Grand Passion (1994) by one of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz, has a subplot I have always found delightful. The female lead has published a book and is about to publish another. She receives many questions, suggestions, plots, and jibes before realizing no one particularly cares about her book as much as they do their own feelings about publishing.
In my shameless joy that my first book, Paw Prints in the Ledger, is about to be published, I have been “casually” mentioning this fact to… everyone. I am finding Ms. Krentz’s observation to be very astute. No one particularly cares, but everyone wants to tell me about their first-cousin-once-removed-on-their-dentist’s-side that wants to publish a book.
As I navigate through this new world, I thought it might be a good time to capitalize on this interest. Of course, with the complete expectation no one will read or remember this.
It’s No Longer a Book World
Upon reentering the world of writing, I quickly realized that this is not the same world as 30 years ago.
Books are no longer a physical item. Yes, bound collections of paper can be found. Many readers confess a love of real books. But publishers have followed the public and embrace the many digital publishing options available. This reduces the need for physical inventory and (sneakily) stops book sharing. Libraries no longer have books; they have licenses to allow them to rent out files.
The convenience of print-on-demand and self-publishing means that most publishers are operating on a thin margin. Words I have heard in the past like advances, print runs, and book tour are vanishingly rare, unless you are lucky enough to sign a contract with one of the Big Five: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan. Even signing with these entities, authors may not get more than a cursory marketing push.
Additionally, most physical bookstores will only buy books from their distributors. Part of the reason is convenience, part is discount, and part is returnability (distributors will take back unsold books). If a small publisher puts out a book, if they don’t have a contract with the particular distributor of a given bookstore, the bookstore is reluctant to navigate additional barriers to add to their already crowded inventory. What this seems to mean (for me), is that book signings and other promotional events are a hard sell. Bookstores do book signings to make money on the books they sell, not the books they have to go out of their way to buy and perhaps be unable to return.
More books and stories than ever are being created. More people are getting published. And fewer books are being read.
Finding a Publisher
Back in the day, finding a publisher was a lot of work. Writers spent hours pouring over the tiny text of the Writer’s Market.
I still have my stack of rejection letters from thirty years ago. Rejection letters are another thing that has changed. Now, you just never hear back.
These days, the web has found a replacement for this tedious tool. Instead… a tedious website. Specifically, The Submission Grinder from Diabolical Plots. While I am sure there are other tools, this one is plain and powerful. You are able to narrow down the publishing possibilities until you find a few to try.
I threw the digital version of a dart,,, several times.
This time around, I was lucky. I submitted to four publishers and heard back from two. One of the two asked for more information, then ghosted me. And the other offered me a publishing contract.
