This is what I keep coming back to when I think about publishing my wip: keep it simple. I've read all the arguments for and against publishing through legacy publishers, and I can't imagine going the traditional route. Translation: I can't see sending out tons of query emails to agents only for them to turn me down (because my book is weird), can't imagine finally finding that one agent who'll take a chance on me after a year of searching only for no publishers to show interest.
I can imagine lots of things, but this I can't.
What I can envisage is this: finishing my wip, editing it to a pulp, rebuilding it into something beautiful, showing it to writers I trust, re-editing it, and then publishing it myself. This is all I can actually see doing.
Am I insane?
I've gotten to a point in my life where patience is no longer a virtue. I can be patient; that's not the issue--it's that I'm worried that if I'm too patient, I'll die being patient and not being a published writer.
So this is my New Year's resolution: keep it simple. Publish your vision. See if anyone catches on. And then keep writing.
I like your resolution Chris. I too decided not to pursue the longer route to publishing my fiction novel. I queried for 2 months while at the same time getting my book edited and proofed. The process of querying and searching for agents and publ is a lengthy one and I believe, unnecessarily time consuming. Penguin Books held on to my entire manuscript for over 6 months before they decided not to offer me a contract. If I kept waiting for the others to do the same thing, I would still be sitting here without a book avail on Amazon etc. I chose to self publish and Im so glad that I did. My advice - make sure you do get your WIP checked out by a professional editor, pay for a decent cover designer, and be prepared to spend many hours a week on promotion and more writing. Dont allow anyone to fool you into thinking though that self publ in a professional way requires heaps of money. There are excellent artists/designers/editors out there who do not charge the earth. For eg. My cover designer charged me $25 for the TELESA bookcover and it continues to get a great deal of positive feedback. I look forward to reading more about your writing/publishing journey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply, Lani. I'm glad self-pubbing has worked out so well for you. That sucks about Penguin, ugh. I'm just too much of a results-oriented person to waste too much time on querying. I may give it a go for a while, but it's nice to know that self-pubbing is an option. Who is your cover designer?
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