Join me on my road to publication (part 7)
My multipart series chronicles the ups and downs of an ordinary person striving to becoming a novelist in the real world. The series will span more than five decades.
If you’ve read parts 1-6, you can skip the intro (though it’s a fascinating intro 😀):
I’m the author of ten published novels, three novellas, and one nonfiction book. Seven of the novels, the three novellas, and the nonfiction book were traditionally published. I self-published the remaining three novels.
Though this might seem impressive to some, it goes without saying that I’m no Stephen King, especially when it comes to our respective bank accounts. Despite boasting over 50,000 purchases/downloads of my books, I’ve barely broken into five figures in cash royalties because (admittedly) most of the sales were free or inexpensive ebooks. Regardless, it’s likely there are authors who would trade places with me, which might be viewed as a depressing commentary on how extraordinarily difficult it is for a no-name to hit it big.
Though I’m not the only author on Substack chronicling something like this, my story has unique elements that I believe will be informative and relatable to writers and readers. Over the next several months, I’ll post a bimonthly account of my journey to publication—from the 1970s when I was a young man with big dreams to a recently retired dude who hasn’t given up on those dreams quite yet. Here is part 7.
It’s all about timing
In part 6, I talked about how I had hit a new low in my journey to publication. I had compiled a lengthy list of rejections for my epic fantasy series. I had lost my agent. I had signed with a small publishing house that then went out of business halfway through the process of publishing all six books of my series. To be melodramatic, I was drowning in a sea of misery.
Also in an earlier post, I mentioned an online author friend named Chris Stevenson. He had originally helped me land the agent, but he had also joined me in our failed venture with the small publishing house with a book of his own taking a hit when the house closed its doors. He was feeling pretty low himself back then.
But you know, just when you think all is lost …
Chris told me about a new possibility. He had interacted with a respected midsize publishing house owned and operated by several authors who had written New York Times bestsellers. They had even received the coveted seal of approval from the hard-to-please online writers group.
And (miracle of miracles!) they were in the market for some cutting-edge epic fantasy. I submitted to them and within a couple of months we had a deal to publish all six books. Talk about a roller coaster ride. Just when I thought I was going to be stuck on the bottom and maybe have to get off the roller coaster altogether, my cart suddenly zipped back to the top. It wasn’t like I had received a million-dollar deal from a top 5 publisher, but it was a better deal than most no-name novelists usually get.
I was ecstatic!
The Death Wizard Chronicles had finally found a proper home, sort of the publishing version of a four bedroom, three bath contemporary with a two-car garage.
The next thing that happened was a first for me. I was about to find out how a for-real publishing house does business, and it was quite the enlightening experience. In a good way.
But it was also a lot of work!
Up next: To produce the best book possible, legitimate publishing houses will put you through the wringer.
Great cliffhanger, there! I can't wait to read the next installment.
I guess you can understand how Tom Cox feels about HIS publisher going belly up when they owed him a lot of money...