John Royce – Page 5 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

New Great Horse

It’s an uncertain time, book-wise. I had to stop efforts to ‘market my own books’ to finish building all the marketing platforms and finish the trilogy. I also needed to make peace with being forced to commit cultural sin and ‘market my own books.’

"Capriole" gold coin from The Golden Spark - Book #2 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy Which is cultural sin, of course … this is made evident by the fact every major reader or book site enforces strict rules to prevent authors from doing it!

Traditional publishing is suddenly demanding that authors “sell their work” against the obvious background of a public who does NOT want to be marketed to by authors; they want to be marketed to by large corporate entities. I’m not condoning, just saying.

LOL, they are right: authors shouldn’t be promoting their own work. That was what the industry was supposed to be doing. So it’s all very weird right now. We are participating in a charade.

On the other hand…

The Great Horse trilogy has had support from readers, and there are others who could enjoy the story. Also, the trilogy is a large part of my life’s work at this point, so I want to finish it as well as I can.

I can’t do the selling: that is the role for a 3rd party, not the author (literally, anyone else). None of us should be willing to completely forget that cultural remnant that called for books to be praised by merit and not marketing.

What I hope to do is explain it and share what others have said about the trilogy books, and try to re-engage with new reviewers and readers. It’s the plan … please wish me luck!

Adventures in Publishing: Irene Watson & Reader Views

The Legend of the Great Horse is a historical fiction account of a young horsewoman’s adventure through history … publishing the story has been an interesting journey of its own.

ECLIPSED BY SHADOW | 'The Legend of the Great Horse' trilogy book cover (90x135px) In 2008 the trilogy opened with a close. Its small press publisher went out of business as the (ongoing) financial crisis was initiated–since that time we’ve seen endpoint consolidation of publishing, the advent of both ebooks and social media, Amazon’s rise as the newest industry monopoly, and the closure of 1/3rd of all US bookstores. It’s been an interesting ride.

Along the way I encountered obstacles and many “good guys” too … often these were honest book reviewers, perhaps because this section of traditional publishing was among the first to be taken down by corporate consolidation and its all-excusing bottom line.

One of these good guys was a woman, Irene Watson, who had the idea to build an organization (Reader Views) to provide free reviews to small and self publishers … while offering promotion assistance as an optional paid service.

Only Library Journal and Reader Views offered an all-important prepublication review of Eclipsed by Shadow. Irene and the support staff of Reader Views were unfailingly positive and supportive. The story went on to win several national awards: only Reader Views and the traditional, highly-respected Library Journal noted it beforehand.

Amazon did later crush her business, removing many thousands of ReaderViews reviews (and those of the Midwest Book Review, another ugly incident).

targa-small Irene died of pancreatic cancer the following year. Today the site is being carried on by Irene’s supporters, preserving the path that her vision, energy and solution-oriented approach brought to independent publishing.

As traditional publishing completes its folding up and vanishing act, it will be ideas and energy from people like Irene Watson who can show new paths … may her memory be honored. The future contains challenges, and I wish Reader Views success in blazing even brighter.

Growing the Grassroots

The past few posts have outlined ideas about fostering a broader grassroots to engage the public … I’m working on a dedicated site, and will share any developments…

One of any sport’s best tools for crafting a public connection and igniting interest is to have a national competitive structure that makes sense and is both inclusive and encourages top standards. It is an advantage for students to have goals and excitement to anticipate.

A standard sporting city/state/regional/national elimination structure could allow local initiative to thrive and foster community through established annual events.

A grassroots League could offer a simple, single-round Qualifier that conforms to the level the rider has entered … clear rounds scored in a Qualifier automatically earns the horse/rider participants entry to the city/area season-end championship.

Good news: the equestrian grassroots are evergreen …

As the grassroots offers an enjoyable horse experience along with fair and education-based competition, it finds success and helps preserve the connection between horses and humans.

There is a lot of good horse news today, including things we didn’t know until recently. For example, we know there is continuing interest in horses. We know that organizations will find support to advance humane issues. We know horsemanship is still alive and growing, inviting new roles and benefits for modern society.

In today’s words: we know there is a sustaining market.

This is a different outcome than a member of society of 100 years ago would have likely expected. Farmers seem to have abandoned the horses as quickly as tractor ads began … the rapid loss of millions of draft horses made it seem our relationship was doomed.

That was before the cavalry disbanded and the middle-class recreational explosion. There are more horses now than ever before. Today we know horses can have a modern future, and it is worthwhile to give thought and effort to it.

People don’t need to know … they WANT to know

One item to re-evaluate is what the average person might seek in grassroots horsemanship.

A shouting cavalry riding instructor doesn’t provoke the awe of yesteryear: riding well does not earn higher ranking these days. It will not help one’s marital prospects in most instances. In fact, the dangers of horsemanship do not have to be faced, nor its frustrations or fears. Although very rewarding and enriching, riding is no longer a needed skill.

The establishment horse world has responded to this change of world relations with the useful perspicacity of a green thoroughbred encountering a blown plastic bag flapping on its hind leg. This metaphor overstates only the energy of the response. It opens a question of whether the ends justify the means.

However the end is hopefully not yet, and plastic bags can be held up and examined. There is good news in this reality too.

It is a different world today … but the horse world is different too

In the pre-motorized world, horsemanship was another kind of business … today it is educational recreation based on quality animal care and partnership. The good news is this is a road to the future.

There is no bad news, either, except as this isn’t understood and capitalized upon. The old way isn’t enough–for the grassroots, excellence is associated with outreach.

Many local events already do this, of course. The grassroots have grown to fill a need beyond competition events, and they can grow more. Providing an enjoyable experience around horses demands a whole other dimension than the technical demands of holding show classes … another of the arts that attend all equestrian pursuits. The grassroots have a bright future because they fulfill an ancient need, and serve a timeless connection.