The last time I wrote a bi-weekly wisdom for Pens Around the World, I was in a good place with the recent publication of a novel. Now, I’m out of contract, the publisher doesn’t want my latest manuscript, and the independent press that published my debut novel has closed. I’m also on the verge of asking for my rights back on another book which I’d placed with an unscrupulous publisher. What should a writer do on becoming disaffected with the publishing industry?
Focus on the joy of writing
I’m working on a new novel as a way to forget the things that have gone wrong with publication journey. The story is based upon my experience as a volunteer with Vaughan Town in February 2023. When I was sharing stories of supporting English language learners at a remote hotel two hours from Madrid, a friend observed this would make an excellent setting. I’ve taken this idea and have started to create characters, find out what makes them tick and immerse myself in the world of the story. I’m back to writing for the pleasure and joy that the creative process brings.
Take satisfaction from the progress made
I love adding to the word count of my manuscript each day. Even a couple of hundred words allow the story to move forward. And when the first draft is complete, there’s great pleasure to be had in improving the work. I gain intrinsic satisfaction from the process of putting words on a page.
Start querying again
With all writing (except perhaps diary and journal entries), there needs to be an audience for the work. Just as there’s a relationship between a speaker and a listener, so writing and reading are inextricably linked. I write because I want to reach readers and share my unique perspective on the world. And, if I’m to reach beyond family and friends, I need to find a publisher. So, I’m again looking for an agent or publisher to take my work forward. Although this is an unrelenting task, I believe my work is worthy of publication and it will one day find a home.
How do you cope with the current state of the publishing world?
I’m in the same stucky impasse, Gail. I have a good story, I know it is, and the first of a series. On the whole it is fair to say I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and wish to continue, but there does need to be a selling process, partly to create an audience, for what is art if unseen, and partly because sales are the only way I can justify the time spent. Some income is needed and if that cannot be achieved by writing, then that time must be spent more profitably.
However, every dabble into paying for expertise in the writing journey has merely shown me that an infinite number of sharks lie in wait for the infinite number of hopeful new writers : coaches, editors, beta readers and now, illustrators. How on earth, with this track record, am I to negotiate the publishing world?
The temptation has to be to self-publish, even though every fibre of my being tells me that this is the road to perdition. I do not want to join that baying flock of would-be authors howling for attention, nor do I want to spend the greater part of my ‘spare’ time engaged in marketing.
I’ve had to, for the time being, put the whole sorry issue t one side while focussing on my house renovation, to pick it up again in winter. I’m hoping that somehow, magically, some greater perspective may have emerged by then!
I take your point about paying for professional help. In the past, I’ve seen it as an investment in my writing but I’ve come to the point of looking for some return. I did get a $2000 advance on the audiobook for my last novel – and that’s the first real money I’ve made in the 14 years I’ve been writing! Only the really talented or really lucky make money in this game. That said, I do know an author who makes decent money from self publishing but it’s not a route I want to go down. So I plod on with querying and also plod on with my new project. I hope your break from writing gives you perspective and presents the best next steps for your publication journey.