Crowded times...

There is a continuous stream of bad news about the New York publishing industry and Hollywood. Furthermore, it seems everyone has decided he or she can be an author or poet or screenwriter at the exact moment when the venues for getting work/art out to the public are apparently crumbling.

Much as it seems every hipster locavore has decided he or she could be a farmer with a vegetable stand with an idyllic spread behind, it also appears that every graduate of a keystroking class has decided he or she can be the next Michael Chabon or Augusten Burroughs or Alice Walker.

One of the biggest problems is that many of the neophytes are not used to paying their dues. They truly believe there are shortcuts to getting published. They either decide they do not need an agent, or they commit one of the many silly mistakes that publishing noobs make, such as printing their manuscript on pink scented paper, or short-circuiting the submissions process at an agency, or contracting with a service to blanket New York in their query letter spam (this latter really pissed away any chance of getting published).

Of course, all of these strategies are doomed to failure, achieve little more than a black memory-mark next to the author's name, and worst of all, gum up the works for the people who are serious about writing and are doing things the right way.

Writers should be sober and professional about their craft AND their business.

There are some exciting new markets out there, such as The New Guard Literary Review, founded and guided by poet and author Shanna Miller McNair. http://www.newguardreview.com/

New markets are appearing all the time and there are ways to get our words in front of readers and viewers, but pushing and shoving at the front of the queue won't get anyone in more quickly and in fact just slows the entire process down, not to mention puts all of the creative hardworking stakeholders in a foul mood.

The more the merrier when it comes to creating, but don't be the ugly-American as you come stomping into the land of letters. Learn the culture, the lay of the land, the business etiquette, the personalities and you will find more success, respect, growth, and happiness.