I normally hate posting anything that might come off like bragging, but I have to post this. Of course, I now have several questions too, so I guess
it's not
just some kind of self-promotion/arrogance. Anyways...
Finally, after pretending I'm a writer for ~6 months, I was able to take the time to flesh out a storyline that had been in the back of my mind since
June. 41 chapters, 153 pages (single spaced MS Word 12pt), and it's done. Well, the first couple of drafts are--I'm having some family review it
for any further changes, but the bulk of the work is finished. Now though...
I have absolutely
no clue what to do next. I have my copy of
Novel & Short Story Writers' Market 2007, and all I can do is stare at it
like an idiot. I've submitted email queries to several agents (all 22 that take email queries, according to said book) and the results have been
underwhelming. Of course, I'll never admit that the typing of the words "The End" would be followed by a phone call offering me an advance to
rival Bill Gate's monthly interest...
But, as I said, I'm at a complete lost as to where I go from here; I don't even know where to get a review of any kind. I don't know if I should
even bother with trying to get an agent and a good deal (key word is "try"; I seriously have little misconceptions about succeeding with that), or
if I should just not waste my time on that and try for a small publishing company that's willing to take a risk on an unknown just so I can get my
name out there. I know there's the vanity presses, but even without Justin's
problems
I'd heard plenty enough to keep me away from those (and his thread served to wipe away any lingering thoughts I may have had towards that...)
Or, being the aspiring computer nerd I once was, I feel I also have the option of trying to self-publish an eBook and distribute it myself. I know
it'd be a ton of leg work and probably not worth the overall effort, but at the same time it might be a bit easier to get started. The only other
problem I have with that is ego--getting published by a reputable market would be more difficult, but it would also show that someone else likes it so
much they're going to invest their time and money in it. Self publishing would feel like a cop out, for the first book at least, basically like
admitting I'm not quite up to specs for the "real world."
There's also the issue of genre, which seems to be quite important in the industry. Classifying my work--even back when I was trying to do music,
something I always considered myself more knowledgeable in, if not better--has never been easy for me. All I know for sure is that it isn't sci-fi,
horror, mystery, or erotica. The closest I've come to it is "Literary/Single Title Romance," but it has a plot (something I've heard eliminates
it from the literary genre), and while it is a love story, it's also focused on the main character's issues in dealing with his brother's death and
his own past.
So, might anyone have any advice in this regards? The whole "where to go" issue? I'd really appreciate suggestions. I also do have a few sample
chapters up that I posted in hopes that it would be a fair compromise for a lot of the agents I queried (most of whom won't accept email attachments;
including a link to it seemed like it wasn't a terrible idea at the time...) The story does have quite a bit of profanity in it, so I won't post it
or a link directly here; however, I'll gladly give it out to anyone via U2U. It's only the first four chapters, I think a total of roughly 9K words
and maybe 12 pages via MS Word and standard formatting.
I really look forward to and appreciate any comments or suggestions anyone here may have.
[edit on 12/18/2006 by MCory1]