Comments on: It Ain’t a Mystery, But I’m Still Puzzled

By: Wrapping Up 2009: the Best Posts of Year | Diary of a Mad Editor

Wrapping Up 2009: the Best Posts of Year | Diary of a Mad Editor — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:20:14 +0000

[...] It’s a Mystery, but I am Still Puzzled [...]

By: Sheyna Galyan

Sheyna Galyan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:53:43 +0000

There are quite a few small presses that don’t meet MWA’s elite requirements simply because they issue smaller first print runs (often a wise move for a variety of reasons). Those same presses contract with professional book editors, book designers, cover artists, etc. Manuscripts are carefully considered for quality, marketability, and reader demand. If anything, small presses need to be even more selective in what they publish than the larger houses.

It is unfortunate that organizations like MWA don’t care to look beyond their biases to learn what independent publishers are doing these days and all that small presses could offer them.

By: William Mize

William Mize — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:36:16 +0000

S.L. has hit right on the head and is correct.
I even joked, in correspondence with Bob Randisi that they should call it the Mize Rule. Not soon afterward, I dropped out of both the PWA and the MWA. Just sayin’.

By: S.L. Armstrong

S.L. Armstrong — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:08:58 +0000

Last year, I met William Mize at Necronomicon here in Tampa. He spoke alongside an author who publishes her books through Lulu.com, saying that he had published his first book through iUniverse. It was a hit, he said, and was even nominated for a Shamus Award in 2001.

However, once they realized he had self-published the novel, they rewrote their awards rules to exclude self-published books. He was the first, and last, self-published author to be nominated for such an award.

It’s a shame that these associations — MWA, RWA, SFWA, and the like — exclude based solely on publication choice instead of merit. It drives me as nuts as when I am told by someone they will not purchase any book that is self or independently published simply because there is no one investing in the product and no quality control.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:48:57 +0000

You are not alone.