Where I'm at With Publishing

Where I'm at with my publishing journey is... well- First of all, let’s get this out of the way- I’m unpublished. Except for a magazine that has an impossible domain name to find, I ain’t never had my work out there. I had a website but I was younger. More free. More wild. Not pressured by the looming cloud that is monetary survival. 

Now, it’s different. Now, I have such a fervor in my gut to provide for myself by writing that I’m trying to burn the candle at both ends. Has this ever worked for me? 

No. 

Will I last long doing this? 

Also, no. But dammit, y’all will be entertained until the very end. 

What I have done 

I’ve written seven novels and outlined 9 (Don’t worry, some of those numbers overlap). I’ve only ever tried to publish one of my novels and I didn’t do it for very long. I only emailed thirteen agents . . . maybe I should have tried a less unlucky number, but that’s a different conversation. 

Nothing happened. 

My friends J and K emailed 8 agents and got their book picked up. But this isn’t a comparison contest. Because if it were, I’d be crying in the corning with mascara running down to my neck, but that’s also besides the point. 

I came to the conclusion that my story just wasn’t ready to see more agents. It needed editing. Specifically line editing.

Did you know that if an agent sees a typo on the first page, they print out your entire manuscript, light it on fire, and roast marshmallows over it as they send you the rejection email? 

Well, I thought mine was edited enough.

It wasn’t. 

I also thought my book was long enough. 

It wasn’t. 

I definitely thought my book was good enough. 

*Sigh* I don’t want to answer this one and YOU can’t make me. 

I’ve also been to two major writing conferences where I’ve pitched my novel. One went really well. And one not so well. At all. Like at all, at all. 

KDP Dreams and Self Publishing Disaster 

Something else I’ve done is try to pursue self publishing. I know what you’re thinking. 

Kate. How hard is it to self publish? You write the book, upload it, market it, make money. 

Oh sweet, sweet, innocent child. I wish I were still doe eyed like this. 

Self publishing is a beast man. People who have this down are making thousands of dollars each month and I’m sitting over here with a dunce cap, sucking a lollipop with drool coming out of my mouth. 

I’ll be honest, I tried self publishing before traditional publishing. I was eager and excited. Then my beta readers came back and said my book was so good, I could land a major book deal. Maybe a movie. A Netflix show. Someone even suggested to me a cartoon series. 

Yeah. Imagine the air going out of my bubble when the failed pitches and rejections came pouring in.  

It’s okay. I was HUMBLED. God doesn’t need another haughty person walking around. I was brought back down into a place of humility and grace. And a little vodka but that’s also besides the point. 

I was actually so devastated that I wasn’t publishing my book that I went into a little depression. It was for good reason I wasn’t publishing. IT WAS SO GOOD people saw movies being made. That’s awesome right? 

But all I could see was the failure of putting a book together. 

That’s also something else we can talk about in a later post. Along with how I got ripped off for $800 on Twitter. Remember how I said I was sharing the highs and the lows? Well that story is a low for me. Like limbo low. 

Summary 

That’s pretty much the extent my of my publishing trials. I’ve dabbled, I’ve pitched, I’ve met successes and people who are still in my boat. Hell, I met Kevin J. Anderson. Is he my best bud in the world? NO. But I’m pretty sure I have to be able to hike and talk at the same time to do that, and I have to make oxygen choices just walking up my stairs. It’s a no from me, Kevin, but thanks for the offer. 

So what’s next in my publishing journey? 

Well, I learned that my preferred genre of Urban Fantasy is slowing down in the traditionally published world. That was brutal information. 

Now, I have to decide what I’m going to do? Am I going to stick with my genre? Am I going to cave to something else? 

God, please don’t let it be fantasy, I don’t want build a world like that. I don’t want to talk about a tree for six pages and describe a roasted turkey for eight. 

However, I do have a fantasy story up my sleeve that’s got a similar world to Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows. And if you don’t like that duology . . . well, toot on your hamburger, I love that series. It’s amazing.

So Five Step Plan for What’s Next: 

1. Figure out my genre choices for traditional and self publishing

2. Figure out self publishing

3. Learn the difference between Indie and self publishing 

4. Continue sending out queries for sixth novel 

5. Attend any conference I can afford 

All this in addition to working, feeding, clothing, and bathing myself on a regular basis. Oof, did someone just call me Superwoman? 

Aight, you saucy displays of human excellence . . . peace. 

XOXO - Gossi. . .  Er, Kate.