I Am So Excited

Way back in September I wrote an entry on my blog about the future of publishing. I wrote then that one of the most important things agents would be asking is if you have self published a book. What was the response to your book? What is your following on your networking sites?

Well, I guess the proof is in the pudding. I recently received an email from an agent. She said she purchased Immortal on Amazon for her Kindle and loved it. She was also curious to know if I had representation.

My first response, “This is a joke.” Surely someone hijacked the agents account and was spamming me hoping to get personal information. After digging around and fact check (it is nice to have a computer genius for a friend) I discovered it was real. It took me several hours for it to sink in and another hour to reply to the email.

After exchanging several emails with the agent we set up a time to speak. Around one o’clock today we spoke. She gave me a few suggestions on improvements and some advice and offered representation. So as of one thirty today I am now an agented author with Kimberly Whalen the Vice President at Trident Media Group LLC. I feel incredibly lucky. I realize this doesn’t happen every day.

I want to also thank everyone who has purchased Immortal, written a review, or just placed it on their TBR list. If it wasn’t for all of you this may not have happened. So, thank you all. 

The Future of Publishing

There is so much information out there about where the future of publishing is headed. Will books go the way of the newspaper? (I mean when was the last time you picked one of those up) Will bookstores become obsolete? 

My answer is no.  I don't believe that either of things will happen though there is no doubt the industry will change.  The real question is will it change for the better?

We've already seen or at least heard about a lot of the cubby hole book stores with the smell of paper heavy in the air going under with the big chains taking over.  (Yeah cheaper books)  I believe the chain stores will have to adapt to the new market, the E- Market.  As in e-books.

This is where I believe things will get tricky for us as authors.  It is already difficult to find an agent.  You practically have to sell your soul (mmmwwwahhhaaa, devil rubbing his hands together) to get an agent as it is.  On top of that most help little once your book is published,unless you are a big money maker, or they believe you will be.  (After all they make money off of your hard work)  A lot of agents expect you to have a network in place for marketing your book before they will even consider you.

The question is how to build such a network?  There is the new traditional way setting up websites, blogging, linking your facebook with twitter.  Then you have to market your blog to your audience (You got the sent boy, go get 'em)  This is where everything comes to a head.

As most authors/ writers know you must complete your first full length novel before attempting to find and agent or really do anything. They are looking for established writers and those with strong followings (example: I have 5000 followers on my twitter account and another 7000 on my blog. I do not have this many followers on anything.) They believe this will translate into a lot of sales, but I don't believe this alone will be enough.

Indie Publishing is where we are headed.  I believe soon it won't just be a query letter the gods have sent down from the heavens to get you published that is needed. It won't just be having a million followers on your blog.  It will be have you published a book yourself?  What was the reception like? Do you have any fans/followers? This will be what it will take to get an agent in the future, and your book in the bookstares that make it through the future chaos.

Writing is the easy part...

Ok, as you all know I completed my first novel, Immortal back in May. Yeah :) I never thought that would be the easy part.  It took me nearly a year and a half to complete and I ended up with five major revisions as I went through. The final book showed little if any resemblance to the final product. 

It took the next month and revised and edited to get it ready to send out to agents and took about a week to write a query letter. From what I have read and looked into a week on a query letter isn't nearly enough. Most it would seem to take an average of 3 months to get their letter in order.

Flash forward- After two months of sending out letters and getting the dreaded thanks but no thanks, I stumbled on an article about Amanda Hocking on Writer's Digest. She self-published earlier this year and has done quite well. It was an idea to tempting not to look into.

Flash-forward two weeks. After much research I decided to follow her example and e-publish.
It took me several days of extensive formatting to get it ready for upload and another few days to find and format the cover (by far my favorite part of the process). I have since placed made my novel available on Smashwords and Kindle and this weekend managed to get it up on Lulu.com in paperback.

Considering all the time, effort and energy this process took it is nothing compared with marketing.  Let's face it that is what every author, writer, blogger, and YouTube addict is doing and dreaming about. Getting those clicks and viewers to their site.  How do we do this? There are books, sites, and videos about how to do all this. In the end though it takes time time and more time. Finding the right sites to post on, networking with those you want to reach, and most of all luck.

Accepted

I was a little worried because it took me so long to format my novel that I may have done something wrong. But I was accepted to Smashwords premium catalog. I even get my very own ISBN number. I know e-publishing may not be the traditional route, but I still feel pretty stoked.


I also sold two copies of Immortal. Woohoo. I feel like an honest to goodness writer now. I know it's lame but I can't help but be excited. (Even though I can't taste food and I've slept four hours in the past three days. I hate having a cold and worse being congested to the point I can barely breathe.)

It is Finished

After 12 hours Immortal has finished uploading. I can't believe it is actually out there in the world.  Double checked most of the links so it can be downloaded.  The first 30% of the book is free so you can see if you like it before purchasing.  Hope everyone enjoys it. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/23564

Ready, Set, Go

I can't believe it, but I am getting ready to submit my book to smashwords. I'm not sure whether to be excited or sick.

Update: I just hit the submit button there is no turning back now.

Formatting

I thought picking out cover art and lettering was difficult and time consuming.  Whoever came up with the formatting for e-publishing must have taken lessons from the Marqui de Sade. I spent most of the night going over it and I'm still not finished.

I have used Word since it came into existence.  I thought I knew all of its in and outs.  I am now becoming intimately familiar with the program.  Smashwords (where I plan to publish) has a very informative guide. My only issues is that as I move forward I find that I did something small incorrectly.  It can be very frustrating having to go back because I used 16 font for my chapter headings instead of 14.  Oh well, It will be worth it in the end, at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Immortal

I have recently completed my first novel. I am considering e-publishing or going 'Indie' with my novel Immortal. I have gotten much feedback on the forum and via my page on Writer's Digest (link below). I know, and understand that by going the 'Indie' route, I may not be the next main stream author or millionaire, but I hope to be read.  This is a blog about my journey to get published and be read.

http://community.writersdigest.com/profile/Lauren
Unfotunately, you will need a Writer's Digest account to view this page page. The account is free.