Twists in the Road

Last July I submitted my novel to a small publisher hoping I would be accepted.  Last week I heard from her.  While I was rejected, she had many nice things to say about my novel and told me she would consider a rewrite.  That's considerable better than most rejections I've received.

As it turns out the draft this publisher saw was not the latest.  I had found several things in the text I wanted to change after I submitted the book to her and I had gotten feedback from another small press to work on the characterizations (which I did).  This is why would like to change the submission process by giving out only a url instead of the whole manuscript.  That way, I can update the files at the url until the publisher actually reads them.  But I digress.

In the weeks since I self-published the book, I've come to realize other changes were needed too.  For example, the beginning of the story does not reflect the true focus of the story.  Armed with this information, I am now revising the novel for this publisher's review.  If it is accepted I can *finally* move onto the book 2.  If not, I will republish the e-book.

Personally, I'm hoping for the latter.  Self-publishing has much to be desired I think unless you are giving your work away for free, which I would rather not.

What I find amazing and strange is the way events play out.  I self-publish only to have some small press show interest.  Ironic.  And expensive because I was about to release the print version of my novel through Lulu, ISBN and all.  That's over $100 potentially wasted ($75 for the ISBN and the rest for three proof copies).

But it is a small price to pay, I suppose if I can sell the story to someone.

Now what do I tell all the people who purchased the ebook?  The story was revised and your copy is erroneous?  Hmmm.  I've have to give that one some thought.  Maybe I'll give them free updated copies.
Maybe.  We'll see.

Self-Publishing: you are tech support

I was asked recently in a Goodreads forum why I primarily published my novel as an eBook.  I responded saying it was for time-to-market reasons.  Getting a quality paper copy ready has taken over a month because I have to wait for Lulu to ship me proof copies.

But there was another reason I released an eBook first.  I expected mistakes creating the various electronic formats and I assumed fixing those errors would be easier than getting a paper copy ready.  Turns out I was right about that.

Now I find out that despite my testing of the Kindle version, the book has odd indents on a real Kindle viewer.  When I heard this, I decided to re-release the Kindle version.  My thinking is that the eBook is like software and this error is a bug.  So I am obligated to fix it.

I also found out that I need to make some other adjustments.  Suddenly I'm my own technical support department.  I don't mind that roll, it just took me by surprise.

But in retrospect I will not be releasing any more books exclusive in one format or another because so many people still want paper copies.  In fact one of the reasons I'm having a hard time getting reviews is because many places that review books want a paper copy.  They even say they don't review ebooks and that's all I have at the moment.

So if you plan to self-publish plan accordingly.

Being Published

As the realities of being published settle in, one thing has become very clear: writing novels is like owning a small business.  My assumption was it would be all about writing and ideas.  That's certainly true, but there's this other part that no one seems to talk about.  The part where you go out and make appearances, promote your work, identify target audiences, and market to them.

It is very much like being in graduate school again where you living and breathe your major.  I've been so consumed with my novel over the last six weeks plans for my birthday (a few months from now) fell apart and I am constantly thinking about some aspect of my business and how to promote it.

I am reminded of my father who owned an independent drug store back before Walgreens and CVS took over.  He worked long hours overseeing his business to the point where he wasn't around much through most of my childhood. I don't have children so that part is not a concern but work-life balance is.  So I'm going to need to watch that part. (Of course, my novels *are* my children)

Another concern is I've only got one novel completed.  Many writers manage one.  The good ones turn out two, three, four, or more.  So I've got to keep going. Additionally, since I'm writing a series, I need to finish what I started or some people will never even consider my work.

And then are my short stories... I don't know when I'll have time to work on them.

But I'll manage.  Good thing I know how to walk away and ignore all this work too.  It's the only way I'm going to get any rest.

The Other Shoe

I've been waiting for weeks for *someone* to read my novel and give me feedback.  At the same time I've been dreading it because I'm been afraid that the reviews would not be positive.  But that's part of being a writer so I decided not to worry about it and wait and see what happens.

Well, I'm finally getting feedback, six weeks later and... (envelope please) ... the reviews are good.

A friend of mine called the book a real page turner, the other day, and this morning, I got mail from a writer met on the Science Fiction and Fantasy web site (awesome site, btw) who liked the book, particularly two of the characters that I thought we really weak.

And finally I can breathe again.  The book is good.  The story is good.  And my convictions to self-publish and persevere are vindicated.

I say this, because, if truth be told, I've been fighting with myself about taking this path. Maybe I was premature to publish.  Maybe I should have waited.  Maybe the story is no good.

But none of that is true, it seems and so I can confidently move forward with the book and the series.

Frankly, I can't think of a better way to the new year.

Now if I can just get some reviews posted...

Word of Mouth

As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm plunging deep into the murky waters of marketing books to understand how to sell the book I've written.  Apparently, one of the things I want is word of mouth.  This is the process where one person recommends it is to a few people, who then in turn do the same thing and so on.  A recommendation from Oprah is a classic example of this.

The trouble is how do I get those initially readers to spread the word?  Nothing I've read addresses this.  It is like how do I get experience to land my first job without getting the job first and it is frustrating.

I suppose a few reviews would help and I've got three people reading the book who promise reviews.  Assuming these reviews are good that might be enough to jumpstart the process.  If not, then I'll have to find other people to review the book because without reviews I just don't see how to start acquire any word of mouth.  (Of course, if the reviews are bad, word of mouth could be my enemy, we'll see.)

And even if the reviews are good and people begin recommending my book, I don't think word of mouth alone is enough.

I see a lot of discussion on using the internet to get the word out and very little on authors showing up to a conference or convention and networking.  In my case, there are several science-fiction/fantasy gatherings in my area this year.  I'm thinking this has got to be a piece of the puzzle.  And yet I'm told using the internet is more effective.  I'm not sure I agree with that.

Regardless, I should probably attend the conventions in my area but I'm not sure I will because I don't see this point yet with only one book to my credit.  When more of the series is written, that's another story.  I could go as a fan, of course, and get me feet wet, as it were, and I may do that.

I guess I'll just have to experiment to see how much word of mouth a few reviews will generate.