Hello readers! I want to first thank you for following my travel blog. I apologize for not updating it as frequently lately. The thing is, I’m working on writing my first book. I don’t have a literary agent yet, nor any publishing deal – my focus is to complete the first draft, and I’m close to completing. After which, I have two beta-readers ready to review and provide feedback on my content, story and grammar. I know I will need more time to review and rewrite/edit, so it will be a while before I am ready to even consider it to be viewed by a literary agent (whom I need to find…).
In the meantime, I have been doing my research on the writing world and am learning so much about the publishing industry today – especially the debate between traditional vs. the latest craze of self-publishing. Both include printed and ebooks, but both have pros and cons. The major difference (which matter to me) is quality. Although with self-publishing, I could easily get my book reviewed by their editors, design a front cover, etc and publish and market/promote my book, it’s at my cost – however I would have FULL control. With traditional publishing, I would lose some control, however, publishing houses would handle all the process with higher quality level of editors, marketing and sales… not to mention having a branded publisher on your piece of work. Now, that would be ideal… the thing is to land a traditional publisher… how?
Well, one of the first things I learned: Don’t show your work to any professional until you’ve polished it to a very high quality. (Hence my beta readers at the ready). Second: For the traditional publishing route, I must first land a literary agent. I’m sure I’ll find myself with a handful of rejections, but I will persevere to land an agent. It may take some time, but I will share my journey with you. This person, if they like my work, will help me revise content (again) and allow me to polish up my work to a higher level for traditional publishers to even consider it. Once we both agree with the final work, the agent would then pitch/sell my work to publishing houses… and all should go uphill from there. Easy, right? Well, we’ll see.
What keeps me going? Well, most recently, I attended a book signing by Erin Morgenstern, author of her debut novel The Night Circus. I had the opportunity to thank Erin for a wonderful post on her blog about her trial and tribulations on landing an agent. Her post, titled Agented, put me at ease and helped me understand that the whole process could very well take a long time. Patience is a virtue, and although I am eager to share my work, I now I must practice the art of patience and perseverance. Once again, thank you Erin Morgenstern. :)
Be sure to follow my journey, a first time writer, as I complete my work and set off on a search to get it published. It may take a while, but I’m sure it will be a learning experience that I hope will help all of you inspiring first time writers out there.
Don’t fret peeps, of course, this will be in addition to more posts about modern culture in Italy. How does all this book research tie into my Modern Culture: Italy blog? Well, my book is a fun fiction that takes place in the romantic and beautiful city Rome.
