Glad to say Anticipation
of the Penitent is still on Authonomy.com, but even happier to say that I'm
moving on. I’ve gotten some good input, and am no longer focusing on the
ratings or exchanging readings. (Don’t look down on the book because
the rating is going down. The ratings on Authonomy.com are based on how many
people read the book and how much activity you personally have on the site.
Since I’m no longer trying to search out readers or reading as much myself, the
rating is sinking.) Instead, I have revved up my querying literary agents. Two
helpful sites are agentquery.com and Editors & Predators. If you are looking for a publisher or agent, check out those two sites.
I had seriously considered publishing my book through Tate
Publishing, a Christian company, which had offered me a contract. But I learned
that although they say they’re a traditional publishing company, it isn’t. They
charge $4000 for publication of a paperback, editing and marketing. After
selling 1000 copies, the contract stipulated that I would get the investment
back. After contacting some people who have used them, one responded that he
was satisfied with the services, although he had to put in a lot of work
himself, and then utilized other services for some of the marketing. Another
person was adamant that I should not use them and felt the cost was not proportionate
to the services provided. Since I’m still in debt, and have recently made a
silly purchase that I need to pay off, and since they only gave me 10 days to
decide, I decided to wait, to investigate more, and pay off this debt before
investing so much.
Then I learned of WestBow Publishing, an affiliate with
the Christian publishing company Thomas Nelson, which really impressed me. But,
after researching them as well, I’ve learned that although WestBow used to be a
traditional publishing company, they are now the same as Tate, in that they are
both vanity publishing companies. Vanity presses are known to charge too much
for services that you could get for free or much cheaper elsewhere. There is
also a bad rep in utilizing vanity presses. If WestBow is really interested in
my book, the representative I spoke with knows that he could read it on Authonomy.com and then refer it
to Thomas Nelson. Then I would be really thrilled!
No longer spending so much time on Authonomy.com, which I still think is
a great site, I have made two significant decisions. The first, as I’ve already
mentioned, is that I have stepped up sending out query letters. Second, I will
start the process of self-publishing through either CreateSpace or LuLu. I’m
researching both to see which I think will best serve my needs. They both have
good reputations and referrals from people who’ve used them.
I will continue to write, and am looking forward to spending
less time reading others’ work and more time focusing on my own. When my book
is ready, I will send out the word everywhere so that you can be among the
first to purchase it. You will be happy with the story!
Other news is that I was recently interviewed by Kim McMillon
of Arts in the Valley at http://artsinthevalley.wordpress.com/.
This is a local show that promotes Bay Area artists and writers. Make sure
you check the site out. It was a 20 minute interview that will be aired locally
in San Joaquin Valley on Arts in the Valley at KYOS 1480 AM, and will be
uploaded to Facebook. The planned airing is on Saturday, September 8th.
I will send out the word and place a
link on the blog once it’s aired!
I ask for continued prayers on my book, writing and publishing. God
bless!
Read Anticipation of the Penitent at
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