So, I mentioned the book I'm about to publish, called It Was Only On Stun. As I said, it's a murder mystery / comedy with bullets thrown in.
After pushing A Pius Man here for years, you would think I would want to publish that first, no?
No.
You see, I'm going to bounce A Pius Man off of one or two more people while I'm at it. There's a small Canadian publishing company with an editor who really wants me to submit it to her. My first agent (no contract), Joshua Getzler, wanted to use my book to graduate from his apprenticeship (but was too bogged down to follow through) now has his own agency. So I want to see what Josh wants to do, if anything, then try the other publishing company, and then self publish it. I liked Josh enough back then that I want to see if he's still interested now.
Why self-publish It Was Only On Stun then? Why not wait? Simple answer: the wait was killing me.
Will I try small presses in the future? Certainly. I have other books. I could (self) publish a book a month for the next year and a half before I can slow down. But I'm going to dedicate at least six months per book, possibly more (since IT WAS ONLY ON STUN! is a mystery at a science fiction convention, I'm going to
After pushing A Pius Man here for years, you would think I would want to publish that first, no?
No.
You see, I'm going to bounce A Pius Man off of one or two more people while I'm at it. There's a small Canadian publishing company with an editor who really wants me to submit it to her. My first agent (no contract), Joshua Getzler, wanted to use my book to graduate from his apprenticeship (but was too bogged down to follow through) now has his own agency. So I want to see what Josh wants to do, if anything, then try the other publishing company, and then self publish it. I liked Josh enough back then that I want to see if he's still interested now.
Why self-publish It Was Only On Stun then? Why not wait? Simple answer: the wait was killing me.
Let me put it this way -- I have been writing since I was 16. I have written, rewritten, spiked, and reconstructed 17 books to the level where I would unleash them on the general public. Problems include how many are sequels to other books, etc.
In 2007, I started looking for an agent for my best novel -- it was historically accurate, edifying, educational, filled with character and story and explosions and fight scenes .... A Pius Man/ I had Josh by April, 2007; he became "too busy" by that September, and 12 months later, in 2008, told me to move along.
Every book and every author and everyone at every convention I've ever been to have told me that if I have an agent, I have a foot in the door. It's only a matter of time. Be patient. And I did everything that everyone told me to do.
And, following those guidelines, I waited 5 years to publish one book. Playing by the rules, I got absolutely nothing.
I know that other authors have been rejected 27 times by other publishers. I know that "it's been tough" on publishers. I know that
Will I try small presses in the future? Certainly. I have other books. I could (self) publish a book a month for the next year and a half before I can slow down. But I'm going to dedicate at least six months per book, possibly more (since IT WAS ONLY ON STUN! is a mystery at a science fiction convention, I'm going to
try visiting DragonCon, New York Comic-Con, and I-Con, a major local convention in April).
But, short of someone telling me they want to buy my book with a full publishing contract, I am not going to put my livelihood in the hands of anyone else so I can be whipsawed for another half a decade.
Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. And through the Holy Spirit, patience is probably infinite. But I am 30 years old, unemployed (except for my Ambit Business), and due to some bad educational decisions (degrees in European history when no one is hiring in that field), I am probably unemployable.
Prudence is telling me that patience is going to kill me.
No comments:
Post a Comment