TO SELF PUBLISH OR NOT TO SELF PUBLISH? THAT IS THE QUESTION
Let's face it. Amazon is saturated with self published books. Some can rival the best that traditional publishing houses have to offer, but thousands more could do with a substantial rewrite or some serious attention from a competent editor.
Although self publication has always been an option, I've always been a little hesitant about throwing my own hat into the ring too soon. The best people to provide an unbiased opinion are those who are part of the publishing industry. Agents, editors and other authors are all in a position to provide constructive feedback. Realising this I decided to seek opinions in all three arenas.
Once I'd completed Truthseeker I sent it out to a few agents to gauge their responses. The only replies I received were form rejections. Usually within days or a week or two at most.
What I really needed was some constructive criticism and so I had a reputable literary consultancy read through my manuscript and write a report. My editor's advice enabled me to see what was working and how to get to grips with the issues that were holding me back.
After several months of rewriting I was ready to go out on submission again. This time the rejection slips were taking much longer to find their way into my inbox. Several took between 5 and 8 months to reject whilst one, accompanied by an apology, took an incredible 11 months. This suggested that some agents were actually taking the time to pay my MS some serious consideration. Unfortunately only two submissions yielded any advice for improvement.
At the same time I was also receiving requests for the full manuscript. I sent it off three times over a ten month period. The first agent gave me the runaround and so I withdrew. The second never replied and the third rejected.
After another round of revisions, I decided to send it out again and received personalised rejections from two agents. Both praised the quality of the writing, but rejected because they didn't think they could find a publisher for this particular novel at the present time.Whilst disappointing on one level it did provide the kind of feedback I'd been seeking.
So what to do next? I'll need to give that some thought.
Although self publication has always been an option, I've always been a little hesitant about throwing my own hat into the ring too soon. The best people to provide an unbiased opinion are those who are part of the publishing industry. Agents, editors and other authors are all in a position to provide constructive feedback. Realising this I decided to seek opinions in all three arenas.
Once I'd completed Truthseeker I sent it out to a few agents to gauge their responses. The only replies I received were form rejections. Usually within days or a week or two at most.
What I really needed was some constructive criticism and so I had a reputable literary consultancy read through my manuscript and write a report. My editor's advice enabled me to see what was working and how to get to grips with the issues that were holding me back.
After several months of rewriting I was ready to go out on submission again. This time the rejection slips were taking much longer to find their way into my inbox. Several took between 5 and 8 months to reject whilst one, accompanied by an apology, took an incredible 11 months. This suggested that some agents were actually taking the time to pay my MS some serious consideration. Unfortunately only two submissions yielded any advice for improvement.
At the same time I was also receiving requests for the full manuscript. I sent it off three times over a ten month period. The first agent gave me the runaround and so I withdrew. The second never replied and the third rejected.
After another round of revisions, I decided to send it out again and received personalised rejections from two agents. Both praised the quality of the writing, but rejected because they didn't think they could find a publisher for this particular novel at the present time.Whilst disappointing on one level it did provide the kind of feedback I'd been seeking.
So what to do next? I'll need to give that some thought.
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