The Decision to Self-Publish My Novels

I have self-published my novels 2605, Susan's Story, and Murder at the Office Christmas Party on Amazon. Why did I self-publish them instead of finding an agent and publisher? After all, the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are, for the most part, pretty darned good.

The short answer: I'm old, and I wanted to see them in print before I die.

Getting a agent isn't easy (see the long quote below), and if you get one, then dealing with all the revisions and changes 'recommended' by an agent and then by an editor takes a lot of time and can change the heart and soul of my work (I once had a director recommend such substantial changes to the plot of a play I'd written, that I decided not to have it produced!), and then the publisher will want changes and will dither, too. I foresaw years of agony that I wasn't willing to go through, with a reasonable probability that my manuscripts would, after all that time and work, just languish on my computer hard drive.

But the novels are written now, and three of them are published (that's three more than I ever imagined myself writing four years ago). I will perhaps begin the search for an agent soon; I feel as if I now have the time to consider everything that's involved with the process. I've accomplished the immediate goal: see my books in print before I die, and get some positive (and other, helpful) feedback; now I can maybe consider some longer-range goals.

So at this stage, the time delays are less serious; also I'm used to rejection (academic journal articles, past dating life, etc. gave me lots of experience), and so that won't bother me much; but the editing (if it gets that far) concerns me. I tell myself that it shouldn't concern me -- I've had excellent editors for some of my past academic writings, but still I worry.

Anyway, I need to let "Shrink-Wrapped Murder" sit for a bit before I re-edit it for publication. So maybe in a few days I'll begin the arduous process of trying to find an agent.

Arduous? You bet. Here's a recent Facebook post by the daughter of a friend:

BUCKLE UP, PALS. I HAVE A STORY.

As many of you know, I write novels. A few years ago, having written a couple and not knowing what to do with them, I learned something from an author I admire: in order to submit to a big publishing house, you gotta have an agent. Pretty much every popular author you can think of will have an agent. OK, EASY, I thought. I’m a good writer. I can get one of those.

(This marks the occasion of my MOST WRONG assumption about publishing. THAT SHIT IS SO NOT EASY.)

I had no idea what I was doing, but I submitted to a bunch of agencies. I was rejected. A LOOOOTTT. Whew, I think that was the first time my ego really took a hit.

So I wrote a new book. I got up two hours earlier than necessary almost every day for 3 years just to write. I came home from school/work and wrote.

Edward James

put up with my single-minded fervour. I researched and made a list of good agencies. I didn’t want to settle for anyone I didn’t think could actually sell my book. But agencies get thousands and thousands of submissions. I got rejected again. A LOT MORE. If I’m being honest, I considered settling for a less qualified agency.

Alas, I wrote another book. Then another. Then another. Then another. One in particular got tons of interest. I was chosen for a program where an agented writer helped me edit and query. It went really well. Big agents asked to read it, then asked me to do big revisions. I did them. It took months. AND THEN......rejected.

Dude, I could paper my whole bedroom with rejections. One agent in particular really liked it, but wanted EVEN MORE revisions. I was bummed, cause I could see myself working with her - great agency, great sales, her wishlist said she liked “dark, edgy and weird” (my brand, tbh). But by now I was tired of that book, dammit. So I wrote.... you guessed it! Another book. I wrote and revised it FAST during quarantine. This time I sent it out to only a small handful of agents, including the one mentioned above.

Anyway, 11 days later (this is SUPER CRAZY FAST in publishing time), she emailed me saying she loved it and asked for a phone call. I screeched.

And if you read this far, I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I’m now officially represented by Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management in New York.

If you want to talk about my work, you must now go through her.

JK. But seriously, I’m psyched.