The Road Less Taken?
Eons ago, writers sat at desks, writing on yellow pads, then transcribing their manuscripts to typewriters and bundling them up to ship their precious words and thoughts via snail mail to publishers and agents who sat in their ivory towers of literary power. Then the interminable wait began, only to be followed by the usual rejection letter and the lengthy process began once more.
Well...that was then, this is now. In the new world of ebooks, boutique publishers, online publishing companies, the sad reality that many brick and mortar book stores are going under, and mind shattering technology, there are infinite choices available to writers all over the world. Each of us, as writers, are so involved in advertising, publicizing and making creative decisions that it's hard at times to find the time to actually sit down and write.
I was a principal and a teacher for forty years. The 10-12 hours a day I put in left me little time to follow my muse although I still wrote...I couldn't help it. After retirement, I turned to writing every day. For two and a half years, I sent in query letter after query letter, summary, synopsis, and requested chapter after unrequested chapter out to any agent in my genre that I could find listed in the Writers' Guide or online. I finally got tired of it. Although not particularly computer/technology savvy, I forced myself to learn how to create my own covers, transfer my stories to HTML and then publish on Amazon at the Kindle Store. I had been a successful artist in oils in a past life, so I had fairly good basic drawing skills. I used my own art in some of the covers as well. Now, several years later and with nineteen e-books at the Kindle Store and a check every month coming in, I feel better about who I am as a writer. I'm still learning the ins and outs about marketing and advertising but I I'm working at it...getting better (hopefully) as I go along. I have a hard time with self-promotion...I always believed a person's craft should speak for them. But I'm learning. It's a matter of pride at this point.
One can only imagine the fascinating stories that many writers have to tell about their wandering through the maze of modern day writing/publishing/publicizing. I for one, would love to hear your story. Please, feel free to add a summary of your personal journey here on this blog. Let's share where we are and where we're going!
What's your story?
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