Those darn edits will get you every time. I am struggling along making changes, fixing errors, and generally adding new stuff while deleting old stuff. It isn't really as bad as some people may think. The hard work is done -the story is written. Now i am spending some time with my characters and just improving what is already there, changing the language and hopefully making it better. I figure that within the next 30 to 60 days my manuscript will be complete and ready for the next step.
The only problem is i can't exactly decide what that next step is going to be. I thought i had it figured out but my opinion seems to change almost on a daily basis. My problem: to self publish or not to self publish.
I thought i was going to save some pennies and do an e-publish deal with Amazon. I had even started contacting artists about getting the book cover done. Then i would need an editor and a formatter which would have been no big deal. It would be out for Kindle and other e-formats. I could charge a much lower price and get more people interested that way. I could publish more faster and get my name out there and maybe even build a following of people who enjoy reading my stories. It looked and sounded so easy and it really is that easy.
Then, i went out to do some editing yesterday and i started to wonder.
I was sitting at a table in a place i like to write and one of the regular guys who i am really friendly with (yes, this is a bar im talking about) came over and asked me what i work on when i bring my computer there. So i told him and he said oh ok, make sure you let me know when it's published so i can go and buy one. Great, right? Not so much. This guy isn't a computer guy and he doesn't own any kind of e-reader so for him he would only be able to get the book if it was published in hard or soft cover. This exact situation has popped up a number of times in the last few weeks. With Self-pub this guy and bunches of others won't be able to read Preacher's Blood. I am not in this for the money and one of the reasons i wrote the book was so that all of the people i know would be able to enjoy my stories, my friends, my family, my coworkers and so on. So i have to wonder about the self-pub route again.
I guess one possibility would be to go ahead and try the traditional publishing route. I could query the hell out of every agent i can find who represents thrillers and hope i can get through. I know that i have the self-pub thing in my back pocket and can go to it at any time that i want. It is there and it is not going away. It can be my backup plan.
There might even be a bit of a pride issue involved. I really like the challenge of trying to write a great query letter and synopsis and then testing it out with agents to see if i am good and lucky enough to break through. I know, i know, many other authors have done self-pub and used it as a platform to get into the legacy pub gig but maybe i want to give it a try first. I don't really think i have anything to lose other than the time i spend sending out the letters and waiting for the responses. And during that time i won't stay idle. Not even close. I can use it to sit down and get to work on other projects i have rolling around in my head. I have lots of stories i want to tell and i will be just as excited for the next one and the next one and the next one, just like i was and still am with Preacher's Blood.
Hey everyone enjoy the rest of the day and have a great week!
Greg
