Love this! Sometimes I feel bad that one of my self-published books only has 9 reviews on Amazon, but then I remind myself, I’ve finished and published two books!
And all nine of those reviews were five stars. Celebrate the success you do have!
I’ve also gotten an agent, then was rejected by all the big publishers! What fun that was... not. Hence, an agent does not always lead to validation. That book remains unpublished.
Thank you so much, Kate, for your honesty and positivity! And thank you to the reader who submitted this question -- how awesome to win prizes and be shortlisted! In addition to the larger publishing houses and self-publishing, there's also a ton of excellent indy publishers, and I think you might find a great one that doesn't look only at agented writers. If you're like me and can't imagine doing the marketing, this might be another possibility!
This is truthfully a hard thing to know. I interned for a literary agent in 2013 and learned a ton from the inside. I’m also a published writer and developmental book editor. The truth is: So much of the pub biz has to do with luck, connections, friends in the industry. Your work needs to be strong, edited, and have all the major story elements, sure, but even if they do there’re a thousand reasons why you might get rejected: the 21-year-old intern is hungover and doesn’t like your first sentence; the idea you have has ‘already been done recently’; your material is too dark, too raw, not ideologically on the ‘right’ page; it’s not a marginalized writer’s story; etc etc etc. The myth that it’s all about quality is just that...a myth. There are some incredible trad pubbed books out there...and there are some god-awful trad pubbed books. Ditto self-pubbed and indie books. In the eve I think the right path is different for every individual writer. It depends on your goals. What you want. How free you want to be with your idea/language/marketing. Ad Infinitum.
To the reader who submitted this Q: I think there are a LOT of young adults who read via e-reader (phones, kindles, whatever). Publishing it in e-book form and doing a truly kick-ass marketing campaign could be a big success! I know of writers who do this regularly and have big sales.
As Kate says, nothing is guaranteed, and the writing itself (and sense of accomplishment) needs to be enough, but still... you want to get it into the hands of readers. And you CAN. It all comes down to your marketing campaign, and that is even more doable than finishing the book! Sounds like you've REALLY had it vetted by lots of professionals, which makes me think it's good to publish on your own.
You are amazing Kate, thank you for this brilliant newsletter and all your tough love and wisdom, I love it. I hope we can do something together in 2023 in the Substack world! Merry Xmas! Hope you enjoy a well deserved rest xo
As someone who plans to publish her own book one day, your honest thoughts has been immensely helpful in preparing me for what to expect in the industry. I can imagine how tough it must be for authors, so I just want to say thank you for your newsletter and answering our questions! x
Thank you for this -- it is really helpful to remember that there is so much out of our control as writers and there will always be shitty books that get published and great ones that don't. We can only control our effort, not our outcomes.
Love this! Sometimes I feel bad that one of my self-published books only has 9 reviews on Amazon, but then I remind myself, I’ve finished and published two books!
And all nine of those reviews were five stars. Celebrate the success you do have!
I’ve also gotten an agent, then was rejected by all the big publishers! What fun that was... not. Hence, an agent does not always lead to validation. That book remains unpublished.
Keep writing! Keep loving yourself.
Thank you so much, Kate, for your honesty and positivity! And thank you to the reader who submitted this question -- how awesome to win prizes and be shortlisted! In addition to the larger publishing houses and self-publishing, there's also a ton of excellent indy publishers, and I think you might find a great one that doesn't look only at agented writers. If you're like me and can't imagine doing the marketing, this might be another possibility!
This is truthfully a hard thing to know. I interned for a literary agent in 2013 and learned a ton from the inside. I’m also a published writer and developmental book editor. The truth is: So much of the pub biz has to do with luck, connections, friends in the industry. Your work needs to be strong, edited, and have all the major story elements, sure, but even if they do there’re a thousand reasons why you might get rejected: the 21-year-old intern is hungover and doesn’t like your first sentence; the idea you have has ‘already been done recently’; your material is too dark, too raw, not ideologically on the ‘right’ page; it’s not a marginalized writer’s story; etc etc etc. The myth that it’s all about quality is just that...a myth. There are some incredible trad pubbed books out there...and there are some god-awful trad pubbed books. Ditto self-pubbed and indie books. In the eve I think the right path is different for every individual writer. It depends on your goals. What you want. How free you want to be with your idea/language/marketing. Ad Infinitum.
Did the people who turned the book down say why? Their critique, even a short one like, "too slow," could help you make your book better.
“You have to divorce your self-worth from publishing. It’s not going to solve that for you.” Ooof.
To the reader who submitted this Q: I think there are a LOT of young adults who read via e-reader (phones, kindles, whatever). Publishing it in e-book form and doing a truly kick-ass marketing campaign could be a big success! I know of writers who do this regularly and have big sales.
As Kate says, nothing is guaranteed, and the writing itself (and sense of accomplishment) needs to be enough, but still... you want to get it into the hands of readers. And you CAN. It all comes down to your marketing campaign, and that is even more doable than finishing the book! Sounds like you've REALLY had it vetted by lots of professionals, which makes me think it's good to publish on your own.
You are amazing Kate, thank you for this brilliant newsletter and all your tough love and wisdom, I love it. I hope we can do something together in 2023 in the Substack world! Merry Xmas! Hope you enjoy a well deserved rest xo
I upgraded to a paid subscription just because I loved this so much and wanted to thank you for writing it. Thank you.
Great reminder. Thank you.
As someone who plans to publish her own book one day, your honest thoughts has been immensely helpful in preparing me for what to expect in the industry. I can imagine how tough it must be for authors, so I just want to say thank you for your newsletter and answering our questions! x
Thank you for this -- it is really helpful to remember that there is so much out of our control as writers and there will always be shitty books that get published and great ones that don't. We can only control our effort, not our outcomes.
Thanks, Kate. This hit home.
"You have to give publishing up to the fates" - Love that sentiment. So much good advice in this article. Thanks for sharing them.