Sigh. I have been rather quiet about this, but a couple of weeks ago, I got a rejection. I know this is standard fare for aspiring-to-be-published-authors. Even this morning on the radio, the very successful fiction author, Louise Penny, was saying she was rejected numerous times. I had sent a query to two agents for my novel ‘Pardon my Camino‘. It is a tale about a well-to-do Canadian couple who walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. They set out to celebrate sorting out their lives after a self-inflicted drama, except that it was not that sorted out after all! Luckily they are on the Camino, so help in many forms is there for them, along with several adventures. One of the agents sent me the rejection and I have heard nothing from the other, as they warn on their website, that means: Forget it!
I have been mulling this over and inwardly digesting this development. Knowing rejections are standard, I do wonder how much time and energy I wish to spend dealing with the publishing industry. I began to ponder the self-publishing route. I see, that the self-publishing world is an active community providing information, education and encouragement. According to their advice, I have two of the major steps in place: I have written and finished my novel and I had a professional edit. I would need a professional cover design and format. After that, it would be hard work on my part to get it all together.
By whoa there Julia. This seems a rather drastic pivot from seeking an agent to contemplating self-publishing. There must be a step between these two. What about just sending it out to publishers? No doubt more rejections, but who knows? Listening last night to the Spark and Fire podcast, I heard the screenwriter and producer Allan Scott. He has had, since 1992, the rights to the Queen’s Gambit. It took him nearly 30 years to find backers to make the movie. It became the wildly popular Netflix series that has had the record for online viewing. Well, I don’t have thirty years of waiting in me, but I have some time and effort to give.
So Julia, buck up and get it out there to some publishers. In the meantime, I can educate myself about self-publishing. The self-publishing community seems such a nice, friendly helpful group.
Wishing you ongoing seasonal best wishes from a rather subdued, at least on the book front, Julia.
P.S. Can’t think of a suitable drawing or picture for this post…..
P.P.S. I am thinking of posting a chapter from my book on this site; keep watching – don’t change channels.