Wearing all the hats
Like a lot of people, I never thought I would or could write a book. It had been, from time to time, an idea I toyed with. I would see really interesting or engaging scenes in my mind, but the thought of connecting those scenes into an actual story seemed daunting.
Then, one day, I had a story I wanted to tell. A story about second chances, about people who try to hold to virtue in a society where the institutions are being intentionally hollowed out. A story that asked if vast power would fix who a person is, or just sharpen who they already are.
The 120,000-Word Pivot
And so I sat down one day after a ten-hour shift and I started to write. And I kept writing, day after day. Evenings after work. All day on the weekends. And eventually, I was done. Over 120,000 words telling the first part of the story I wanted to tell.
So, high-fives all around, right? Yes… but not for long. Because next comes the question of how to get the book from “done” to in front of people who might enjoy it.
I had no knowledge of the publishing world before this, and let me tell you, it’s kind of wild. Traditional Publishing is trying to get noticed by a gatekeeping system that is overwhelmed, where the surest way to get noticed is to have a large social media following so that sales are assumed. It’s a path where less than 1% of written books can go, and the primary question is "will it sell?"… which may or may not be the creative question you assume they ask. To be clear, I’m not trying to imply trad publishing wasn’t for me because of this. My book is in a rather niche category, and I would never be presumptuous enough to say whether it would qualify for that route.
Self-Publishing offers a wide path forward, however it’s exceptionally crowded, and one of the hard parts here is getting noticed. Most self-published books sell less than 200 copies over the lifetime of the book. It is also a path that puts all the burden and risk on the author. Do you want cover art? Editing? Reviews? Beta, proof, expertise, sensitivity readers? All of this comes with a cost, and most of it isn’t cheap.
Wearing Every Hat
I’m not embarrassed to say that, as a single-income household, I have literally no spare money. I think a good editor adds a lot to a book, and many of them seem brilliant at their job. And I quickly discovered that while I loved writing the book… I did not love editing. But I simply could not afford a reputable editor, nor beta or proof readers. I did spend some money on a cover artist. I had to hold it foremost in my mind that I could not go into debt… significant debt at that… on a book that statistically is most likely going to make less than six hundred dollars over the rest of my life.
So I wore all the hats. I edited, I proofread. I used text-to-speech to listen to it. I changed the font, read it backward… all the advice on how to try and notice errors in your work. I’m proud of my book, I hope it succeeds, but I don’t count on it. If it is a smashing success? First thing I’m doing for Book 2 is hiring an editor!
The Latin Problem
I also discovered a few quirks, since my primary training was in Latin and not formal English. I use passive voice more when I write. I don’t understand comma placement. I sometimes write very dense sentences.
If you find this blog and you read my book, I hope you liked it as much as I do. If some of the sentences had too much information, I apologize. Honestly though, you should blame Cicero. I know I do.
