Life as an author is a roller coaster ride. I've enjoyed a few exhilarating twists and turns but it seems the big butterfly-inducing, scream worthy hill continues to elude me. Hence the rant. At first glance, it would seem the target of my rant should be those darn agents who are the gatekeepers to the big-time publishing world, but upon closer inspection, the real root of the problem has to be every Tom, Dick, and Harry that thinks he's written the next
War and Peace but has come up about a million feet short. Yes, the problem with querying, I believe, is really the number of queries. It makes the selection process so stringent that even the next big thing can easily slip through unnoticed. Not that my book is the next big thing (although I secretly think it could be), but you get the idea.
Let's look at the facts, shall we? And in the process, for all of you gracious grass roots supporters, give you an update on the progress of
Reunion. To date:
- One author interview podcast on ReviewYak
- Two additional author interviews completed (ChickLitPlus posted; ChickLitClub coming soon)
- One featured book giveaway on ChickLitClub (thru Feb 4)
- Featured on ChickLitClub's High Raters page among big name bestselling authors - this is HUGE
- 8/10 review by Paula Phillips
- 5-star reviews on Amazon
- Thumbs up from Clare Tanner of the Book Habit Show in NZ (she called it "uber contemporary," "highly marketable," and "a page turner")
- Upcoming review on ChickLitPlus site
- Two additional copies out for review at the moment
- Local media publicity in the works
- Discounting personal sales, more than 80 copies sold - 19 so far in January alone (I know, that's little more than a tank of gas in royalties but in the self-publishing world it's huge)
- Miraculously picked up by two brick & mortar bookstores (unsolicited)
- About 18 agent query rejections to date
That last item doesn't quite fit, does it? My feeling exactly. So, we continue plodding along on faith and positive feedback. But make no mistake, word of mouth is spreading. And to those who think that chick lit is dead or dying ... oh no it is not! For as long as there are romantic comedies in theaters and on TV, there will be chick lit. You can call it something else, but it will still be light, humorous, entertaining reading for women and a select few men curious or bold enough to want to learn more about the female spirit.
I do promise that this blog will not always be about
Reunion or even just writing, but it does happen to be residing at the forefront of my brain at the moment as I continue to send out queries and try to make a small splash in a very large pond.
