You’ve written a novel. All the top publishers are clamoring for it. Your phone is ringing so much, your ear is getting sore. Do you take the fully guaranteed million-dollar advance? Or the multimillion-dollar one with a few caveats? And then there are the movie houses! They’re even worse. Nag, nag, nag. Always in a rush to get things done now. Oh well, not to worry. Your prestigious New York agent will handle everything for you like the pro she is.
Then you wake from your nap to a good news/bad news situation. The good news is you really have written a novel. The bad new is all the rest was just a dream.
For a no-name writer—or even one with a bit of name recognition—the road to publication can be fraught with emotional peril. You’ve just received your 100th rejection from an agent and your 30th from a publisher—both on the same day. However, this doesn’t even upset you anymore. Just the fact that someone responded was a victory. After awhile, a rejection becomes better than silence. It’s like being a prisoner in solitary confinement. The jailer who brings you the occasional maggot-riddled meal becomes your best buddy.
So now what? You’ve heard about this self-publishing thing—I mean, who hasn’t nowadays?—and you begin to consider going in that direction. But you really don’t have a clue how to start. And you really don’t want to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars paying someone else to do it for you. Sigh. Do you just throw up your hands and give up? Maybe print out a few copies of your book from your home, staple them together, and hand-deliver them to your relatives and best friends?
Aye yi yi.
You gaze warily at your fireplace. You’ve done this before. Dark thoughts enter your mind. Maybe that’s where your novel belongs.
Enter Jim Melvin
I was a journalist—and later in life a public relations director—for most of my career. I wrote and published more than a thousand articles, ranging in length from long narrative magazine articles to five-sentence briefs.
I also was (and still am) a novelist who is best known for “The Death Wizard Chronicles,” a six-book epic fantasy series for mature audiences. “DW,” as some affectionately call it, was traditionally published via Bell Bridge Books, a respected midsized publisher owned and staffed by several New York Times best-selling novelists. I was very lucky to become one of Bell Bridge’s stable of authors. Without going into too much detail, I was introduced to Bell Bridge by fellow fantasy writer Chris Stevenson. (Thank you, Chris!) The stars aligned in miraculous fashion and Bell Bridge accepted my series. The BB team did a fantastic job editing, designing, producing, and packaging—and “DW” sold pretty well.
Why haven’t I published “Dark Circles” with Bell Bridge? The answer is simple. My publisher is just not equipped or interested in taking on middle-grade epic fantasy. So they politely rejected my submission.
My next course of action for Dark Circles would have been to send out hundreds of queries to agents and publishers—and then sit back and wait for months (or even years) for the rejections to pour in. Or more like drip in like water torture. My good friend the jailor would bring me a hunk of stale bread and a cup of muddy milk, and I would thank him.
Nope. Not for me. I just don’t have the stomach for it.
But wait, there’s hope! … (real hope)
After giving up the idea of attempting to traditionally publish “Dark Circles” (which I will now affectionately call “DC”), my next step was to familiarize myself with the ins and outs of self-publishing. I was late to this already-burgeoning game and therefore was pretty much starting from scratch.
Luckily, another fellow writer came to my rescue. Tamara Lush, an award-winning romance novelist who has published traditionally as well as via self-publishing and other online venues, recommended that I check out self-publishing guru David Gaughran.
Thank you, Tamara … because this sure did help!
In terms of familiarizing myself with the ins and outs of self-publishing, I was now able to learn from someone who already knows ten times more about it than I ever will.
I visited David’s website and was blown away. David has books and courses that will take you from novice to semi-expert in a just a few hours, and the best part is that almost everything he offers is free. You don’t have to spend a single penny.
Let me be clear: I have no ties to David whatsoever, other than becoming one of his newest fans. The only thing I gain from recommending him is good karma. But if you’re interested in self-publishing, I would heartily recommend that you check him out.
Following David’s suggestions, I have done or will do the following in the coming weeks:
Come up with a great book cover (in progress)
Modernize my author’s website (if you look at it in its current form, you’ll see why this is necessary)
Create and maintain a blog (which you’re reading right now)
Create and maintain my presence on Facebook (I’m off to a good start)
Make sure that my Amazon author’s page is in good shape (ditto No. 4)
Cross-hyperlink numbers 2-5 (in progress)
Format the inside of “Dark Circles” (not yet started)
Announce a launch date (coming by the end of April)
Publish my book!!! (ditto No. 8)
As you might imagine, No. 9 is my favorite. But all are doable.
Wish me luck! And please encourage anyone you know who enjoys epic fantasy to check out Jim Melvin’s Realms of Fantasy blog.
Thank you and have a great weekend!!!
That is exciting you've taken this route. I hope it's less stressful and frustrating.
Great blog Jim!