Just Keep Typing

So, this post is going to be all about my writing career (what there is of it). I have finally decided that, though I may fail, I'm not going to just give up. And, as I've explained before, this blog is in support of that goal. It's a record of exactly what I've been doing.

Now, I tend to write these posts well in advance because I don't know what my schedule is going to be like or when I'm going to feel like doing what. However, I do plan to update them right before I post them so that my “News” is up to date.

So far, on the publishing front I've got two firm replies from literary agents. The replies? No thanks! Honestly though, it doesn't bother me. I have fifteen more queries out there and I honestly expect fifteen more “No thanks!” before I'm done.

I don't want you to think I'm being negative about my chances. I'm not. Not at all. I REALLY like my book. I don't care that I wrote it. I really, honestly, truly like it. I just don't expect to find an agent yet. Fantasy is flooded and all a publisher needs is an OK book in order to see sales. (At least imo.) The result is that there is far more supply than demand.

However, I really believe this is changing. I think self-publishing is going to change the entire dynamic between author and agent and publisher. And if I don't have an agent by the end of September I plan to self-publish and see what happens.

What am I doing in the mean time? Well, I'm writing. And I mean writing a lot. I've done a number of Facebook posts recently (long ones, all about Donald Trump of all things), I've written a few of these blog posts, and I've started my first sequel.

And I've discovered something: I LOVE writing sequels. So much of the world has already been built, your characters are already there, the overall plot is in place, you have SO MUCH to work with. You can just drop your characters in the universe with a certain aim and then watch them go do what they do. In some ways I feel more like a reader than the author. The way things unfold honestly surprises me sometimes.

Anyways, I've got the rough draft of the first four chapters “down on paper” already (and it only took eight days) and I've already started on chapter 5. If I can keep up the pace I'll finish well before the end of September.

What's the plan then? Well, I'll self-publish the first book and give it a couple of weeks to get some sales. Then I'll send out a bunch of query letters to all those people who just turned me down to let them know what kind of sales I've seen, what kind of reviews I've gotten, and that I have a sequel just looking for an agent.

Then I plan to “rinse and repeat”. Do I want to find an agent? Yes. I want to see what the difference is between going with an agent and self-publishing.

Time will tell whether or not I'll be able to do that...