It's a Wrap
by John Wolf
This may be the end of other year, but it's just the beginning of a bright future for us all. Writers have never been so blessed. It was the power of pen and paper for generations, now that power is in the hands of electronic keyboards and networked coalitions of friends of common cause.
I think John Harnish said it best with his epherism: "Express Yourself" to capture the attitude that you can do anything you want with the written word now; you have the power of the digital press behind you.
Like all human endeavors, it is like yelling into an empty cave without someone to call back. One needs that feedback to complete the circle, to feel whole. I thank you-all for the support during the last year; make that the last two years and counting, that have selfishly contributed to the Fox&Quill. I salute you. You've made this cave dwellers day. I know you meant something to your readers even if they weren't brave enough to comment back. I have had emails from many that are thrilled with what you do.
I have been asked why do I do this? There is no monitary reward, if fact, it's a sunk cost, but I do it for you. You are my network of fellow authors, the only ones I know that share this bond with the page - a corasable bond, putting it into terms of the printer. If you didn't care, I couldn't. So, during this holiday season, pause and count your blessings. You're among a select few that can express yourselves in words. You have the ability to make people enjoy their lives more through your stories, observations, poems, and debates. Keep it up, and we'll see you on the otherside of 2008.
When I look back I can't help but see the delightful stories about pickle factories, and ragged mountain men, a squirrel's first Christmas, bantering of a young boys first infatuation with an older woman, dangerous boat rides across open water in a storm, poignant poems, and incredible travelogues. You don't find this stuff in the mainstream genres. This comes from 'real' writers, not the ones rubber stamped out of the commercial world. And I thank the readers for letting me interject my wacky short stories and poems in an attempt to keep up with you.
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I would like to send a message as from Gabriel to those of you who know others that write, who you could nudge to contribute something in the future. Maybe one of you marketing experts can figure a way to make the F&Q a viable inanity for the contributors and make it pay. It's nice to read accolades, but nothing inspires a writer more that a stipend. The cost of a box of No.2 pencils is going up every year and we must find the finances to keep writing.
One of the goals of next year is to introduce video to the Fox&Quill. I would like to feature book trailers and author interviews. It would be nice to place iPod RSS feeds for those verbose few that just can't stop talking when they should be writing. Innovation is what will keep readers and looky-loos coming back. Send me your ideas on that thought.
Well, it's time to clean the chiminey for the fat man
in the red suit once again. This year I'm placing a plate of business
cards out for him instead of cookies. After all, he is international.
Maybe sales in Dubai can be drummed up—a population that can actually
afford a book.
After all, that's where most of America's dollars are sitting.
Yours aye, the Wolf man.
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John Wolf keeps the kennels clean at the Fox&Quill Hunting Club JohnWolfBooks.com |
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