A Blog Resurrected

Five years ago I started this blog to chronicle my journey to what I hoped would be my first commercially published novel. The idea was the follow the detailed advice of so-called "experts" in the publishing field in how to present my story to the world. 

I did all the things they insisted upon, from producing an impeccable draft with help from a professional editor to assembling a marketing package to entice literary agents in hopes of landing a publisher. 

I did produce an impeccable draft of my book, COME THE HARPIES, which went on to win runner-up in a prestigious literary contest. But all attempts to land an agent and a publishing contract came to naught. If you care to experience my painful journey, I urge you to read prior posts in this blog.

After more than 150 rejections, I self-published HARPIES, as I have with my other books. I then went on to another project, this one called THE INDISPENSABLE LOTTIE HOT. I followed the same marketing process as I had for HARPIES, with similar results. 

And, as I announced in my last post in July, I pretty much gave up on this one as well, despite finishing runner-up last year in Pipeline's Unpublished contest out of 500 entries in the literary category. That achievement didn't change any minds among my rejectors, so I figured that was it for me.

But then...but then...I did one thing differently. Where I previously submitted exclusively to literary agents, I expanded my list to include a select number of smaller publishers that don't require agent representation.

One of the publishers I solicited in April responded last week. And this very morning, I signed my first commercial book contract! It even came with a small advance!

My 35-year quest to become a commercially published author will actually happen! The name of the publisher is Running Wild Press in Los Angeles. You'll be hearing more about them because I'm reviving this blog for those out in the ether who are interested in the steps required to go from a virtual unknown to becoming a professionally published author. 

There's a lot to it. I'll be working with editors and other creatives and much will be required of me from a marketing standpoint. The to-do list is long, including a photo session (which I dread), creating a website and Instagram account (No Twitter/X or Facebook, given my issues with their bosses), addressing legal responsibilities, create business cards, do events and whatever else comes up. All those steps will be covered here on my blog and future website.

I'll keep you posted as I approach publication, which is probably a year or so away. 

I tell you, what a kick in the pants!

 

 

Now Available (Again)--My Books!

For several months I unpublished my books in the expectation that I was about the land a publishing contract for my latest award-winning novel, The Indispensable Lottie Hot. Since that hasn't happened and probably won't, I again uploaded my books on Amazon and Smashwords.

You can't go wrong with any of the books, they're all damn good if truth be told. I'm currently working on a new edition of my magnum opus, Race Riot, which I hope to post on Amazon and numerous other platforms in both print and e-book forms. 

Given the clamor for more new stuff, I'm working on another, somewhat experimental, novel that may see the light of day in a couple of years. Unless I lose interest...of course.

Maybe I should take up golf instead...

Some Blogs Never Die--They Just Go On Hiatus

When last we met, I had just resurrected this blog to announce that one of my unpublished novels won an award. The book still hasn't been published, but...it won an award!

So here we are two years later and I finished another novel that couldn't find a publisher and, which (LOL) won an award! Well, actually, it finished second in the Literary Novel category in Book Pipeline's Unpublished Competition. That was pretty cool because there were close to 500 entrees in my category, which is a nice validation. But, of course, that hasn't resulted in any kind of book contract and I don't expect one given my track record! 

Still, there's nothing wrong being a highly decorated unpublished author. I do hope that a future public will discover my sterling work once I'm gone and will experience remorse that the author did not garner the respect and admiration his work merited when he was alive. I'm joking, of course. 

I'm working on another book which will be even more unpublishable than the others. 

Let me finish with a shout-out to certain folks in Hong Kong who seem to be taking an interest in this blog. I can't figure out why, but I appreciate your time and attention. 

So that's that-- maybe in another two years I'll drop another post. No promises.

He's Alive (?)

So it's been almost two years since my last post, which was gonna be my last post.

But here I am again. A wooden nickel in human form.

In the intervening period since I gave up on the idea of finding an agent/publisher, I was inspired by another book consultant to further polish my cover letter for COME THE HARPIES and greatly expand my universe of agents. That led to about 100 more rejections and further confirmation that if you don't write a certain kind of book or represent a certain type of author, there is no market for your output. 

Even the wildly successful James Patterson has been quoted and drawn a lot of flack for suggesting that white male authors haven't much chance in today's market unless they established their reputation and following decades ago. I've decided not to gnash my teeth over his observation.

One interesting piece of news is that my book was one of four finalists for the 2022 Maxy Award in the General Fiction category. That was a cool achievement and I did follow-up with some agents to promote that development, but still the response was crickets.

Periodically I check in with this blog and it does get some traffic, which I guess is primarily by accident. But for those of you who are here on purpose and are curious about my magnum opus, here's a link to its Amazon page. Print and e-book versions are available. 

It's got a pretty neat cover.

Also over the intervening period, I finished a draft of my latest novel, which is quite different from HARPIES, which I'll be editing over the coming months and then decide what to do with it.

So again I say farewell, or should it be au revoir for now. The future is forever fickle.

 

Journey's End (?)

The idea for this blog was to document an experiment. The experiment tested the idea that if you do everything right, would it be possible to successfully sell my novel to a publishing house? Along the way I would post the highs and lows of my journey and offer any insights gained from the experience. 

The first step in doing things right was producing as strong a manuscript as possible. Following expert advice, I wrote draft after draft until I felt confident enough to send it to a few beta readers, who then gave it a thumbs-up. After incorporating some of their suggestions, I then invested in a couple of rounds of revisions recommended by professional editors. 

At that point, I was assured that I had a well-written, tightly plotted manuscript. Further research taught me how to prepare a professional submission package containing a query letter, plot summary, and author bio, all of which I workshopped in sessions sponsored by Writer's Digest. By the time I incorporated various critiques from the pros, I was ready to go to market. 

I had what I thought was a great story, a spiffy query letter, and a focused list of agents who expressed an interest in my genre. In other words, I did everything "right," according to the experts.

My hopes were high. 

One hundred plus rejections later, it appears that my journey, similar to the Donner Party's, will not reach its desired destination! As engaging as the story was to my readers, it simply hasn't caught the fancy of any of my target agents. I don't know exactly why. Agents are famous for not providing reasons for rejecting a book, other than the boilerplate "unfortunately, your novel didn't pull me in like I needed to be."

So the conclusion of my experiment is that you can do everything right--including writing a compelling book--and still fail to place it. But going in, I knew that the odds of an unknown writer landing a publisher are infinitesimal. One factoid I picked up was that agents reject more than 95% of the submissions they receive. I have lots of company!

I also found out that the best way to stand out as a writer today is to be BIPOC (black, Indigenous and/or a person of color) and/or LGBTQ who writes stories that reflect those characteristics. Publishers and, by extension, agents are begging for submissions from these groups because the diversity police have been highly critical of the publishing industry for not showcasing more of these "under-represented voices."

These voice are now being heard. Half the fiction nominees for the UK Booker Awards and the U.S. National Book Awards are from Asia and Africa. And just this past Sunday, The Times reviewed four young adult books, one written by a Nigerian author, one by a Korean author set in Seoul, and one that checks two boxes by being about Latinx culture and featuring a gay-identifying trans boy!

I agree that a greater emphasis on under-represented voices does enrich the literary environment. But being a straight white male who has written a story about two heterosexual white teens who fall in love, puts me at a competitive disadvantage in today's market. I guess I have to sacrifice for the greater good!

So I will consider this the end of my journey, and probably this blog. (Or maybe a hiatus.) To be sure, the results are disappointing, but it doesn't mean that I will stop writing. I will always enjoy the thrill of pure creation--especially when something clicks. But the querying process is deflating and unpleasant. If I never submit my creation again, my mental health would probably benefit. 

As the years pass in a blur, I know our time on this planet is brief. I'd rather focus my energies on the things I truly enjoy in the time I have left.

Cheers!

Writer's Conference Debrief

The Writer's Digest Conference was a mixed bag for me. As a virtual event this year, the sessions on writing and marketing were no less effective had they been held in person. Some sessions were better than others, but I did pick up some valuable tips on handling dialogue and setting more effectively.

The main reason I attended was to pitch my book, which ended up being a bust for me. In a real one-on-one pitching event, authors meet agents in the flesh and try to establish some rapport. That was, of course, impossible this year. Instead, agents were assigned to visit my virtual "booth" (see my previous post), view my video pitch and then to engage in a typewritten (not video) chat to discuss my project. 

What happened in my case was five agents visited my booth, expressed no interest in the project, and took off. There was no chat--no back and forth . The one agent who did ask a question left my booth before I could finish typing my response. In other words, the pitching session was no more valuable than if I had cold queried those agents. My main regret was I paid extra for the pitch session, a total waste of money.

I did gain additional insight into why my book hasn't gained traction in the marketplace. Nearly all the writers and all the presenters at the conference specialize in genre fiction. The lesson constantly hammered home was you must become an expert in your genre, whether it be romance, mystery, fantasy, YA, sci-fi, etc. Every genre has specific components and formulas that readers expect, and successful genre authors always put their readers' desires first. If they don't deliver on those expectations, they will lose their readers. In other words, authors become slaves to their genre if they want to make a living writing books.

Unfortunately, I do not write that way. I write books involving themes and characters that excite me. I never consider genre. I worry about the audience after I write a book, not before. This goes back to my unfulfilling days as a marketing writer and generating sales collateral under very strict guidelines. I used my fiction projects as an outlet to let my creativity flow.  My books, as a result, are mongrels of various genres. COME THE HARPIES is part science fiction, part political satire, part YA, and part literary thriller.

In other words, this and my other books pose a steep challenge for agents pitching to publishers who are looking for the same old genre formulas. I do understand agents who don't want to touch my stuff, since they're trained to focus on categories. Most likely I'll end up being another unpublished writer with a good book.

In my next post, I'll explain why straight white males have an uphill climb in today's literary markets.

My Writer's Digest Virtual Booth

 The final phase of my COME THE HARPIES publishing venture will be my participation in the virtual 2020 Writer's Digest Conference. The highlight for me will be the chance to pitch my book to several agents who specialize in my genre. 

Since the conference is being conducted online due to the Covid-19 thing, each author presents him/herself through a virtual "booth." The booth is simply a landing page that agents can access that consists of my photo, a brief biography, a link to this blog, and a video comprising my pitch.

Last week I downloaded all those elements to the conference website. Making the video was a painful experience, and no one will confuse my presentation with a David Sedaris monologue. But it's done, and here it is.

After viewing this masterpiece, agents should be enticed to request a sample of my work. If not, they will lose my respect!