Melissa Widmaier posted: " It's been a running theme in my life that if I truly want something to happen, I'm going to have to set it in motion myself. That said, I've decided to self-publish my adult dark fantasy epic series! Send good thoughts, prayers, and coffee! I'm goi" Living in Laveen
It's been a running theme in my life that if I truly want something to happen, I'm going to have to set it in motion myself.
That said, I've decided to self-publish my adult dark fantasy epic series!
Send good thoughts, prayers, and coffee! I'm going to need it all!
I've been busy this last decade. You know—kids, pets, my day job, finally getting out there and exploring the world one campsite at a time…
Also, while submitting to agents, I continued to write. And write. And write. The first four books of this series are complete and languishing in limbo.
Sometimes, I hear my characters wailing in the darkness. They whisper and plot like sullen youths behind my back as I tackle my current WIP* (a YA Scottish myth re-telling).
After years of trying to convince overwhelmed agents to pick my fantasy series up, I think the most merciful thing to do is to let my book babies out of solitary confinement. I need to turn them loose on the world.
I apologize in advance. A few of them are ill-behaved at times.
Why post a blog about it? Well, this is going to hold me accountable. If I tell people I'm going to do something, I will darn well do it! I may nearly kill myself in the process, but it will be done.
I am aware that this work ethic can also be a character flaw.
Still, motivation is motivation. (Don't at me about intrinsic versus extrinsic. I've edited more courses on that subject than I would care to say.) This will be a kick in the pants for me. I should have done this years ago, honesty, but I just couldn't shake the fear of the unknown. As the protagonist in my own life story, it's time I had some rising action.
Now, I'm not giving up on traditional publishing. There are several YA novels and a couple more adult novels stewing in my brain (maybe even a few children's books!). I'm just taking a slight detour through the woods, walking a different path for a bit to gain some valuable insights. If any adorable animal sidekicks or ancient bog witches wanna hit me up, you know where to find me.
I'm new to this, so I know I will stumble. I might come back up with a few bruises and skinned knees, but the journey will be teeming with magic and totally worth it.
Could an agent do a better job? Heck to the yes! Agents have more connections and experience. However, experience doesn't materialize out of nowhere. This is my personal quest to gain mine.
I already have about 85% of the first book formatted for paperback submission, but there's still a lot of back work (and research) I need to do to get the ball rolling. I'm estimating that I can have everything ready to go around the summer (?) of 2023.
Cross your fingers.
So, when I've figured things out a bit more, I will give you all the launch date for the first book in the series.
I'm so terrified…. uh… excited! It's happening, guys! It's happening!
I should probably get back to work.
P.S. If you would like to be a beta reader (in the next few weeks) or an ARC reader (a couple of months on), let me know in the comments and I'll get in touch with you.
Thank you in advance. I'm grateful to all of you for following me on this journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment