Coming Full Circle
Wow, it has been WAY to long since last I sat down here and actually provided something NEW.
A lot of that is owed to me shifting my focus to things that, at least in the moment, felt like the squeaky wheel needing grease. Sometimes these were clearly frivolous ‘me’ things that distracted me, other times they were actual issues that needed resolving. Through it all, I’d come back to this site, seeing that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
So much has happened in fact, that no single post could ever hope to cover it all. Thus, I’ll give you the shortish version now, as the coming months are going to prove challenging in terms of time.
Assuming you’ve been following along somewhere (here, Twitter, TikTok, even Facebook/Meta to some extent) then you know that in 2021, at the very end of March, I was offered, and accepted a contract for my debut novel. At the time, I was understandably thrilled. When I started writing, over a year prior, I worked under the assumption that I’d end up self-publishing the book, likely selling a few copies to friends and family, and then going on to the next one and so on and so forth.
Landing an actual contract, even with an indie publishing house, had been the furthest thing from my mind. But as I began sharing the early drafts with people, I kept getting the same reaction; you should really seek traditional publishing. And I did, subsequently receiving rejection after rejection. It was tough, and for the first few months, I seriously questioned if I shouldn’t have just gone straight to self-publishing in the first place.
Signing the contract absolved all of that worry though, instead giving me new things to worry about. Deadlines, edits, rewrites, massive revisions, changing things I’d already changed once or twice… It was all quite a ride. Through it all, the book got better, especially thanks to the feedback of complete strangers.
As the end of 2021 approached, things were still mostly on track. My relationship with my publisher was still good, even in the face of some difficulties that were beyond either of our controls. The book had gone through three full rounds of beta’s, in addition to being read by a few other authors, and I’d even started ‘serious’ work on a new Fantasy novel, completely removed from the world of my debut.
But 2022 brought some new struggles, as well as some new perspectives. The number of mutuals (individuals who work within or practice the same art as you, in this case other authors) I’d become connected with on social media had grown substantially. Nearly every day I was meeting new people and hearing their experiences, learning from their successes and failures, and bringing me fresh understandings that I hadn’t been exposed to as a more ‘novice’ author.
Thus, as the two-year anniversary of me writing my debut approached, I began to identify some differences of opinion between me and my publisher. I’m not talking about antagonistic or problematic things, but preferences and needs that I recognized as maybe not being the best fit for both our situations. As much as I understand having a ‘publisher’ behind you can be a major boon, I’d likewise learned that not having a publisher isn’t a death knell for a book either. In fact, in some cases, it might actually be better (or at least more profitable, but that’s a subject for an entirely different blog post).
Okay, so this didn’t end up being very ‘shortish’, sorry. After much discussion, soul searching, and research, I asked, and my publisher graciously approved, for me to be released from my contract. Some might say, “Gee, you just wasted a year of time ‘not’ releasing your book”, but those folks would be wrong. That year, with all its highs, lows, and in betweens, only served to make my book better; my ability to practice my craft greater; and my resolve to see my book in the hands of others more iron clad.
I’ve said previously, including on this very site I believe, that I was proud of where my book was, and I was ready to release it then and there. That was a bold face misunderstanding. The book wasn’t truly ready for the world at any time prior to today. Today (March 28th, 2022, as I write this) my debut novel-
SITE ALPHA: EYES IN THE DARK BOOK ONE
IS ready to be introduced to the world. And on June 28th, 2022, it will be.
Preorders will begin soon, and I’ll certainly be placing a link on this site, along with ALL my social media profiles. There’s still a lot of things to update, a lot of work to be done, but this year, I will finally hold my creation in my hands. I can’t wait, and I truly hope you dear reader, will be willing to join me in doing so. Until we read again, take care.