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   The unwritten rule in the general media is not to review self-published books. We all have heard of the few exceptions to this rule, which gives us all hope that we too could work our way through the system. We also hope to win the lottery, that our books become instant international bestsellers, and other nice things. The indie community is no better. The "we might review your book" attitude is everywhere. Unless, of course, you shell out some cash on a service like Kirkus and hope you get a good review, because what you pay for is the honor of being evaluated.
   It could be worse; those few companies could not offer review services at all. Sure, they make a buck out of every eager author out there shunned by the publishing industry, but at least there are systems in place that help us pursue our passion. Yet, I wonder how publishers expect to get any new authors. I experienced something similar trying to break into the comic book industry for years. This is a medium that welcomes all kinds of artists as long as their medium is not the written word (letterers are exempt of course). That's why mainstream comics are nothing but gimmicks, rehashes and rip-offs. Every once in a while a drop of new blood gets in and then that person becomes the next visionary writer. If you move to a small and isolated community, everything you do would seem pretty original to the locals as well.      What I don't get is that, on one hand, the publishing industry complains about shrinking readership, sinking sales, dying genres; yet they don't seem to be doing anything to promote new talent. So we are left to Machiavelli our way as best as we can in hopes to find an audience, or make enough noise that a publisher sees some dollar signs in our foreheads. Keep on running!