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\nNow I have to confess that I have no idea whether what I\u2019m trying to do makes any sense. Can a book from an unknown author with an extremely niche audience break out and find a generously sized audience? My rational engineering side says the odds against it are long. I\u2019ll say one in a thousand.
\nBut at the same time, a part of me is anxious to take the plunge. And that is exactly what I\u2019m doing. It\u2019s a roulette wheel spin with a big pot of my money plunked down on double zero. What could be more fun than that? Well, I guess winning would be more fun. But that\u2019s well beyond my power to ensure. I\u2019ll have to let fate have her say.
\nI guess now I know how every author since Homer has felt when his creation is about to be unveiled. And I\u2019ll say it\u2019s a good feeling. As Kipling said:
\n\u201cWhen \u2019Omer smote \u2019is bloomin\u2019 lyre,
\nHe\u2019d \u2019eard men sing by land an\u2019 sea;
\nAn\u2019 what he thought \u2019e might require,
\n\u2019E went an\u2019 took \u2014 the same as me!\u201d
\nEvery teller of tales is part of the long tradition. You make up something in your head and you want to see if the audience resonates to the same vibration you felt. But the worst fate would not be if a lot of people didn\u2019t like it. The worst is if no one ever hears it.
\nAchilles in the Iliad wanted to die for glory, for immortal fame. Well, I\u2019d prefer to live but I\u2019d forego any profit if I could guarantee that a million people read my story. That would be a form of immortality. Well, spin the wheel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If a brutally long and tedious day starts and ends with good news, does that make it a good day? I would have to say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2510,1289,1263,4],"tags":[76,1290,4484],"class_list":["post-35359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","category-fiction-by-me","category-stuff-that-personally-interests-me-miscellaneous","category-sff","tag-fiction-writing","tag-my-fiction","tag-the-american-archipelago-book-1-the-sniper"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n