*UPDATE (11/06/2013)*
It's been too long since I've updated, reason being, life has been in the way. As you can see, the fundraising period is over. I am now in the final stages of editing and collecting illustrations from my illustrator. The book should be out early in 2014, and those of you who purchased perks will be receiving them around then. I will keep you posted!
*End Update*
*UPDATE (9/25/2013)*
My original plan was to do all of my own illustrations, but a friend of mine who is more talented in that area than I am, has shown me a few sketch ideas he has, so he is now officially my illustrator. Check out the Facebook link for some sample sketches.
*End Update*
*UPDATE (9/6/2013)*
I know what you're thinking:
"In theses hard times,
Why waste my money
On some silly rhymes?"
Well the answer, dear friends,
Is really quite plain,
But I will elaborate
(So the slow ones don't complain).
When you make a donation,
It's not for some fad or some fashion;
You're supporting an artist,
And fueling his passion.
So please, if you're like me,
With less pennies than hair*,
Support with a like,
Maybe even a share.**
I've been writing for free,
For so many years;
I've written for laughs,
I've written through tears.
I will continue you to write
If I don't get another dime,
Because that's who I am,
My passion is rhyme.
That being said,
I wouldn't mind some donations,
Even from Brits, Turks,
French, or Croatians.
*I'm bald
**Facebook users check out facebook.com/theseriouslysilly
*END UPDATE*
*UPDATE (9/5/2013)*
It occured to me that donators may be interested to know what my plans are if I don't reach my goal. If I'm relatively close to the goal, I will scrape enough pennies together myself (which I am, in fact, doing currently) to reach the goal and get this thing published. If I fall too far short, then the donated funds will go towards some nice printer paper, ink, and a three-hole punch in order to print off copies of the manuscript and fullfill any perks purchased.
*END UPDATE*
My name is Marty
I'm a bit of a poet,
And given the chance
I'd love to show it.
When I was a kid, I despised reading. My mom would sit me down with a book and tell me to read, and I would skim over the pages, counting to what I thought was an appropriate amount of time per page, and after a while, plop a bookmark in somewhere, and go off and play. Finally, in third grade, I picked up a copy of "the Hobbit," and all of a sudden, reading wasn't so bad. I started reading more and more. Eventually, I came across the works of Shel Silverstein, and fell in love with poetry. Silverstein led me to Robert Frost, who led me to Edgar Allan Poe. Soon, I wasn't just reading it, I was writing it. I learned to love and appreciate all kinds of poetry, but the childish simplicity, and deep messages found in many of Silverstein's rhymes have always held the largest place of my poetic heart.
I pull most of my inspiration from Shel, and have found myself styling many of my poems similar to his, but my particular life experiences are where I draw most of the differences. I grew up with four brothers and four sisters in a suburb of Chicago, but moved to West Michigan in my early teens. After graduating high school, I spent a semester at a private college before joining the military*. I served as a tank turret repairmen for a time, but have bounced around to fill other capacities. I was deployed for a year in Afghanistan, and will be deploying again before too long. Stateside, I have worked as a shoe salesman, a meat cutter, a vacuum salesman, a custom furniture builder, a bouncer, and, most recently, a husband.
Though I've changed jobs and titles several times, one of the few consistencies in my life has been my writing. I've dabbled in short stories, both fiction and non-fiction, but I keep coming back to my poems. Since I began writing, it's been a dream of mine to see my own words on a shelf alongside those same authors who inspired me to write. I want to be able to affect children the same way I was affected as a child. If even one person of any age reads my poems and finds excitement, joy, a bit of sadness, lots of laughter, and most importantly, hunger for more literature, then I will feel more than accomplished. My hope is to be able to reach more than one person, but even one inspired individual would be a wonderful thing.
Now, why do I need money to publish my book? Aren't there publishers out there who don't take money except out of sales? Well, yeah. The thing is, though, that after having some of the jobs I've had, I've learned to appreciate the feeling of working for myself. I don't want to have to go through the hassle of sending my manuscript to dozens of publishers, having to wait for who knows how long, just to maybe get some small kind of chance to get my book printed. With my next deployment on the horizon, I don't want to have to put things on hold, and have my manuscript get lost in the sauce while I'm out of the country. I've been building up the courage to do this for years, I don't want to wait longer, so I'm self-publishing via Amazon.com. It will be available through Amazon.com, Amazon Europe and UK, through Kindle, and some other retailers. I'm willing to bet that 1 of the last 5 books you bought was through an online retailer.
So how about it? Why not give an aspiring author the chance to inspire others?
A short example of my style:
Tell lots of jokes
To lots of folks
To see all kinds of smiles.
To make amends
With long lost friends
Go those extra miles.
Treat others with care
Don't forget to share
And you won't regret it.
When you show others kindness
With loving blindness
Believe they won't forget it.
*I am in know way using my affiliation with the military for any sort of gain, sympathy, or support. I only included my service to help show the diversity of my experiences.