The Continuing Saga of Author In the Works

It's been a while since I've been here.
June 15th to be exact.
I enjoy blogging, whether or not anyone reads this blog is another story all together. It doesn't matter. I place my thoughts, writings down, if anyone stops by, they are quite welcomed to read through this mess, which is more or less my brain springboard.

Since my summer book signing, I've had one just this fall at a local library. This was a very nice event. Six authors came to this. While one was pretty much a stuffed shirt, the rest were quite nice. My new author buddy, Ron Martelet sat at my table. I met one author that I feel should be mentioned, and that is Ilona Meagher who wrote "PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within". She lives about 40 min. away and goes to school @ NIU--will be graduating, in fact, next week. She's also on facebook, and I was very happy to have her join me there.

Since my last writing a few things have happened. One was that my phone modem went out. I didn't get a new one until September, I think. Anyway, not being on line at first sort of bummed me out, but I'd realized soon enough that I was wasting time at sites when I should have been writing. Blogs are only good if people come and read your junk. I've no idea if anyone comes to this blog, or any of my other ones.

I finished the second book in series "Spell of Dark Castle", continued work on my new vampire series "Vampire Ascending" and "Vampire's Trill".

I've made new friends, even added people I actually know from my bus route to facebook--which is cool.

At my summer book signing, I'd met a publisher--altho I didn't know she was one at the time. My friend Ron M. had his book picked up by her. I'm thinking of approaching her with my vampire novel--when it's done, of course. She isn't a large publisher. She isn't even a small publisher--she's tiny. As far as I know, Ron's "Propellerhead" are the only books in her house. I'm hoping to get a foot in the door. There is no way I will try to get an agent. Agents and publishers are too jaded, want to make loads of money off of an author. If they don't think they can, they aren't going to even look at you. I'm not going to put myself through more depression, aggravation, sleepless nights, and so forth when I might be able to get my books published through a smaller publisher, and maybe begin making a half-way decent living by the time I'm 65--which is only 10 years away. I don't want to be driving a damned bus at age 60, let alone retire as a transit bus driver with no savings, no health insurance, etc.

I've also approached another publisher through facebook, to see if they might be interested in the second Zofia book. I'm hoping so. I'm not real positive. The writers of certain writing magazines say you shouldn't take rejections so hard. I'm sorry, but like a dog that's been beaten all its life, what do you expect? I cower at just the idea of sending a query letter over the Internet--remember when it was done via regular mail and everything was typed on a typewriter? Those were the days. In fact, it wasn't that long ago when you could approach a publisher, and maybe in a week or two get word from them, be invited to New York, bring your manuscript to them. Those were the days. Now, I know for sure that there are gatekeepers to keep you out of these realms. I know this for sure because of the people I've met this summer.

The other thing I wanted to mention, a milestone, is that I've sold just over 100 books this year. That's not a lot, I know. But considering that my book is only on one bookstore (not in a city at all), and I've sold many from hand to hand, and a few off of Amazon, and at the publisher's site, I do consider it very good, since it had looked like I would never, ever see any book of mine on any bookstore shelf in my life. Self-publishing has its advantages.

Possibly, if I had money to promote the book, and time (I work full time, plus when I get home, I write!), I'd have sold more. Of course I don't know until end of year if I've sold any more or not, until there may come a new statement to me from the publisher.

I'm ready to turn this page. Try and do something different, and get a regular publisher to take a book, or two and do all the footwork for me.

I'm ready, willing and able.