The Facts About Shopping My Fiction Project

I’ve written a novel. A novel and a half, actually, because it’s a three-novel series and I’m halfway through story number two. It hasn’t been published yet and that’s what this is all about.

My first book, Celebrity Tantrums*, was published by a traditional publisher. They were wonderful to work with and flew me to Montreal and booked me on TV and in print for interviews when the book came out. It was lots of fun and I enjoyed the whole experience.

That is, until the two men who owned the publishing house decided to part ways. One of them is still the owner today. The other became a literary agent. The owner cut loose all of the authors – 40 or so – who were brought on board by the agent. Guess which camp I fell into? My second book for them had been written, edited and we were in the midst of choosing a cover. That’s how close I was to releasing a second traditionally published book. But it all fell apart.

Stuff Happens

I won’t sugar-coat it: it bummed me out. The agent and I decided to continue to work together. I signed a contract and we discussed a bunch of potential projects. I submitted some ideas and some writing. Plus, he had my completely finished second manuscript to sell. After a while, he stopped contacting me and wouldn’t return calls or emails. His ghosting left me no choice but to break our contract and I don’t think he responded to that either. I could analyze it a hundred ways but it doesn’t matter. It was shitty.

A couple of seasoned authors told me, ‘Hey, welcome to publishing!”

So, I thought “screw them”. I still owned my second manuscript. I spent hours and hours updating it, hiring an editor, getting a custom cover created by my super talented brother-in-law. Erin Davis came up with the title: Venus Rising. (She should do this professionally! She’s AMAZING at naming books, businesses, etc.!) Then I self-published it. But without the promotion a publisher could bring, it didn’t do much.

I carried on, writing more and self-publishing. The Naked Truth, a memoir about my summer working at a nudist resort, is by far my best-seller. Some call them vanity projects but I don’t think that’s fair. It’s autonomy in a world where we can do things on our own that we used to have to get approval for.

Musicians can write and record entire albums in their basements. Podcast producers can create their shows from home. Writers can put their work out alongside the big name authors. We don’t need permission to get into the clubhouse. There’s a freedom now that simply didn’t exist twenty years ago.

Traveling Snake Oil Book Salesman

There used to be suspicion about a self-published author. I remember one man specifically. He was from the Niagara region and he would talk his way into setting up a table outside a bookstore in a mall – any mall from Niagara Falls to the GTA. There was nothing subtle about it – he was aggressive and pushy and I’ll admit to buying one of his books. His mediocre, paperback, error-riddled books. There was no Kobo or Kindle or online marketplace yet. He was a one-man show who did things half-assed but somehow made a living. Probably from one-time buys, like mine.

People with a similar attitude are still putting out poorly constructed eBooks thinking they can skip hiring an editor because “I know grammar!” I’m sure you do. But a writer needs another set of eyes – objective eyes, not a family member or friend – to scrutinize their work. An aspiring writer self-published a novel a few years ago and asked me to read it after it was published. There were about a dozen spelling errors on the first two pages. That’s unforgivable – Microsoft Word has an editor built right in! But some people will always think they know better.

Publishing a book with a publisher is wonderful but it’s not mandatory anymore. The power is in our hands and we can choose to take it.

Several people I know who have the ability to be brutally honest read my novel for me and gave me notes. I’d never considered creating a series about the same characters until one of my readers suggested it. I also hired an editor I’ve worked with in the past to do nothing but read it and tell me whether it worked or it was crap. I followed every one of her suggestions, including altering a main character and completely removing one chapter. And now, major publishing houses are reading it because I’ve decided that this time, for this book, I want to see what they think.

It’s Not the Destination, It’s the Journey

I’m probably supposed to be on pins and needles hoping one of them will rally behind me and publish the series. But that’s not my goal. Would it be nice if one of them put their faith and muscle behind it and published the book? Of course! But I am interested in their feedback because I think that’s what I’m more likely to get.

I recently said – and I think it’s true – that as long as no one says, “your fingers should never touch a keyboard again”, I’ll be content. No one likes to hear the word no. But the process is what matters to me, not the outcome. If everyone takes a hard pass, I’ll self-publish again. I know the drill. It won’t be a failure in my eyes. I can’t control what they say so it’s best to just wait and see.

And it’s not over yet. I have a wonderful agent who is doing outreach to publishers for me. The biggest ones don’t take unsolicited manuscripts so you need someone in your corner who has clout and relationships with them. The first “no thanks” included compliments and constructive feedback that I can use to improve my narrative. It delighted us both! They’re all looking for the next Giller Prize winner. My goals are more modest. I’d just love for fiction lovers to want to read all three books because they enjoy them. If that’s on the beach, then it’s a “beach read”. That’s not insulting to me although it is to many other authors.

Keeping it Real

I don’t believe I’m an Atwood or an Austin or a King. This story hasn’t flown out of me with perfect prose by some sort of divine, mystic occurrence. (Although I do wonder where some aspects of it came from!) It took a lot of time and it’s real work. Some days it’s a major effort to simply stay off Facebook and commit to writing another sentence. Other days, the story is unfolding so fast that I can hardly keep up. To me, the best part is in the doing – the writing. The outcome is out of my hands.

I do believe – and please comment if you believe I’m right or wrong – that word of mouth and reviews sell more books than finding out who published them. Does it matter to you, as a reader, if a book has positive buzz but it’s self-published? It doesn’t matter to me. I’ve read lots of indie books. I want quality. I want to read the work of a writer who knows their book might appear alongside a Lee Child or a Janet Evanovich or whomever you enjoy, and has brought it up to that level, or as close as they can get.

I’d happily take a cash advance and the support from a publisher if it’s offered. But it won’t crush me if it’s not.

*I don’t own Celebrity Tantrums! It’s wildly out of date now but I’m told it’s still a fun read.