The Road to Publication - PT. 2
So, Siltari had been rejected. I'd been rejected. Not as many times as J.K. Rowling, but who was I kidding? I wasn’t going to keep pitching this book for ten years.
Pitching is exhausting. It’s time consuming and kind of degrading. And I want to spend my days writing, damnit. Not begging and scraping. Not wading through a throng of hundreds of thousands and waving until some traditional publisher finally looks down from above and takes pity on me—
-whoa. Just one, cotton-pickin’ second, there. Was that sarcasm? Was I becoming…jaded? I’d barely even waded into this world of gatekeepers. I’d barely tasted rejection. What right did I have to be so critical of something so tried and true?
Well…perhaps it was that book I read about the publishing industry, which had stressed how useless it was to try and make a living from writing? Perhaps it was hearing from published authors how much they were making, or their stories of disappointment once they’d finally signed that magical contract? Or, perhaps it was that course I’d done from a veteran of the traditional publishing world (with her 30 years of experience), siphoning my joy and excitement away by the lecture?
I looked over the notes I’d jotted down from that one…
…chances of getting picked up less than 0.1%…publisher won’t have any real budget to market my book even if I get signed…cover design would be out of my hands…publisher would only care about my work for one season, then drop it to focus on other projects…likely advance for new author only $2,000-10,000…expect you to bring your audience to them, not the other way around… Right. So, why exactly was I excited about traditional publishing, again? All these years of work. All this trouble, and all these glittering prospects to look forward to, just for that fabled ‘prestige’? A little feather in my cap? What a load of knobbly-cheddar!
It was just six months after my attempts at pitching ‘Siltari’ when, after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and weighing up the pros and cons, the realisation dawned that traditional publishing wasn’t for me. At least, not at this point in my journey. What was surprising was the fact that, when I finally decided to self-publish, I immediately felt a massive weight lift from my shoulders.
I realised I now had freedom. I’m a resourceful chap. I was a professional graphic and web-designer for 15 years. I’ve got experience in film, narration, and have some great connections. I work hard and am more driven than a Trabbi. I realised that it would be difficult. I realised that I had to keep expectations low. But I also realised: I could do this.
And here we are, another half-year later. It has indeed been a hell of a lot of work. But things are moving. I’m working down my strategy doc. I’ve been building my social media presence. I’ve dabbled in the art of building relations with bookstore-owners, rallied an army of friends and fans. I’ve organised marketing channels and crafted advertising materials. And most excitingly, I have printing and distribution with a great self-publishing house locked-in.
So, in August this year, 2021, The Torril City Mysterion will be my first published book.
Will this all be a disaster? Maybe. Will it ever become a viable source of income? Probably not. But that was never my reason for starting this journey. I genuinely feel I have awesome stories to tell and even if this is the path of most-resistance, then just like my books, I’m going to put my heart into it and come up with the best damned ending I can.