And So The Journey Begins...

I'm pleased to report that I have finished the final draft of my novel and have started sending out queries. And the other day, somebody suggested to me that I might be better off looking at self-publishing or crowdsourcing because agents and publishers aren't interested in newer authors.

I respect those who have ventured into the world of self-publishing and know they don't have an easy task. With that said, I believe that I won't know if an agent would be interested in my work if I don't try that avenue first.

While my expertise on book publishing is limited, I look at it this way: Everyone should take the route they feel most comfortable with to start off. If it doesn't work as expected, try a different approach. It's the only way everyone will find out what works best for them and what path leads to success.

I will freely admit I'm not great at self-promoting, which is something I know self-published authors need to do well. I admire those who have been successful with it and realize that, if my first planned route doesn't go as expected, that self-publishing is an alternative.

But as I read up on literary agencies and the agents who are out there, I can tell that most of them are good people who enjoy good books and wants to promote authors. I understand agents can't take every project that comes their way, but I'm not prepared to reject them all just because some of them may reject my writing. I understand that rejection is a part of the process and to be prepared to deal with it.

If it doesn't work out, I will move on to Plan B. But I'm going to give Plan A some time before I go to Plan B. When you consider that many popular works were rejected multiple times before somebody agreed to publish them, I understand this is going to be a long road ahead.

But the only way to get down that road is take those first steps and not look straight ahead to the end of it.