This post originally appeared on Julie N. Ford's blog for Cordelia's Corner.
Dear Readers, this is not what I had intended to write.
You’re probably too familiar with this phrase from me. After all, in my last post, I mentioned that I had several posts ready/almost ready to go. It’s still true, and I contemplated uploading at least the first one, which was originally part of the Manwhores, Baby! Yeah! post.
Obviously, this is not it.
Several things have happened since then. Julie and Mel had breakfast one morning, and Julie had a brilliant suggestion. Why didn’t Mel let me have my own blog, so that she could also put up her own essays that hadn’t found a home? Mel wasn’t sure, since she’s still not that great with technology, but I knew something important: I deserve it.
And you know what? I think Mel deserves it, too.
Anyway, Mel and I started going back and forth; just trying to figure out the style we could both agree on. Finally, we were getting somewhere! However, my wishes had to be put aside for the time being, because other stuff happened.
Mel, after many first readers and my questionable skills as an editor, submitted her short story/novella sample to the Christian internet company she was targeting. Then she was promptly sick for the next week or so with a sinus/bronchial infection that kept her propped up, high on medicine and Lysol.
I’ll give credit to the publisher. They sent Mel a response the following week. Mel checked her emails the day before Thanksgiving and saw two from the publisher. Shaking from both nerves and the effects of the medicine, she thought, “This is it.”
Well, she was right. When she clicked on the older email it was a standard polite rejection letter. At the bottom was a list of common reasons that people get rejected. Swallowing her dismay, she clicked on the newer one. They must have made a mistake, and this was the correction. They wanted the manuscript. She knew they did.
When the email opened, she had to get rid of her small piece of hope. The publisher did not want the manuscript. The email was simply an exact copy of the previous one.
Mel cried, texted her husband, cried, emailed Julie, cried some more, and sent a polite thank you to the publisher. She still wasn’t feeling well, and her stuffed nose and head were that much worse from all the crying. I told her that licking her wounds was unsanitary at that point.
She channeled
Niagara Falls off and on, and when her husband wrapped his arms around her, she cried some more. Honestly, I was a bit concerned, because Mel is one of those blotchy-face criers, and as everyone knows, that’s just not really attractive. She and I were both surprised when she blurted out, “I guess I’ll be self-publishing this.” Her husband just said, “Okay.”
Self-publishing has been in the back of her mind all this time. There were some things holding her back: for many years, there was the stigma of self-publishing; she wanted an editor, if not also an agent; and the support that came with a publisher. However, that hasn’t worked out for Mel, and that’s just the way it is. She’s finally realized she’s okay with it.
By that evening, Mel quit crying. She had a plan. She was going to go ahead and self-publish her work in the eBook format, and not worry about paper books for awhile. The explosion of eReaders was making the playing field completely different. Mel could now publish short stories, longer works, and quirky things that couldn’t find their niches. She didn’t have to worry if her fantasy manuscript could only be one book, in case a publisher didn’t want to deal with the rest of the story. She could write it the way she wanted. She could also price her books the way she wanted.
She could live up to her full potential as the control freak she’s always been.
Oh, there’s a downside to this venture, just like with everything. Her work may get bad reviews. Nobody may buy her eBooks. She regrets not getting to pay a professional editor, but instead is grateful for the kindness of other first readers and writers who have given helpful feedback. Also, Mel’s mother, a former teacher, did a thorough editing the other week. I told Mel that I didn’t care that Mel’s mother should have become an editor; she was NOT taking my place.
There are bank accounts to set up. There are questions to brothers-in-law who are accountants and to other writers. There's formatting that has to be done for each edition of the same book. There’s the issue of marketing. There’s…
There’s always something. This is what Mel wants. She has always been writing, dreaming of people reading her work, getting paid to do what she loves and is driven to do. This is a way of getting to live her dream in a practical way. She doesn’t want to wait until she’s 65 years old and—still not having found a publisher—decide to finally do it. Why shouldn’t she do it now? After all, what does she have to lose at this point?
When she was first almost published, her children were small. Lizzie and Logan made her promise that when she got published, that she would take them to McDonald’s and let them get Happy Meals and play inside, instead of going through the drive-thru. Mel doesn’t think her now fourteen- and nearly twelve-year-olds will still want to do that, so she’s coming up with something else, that will probably involve ordering off the adult menu.
So this is it. I will miss posting here on Julie’s blog, and getting to share Mel’s progress with you as her unpaid assistant, as she sought to change her unpublished status. She’s reached her goal, but it’s just a different path than she’d planned. This Wild West of the publishing world is confusing, frustrating, and pretty wonderful. Thankfully, Mel and I like westerns.
I doubt I would have ever made my public appearance had it not been for Julie’s encouragement. Mel and I will always be grateful for the opportunity she offered, when she believed in us enough to associate with us. For those of you who don’t know Julie personally, you’re missing out. However, Mel and I are lucky enough to have her as a dear friend, who loves Chick-fil-A breakfasts almost as much as we do.
So where do we go from here? My blog, like the
Nashville interstates, may be under constant construction. But that’s okay. After all, Mel’s not that great at technology, but she’s learning, one brain cell at a time. You can find me now at cordeliablackfaire.blogspot.com.
As for Mel? She’s trying to get everything set up, so her first eBook will be available for sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. early- to mid-January. Mel, with her penchant for separating her personal life from work, will be going under her pen name, Kate Russell, for Is This Seat Taken?, a short, sweet romance.
Dear Readers, all that’s left to say is thank you. Thank you for reading; for taking time out of your busy schedules to find out what’s been going on with Mel’s writing.
Mel and I appreciate you so very much. We’ll see you out in cyberspace.
Until next time,
Cordelia
