Kickstarting This Book
An update on the novel I began last year…
I finished it! And after a few rounds of editing I have begun the process of trying to get it published.
Phase One: Land a literary agent.
Literary agents represent the author to publishers and work out the best deal with the right company. In tern, they get about 15% of the authors profit. Most large publishers wont take submissions if you aren’t represented by and agent. It’s really hard for first time authors to land an agent but the only real cost was my time in crafting each book proposal. After sending 30+ individually crafted proposals out it’s a waiting game anywhere between two weeks and three months. Slowly but surely the rejection letters came pouring in. I have still not heard back from half of the agents… so we will have to see if we get some kind of bite.
Phase Two: Pitch to Some Publishers.
Some publishers do take “unagented” submissions. I figured as I’m waiting around I might just send it out to a few. So I did. And I got a bite! THAT’S RIGHT! I received an offer of publication from a Christian publisher in Oregon. Opening that email was so awesome! Especially after receiving multiple rejections form agents. This company pumps out like 500 books per year, which is a lot for a medium sized company. As I was reading through the contract I had a few concerns. I had a lawyer friend run it by a colleague and they shared my concerns. I sadly decided not to go with this company.
Phase Three: Explore Self Publishing
My lawyer friend’s colleague mentioned that he pushes his first time authors toward self publishing for the first few books. You may not have the platform you want just yet, but you get your first one out there, you get to keep all the creative rights, design the cover, and get it out quicker. After taking a few days to recover from a bruised ego, we have started down that path.
I have a lot of peace about the decision and I’m getting pretty excited. The cover is currently being designed and i am putting together a Kickstarter campaign to raise some money to offset some of the costs. Keep your eyes out for it in the next few days!
