Back on Submission Again

Have I ever told you how much I love spreadsheets? Yeah. *Sighs* I’ve got a spreadsheet for everything. Henceforth, I know the last three things I submitted were novels to my current publishers – two years ago. They were all accepted – so yippee for that!

There are points in your career when you stop and re-evaluate the direction you want to go, the opportunities you have, and if your goals have changed. I’m sitting smack dab in the middle of that point right now. It’s like a huge, deserted crossroads. It’s dark. There are tumbleweeds and maybe a scarecrow – or an ax murderer. Like I said, it’s a dark and vast point. I can’t really see where any of the roads lead. They all seem to have similar terrain; things to trip over, rises and valleys, occasional smooth, groomed patches. I’ve traveled along a couple of the paths already and had a mixture of good experiences, mediocre experiences, and lackluster experiences. In other words no path is perfect and sometimes knowing the path makes you hesitant to take it again.

*Sigh*

So, I decided it was time to dust off the submissions spreadsheet, add a 2016 tab and get my current WIP out there into the world and see if I can attract agent representation. Oh my gosh, am I really doing this? See the thing about this route is the pace – or lack there of. Even if I were to have an agent request a full today, I’d still have to wait for them to read and then assuming they love it and decide to offer representation, and we do the contract signing, etc, then the manuscript will go through another bout of edits before it goes out on submission to publishers. Which is always followed by another hurry up and wait…but let’s assume an editor loves it and we go through the contract process together and then the edits with the publisher and the cover stuff and marketing and …well, best case scenario – this book will publish at the end of 2018.

The expected response.
But it only takes one YES!

Working with small press and self-publishing, I published 12 books in 4 years. Waiting a minimum of 2 years for this one book to see daylight – in a perfect storm of contracts and edits – that has me worrying my bottom lip. But, knowing the unlikelihood of a perfect storm to line up for a speedy two year publication? Now I’m hyperventilating again. I mean, longer than two years? Really? However, I’d really, really like to take the next step in the world of publication and broaden my distribution and I feel my best opportunity is with agent representation. So, I’m going back into submission mode.

Believe it or not, you can help. Like or comment on my Facebook page or Instagram. Post a review on Amazon/Barnes & Noble/Goodreads for the books of mine that you’ve read. Agents get a TON of submissions. They are actually harder to attract than a publisher! If an agent is considering my manuscript and sees that I have an engaged audience of readers, they are more likely to offer me representation. And I'd be grateful for the help.

What will I do in the meantime? Write. I’m working on a fantasy. What better way to distract myself from obsessively checking my email than to escape into a completely made up world? And at least I get to add to my spreadsheet, and color code, and update, and geeky things like that.