Yes! Well…sort of…
I finished writing my first novel, The Dumari Chronicles: Year One, in November 2005. I then spent several months revising and editing (with the help of a good friend who happens to be an English teacher), and then embarked on that lovely journey known as “trying to find a publisher”.
A year later, the stack of form rejection letters was beginning to resemble the Tower of Pisa. So I decided perhaps I needed an agent. Several months into that search, my husband and kids were seriously considering moving out, just to avoid my constant bad mood. Actually, I was considering moving out myself…for the same reason!
Needless to say, my frustration level was increasing by leaps and bounds. Then, one day, a new friend I’d made on the internet (a freelance editor, by profession) suggested I look into online publishing. Which I did. After doing a fair amount of research, I chose an online publisher (also known as Print On Demand Publishing) that I felt would give me the services I required for the best price. Yes, you have to pay them to publish your work – but at least you’re not buying several thousand copies up front & storing them in your basement. That’s the good thing about Print On Demand publishers – they don’t print it until you order it. And they make it available online worldwide. I’ve had at least one British bookseller order my title, as well as several in the US.
The downside, however, is that the book is not returnable. Therefore, your average bookstore won’t order any to keep on their shelves, because they insist on a return policy with their distributor. So, no book signings at Barnes & Noble for me…And all the marketing is up to me as well. Unfortunately, with the no-return policy, I’m selling a book at a time, at best.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am very proud of my accomplishment. I am a published author – just not in the traditional way. And unfortunately, my husband won’t be able to retire any time soon…but that’s okay. I don’t think I’m ready for him to retire yet anyway! And this evening, I’m doing a book reading at our local library. Hopefully, that will engender some interest.
In the meantime, I’ll just keep plugging away…and somehow find the time to continue with the second book in my series. There’s going to be five total…did I mention that?
