PUBLISHING: A LESSON IN HUMILITY
“It all begins with an idea,” they said. Well, I had one. And I worked on bringing that idea into reality for a good three years or so. I sent it to Editors and Critique Partners. I sent it to Alpha Readers and Beta Readers. I polished it as much as I could. I hired a Cover Artist that made the concept in my head a reality.
And then I published the damn thing. Can you believe that? I’M A PUBLISHED AUTHOR.
Then, literal SECONDS after hitting the “publish” button, I found typos in the manuscript I had somehow missed.
I wanted to pull my hair out.
But cooler heads prevailed and I decided to ride with it, and instead focus my energies into marketing the novel as well as possible. I’d spent three years growing an audience through my online author platform for this very purpose!
In its first month, I sold a fifth of what most self-published authors claim to sell in a year. It was, by all appearances to me, a success.
And then things slowed down.
Way down.
To say sales “Plateaued” is an understatement. They appear to have stopped altogether. I haven’t sold a copy in a couple weeks now. TUBER BOOK CLUB reached the second third of the novel and had more than a few notes to say the least, including a reaction to a scene that made me feel genuinely ashamed to have written it the way I had. It didn’t come off as I’d intended. And I haven’t seen a new review since a week or two ago when I received my first one-star-review.
I was in the midst of outlining the sequel when that one-star-review popped up and kicked me in the nuts. It hurt. A lot. So much that I’ve stopped working on the sequel since that review and haven’t gone back yet.
It didn’t matter that the reviewer wasn’t my target audience, which they definitely weren’t. And it didn’t matter that all previous reviews to theirs were four and five stars. That one star has been like a migraine in my skull that won’t alleviate.
“Oh, woes me! The writer can’t take criticism,” you might be thinking. But actually, I’ve taken all that feedback and am funneling it into a fresh edit of the novel, with plans to launch it in August. So I’ve taken the criticism quite well, all things considered. Rolling the negatives into a positive; a better product.
But in the end, I’ve discovered publishing my written words to be a lesson in humility. We all start at the bottom. We all start out rough. And we get better. And we climb higher.
Maybe that climb feels insurmountable at the moment. But I’ll never stop reaching. Never stop stepping up. Never stop trying. Did you know who Sir Ian McKellen was before he became Gandalf in THE LORD OF THE RINGS films? Had you heard of George R.R. Martin before GAME OF THRONES premiered on HBO? Not likely.
I certainly don’t want to be in my 60’s before my books and stories become successful, but I’m no longer arrogant enough to imagine I’ll make it big with this first novel. I’ll need to grit my teeth, crack my knuckles and keep the words coming until something gives.
Yes, times are tough, money-wise. Living expenses are crazy high, day-job pay is crazy low, and sales are currently at a standstill. But I’m not going anywhere.
A new updated version of both MYTHIC: SHADOW OF THE SPARK and THE DEATH & REBIRTH OF BELLA ERDMANN are coming your way this August. The sequel to SHADOW OF THE SPARK should get published within the next two years. And I have plans for short story collections along the way.
Am I feeling a little low these days? Sure. But here’s to improving my craft, succeeding at my career, and better days ahead.
Thank you all so much for your time and support. I hope you’ve had a chance to pick up a copy of MYTHIC: SHADOW OF THE SPARK and, better yet, READ the thing! If not, that’s okay. Just don’t go anywhere. Because I’m just getting started.