Overstocked

I got an email from the Overstock.com marketing department the other day. My blog had apparently somehow appeared on their radar and they wanted to know whether I would be interested in offering my readers a discount by providing a link to their website. The terms were pretty vague but the gist was that they would somehow drive traffic to my blog in some nebulous way if I would put the link (and probably a nice graphic) to their site on my sidebar.

I had to think about it. I mean I have shopped there before. For guys it's actually a great place to shop for your wife or girlfriend because if you have a joint account and she notices the debit for the Shane Company website that package on the doorstep the next day suddenly won't be much of a surprise. Overstock is not bad as websites go.

But that's not the point.

I told them no thank you because the point is that's not what this blog is about. That's not what I want it to be about at least. My dream is to have this be a forum for writing. A place for writers helping writers. I know publishing is a hard industry to break into, and it often feels very exclusionary, but I truly believe that almost anyone can write a decent book if they work hard to learn the craft and never give up.

I believe that if we work together we can affect change. We can increase the number of great books being written, and therefore increase the number of great books being published. We can prove that boys and young men DO READ, and that they will buy books if we write the kind of stories they can lose themselves in. My friend Andrew Smith has already proved that bit, actually. We can show the industry that girls will buy, read and love books about magic, dragons, spaceships, and mystery not just love and high school. Not that there is anything wrong with books about love and high school. Then, just maybe, we can encourage publishers to take more chances on new writers, risk less investment up front on advances, and focus more on nourishing a novel and an author over time.

I used to be in a labor union and I can promise you that the power of solidarity cannot be dismissed.

But I'm no fool. I know I'm talking about BIG things, and this is just the stupid little blog of one dorky dad and novice writer. Everything starts somewhere.

So please do me a favor. If you're an experienced writer, or even an agented or published author, lend a hand to a writer who knows less than you today. I know most of you already do so on a daily basis, but pay it forward one more extra time for me. And if you're a less experienced writer? A novice? A journeyman? Ask someone you look up to for advice. Push through your fear, you might be surprised how helpful people can be.

The book that you improve may be one you end up reading.