This past Saturday, I had a chance to attend the first ever Monroe County Book Expo hosted by the Eastern Monroe Public Library in Stroudsburg, PA. It was a fun opportunity to meet some local authors and to catch up with some I already know. I also had the opportunity to sit on a panel with two other authors.
One of the things I found interesting about my fellow panelists, is that each of them had a different story of publication, and that along with me none of us has had what might be considered the “traditional” story of publication. I don’t know if there is any one traditional publication story, but in writing circles the the most traditional publication story is that after completing and polishing a manuscript one goes looking for an agent. With luck, an agent represents you, sells your book to a big publishing house, and with a whole lot more luck you make gobs of money, quit your day job and spend your days crafting your next bestseller. Okay, so the ending part might not be too traditional. But for the most part the find an agent who in turn finds you a publisher story is pretty standard.
Gloria Mallette kept writing novels and filing them away, until her husband convinced her she had to do something about them. So, she published them herself, creating her own publishing company to self publish her book. More than just a writer she made herself into a savvy business woman and it paid off. She began to sell a lot of copies of her book and the big guys took notice. She found herself with a contract from a big publishing house and her first book was heavily promoted with a first class book tour, but as she continued to publish books with the big publishing house, she became disillusioned when the publisher chose to do little to promote her work. Eventually she decided to return to self publishing because she already knew she could be successful at it.
Jeff Widmer is a writer for hire. He is the author of The Spirit of Swiftwater, which he wrote for a corporate customer and which was initially privately published, but later was published by a university press. Freelance writing and ghostwriting have helped Jeff to carve out a successful writing career.
And me? I bypassed the agent route and the big publishers, and submitted my manuscript directly to a small publisher. The Subrosa Semesters was picked out of a slush pile and is now well on its way to publication.
If you’re a writer, and you’ve had trouble going about things the traditional way, or if you just prefer to do things your own way, it’s good to keep in mind that there’s more than one way to become a published author.
My Books
I enjoy reading about authors’ journeys. So many people think they just have to go about things one certain way, when they don’t have to.
yes, so many different journey’s. I enjoyed reading this! You journey is like mine. I subbed myself to small publisher and am now waiting for January 2011! But then, I decided I needed an agent so got one. Little backwards.
Great post! It’s always good to be reminded that everyone has their own path to success and that comparing yourself to “everyone else” can be both misleading and disheartening! Thanks!
Great post! And what a great experience. (Also love the website!)
This is such an encouraging post! Thank you for writing it and a big thank you to the other authors who shared their stories.
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