The Journey Continues

— Mark Paxson

When we first started this blog, I published a couple of posts about my renewed effort to pursue a traditional publishing route for my new novel. I hoped that I would be able to use my experiences on this new path to help inform other writers.

The novel is a literary young adult piece. There are no vampires or werewoles, no dystopian future, and no football player-cheerleader-nerd love triangle. But because it’s YA, I thought I might have a shot at an agent. After sending some queries out and only hearing back from 1/3 of those I queried, I’ve given up.

I get it. Agents get a lot of submissions and they have a difficult job. They, like publishers, only get paid if a book sells. As a result, they are focused on finding books they believe they can sell. What’s frustrating though is the silence that comes from most queried agents, and the complete lack of any clue from those who do respond.

Admittedly, I ended up sending out fewer queries than I originally planned on doing, but at this point, I have no idea why the idea behind this story isn’t one that could sell.

I’ve given up on the traditional route. Again. I am now pursuing my own path for this book. For the first time since I started self-publishing, I’m putting money into it to see if that changes. I’ve hired somebody to design a cover. I’ve just joined the Independent Book Publisher’s Association, which offers members all sorts of discounts on various review, PR, marketing, and other sites. I also just paid for a review from Kirkus.

I believe in this story and want to see if I can make a splash with it. Hopefully, in the months ahead, I can share some successful lessons learned with you.