If You Decide to Publish

With my novel only about a month away, I need to say that I have learned SO much.  Some has been through my own scrambling, slipping and getting up again. 

At first I felt really overwhelmed and juddered around trying to find a comfortable footing from which to launch my endeavour.  I had written for magazines and journals but with these it was submit, wait, get accepted or rejected.  Now I had to make an investment: time, money and very much most importantly, self.

Secondly, I waited and waited for reviews.  My advice here is to ask and if you don’t receive what you need within a couple of weeks, don’t be shy to ask again.   Be brave.  Ask if there is a problem.  If they are avoiding the review because they don’t like the book, find out why.  If it’s a case of not bothering - move on.   I would give nobody more than one prod over two weeks and then find another reviewer. 

And when the first draft is done and as you revise, get as many people as possible to read what you are writing; but remember that other than spelling or grammatical errors, their opinions are only opinions and you are the author. Still, don’t dismiss second person thoughts out of hand.  Cogitate.

And lastly, find a good publisher to work along with you.  Check his or her work before hand.  Meet and talk with them in advance.  If you can, also talk to others who have used their services.  Initially, I contacted two of the large publishing companies – both of whom are still sending me emails  bleeding with the bargains that they claim to be offering.  Their prices were high, their offered packaged suspect, their salesperson obnoxious, and other writers, with whom I spoke and who had published with the big guys had been quite unhappy on a number of fronts.

My experience, however, with a local business, Turning Points Arts in Chemainus BC., has been excellent.  The SO much that I learned, apart from my neophyte setbacks, has been through Brad Grigor and Turning Point Arts.

I always believe in giving due credit where credit is due:  

brad@turningpointarts.com