Adventures in
Self-Publishing: Second and Final Part
So I did
it: went against the accepted wisdom that goes something like, “Whatever you
do, never publish the first novel you write. Ever.” Not that I think I know
better – I sometimes think I know less than very little – but I revisited that
first novel after a ten-year break and found that there was something there
that readers might like. Sure, it has its shortcomings, but I felt I had
nothing to lose.
It was
fortunate that I was able to lay my hands on a copy. After accumulating all
those rejection slips from London agents and publishers, I had deleted the
novel from my computer in a fit of pique. I’d printed a copy, but we moved
house five years ago and things have gone missing. But, luckily for me, not the
novel. The long process of retyping it onto the computer gave me the
opportunity to revise and tighten the prose, and I ended up with a 64,000-word
story. Quite short for a novel, but about the right length, I felt, for a
debut. At least readers wouldn’t have much time to become bored. I gave it a
title: The Village of Lost Souls.
Christmas
was approaching by the time I finished the rewrite and final proofreads.
Deciding that life is too short to read it through again – there has to come a
point when you say, ‘Enough’s enough; publish and be damned!’ – I took another
deep breath and pressed the publish button.
Then I sat back and waited. (Actually, that’s not quite true. I had to do all
the usual self-promoting stuff discussed in my earlier post on this topic. Then I sat back and waited.)
I had to
wait almost three weeks for the first feedback. I expected reviews that were
middle-of-the-road, neither loving nor hating; if I could average a three-star
rating, I would be happy. The first review stunned me; the reviewer said, “I
absolutely loved this book. Loved it!” More reviews in a similar vein followed.
The lowest rating so far is three stars. I still can’t quite believe the
strength of emotion the story evokes. I set out to write a ghost story; I seem
to have ended up with something more.
But for
all its positive reviews, the book is floundering under the sheer volume of
competition. It barely sells. My efforts at self-promotion are, frankly,
feeble. I’m not very good at it and never will be. I have no idea how to reach
the readership that I have to believe is out there waiting to discover my
books.
Maybe now
I won’t have to find out how. Something amazing happened totally out of the
blue about two weeks ago: I was contacted by a publisher. A small, independent
publisher based in Florida, that had read both my books, felt they deserved to
sell a lot more than they currently are selling and offered to publish and
market them. My excitement was tempered by wariness. I’ve read so many sorry
tales of aspiring authors being taken to the cleaners by unscrupulous, so-called
publishers who make money by charging the writer exorbitant fees for editing,
cover-design and marketing, then price the books at such ridiculously-high
prices that nobody buys them, forcing the writer to pay through the nose to buy
back the book’s rights.
I
awaited the contract with a knot in my stomach – if it contained such terms, I
would be compelled to reject it: my big chance, perhaps my only chance, gone.
To my astonishment, it didn’t. For a complete unknown like me, it seemed
perfectly reasonable (apart from one clause that the publisher readily agreed
to amend to something I was happy with). So I signed.
Hence
the reason I’ve called this the “…Final Part.” I can drop the ‘self’ from
‘self-published author’. Still pinching myself…
Well done, Johnny, and good luck.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Trish!
ReplyDeleteMake sure you pinch yourself hard enough to be ready for the wise guys. If they ask for a check or card you know how to answer.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the advice, Anon, but I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Who are the wise guys? Am I being naive?
ReplyDelete