What a great idea! Another reason why so many writers like Poe, and it's tragic: He labored so long and yet his fame came posthumously. Little did he know the Mystery Writers of America would give out awards called the "Edgar," the mystery-writing equivalent of an actor's Oscar. And it would be a little bust of the man himself, a cherished object.
Catherine, I so very much enjoyed this post. I found you by meandering from Notes to Elle Griffin's post about the publishing industry where she links to this piece, and this is where I landed.
Hi. My name is Birgitte, and I am a Poe fan. (can I sit down now)
Some of my readers have compared my short stories to Poe... which I still consider to be among the greatest forms of flattery known to a human writer. There is something deep in the human psyche that illuminates only when you get close to it... and to get close to it, you do have to go where the darkness lies.
Birgitte, I'm so glad to hear that, and thank you for the kind words! Yes, sit down, by all means :) Always good to meet another Poe fan. Liking him is a kind of shorthand for a whole personality type/my favorite personality type. Agreed about the compliments - that's hugely flattering in the very best way!
Excellent post! And I like the advice in the piece you linked at the end: write about switches, not dials: “Most people think X is the case, but the reality is, the exact opposite is true.”
I love this so much!! I've been toiling for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS writing and querying novels with no luck. (I've been in that bathtub of despair many a time as well.) I'm definitely giving your "hack" a serious consideration. Also, I'm SURE you've already thought of this, but have you been to the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA? They could stock your book in their gift shop. Congrats on your book, and I hope you can get your novels published now, too! :-)
I LOVE that place. :) Very inspiring. Anyway, "bathtub of despair." YES. It's so funny and bleak at the same time that you can't help but laugh. Wishing you all luck with your writing and querying. Break a leg, Eva!
Brilliant! I've been kicking around an idea for a few years, but haven't had time in between writing my two series and the gazillion other things writers do on a daily basis. Now, I'll make the time. Thank you, Catherine!
Interesting hack idea to get published. I never thought about writing about someone else. I've been a Poe fan since I was a teen, not following him on social media though. LOL, seems kind of trivial because he's dead and whoever is running those accounts aren't him anyway. But I am right there with you. At first I wanted to get a large following on instagram or facebook but found that all those algorithms just work against you. Then after seeing some other people who had small followings when I started following them, blew up and had thousands of followers, I saw that they practically lived on the platforms and I didn't want that for my life. Sorry but I don't live for a photo or a caption. I have writing and reading to do. So I am in the same band with you, don't care to have a large following, don't care to post every day, just want to share what I love to do and eventually make a livable wage from it. Famous? They can keep that. I don't want to be famous either.
What a great idea! Another reason why so many writers like Poe, and it's tragic: He labored so long and yet his fame came posthumously. Little did he know the Mystery Writers of America would give out awards called the "Edgar," the mystery-writing equivalent of an actor's Oscar. And it would be a little bust of the man himself, a cherished object.
"The big houses, these days, are more in the business of running proven winners than fresh horses." A perfect metaphor, Catherine ☺️
Catherine, I so very much enjoyed this post. I found you by meandering from Notes to Elle Griffin's post about the publishing industry where she links to this piece, and this is where I landed.
Hi. My name is Birgitte, and I am a Poe fan. (can I sit down now)
Some of my readers have compared my short stories to Poe... which I still consider to be among the greatest forms of flattery known to a human writer. There is something deep in the human psyche that illuminates only when you get close to it... and to get close to it, you do have to go where the darkness lies.
Birgitte, I'm so glad to hear that, and thank you for the kind words! Yes, sit down, by all means :) Always good to meet another Poe fan. Liking him is a kind of shorthand for a whole personality type/my favorite personality type. Agreed about the compliments - that's hugely flattering in the very best way!
Excellent post! And I like the advice in the piece you linked at the end: write about switches, not dials: “Most people think X is the case, but the reality is, the exact opposite is true.”
Glad you enjoyed it, Kimberly - and agreed, the dials/switches insight is fabulous. Really opens up nonfiction ideas, I think.
I love this so much!! I've been toiling for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS writing and querying novels with no luck. (I've been in that bathtub of despair many a time as well.) I'm definitely giving your "hack" a serious consideration. Also, I'm SURE you've already thought of this, but have you been to the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA? They could stock your book in their gift shop. Congrats on your book, and I hope you can get your novels published now, too! :-)
I am now adopting 'Bathtub of Despair' as shorthand ;D
I just looked at your website and saw you live in Richmond, so, ha! Obvi you've been the Poe museum. :-)
I LOVE that place. :) Very inspiring. Anyway, "bathtub of despair." YES. It's so funny and bleak at the same time that you can't help but laugh. Wishing you all luck with your writing and querying. Break a leg, Eva!
Brilliant! I've been kicking around an idea for a few years, but haven't had time in between writing my two series and the gazillion other things writers do on a daily basis. Now, I'll make the time. Thank you, Catherine!
Thanks so much, Sue. :) Break a leg with the series! Rooting for you.
Interesting hack idea to get published. I never thought about writing about someone else. I've been a Poe fan since I was a teen, not following him on social media though. LOL, seems kind of trivial because he's dead and whoever is running those accounts aren't him anyway. But I am right there with you. At first I wanted to get a large following on instagram or facebook but found that all those algorithms just work against you. Then after seeing some other people who had small followings when I started following them, blew up and had thousands of followers, I saw that they practically lived on the platforms and I didn't want that for my life. Sorry but I don't live for a photo or a caption. I have writing and reading to do. So I am in the same band with you, don't care to have a large following, don't care to post every day, just want to share what I love to do and eventually make a livable wage from it. Famous? They can keep that. I don't want to be famous either.
100000%!