It used to be there was a basic formula for a fiction writer to become a professional. First, they'd write some quality short stories. Then they'd submit to magazines and hopefully make some sales, and with luck and experience eventually making it into a few of the better-known magazines. Then, once the writer's name was known a little by some of the editors in the fiction world, and it was known the writer could produce quality work, the writer got to typing on a novel.
Once that first novel was finished, the writer would begin shopping it around to editors, publishers and agents in hopes one of them would eventually bite. Meanwhile, the writer got to work on the second novel. With skill and luck, eventually, maybe after having finished writing several novels, someone in the professional publishing world would be interested enough to offer the writer a contract.
Once the contract was signed and the first novel published, the writer kept writing. Then he or she sold their second book. Then the third. And fourth. And so on.
That was how a career was built as a fiction writer.
That world barely exists nowadays. It's still there. Some writers do manage to make it through the years of writing and submitting it takes, and some do make a career as professional novelists.
But it's becoming more difficult to do so today because of changing technology and the changing world economy.
For one thing, there are fewer magazines that publish short stories. And with the weakened economy of late, fewer book publishers are buying novels from first-time novelists.
I can be done, it's just tougher than ever.
But are there other options? Yes, there are. That very same technology and economy I wrote of also provide writers with other options. Though the larger publishers might not be buying novels as much nowadays, there are plenty of smaller publishers out there, especially genre publishers, who are more than willing to take a chance with beginning novelists.
Another option is self-publishing. Once upon a time a potential author would have to shell out big money to one of the vanity presses to have them publish their book. But not any more. It can be quite inexpensive, even with no initial costs, to publish one's own ebook today. To discover which Web sites that help you to publish your ebooks at no beginning costs, check out Four Places Online to Publish Your Ebook for Free.
This action actor was pretty old by the time the 1980s rolled around, and he is probably best known for his roles in such movies as the original "Death Wish" in 1975, "The Dirty Dozen" in 1967 and "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960. Still, Bronson continued to work until his death in 2003, and he churned out plenty of action fodder in the 1980s. Sure, most of his stuff in the '80s was kind of cheap action flicks, but such films can be fun to watch at times. And they probably paid the bills for the actor. Below is a poster from 1985's "Death Wish III." Altogether, there were eventually five "Death Wish" movies, the last coming out in 1994.![Pale Rider [Blu-ray]](http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B0018TNMC0&tag=logicamisant-20)
Clint was a holdover action star from the 1970s, but he still had some pretty solid action roles in the '80s even as he was aging and before he became better known as a star director in the '90s. Known for a long time as a Western actor, especially because of his Spaghetti Western roles from the '60s including such movies as "Fistful of Dollars," Clint continued his Western persona in "Pale Rider," pictured below. And who could forget the two Dirty Harry films from the '80s, "Sudden Impact" in 1983 and "The Dead Pool" in 1988. During this period, Eastwood starred in plenty of other movies, some solid and others clunky, but many of them action-oriented.
Before he became a big-name director and was embroiled in his own personal situations that always seemed to become public, this actor did a solid string of action movies in the 1980s. In fact, Gibson will always be remembered as the troubled, iconic figure of police detective Martin Riggs in the "Lethal Weapon" series, the first of which came out in 1987 and is still a great movie to this day. But even before that, Gibson played another iconic figure, the apocalyptic future cop Max in the "Mad Max" series of films. The first "Mad Max" came out in 1979, almost making it into the '80s, but the other two films did come out in the 80s, "The Road Warrior" in 1981 and "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" in 1985. To this day, I still think "The Road Warrior" might just be the best action movie ever created. And rumors are there's a fourth "Mad Max" film in the works.
Rutger Hauer was never the biggest of movie stars, likely best remembered for his stunning roles in movies such as 1982's sci-fi thriller "Blade Runner" and the original 1986 horror classic "The Hitcher," though there are some who fondly remember him in the 1985 fantasy flick "Ladyhawke" and in other films from the era. Still, Hauer could bust heads when he needed to in movies, and he had a comical side, as could be seen in 1989's "Blind Fury," as seen at right.
Harrison Ford isn't generally thought of as an action star, or at least as a hardcore action hero, mainly because he's done so much other stuff. But Ford has had plenty of action roles, the most memorable being his character Indiana Jones is the series of movies based around that character, the best of which is still the original, 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." And don't forget Ford played the action-oriented Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, including 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back" and 1983's "Return of the Jedi." Along with Rutger Hauer, mentioned above, Ford was also great in "Blade Runner" from 1982.
Poor ole Dolph Lundgren never quite made it into big-time stardom, but he's done he's fair share of movies over the years, nearly all being action flicks to some extent. Film audiences first really noticed Lundgren in 1985's "Rocky IV" in which he played the menacing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago, but he also got to play He-Man in 1987's "Masters of the Universe." During this time period Lundgren also appeared and starred in numerous lesser known movies, but he ended the 1980s with the title role in the original "The Punisher" movie alongside actor Loius Gossett, Jr.
Eddie Murphy is usually remembered as a comic, and that makes sense since he used to do stand-up comedy, was on Saturday Night Live and has done so many comedy movies. But back in the '80s Ed was doing plenty of action-oriented, though usually quite funny, movies that topped the box office. To kick off Murphy's action career, 1982's "48 Hrs." provided the laughs while also including plenty of gun battles, chases, thrilling moments, etc. Upping the action factor, but still keeping with comedy, one of Murphy's best roles, even to this day, is his Axel Foley character from 1984's "Beverly Hills Cop." Murphy as Foley returned in 1987's "Beverly Hills Cop II" and even later in "Beverly Hills Cop III," though that didn't come until 1994.
Now we are in serious action hero territory. Chuck Norris was still riding the high of his martial arts movie stardom from the 1970s as the '80s kicked in, and things couldn't have started better than with 1980's "The Octagon" in which Chuck takes on an army of ninjas. And wins. By himself. Chuck went on to do a ton of action movies during the '80s, my personal favorite being "Lone Wolf McQuade" from 1983. Also, he began starring in the "Missing in Action" series with the first movie in the series in 1984; sequels followed in 1985 and 1988. "The Delta Force" films also kicked the tail, the first one coming in 1986 and the second in 1990.
"Escape from New York" was one of Russell's earliest action flicks. This actor has been known for a lot of different roles over his career, from his Disney films of the 1960s and '70s to his dramatic roles of the last couple of decades, but I've always remembered him fondly for much of his work in the 1980s. How could one forget such characters as Snake Plissken in "Escape from New York" (and the 1996 sequel "Escape from L.A."), truck driver Jack Burton in the hilarious "Big Trouble in Little China" from 1986 and helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horrorfic "The Thing" of 1982?
A-h-h-h-nold! He's perhaps the biggest action star of all time, and currently he's the governor of the state of California. Who knew? But back in the day, there was nobody bigger than Schwarzenegger (Stallone came came close, but not quite). Arnold had done some earlier film work, but he really became known to audiences with the Sword and Sorcery fantasy classic "Conan the Barbarian" in 1982; a big guy swinging a big sword and taking care of business, nothing could be better. Then along came 1984 and "The Terminator;" this film would skyrocket Schwarzenegger to stardom. He played the bad guy in "The Terminator," and still you loved his character, even if he only had something like five lines (and short ones at that) in the whole movie. Arnold then continued to churn out action flick after action flick, some weak but most pretty strong. A couple of the most memorable Arnold films from the '80s include "Predator" in 1987 and "The Running Man," also in 1987.
As a teen watching action films in the 1980s, aikido black belt Steven Seagal seemed to come out of nowhere when his first film hit theaters in 1988. That movie? "Above the Law." Sure, it wasn't the greatest action or martial arts film of all time, but it wasn't too bad. I've always felt the scene that sealed Seagal's fate as a martial arts figure was towards the end of the movie when he broke a guys arm by snapping that arm backwards. Anyway, Seagal went on to make plenty of other movies, none of them released until the 1990s but which included such decent action flicks as "Hard to Kill" in 1990 and "Under Siege" in 1992.
With the exception of Schwarzenegger, Stallone is perhaps the biggest action draw of all time. First drawing audiences' attention with 1976's "Rocky," Stallone went onto a huge action career, starring in six "Rocky" films altogether (so far). Besides his Rocky character, Stallone is probably best known onscreen for his portrayal of John Rambo, the tortured Vietnam veteran who comes home to more trouble in the unforgettable "First Blood" from 1982. Stallone went on to appear as Rambo in a total of four movies (again, so far), including "Rambo: First Blood Part II" in 1985 and "Rambo III" in 1988 (the fourth film, simply titled "Rambo," didn't come out until 2008). Throughout the years Stallone has done all kinds of movies, including comedies and straight dramatic roles, but he is usually remembered for much of his action work in the 1980s. One of my favorite movies of his is 1986's "Cobra," which is kind of cheesy but still fun; the poster for that movies is pictured below. I also want to point out another action-oriented Stallone film from this era, the seemingly forgotten "Nighthawks" of 1981, also starring Rutger Hauer and Billy Dee Williams; admittedly "Nighthawks" isn't the best movie ever, but I have fond memories of watching it late-night on cable as a young teenager.
Though Jean-Claude had done a little earlier screen work, it was really 1988's "Bloodsport" when he became an action and martial arts star. He went on to fill out the '80s with more memorable action roles, including 1989's "Cyborg" and "Kickboxer" (also from 1989 and pictured below). Throughout the '90s Van Damme continued to make solid, thought not always fantastic, action movies, and he's still at it today.
Carl Weathers is probably more remembered today as golf coach Chubbs in Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore" of 1996, but he appeared and starred in a ton of action movies in the 1980s. First off, Weathers was Rocky's opponent and later friend in Stallone's "Rocky" movies. And Weathers also had a big role to play in Schwarzenegger's "Predator." Carl finally got a shot to go out on his own with 1988's "Action Jackson," but unfortunately it didn't draw a big enough audience to make Weathers a top action star. Still, many remember Weather's action role from the '80s with a lot of fondness.
America really first began to take note of Bruce Willis in the television show "Moonlighting" in the mid-80s, so he was a relatively familiar face by the time he hit it big in 1988 playing a cop taking on terrorists in the never-forgettable "Die Hard," which has since spawned three sequels. "Die Hard" is really Bruce's biggest action hit of the 1980s, but it's such a good and important movie (at least to the action genre), it and he have to be mentioned here. Besides, Willis went on to plenty of other movie roles, many of which had action elements, such as in 1994's "Pulp Fiction" or 1995's "Twelve Monkeys."
Canadian musician Aldo Nova unfortunately isn't remembered a lot today in the U.S., though he's still recording albums. His first album, Aldo Nova, had a hit song with "Fantasy," but it also had several other good tunes, including "Ball and Chain" and "See the Light." While Aldo Nova might not strictly be a hair band musician, his style of music and guitar playing was definitely a precursor of what was to come in the next few years with the hair bands.
Van Halen started back in the 1970s, but these rockers still had a major influence over the hair bands. Not only did the David Lee Roth and gang have the hair back in the day, but Dave also sported the spandex and their songs sported the attitude. This band probably came closest to the hair band phenomenon with their album 1984, but everyone knows that album and I wanted to feature something a little different. Diver Down was the album before 1984, and it included some greats songs such as "Cathedral," "Intruder" and the hilarious cover of the old song "Happy Trails."
Even though KISS started back in the early 1970s, you have to include them as a hair band, at least as a glam band (if you don't know the difference ... learn). This was the band's first album without the trademark makeup, and it comes smack dab in the middle of the hair band craze, so I decided to include it here. Solid songs are "Lick It Up," "Not for the Innocent" and "All Hell's Breakin' Loose."
Journey is another band that's a holdover from the 1970s, and while they're not exactly a hair band, they had more power ballads than just about anybody from the 80s. Who can forget all the great songs on this album, such as "Send Her My Love," "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "Faithfully?" If that's not hair band music, then I don't know what is.
Krokus was strictly more of a heavy metal band, but this 1983 album had its influences on harder-edged hair band stuff to come. If you like early 80s metal, you've got to give this record a listen. Songs include "Night Wolf," "Ready to Burn" and "Eat the Rich."
Before this band hit it big with the song "Eye of the Tiger" for the Rocky III movie soundtrack, they were a big ballad band. Survivor was kind of a mix of hair band and pop band with all the hair but more mainstream 80s clothes, sort of like the band Asia and somewhat like The Outfield. Still, you can't deny the power of their ballads, especially the ones on this album like "High on You," "I Can't Hold Back" and "The Search is Over."
Now we are deep into hair band territory. Ratt's career didn't have the longevity of other bands, like Motley Crue or Def Leppard, but back in the day they were big stuff. Especially with this album, the band's first full-length recording. "Round and Round" was the huge hit here, but other great tunes were "Wanted Man" and "The Morning After."
Def Leppard's fourth album, Hysteria, was a big comeback recording for this band after having not put out an album since 1983's Pyromaniaand coping with drummer Rick Allen's car accident in 1984 that cost him an arm. Still, these British rockers showed they had the stuff and they proved it with strong tunes like "Women," "Animal" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me." This album has produced a shift in the direction of Def Leppard as the band's songs were a little less metal and more radio friendly. The shift worked, however, and Def Leppard is still going strong to this day.
Coming in toward the end of the 1980s, Faster Pussycat was never the most popular of hair bands, but they had their following and they knew how to rock real hard. Strong songs from this, the band's first album, include "Don't Change That Song," "Cathouse" and my favorite, "No Room for Emotion."
This was a bit of an unusul album for the great Cheap Trick. For one thing, it was the band's most radio friendly album, and remains so to this day. Cheap Trick had always been a weird mix of rock and pop music, sometimes bordering on the edge of punk. They'd never truly been a hair band, but Lap of Luxuryis the closest they ever came to a hair band album. The big hit song here, "The Flame," is obviously a hair band ballad. But there are other decent songs here, such as "Ghost Town" and "Space." Worth checking out whether you are a true hair band afficianado or a fan of Cheap Trick.
This was the debut album of Jon and the boys. Sure, the band didn't really hit it big for a couple of more albums, but there were still some great tunes here. This album highlighted the future potential of Bon Jovi with solid songs like "Runaway," "She Don't Know Me" and "Shot Through the Heart." This band didn't get into the makeup and glam effects quite so much as other bands, but they did to a lesser extent and still wore plenty of leather and spandex. Though Bon Jovi was and has been one of the more mainstream and radio-friendly groups out of the hair bands, you have to admit they've had strong staying power and are still popular to this day.
When Poison first hit the MTV waves, they were the prettiest of the pretty boys. Tons of makeup, lots of hairspray and loads and loads of silky kerchiefs and spandex. But for some reason, this band took off with the rocker crowd big time. This is Poison's first album, and it's lots of fun. Great songs include "Talk Dirty to Me," "Cry Tough" and "I Won't Forget You." Actually, the whole album is strong, so give it a twirl if this is your kind of music.
Whitesnake had been around or a long time, but this album really was the band's breakthrough in the U.S. Such hit songs as "Still of the Night" and "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" can still be heard on the radio to this day, more than 20 years later. Throughout its career, Whitesnake often changed as a band, sometimes more blues driven and sometimes more hard rock, but this particular album was a mixture of all of it and really brought the band and lead singer David Coverdale into the limelight in America.
This was the album that seemed to change everything. Guns N' Roses was more rough edged than your average hair band, but they stll had some of the looks and attitude and music. Still, Appetite for Destructionwas a breath of fresh air in the rock music genre of the time, hard hitting and rocking and sometimes even fun, all at the same time. Axle Rose and gang had some awesome songs, like the famous "Welcome to the Jungle," "Paradise City," "Mr. Brownstone" and "My Michelle." Truly, this is an awesome album from beginning to end, and quite possibly the best album from all of the 1980s.
This was Great White third album and their first one to really draw the attention of MTV and the American audience. It wasn't quite the huge hit as the band's next album, ... Twice Shy, but it still had some groovy tunes. Solid songs here include "Rock Me," "Lady Red Light" and the melodic "Save Your Love."
This band is better known for its second album, Cocked and Loaded (1989) which included the hit song "The Ballad of Jayne," but this album, the band's first, has always had a special place for me. My favorite songs here are "Electric Gypsy" and "One Way Ticket," but there were other cool tunes, such as "Sex Action." If you are a hair band fan and missed this album, you owe it to yourself to find a copy.
Discovered by Jon Bon Jovi, the band Cinderella had a relatively short career as a hair band before transforming into more of a guitar-driven blues band. Long Cold Winter is the band's second album, and it bridge the gap between hair band rock and the blues. "Gypsy Road" leans toward a rock, thumping hair band sound, while "Don't Know What You've Got (Til It's Gone)" is a solid hair band ballad. Other songs lean a little more towards blues rock, such as "Long Cold Winter."
Coming in at the end of the 80s, Skid Row's first album proved the glam rock scene still had something new to offer at the time. "18 and Life" is a fantastic, heavy song that still receives some radio play to this day. Other cool songs include the ballad "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild."
Warrant's second album, Cherry Pie, was a bigger seller, but it didn't come along until 1990, and I wanted to make sure to list the band here. Still, this particular album had some strong tune on it, including the hits "Down Boys," "Heaven" and "Sometimes She Cries." This album was not only good in and of itself, but was a fine preview of what more was to come from the band in the future.