Status Update

Although I would love an agent and a book deal from a big publisher (please query me!) I have read that, in this new age of (self) publishing, there are TWO MILLION titles published EVERY YEAR!  Incredible.  It makes me feel not so bad about not keeping up with them, and also explains why so many of them are bad and/or unedited.  The competition for eyeballs in/from the publishing industry is more intense than ever - let alone the competition for readers.

But I believe in my book. I think it can stand out and sell, and I think I may have a better chance at a good launch if I take care of it myself. I started researching self-publishing and quickly came across Travis Baldree's incredibly helpful blog (https://tinyurl.com/4yt3kyjp) about his experiences and process with his debut self-published novel Legends & Lattes (though he was picked up by a big publisher shortly after engineering a very nice launch on his own). 

I did query a bunch of agents, but didn't find a good connection with any, so I submitted my book to a small handful of indy publishers of SFF, including a local micro-publisher, Mythic Delirium, whose head person I met in person recently, Mike Allen.  While I'm waiting for those decisions, I've gone ahead with my preparations for self-publishing.  I engaged a terrific editorial team headed by a friend) and a cover artist, Jeff Brown, whose work I really like. https://www.jeffbrowngraphics.com/

Assuming I don't move forward soon with one of the independent publishers by the time I get my cover art done, I will move on to the next steps of my self-publishing checklist: Formatting/print layout and set up in Amazon KDP and IngramSpark.  That will be a pretty big moment, I am thinking, because then I'll establish a launch date and start getting reviews, marketing, and all of that!