Oh, The Rejection....

My non-writer friends often tell me, "I couldn't be a writer, I couldn't handle the rejection. How do you do it?"  Easy. I have never been rejected by a publishing company. Not once. Not ever.

People not in the industry have a glorified idea of what it's like to publish a novel. The days of finishing your manuscript and sending it off to the publishers are long gone. We are not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts, or We are no longer accepting manuscripts from new authors. That's the brick wall you run into when researching publishing companies. You can get an agent, and have them submit for you, but not many reputable agencies want to take on a "new author".

New author?  Wait a minute...I have two books currently for sale and have had my first novel published for over two years...I am not a new author!!!  Yes...yes you are. It's like the old saying, "Just because you put on a tutu and some toe shoes, doesn't make you a ballerina."  You are an Indie author..it's not the same thing. I have had people in the industry tell me that...You are not a "real" author because you don't have a publisher.  Really???  You mean, these books that I hold in my hand, these books that I wrote, and that I sell   and receive royalty payments for are not real books? Seriously? I had no idea.  Pardon me while I slink back to the hole I apparently crawled out of.

So how does one break into this industry, you ask?  It's a good question. Well, you can have a famous name. I have seen countless celebrities who have never published come out with a book and immediately land on the best-seller list. I will admit, this annoys me. A lot. Sour grapes?  Probably. I am annoyed by people of privilege automatically garnering the name of author for something they probably didn't even write themselves. Call me kooky.  You can hook up with a publishing company who takes a "chance" on unpublished authors. They will be happy to help you....for a nominal fee. Thousands of dollars in nominal fees. There are lots of these sharks out there...beware.  Or you can just keep writing and hope you are good enough to garner the attention you deserve. I think that is what I'm going to do. Keep writing, blogging, networking, and generally doing what I have to do to make my dream come true.

 Now, if you'll excuse me, my tutu is riding up and my toe shoes are pinching my feet, and I still have a lot of dancing left to do.