I've always known that I wanted to be an author...it's just the how part that has had me befuddled for years.
As I pulled together story after story, I would daydream about what I would do with it if I finished. My first thought would always be, "Get it published!" but before the sentence would even finish in my head, I would think of Natalie's mom in The School Story, explaining to her daughter how most books sent to publishers get thrown in the "slush pile," where they wait for months before someone half-heartedly reads the first line and sends off a rejection letter. The thought of my hard work being ignored, then carelessly rejected scared my younger self, so I just kept my (mostly unfinished) works to myself.
When I got older, I began to research the world of publishing on my own. While thumbing through the yellowed pages of forgotten publishing manuals from the library, I learned more about how to succeed in mainstream publishing, but what really caught my eye was the section on self-publishing. Though it was treated dismissively by the author of the book, I was intrigued by the idea of taking complete control over my work, instead of having everything decided for me. I'm admittedly very protective over my work, and would hate to end up being forced into a corner where I would have little to no control over it. But there was another thing that deterred me-if self-publishing is as simple as some make it sound, why are there millions of self-published books with more typos than purchases? And why do so many writers spend hours, days, even years trying to attract attention for their work, yet still fail to do so?
Throughout this year, I will be researching self publishing, including its history, its similarities and differences to traditional publishing, different methods of self publishing, and-perhaps most intriguing to me-how to succeed in the self publishing world. Hopefully, this will leave me prepared to do the best I possibly can in the crazy world of self-publishing. And maybe by the end of the year, I'll be ready to step into it on my own.
Until then,
T
As I pulled together story after story, I would daydream about what I would do with it if I finished. My first thought would always be, "Get it published!" but before the sentence would even finish in my head, I would think of Natalie's mom in The School Story, explaining to her daughter how most books sent to publishers get thrown in the "slush pile," where they wait for months before someone half-heartedly reads the first line and sends off a rejection letter. The thought of my hard work being ignored, then carelessly rejected scared my younger self, so I just kept my (mostly unfinished) works to myself.
When I got older, I began to research the world of publishing on my own. While thumbing through the yellowed pages of forgotten publishing manuals from the library, I learned more about how to succeed in mainstream publishing, but what really caught my eye was the section on self-publishing. Though it was treated dismissively by the author of the book, I was intrigued by the idea of taking complete control over my work, instead of having everything decided for me. I'm admittedly very protective over my work, and would hate to end up being forced into a corner where I would have little to no control over it. But there was another thing that deterred me-if self-publishing is as simple as some make it sound, why are there millions of self-published books with more typos than purchases? And why do so many writers spend hours, days, even years trying to attract attention for their work, yet still fail to do so?
Throughout this year, I will be researching self publishing, including its history, its similarities and differences to traditional publishing, different methods of self publishing, and-perhaps most intriguing to me-how to succeed in the self publishing world. Hopefully, this will leave me prepared to do the best I possibly can in the crazy world of self-publishing. And maybe by the end of the year, I'll be ready to step into it on my own.
Until then,
T