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 By Argile Stox Feb. 20, 2006 When I receive responses from readers of U-K and other message boards, they are usually informative and I gain a great deal of knowledge from them. However, I received an e-mail which puzzled me a great deal: “You appear to me to be basking in suffering instead of doing what you do well and that is write easily understandable English sentences. It is impossible to have a so-called writer's block when one is actually writing. By all means write as much as you can about your anguish filled suffering, but kindly confine that dispiriting stuff to yourself. You do not have the luxury of time. You display enough skill in your writing to make me believe that you could be a successful writer.” In addition, he added in another e-mail: “It is not moping about clucking away in self-pity just because your vanity press publisher did not help you to sell your book.. It is very hard work and if you are not fully prepared to believe in yourself and your ability, then kindly do not try to infuse your miserable moaning on a writer's forum where a writer such as myself who has suffered rejection of his writing for over 40 YEARS might get to read it.” The author of that e-mail appears to have given me a “review sandwich” which is comprised of three things. 1. A compliment. 2. A few constructive criticisms. 3. And, another compliment. This technique is found in most upper-management manuals and it is used frequently to give an employee tools to improve their job performance, In addition, it gives the employee something to ponder as they walk back to their desk and resume their appointed duties. Before I retired from the corporate and retail industry (I was in both for about thirty years) – I was on both sides of the desk when I received and gave a review sandwich. I would come away from each experience and was not emotionally damaged. However, the substance of the e-mail that was quoted above, gave me pause and I thought about his comments - which disturbed me a great deal. (I am already disturbed. However, his e-mail disturbed me even further. - LOL!) I fully admit that I am a hack and an accidental printed author. I experienced an emotional wrenching year long experience, wrote about it, and the manuscript was printed by PublishAmerica. However, my memoir has sold about twenty copies – due to the fact that the general public can not walk into a bookstore, hold the book in their hands, read a few passages, and then decide to buy or not to buy the book. My memoir is lurking somewhere in cyberspace, and can be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble Web Sites – that is, if – the prospective buyer searches for my memoir on the Internet. In addition, I suffered a heart attack on December 10, 2005 and had a Stent implanted in one of the arteries of my heart on January 4, 2006. I am still on the mend from those experiences, and my cardiologist has strongly insisted that I stay far away from stress. To make matters worse, I suffer from arthritis in both my arms and shoulders, degenerative bone disease and two herniated disks in my back. I have learned to live with all of those maladies. However, the mental pain of having my memoir obscured from public consumption by PublishAmerica’s Draconian marketing methods has wounded my mind and spirit. The creativity, which once flowed like a raging river through my finger tips and on to the keyboard, has now been reduced to a leaky faucet. I also dismiss the insinuation of the writer of the e-mail quoted above that, “There is no such thing as Writer‘s Block, when you are actually writing.” I can readily produce non-fiction; however – I have a great deal of difficulty composing fictional themes. This affliction is something that I will have to overcome.. The experience I had with PublishAmerica has damaged my creative spirit, and I am working on a daily basis to repair it. In addition, I also take issue with the author of the e-mail quoted above, who feels that I am “moping around” and feeling sorry for myself. Quite the contrary, I still exercise my mind by reading books (even Mad Magazine every once and a while), and have lively discussions with Tracy almost every evening. In addition, I keep up with domestic and international events by reading newspapers, watching World News Tonight – With Brian Williams, and reports on CNN (Cable News Network). My disposition, as of this writing - has been pleasant (thanks to a Valium tablet every six hours), and my sense of humor has been making a slow return – which Tracy really appreciates. I sometimes have her in tears when I go into a comedy routine. However, sometimes when I over-exert myself – my body reminds me of the issues that are ravaging my body by sending signals to my pain receptors. Over all, life is good, and I appreciate that I wake up in the morning – to aggravate individual’s, like the one who sent the comments in the e-mail quoted above –LOL! ------------ Email Argile Stox: argilestox@gmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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