The Road to Publication (Blog Tour #12)

Carmen Ferreiro Esteban let me do a guest post on her blog today. Head over there to read about my road to publication.

Self-Publishing vs Sushi

Picture a small town in Pennsylvania where the Amish ride horses through the streets and sell quilts at the market. A place where the locals have names for things most people in the country have never heard of. I went to a writer's conference in this town and met aspiring writers, top agents, and best-selling authors.

On the first day of the conference, a New York agent asked the locals of this small Pennsylvania town where to get some good sushi.

The response from everyone was pretty much the same: Sushi?!

We all had a good laugh about it and the agent handled the faux pas with grace, but it got me thinking. This agent is wonderful at her job. I'd have loved to have her represent me (only she didn't work in my genre). I don't think she's out of touch with readers. But I don't think she's in touch with every reader.

Agents represent books that they like and think they can sell to publishers. Publishers buy books they like and think they can sell to booksellers. Booksellers buy books they like and think they can sell to consumers.

But shouldn't that mean that there are books out there that would appeal to readers, but didn't make the cut because they didn't appeal to everyone else in the chain?

Readers like books from every part of this Venn Diagram. Except that little grey circle. Nobody likes those.

You may or may not like sushi. But if you were stranded and hungry in New York City, I’ll bet you could find plenty of delicious food. Still, you probably won’t find a gumbo that compares to the real thing from Louisiana, or real, honest-to-goodness Georgia peaches.

If you're reading this, odds are you love to read. Odds are, you've read hundreds of great books and are searching for your next. Imagine all those books, the great ones that didn't make the cut because a publisher didn't think it had "mass appeal".

That's why I want to self-publish. Because just like Georgia’s peaches, I have a story to tell that you can only get from me.

I'm not doing this because I think agents are bad people, or that publishers don't know what they're doing, or that chain bookstores are soulless. On the contrary. I think as readers, we’re indebted to them. They’ve made so many good books available to us. They don’t just shape the world of literature; they BUILT it.

But the publishing world is changing.

I’m not trying to find readers that hate all the books ever published so far. That’s crazy. It’s like saying you couldn’t find a single decent thing to eat in New York. I’m looking for hungry readers, the readers that might also like a book from a different source.

Think of my book as a new food or recipe. Are you willing to try it?

The Fairy Tale Trap is ready for you to read.

The Fairy Tale Trap is officially available for download!

Thank you SO much to everyone who helped make this book. I got some amazing support from all of you and I appreciate it.

Get the book from Smashwords (you can get it in any e-format here)

Get the book in Kindle format from Amazon or donate to make The Fairy Tale Trap a paperback.

Be sure to look for the bonus material at the end, including how the original fairy tale inspired the book, a copy of the story Beauty and the Beast, and what to expect in Ivy Thorn Book #2: The Fairy Tale Twist.

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On the Road to Self-Publication:The Unknown

I'm making plans for the release of Ivy's book. The title Roses and Mirrors doesn't seem to do justice to Ivy's voice, so I'm playing around with that. At the moment, The Fairy Tale Trap appeals to me, but I'm open to suggestions.

The idea of self publishing has put me in a weird place, emotionally. I'm torn between I'm-So-Excited and Wow-This-Is-Scary. The book won't come out until late November/early December, but it feels right around the corner. I want to make sure the book is as close to perfect as I can make it.

This is the road to self-publication. It's chock-full of fear. I have to wonder: is my manuscript good enough? Should I send it to agents one more time? What's going to happen?

I think it's that unknown factor that makes self-publishing so exciting and stressful at the same time. It's a gamble. On one hand, I could have amazing success. On the other, I might sell two copies to my mom and that would be the end of it.

Would that be so bad though, if I learned something? If I even got one review on Amazon that mentioned one thing that I didn't know, would it be worth it? I mean, it would be horribly disappointing, but still. I'm doing most of the production on my own. I'm trying not to spend a ton of money on this.

But I think that learning from all this is key. Maybe I'll learn about a weakness that's been holding me back. Perhaps I'll learn about a strength that will launch my next book into success. Or maybe I'll learn that self-publishing isn't for me. (I hope it's not that last one, but if it's true, better to learn it sooner rather than later.)

The unknown is scary. But it's also promising.

Brief Update on the Self-Publishing Schedule

So, just to get you lovely readers caught up, I'm trying to schedule a photo shoot for my book cover. I'm doing another revision before sending it off to a final few readers. And I'm just hoping I don't forget anything.

The plan is to release Ivy's first ebook around Thanksgiving. (I know. So soon!) I'm really excited, but also a bit... terrified. This is so new to me.

While I have your attention: what kind of bonus material would you be interested in?

Crossing Genres: Brilliant or Suicide?

At the moment, I'm writing a zombie-themed book. This is crazy, considering the book that I'm revising has a fairy tale them. Isn't it?

Not necessarily, at least I hope not. Because my fairy tales are spunky. They've got a fiesty spark to them that Hans Christian Andersen wishes he had. Ivy Thorn brings life to Roses and Mirrors that I can't fully describe.

I want that same spark, that same lifeblood to flow through all my books. Different characters, varying voice, but the same drive.

The real question is: if a reader picks up a zombie book because they love zombies, and they loved it, would they pick up a fairy tale book by the same author?

I've tossed this around in my little brain for some time. I'm not sure what the answer is. Could there be some cross over? Sure. Will most cross genres with me?

I don't know.

Hey, "And now for something completely different" worked for Monty Python.

What's your opinion? Which would you pick up, given the choice: a zombie book with a twist or a fairy tale with a twist? And if you loved it, would you pick up something completely different?

Everyone Has an Opinion on Self-Publishing, Right?

Self-publishing is hot right now. Everybody's talking about it and most writers (or at least it seems like it's most) are willing to give it a shot. I think writers see it as a nothing-to-lose situation. That's not really true--you stand to lose time, respect (if you try to sell an inferior product), and the money it takes to get a professional-looking book out on the market (cover design, formatting, editing, etc...)

That said, there are some distinct advantages: the writer gets to control pretty much all that goes on with their books, higher royalties, faster turn-around, and a closer relationship with readers. No middle man means more money for the writer, but it also means the writer can really get to know the reader. (I'm not saying you can't do this with traditional publishing, but with self-publishing, the writer gets all the information, all the contact.)

I think that's a really cool aspect. I adore my blog readers. You guys are awesome. Supportive, loyal, and did I mention attractive?

Seriously, though. I love hearing from you guys. I value your input. And I think I can cater better to my readers if I self-publish.

I've given this a lot of thought. Self-pubbing isn't for everyone. In fact, I think a writer would be foolish to jump into self-pubbing with less than 5 years of fiction-writing experience. (Some will tell you 10 years is better. I don't doubt it.) I'm sure there are exceptions to this, I'm just sayin'... I've learned a lot in the last 6 months I've been writing. I'm still learning. And I've thought about waiting. I've thought about it a lot.

Right now, I'm writing story ideas that I'm not sure will appeal to "mass markets", but I think they'll be well-received by many. These stories wouldn't get taken up by a traditional publisher because the pool of readers is too small and they wouldn't be able to profit from it. (And by small, I'd say the pool is right around 10,000-15,000 readers. I'm just guessing.)

But if I publish these books myself, I can write for my smaller, more modest group of readers, cater to them, write for them, and everyone's happy.

I may be nuts, but I think it's exciting. I'm going to give it a try.