
After nine months, my agent sent me an email letting me know that she had decided to quit the literary business (that's why I only went to four publishers). She said publishers weren’t buying books like they once had. The business was in free-fall (her words). She needed to find another way to make an income. So after hitting the lottery and finding an agent who believed in my work, I was back at the bottom, having to start the process all over again.
I had a snobbish attitude about self-publishing. Didn’t like the idea of it. Didn’t want to do it.
If I was going to be an author, I wanted to go the traditional route. I wanted validation. When I published my manuscripts, I didn’t want anyone to hesitate or wonder about the quality of my work, if it was any good, or have the negative attitude that tends to be connected with self-publishing.
So I sent out more queries and I went on to write a couple of more books while I waited to hear back from agents. I had caught the eye of one agent, had several others request partials and fulls, so I figured it was only a matter of time until I found another. It happened once. It could happen again.
I waited. I waited some more.
It was if tumbleweeds rolled across my email. I heard nothing. I sent out dozens and dozens and dozens of query letters. I only heard back from a handful. Rejections (which I expected). But the percentage of responses I received was around 8%. What was that all about? What was going on?
In the span of one year (querying last year and then querying again this year), it seemed like a whole lot had changed. I had never experienced so much silence. Last year I had bite after bite on my manuscript. This year, not even the courtesy of a rejection letter. Same query letter. A very different response. It wasn't just me either. Other writers were getting the cold shoulder too.
That’s when I realized, I think my ex-agent was telling me the truth, something I didn’t want to believe—the publishing world was changing. The traditional route was hurting.
I needed to rethink my writing future. What did I want?
I changed my attitude about self-publishing (my ex-agent even suggested I look into it, but I wasn't ready to do so at that time). I became slightly obsessed trying to find out every bit of information I could about it—hiring graphic artists, editors, how to market, and what avenues were available to sell my books. I was not going to go into this blind. I wanted to know everything I could. I clicked on every link I could find about self-publishing and read article after article. I talked with people. I asked questions. Lot's of questions.
But still, the idea of self-publishing scared the bejeebies out of me. I worried. I fretted. I didn’t know if I could do it.
So I didn’t do anything. I just wasn’t ready.
Then through Twitter (gotta love twitter and tweets), I came across Evolved Publishing. Since I click on tons of links, I clicked on that one too. I read over the site. I liked the concept they put forth, and then I decided what the heck, I’ll send them my first three chapters of two of my novels, plus the query letters for both, and see what happens.
I expected silence. That’s what I was used to.
Instead, I received an amazing response. And no, I don’t mean amazing in the sense that they said okay to one of my novels (that is awesome though), but because the length of the email and the feedback I received was incredible. I had NEVER had that much insight, feedback, and advice given to me from any of the four editors my ex-agent sent my manuscript to. They had simply gave the same old same old response, “It’s not for me, but the publishing business is a subjective business, yada, yada, yada.”
Evolved publishing laid it all out there. Told me what worked in my manuscripts and told me what didn’t. I was quite impressed with their editor’s insight—smart and extremely helpful.
When they asked to have a Skype meeting with me, I was more than happy to do so. I will have to say, I’m a pessimist by nature, and so I went into the meeting looking for some kind of hidden agenda, or something that would say to me, “See, I knew it was too good to be true.” That is the kind of person I am, always have been. It sucks being this way, but it keeps me from being disappointed.
Instead, the hour long meeting went very well. I was very impressed with their concept, and I felt excited about the possibilities.
But I’m scared now.
I have to work with their editors and publishing team and actually put out a book--Wanted: Dead or Undead, The Zombie West Series. I can’t just keep my book on my laptop, safe and unexposed. I have to put it out there. For the world to see (AHHHHHH). I just hope I don’t suck and people like me (isn’t that what we all want?).
Anyway, I am thrilled to be a part of Evolved Publishing. Meeting some of the team members have left me feeling excited and ready to do this. I'm still nervous, but I'm ready to move from being a writer to being an author (writers write, authors publish--I heard that quote somewhere and I love it),
Hopefully, I will have a book coming out early next year with the possibility of several more after that.
Whoa, that sounds weird. But I like it.
*Pop over to Evolved Publishing and check out my author bio. Click on the Authors button and scroll down. You will see my pretty picture there. (SQEEE)