So, I'm 42. I still feel 21 and could go on, and on and on... happily feeling 21, if it wasn't for one major reminder of what I am not. What I am not, is a techno savvy 42 year old. I'm outdated. Like a mullet. Twitter reminds me of twits. I automatically think twit when i see the word. All those twits must have nothing better to do. Stuck in the notion that I could get away with word docs and emailing occasionally for the rest of my life. Content, to be right on the basic fringe. I fear I am the twit, now, getting behind on the modern world.
I write. I love writing and have spent wonderful learning years putting together a Middle grade novel. Which is fine. I learned some lessons along the way. I conquered focus, then found discipline, worked at it and now, there is perseverance to attain. I set a challenge to myself to write the book, and did that. (With help from some patient teachers.) It was my middle child, aged eight, that set me straight. "It's not finished until it's on the bookshelf." She sets a hard bargain.
I'm not one to back down, but I have found, in writing this novel, that there is an eye-opening learning curve that runs beside your own character arch. And that a whole different story begins after you write the words - The End.
It's a see-saw. Delving into the new/old world of publishing. The big traditional houses such as Random House and Penguin are publishing less, they are feeling the pressure from the new world order. Amazon is king in this new world. They are 'destroyers' of all things traditional. They will be the end of the book, they bully little houses, but wait... there is a promising horizon ahead for writers, because now you can publish in this new digital techno world.
Huh-oh. I'm still a mullet.
There are more books on how to publish, write, submit and even handle rejections, on the market that they need their own section in the library. They will all hold some relevant information about the A-Z of getting to print. Ultimately it is a question of what works best for you, and whatever you choose, as I have found, there are truths to be reckoned with.
In January I attended the SCBWI (the society of children's book writers and illustrators) conference in New York city. I sat through the round table critic's met the newest and youngest and tireless editors of the top publishing houses in the world. Listened to the open forums and endured the breakout sessions on the ins and outs of traditional publishing. The biggest piece of information, the nugget, that stayed with me was, "We are fighting for our lives." Traditional publishers are swimming upstream, why? Because e-publishing has increased so rapidly in the last two years alone, there is no saving it. People are switiching to e-books rapidly. As a child who suffered with mild dyslexia and some form of executive functioning, I adore the kindle, putting your finger on the word and having the meaning pop right up to educate you instantly has been a great tool in learning how to write, and savoir the true definition of the work.
But deep down, what writer doesn't want the hand to hold? That was what I wanted anyway, the marketer, the kind editor, the person who rings and tells you how much they love your book and are willing to bet the bank on it. But the truth was blatant, "if you don't have the next Harry Potter, don't bother, well don't bother them anyway. I'm getting the feeling my Pippi Longstockings meets Charlotte's Web, Irish fantasy might really not be "what they are looking for right now." They are inundated with submissions of perils and are looking for the Hope Diamond.
So what to do? For me, the best advice I think I have received is to have my work edited by a professional children's editor, and that is what I did. On a recommendation by our local book buyer, and after two pages of questions about me and the novel, I hired a top NY agent. I am investing in the time I have spent over the last few years on my fourth baby. I'll let you know how the wind sways with that.
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