THE DRUMS OF WAR

DRUMS OF WAR
MIKE PETTIT

Oh Mothers, Oh Daughters…

Hold for now the tears of pain and sorrow.

There will be time enough for those tomorrow.

Don’t heal, don’t weep, don’t pray for those that sleep.

Oh, Hero Sons, Oh Hero Brothers, prepare for battle and greatness.

Fall upon our enemies, seek out his weakness.

Pound the Drums of War, beat thy shields of wrath.

Chant your war songs, scream your battle cries.

Your rage will clear a bloody path.

Vengeance reflects from our eyes. Prepare, oh heroes to fight and die.

Our enemy will tremble before our might,

He will run and hide, and melt away in the night.

No place to hide, No place to die,

No hallowed ground, for his ashes to lie.

Oh, Beloved America, Oh how we stand free.

Our Forefathers see how strong we are,

And know we are still loyal to thee.

We will march in triumph across the land,

 Our enemies will wonder at our strength and endurance,

And plead for a merciful hand.

Only then, Oh Mothers and Daughters should you weep,

And pray for those that sleep.

The War Drum bangs out a triumphant beat,

 Then proudly put away in a shroud of glory,

 To fight again, another day.

A SELF-MADE AUTHOR

My time being an "Author" has been a series of ups and downs, highs and lows, successes and disappointments. I love to write and have five books "Published". That is not my issue. My concern is the way authors are perceived, ranked, accepted and or rejected by the "Industry. It didn't take long for me to realize that a new guy trying to break into a crowded field was almost impossible. The first line of defense one hits is the "AGENT" wall. Some obscure person in an agency decides an authors future by either tossing your baby into a pile of "Read Later" manuscripts, send out a flat rejection, cold and impersonal, or take a quick read of your query and then toss it. My experience with over seventy query letters has been zero for seventy at-bats. At first I thought it was my writing, that I was a miserable writer and should seriously consider that Walmart greeter job, or join the ranks of homeless. I dug my heels in, and took on the "Industry"...The world of "Publishing". I came to realize it wasn't my writing, but the people in the industry who guarded their place in the food chain like a fat man guards his Oreos. Terms like. "Not quite ready yet.", Not Commercial ", "Mainstream"...not viable...sorry... booked up for the next fifty years.... go away, ad infinitum.
Never one to be shunned by my fellow brothers and sisters, I went to P.O.D., Print on Demand. The problem with POD is that there is no demand unless you create the demand yourself. A POD is like a boat, you keep throwing money into it and in the end it still sinks. Five grand later, I decided to do what all capitalists do, I took my writing destiny into my own hands...I "Self Published". Oh sure, the middle man is still there collecting his portion, but it's minimal, and well earned. Now all my sales and marketing effort is in my hands, sink or swim, it's on my shoulders...and I love the challenge.
The new world order is on my side, thanks to the Internet, Amazon, Smashwords, Blogs, Face Book, Twitter...the new age of publishing has been born, and made available to all of the excellent writers who have been shunned by the mainstream publishing world. It's a new day for the authors, and the readers. The days of twenty and thirty dollar books is gone, the Buck Ninety-Nine and Two Buck read is available. The mighty are starting to crumble, the arrogant humbled, new names and faces  are popping up, a whole new dictionary of terms is being created daily.
The Industry is slow to turn their ship, their rudders stuck in the past. Meanwhile, the Self Published are gaining strength and attention from the reading public, and are welcomed. Ours is the only industry in the world where prices are going down, demand going up. It's a great day to  be a self made author.