I Can’t Take Anymore!
My apologies to all of the writers out there who have spent a significant portion of their lives sending “query letters” to prospective agents, hoping to find someone who would take their Great American Novel (or work of non-fiction) and shop it to a publisher.
For decades, having an agent was the only way to break into the publishing world. Great writers and not-so-great writers sent their hopeful missives and waited for some response from prospective agents. Even a rejection letter was better than nothing. Nowadays, rejection letters are passé; for the unknown, first-time novelist, nothing is the likely result.
Of course, the traditional publishing “industry” is in a bit of turmoil. It’s searching for the new “normal” as book stores disappear and the amazing Amazon continues to grow. It’s scrambling for its life and has little time or money to invest in someone with no track record.
My reading on this subject has led me to conclude that–for someone in my situation–self-publishing is the way to go.
Despite this conclusion, I decided to give traditional channels a try. For six months, I researched the “right” agents for my genre and found a dozen or so likely suspects. With a hopeful heart, I sent my carefully crafted query letters. A great silence ensued.
This blog opened with an apology to all those who persevered in sending their letters over many years and eventually were published. I am not made of such mettle, nor do I need to be. I have an alternative that was not open to those stalwarts of the past. I have the new and growing resources of the self-publishing “industry” at my disposal.
So, at least for the moment, I have given up on the Penguins and the Random Houses. Let them eat Kingsolver! I have signed with Mill City Press (Hillcrest Media Group). I now am in the midst of working with its staff on the design of Raising the Blackbirds.
I’ll keep you posted, so to speak!