{"id":1370,"date":"2015-11-17T15:11:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T20:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stephaniesilberwordsworks.com\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2015-11-17T21:51:08","modified_gmt":"2015-11-18T02:51:08","slug":"new-paradigm-unlocks-a-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometeamproductions.tv\/wordsworks\/new-paradigm-unlocks-a-door\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW PARADIGM UNLOCKS A DOOR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bare<\/a>A lightbulb beamed on over my head the other day.\u00a0\u00a0 It was the result of a phone conversation with my grown son, Jake. He knows his way around a hard time or two. He\u2019s a writer of screenplays in addition to plays for the stage, and struggling under the vicissitudes of free-lancing as a videotape editor, he continues to keep faith with his chosen vocation. I honor that in him. He just won\u2019t quit.<\/p>\n

Me, I\u2019ve tried to quit, and ultimately failed to. I love the process of writing too much. I\u2019ve been submitting work for many years, but succeeded only in getting my non-fiction actually published. My son said (for the umpteenth time), as I complained of my frustration, my rage against the machine, \u201cMom, why not self-publish?\u201d<\/p>\n

I had been stubbornly resistant to the idea, though I mulled it constantly and never ruled it out, quite. Bill, my hiking-in-the-Marshlands pal, once commented with evident horror, \u201cSelf-publishing? How can you even consider that? You\u2019ll be throwing yourself into a vat of shit!\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Bill\u2019s a smart, sophisticated guy, and I saw what he meant. I continued to hold out for the validation and challenges I imagined I\u2019d find in being published traditionally. Every aspect of a corporate collaboration was attractive to me. From working closely with an editor to meeting a deadline (and meeting your book in print-!) to promoting the work felt exciting.<\/p>\n

Blessed with the opportunity to write, produce and direct documentaries for the past fifteen years, I\u2019ve been happily immersed in storytelling, but in the end, fiction is my first love.<\/p>\n

\"beam<\/a>\u201cMom, why not self-publish?\u201d\u00a0<\/em> Those five words from Jake changed my outlook in a second\u2019s time. My resistance vanished, burned away by that sudden, welcome ray of light.<\/p>\n

My friend and neighbor, writer\/editor Catherine Hiller<\/a>, says of my decision, \u201cI\u2019m so glad you\u2019ve changed your mind. We live in a changed publishing landscape and writers should embrace all the opportunities that exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hiller ought to know.\u00a0 She has authored five novels, a story collection, and earlier this year, a memoir, JUST SAY YES.\"Just<\/a>Art is interactive by its very nature. It must be seen or heard to come to life. It\u2019s time to drag my stories out of the dark and into the world. Starting with the novels.<\/p>\n

\"two<\/a>I\u2019ve got two of \u2018em ready to roll out. The first, OTHER PEOPLE\u2019S HOUSES, written in 1996 and revised and polished in 2012 , is a coming-of-ager in which seventeen year old Queenie, the pregnant protagonist, has been sent off from her humble roots to to live with a wealthy family for the duration, and when their troubled son arrives home from college unexpectedly, things get even dicier.<\/p>\n

\"TDSOT<\/a>More recently I completed THE DARK SIDE OF TIME. It likewise shares a theme of houses as a metaphor for the self, but the dwellings in question here are very, very haunted. Written in the classic tradition of Shirley Jackson \u2018s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE, mashed up with ROSEMARY\u2019S BABY, it\u2019s a psychological thriller and a love story within a love story, which explores the uncanny and the ineffable. At the same time it contemplates our troubled world, who and what we worship, and how far we\u2019d go to attain the things we may only think we want.<\/p>\n

Who needs to wait to be “discovered”? I\u2019m lucky to live in a time when DIY publishing is a viable option. I have my work cut out for me, but I feel liberated and enthusiastic about the possibilities. Now, the power is all mine.<\/p>\n

\"adam<\/a><\/p>\n

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A lightbulb beamed on over my head the other day.\u00a0\u00a0 It was the result of a phone conversation with my grown son, Jake. He knows his way around a hard time or two. He\u2019s a writer of screenplays in addition … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n