I’ve been walking this dusty road for over twenty years. It seems like yesterday I was slogging through the phone book thick tome of the latest Writer’s Market looking for agents. You know, back before digital was a thing. In my early years, I sent out packets of my first book to agents trying to get achieve the dream of being picked up by the Big NY Five when their were five. Always got the rejections, but I kept on slogging on.
College came and went while I finished another novel, and tried again. More rejections. Life went on and e-books came to be a thing. On a whim, I found a publisher and sent off my hopes and dreams. At this point I figured nothing was going to happen. And then poof. I heard back and they wanted my books.
Things were great… for a while. I sold some books, got royalties on time, my first editor has become a lifelong friend. Then it hit. The publisher closed.
Here we go again.
But E-books were on the rise and so were publishers. Some came and went like the dust scattering in the wind. I had a few that burned me and I had a few that I stayed with until they decided to go a different path.
Fast forward to today, with counting over being with twenty different publishers over the years, writing over 100 books, now my writing has slowed down some. I write what I want and not for the market like I used to. Of course, this is my journey, you do you.
Amazon made it possible for authors to self-publish and share their voices with the world. The Big Five is now 4 and many still dream of having an agent. However, these days, with social media and the new generation shaping how people are reading and finding their own writing paths, things have changed. I’ve changed, but the publishing business hasn’t.
There are still publishers out there who start off with good intentions and then…well stuff happens…and they find out it’s not all roses.
Here we are, 20 years later, my boots are dustier than ever as I keep on the writing journey, but I will keep walking because it keeps me sane even with all the ups and downs.
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