Lost on Route 66

Tonight, I finished the last edit of Lost on Route 66, a compendium of the winning stories from Gondwana Press’ Route 66 writing contest. I have to say, I’m blown away by the results.

Many of the winners are published authors. Many teach writing. I have never been so happy than by the results of this contest. All the stories are very good, but some are no short of wonderful.

I probably read every story at least fifteen times. The poetry is incomparable and a couple of the stories make me cry every time I read them. The one thing I learned, the old road embodies almost unexplainable passion.

Will Gondwana have a second annual Route 66 writing contest? I don’t know. I have never subjected myself to so much work before, but the results, I think you will agree if you read the book, were worth it.

Eric'sWeb

Twilight, Hah!

The TV series American Idol opened countless eyes in this country and around the world, cluing the masses that there are many talented singers out there that don’t have a recording contract. There are also many wonderful writers that have neither a publishing contract nor an agent. I learned as much when I joined the group at Authonomy.com.

The site is run by HarperCollins – a way for them to look for new talent using an electronic slush pile. Basically, you post at least ten-thousand words from a book you have written. Other members then read and comment on it. If they like it, they put it on their bookshelf. When someone comments on your book, and, or puts it on their bookshelf, it numerically progresses, perhaps to a review by HarperCollins editors.

I posted my book Prairie Sunset on the site, mostly as an experiment. I’m now hooked. Yes, some of the books are in need of major editing, but others could be best sellers - at least in my opinion. One of the books I sampled tonight has best seller and major motion picture written all over it. I exchanged messages with the young woman that wrote it and I am quite sure she has no clue how talented she is. If I were a literary agent, I would grab hold of her skirt and hang on for a wild and prosperous ride.

Thanks HarperCollins for creating the literary version of American Idol. Maybe the only ones visiting it at the moment are other writers, but one of these days all those wealthy literary agents will get a clue that there are far more than a hundred or so talented writers in the world. Then again, maybe I’m giving them too much credit.

Eric'sWeb