This summer has been hot and all but melted most reasonable people's motivation. The hot, hazy summer has pushed me more towards cold drinks on the patio and naps rather than writing. I haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked, but it has also not been nothing.
That is the funny thing about my writing, it is all in my head. I have no book deals or signed contracts. No one has asked me to submit anything, no one has given me a deadline. All the deadlines right now are self-made. All of the pressure is internal.
I follow a lot of writers on Twitter (it will always be Twitter to me) and have to be careful about comparing myself, my output, and my milestones to them. If not, then there is just despair, of which there is already a fair amount on Writer Twitter. Each writer's journey is a little different. Just because it happens one way for one writer, doesn't mean it will be the same for me.
One thing I learned after the publication of Eudaimonia was that without an advocate books don't get sold.
Don't get me wrong, being published is a huge feat. Huge. I think I read somewhere that approximately 1%-2% of authors are successful in getting their book published. So, to have a publisher actually publish your book is pretty cool. But that is what publishers do, they publish. And for most smaller publishers that is about all they are equipped to do - publish.
With Eudaimonia I had no marketing support, no team, no multi-pronged campaign. I spent hours and hours reaching out via email and websites and social media for basically crickets. I mailed that book along with bookmarks and press kits to bookstores, independent reviewers, and trade publications. I asked all the press outlets in my area. I tried, and tried, and tried and was never able to get any traction. And yeah, it is beyond discouraging to write an enitre manuscript, survive the editing process, and actually have a book published, only to watch it die in the stillbirth of obscurity. But, in the land of publishing, that is not an uncommon.
It has occured to me that this all might have been easier if I'd had a little help, possibly from someone plugged into the book industry. An agent, maybe?
Getting an agent isn't like calling a lawyer and making an appointment. No, there is a very specific, tedious, and grueling process for finding an agent willing to represent you - it is called querying. For those of you not familiar with the querying process let me take a stab at making a comparison. In the olden days of the Coliseum, Gladiators would have to battle through multiple rounds before they could get to the main event, win their freedom, or find a wealthy benefactor. This is also similar to how querying an agent works.
QueryTracker is the arena. Agents are the influential spectators. Writers are in the pit fighting lions and bears and each other in order to get the attention of the influencial spectators. There is much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and crying. Blood is spilled and stains the sand while panting combatants pray for a thumbs-up or a nod.
And now, I'd like to join the fray...(this is a fine time to wonder about how sound my judgement is.)
In keeping with my self-guided writing career, I've sketched out a (pitiful/ wildly optomisitic) outline of what this could look like:
- First - the author should have an amazing, undeniable manuscript. This is where I currently am. I have about 20,000 words in a new WIP (work in progress). I'm shooting for about 40,000 to 50,000 before I begin the querying process. You are gonna want to have something for agents to read if they "request" your manuscript.
- Two - the author must begin the tedious process of finding agents, researching agents, stalking agents to figure out what they are looking for, to determine if they might be a good fit for this magnificent work.
- Three- the author must distill everything they are, have been, would be, and what they have written into a one page "query letter" that will leave agents dying to know more.
- Four- the author must submit query letter in the prescribed way.
- Five- the author must wait (anywhere from 1 to 100 years from what I can gather.)
- Six- the author will rinse and repeat, over and over until someone responds. You know what they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Needless to say, this gladiator style process can take a while as one is at the mercy of overworked, underpaid literaty agents who have many people vying for their attention. And, even if everything works out in your favor, there is no guarantee that a publisher will actually publish your book... but one impossible thing at a time.
So, this is where I stand at the beginning of September. Wish me luck!
Your Friend,
Meghan Godwin