A while back, I had a situation with an industry professional where we couldn't come to an agreement on something. Early on, there were warning signs this would be the case, but I ignored them. In the end, the person became personally offended over something I was trying to rationally explain. When it came down to either biting back or biting my tongue, I bit back. The person annoyed me and wasted my time, and I told them that. They were even further insulted, of course. I forwarded the entire conversation to a couple trusted fellow authors, who both agreed I was in the right. One said I'd been too nice, the other admonished that, while they saw my point, I should've politely held my tongue from the very beginning and just waited to be to shown how things were going to be. When I asked why on Earth I should compromise my integrity, the answer was "if they run their mouth it could hurt your sales."
Sales.
::sigh::
This is the one factor over which myself and my fellow authors differ pretty much all the time. I'm not in this industry for the money. It's a nice bonus, but it's not the point. For me, publication is about finality. I have a fetish for finishing things, and a book isn't finished until it's published.
It's all about getting my characters' stories out there. Insuring that their names will live in immortality - that people will know they existed. That's the point of publication for me. Not the money. Not the awards. Not the best-seller status.
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