directly, am I being impolite to the rest of the list who I know
are present but am not speaking to directly?  Miss Manners needs a hotline
for moments like these.)

I like the analogy of a neighborhood vegetable stand compared to the
hypermarket.  I think it's apt.  Both can be successful and supply the
basic needs of both proprietor and customer, but only one gets the flashy
attention.

I like flashy attention, sort of.  At least I think it would, if I could
continue to live a relatively quiet life.

I'm a writer.  Not many editors have acknowledged that fact in any
substantial way, but I am.  I have not completed a novel, but have been
writing short stories most of my life.  (I've only recently started a novel
and most of my stories for most of my life have been trash, but I believe
that to be changing.)  I have hopes of landing stories in prestigious
markets and placing my novel with a high profile publisher.  I would like
those things very much.  It might even be fun to appear on Leno to hawk the
thing.

But if I could do all the above on my own, without waiting for some editor
or publisher's permission to be creative, and make a living comparable to
wheat I'm doing now in my mind-numbing, soul-sucking day job . . . I
probably would.  The conventional wisdom is that this is nearly impossible
to do with fiction writing.  (How-to writers pull it off all the time.)
The internet has changed that a lot.  Amazon.com is now carrying small
press and independent recordings.  Discussion lists like this one are
turning people all over the world onto regional music.  (I would never have
heard of Over the Rhine without the Mark Heard and Sam Phillips lists.)
Find an inexpensive server and with a webpage you can do fairly inexpensive
advertising and sales over the web.  People who want more than Top 40 radio
will find it much more easily these days than even just 5 years ago.

The main thing is that this means artists, more than ever, have to be the
"suits" as well as the creator.  And I guess that's the main question for
Linford.  Does all the promotion, bookkeeping, management, etc. come easy
for you or does is weigh you down, keep you from creating?  For me, I'm not
interested or very good with the business end of things, so i don't expect
to ever self-publish.  OtR has "self-published," so they at least know how
it's done.  Do they want to continue doing that business end?

Either way, I hope to hear more music from OtR.  Major label or indie.

-Neil

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neil E. Orts               *
Sr. Administrative Assoc.  *  You could say I've lost my belief
Office of Graduate Studies *       in our politicians.
University of Texas Austin *  They all look like game show hosts to me.
Main 101 -- 512/232-3625   *
neo at mail_utexas.edu        *			-Sting
fax:  512/475-8851         *

                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~