The First Step

Let’s be honest, no matter how you slice it, trying to get a book published is a massive headache. You have to finish the book, write a query letter, send in manuscripts, yada, yada, yada, on, and on, and on; there’s so many hoops you have to jump through and even then it doesn’t guarantee that you will make any headway. You put hundreds of hours into perfecting you novel and making sure every piece of the proverbial puzzle is right where it needs to be only to have some mid-twenties assistant that knows, quite literally, next to nothing about what makes great literature dismiss your hard work ten seconds after he lays his eyes on it. I speak from a great deal of experience when I say THIS SUCKS!

I know everyone says not to take these dismissals too personally, but I feel as if I’ve been thrown by the wayside simply because I lack an already successful novel; it’s ridiculous. Publishing companies seem to expect manuscripts from already accomplished authors, but refuse to help get anyone there in the first place; are you seeing a pattern here? While I understand the financial obligations of such companies, it feels like they’ve flipped the industry on its head and nowadays it’s almost impossible to get a book published unless you have previous experience. In my opinion, something has to change. Thankfully we’re starting to see a re-emergence of self published authors.

Deciding whether you should self publish or go the traditional route is not a choice that should be made lightly. Both come with their share of challenges and benefits. Self publishing comes with more freedom, but more responsibility. It’s your job to design and market the book. You may think this is the easy part after spending years working on your manuscript, but if you’re as anti-social as I am, trying to convince people to read your book is a nightmare. If this sounds too arduous for you, maybe you should go with a publishing house. It means less of the overall profits, but better exposure. Ultimately, it will come down to personal preference which one of these routes you want to go with, but regardless it’s going to take a lot of work; just don’t give up. Happy writing out there.