I celebrate myself, and what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease… observing a spear of summer grass.
Walt Whitman
Recently I watched a good documentary on PBS on Walt Whitman. What most impressed me about Mr. Whitman is that he first self-published, he believed in his own genius, and he talked his work up to anyone that would listen, he was a self-marketing machine. Leaves of Grass was shocking for Victorian culture, but it was his truth and he stood behind it. In Ariel Gore’s book How To Become A Famous Writer Before You’re Dead, she agrees that Walt was a lit star. If he didn’t self-publish the world might have missed this great poet’s work. There is so much negativity in the commercial writing world about self publication, but for some writers this is the first step in believing in their work. What do you feel about self-publication? Today watch all or some of this documentary. The section entitled Leaves of Grass talks about the publication of his first volume of poetry. Now get back to work!
Walt Whitman American Experience
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag
I’m an advocate of self-publishing for authors who have done their research and determined it’s for them. Most of my editing clients are self-publishing authors, and I’ve written a Self-Publishing Primer (available as a free download on my blog) to help writers decide if self-publishing is right for them, and, if so, to self-publish successfully.