Em has more on this over at The Realms of a Fantastical Mind.
I
am thrilled to be here today to talk about navigating the Good, the Bad, and
the Ugly of publishing. Many, many wonderful people helped me on my road to
publication—sharing information, resources, and their experience—and I jumped
at the chance to do the same when Emily and Dean offered me the opportunity.
With
so many indie presses, conflicting information, and scam artists out there, Dean
and Emily asked me to stop by and talk about what I learned while I was
searching for a publisher and why I made the decision to work with a small
press with a questionable (internet) reputation.
Why did
you decide to work with Eternal Press specifically?
I see many new authors become completely wrapped up in and
stressed out believing there is only one right publisher/super awesome
publishing deal, and that accepting anything else would be a monumental
failure. The truth, however, is that unless you only plan to write one book,
you will probably work with many different publishers during your career (see this
story about John Grisham for an example).
Your work will appear in magazines, anthologies, novellas, novels, and possibly
even graphic novels. You may start out with one agent or publisher and then
outgrow him/her. The publisher may not want everything you write or some of
what you write might be a better fit for another publisher. Your career goals
and values may change over time. The world will change and things like
self-publishing and e-books will be invented and change the game.
There’s a saying: don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
I had three (smaller) publishers, including Eternal Press, interested in my
book and I was starting to get nibbles from agents. I could have held out for
that “perfect” offer, but when I looked at what EP was offering, it was a good
deal. I think it’s critically important that authors have a set of goals in
mind when they begin searching for a publisher and to refer back to that list
of goals frequently so they don’t become sidetracked. What is it you really
want: is it to make money from your book—if so, how much money and in what time
frame? Is it prestige, critical acclaim, validation, peer recognition, to cross
an item off your bucket list? All of these things will make a difference as to
what a “good” offer will mean to you. And, remember, that list of items might
vary by story. I believe that the novel I just sold, “Hereafter,” has
commercial potential—it’s a fun beach read. And so I wanted a commercially
viable publisher for it (with or without an agent). I also have a future noir
in a drawer that I know will never be a commercial success, but I do believe
it’s a work of literary merit—when it comes time to seek publication for that,
I’m not going to bother looking for an agent. I’m heading straight to
micro-presses that specialize in quirky, “thinky” and experimental fiction.
Biography:
Terri Bruce has been
making up adventure stories for as long as she can remember and won her first
writing award when she was twelve. Like Anne Shirley, she prefers to make
people cry rather than laugh, but is happy if she can do either. She produces
fantasy and adventure stories from a haunted house in New England where she
lives with her husband and three cats. Her
first novel, HEREAFTER—a contemporary fantasy about a woman’s search for
redemption in the afterlife—will be released by Eternal Press later this year.
Visit her on the web at www.terribruce.net.
Connect with Terri:
Website/Blog:
http://www.terribruce.net
Goodreads
Profile: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8244272-terri-bruce
Facebook
Profile: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100003716022408
HEREAFTER
Thirty-six year old Irene Dunphy didn't plan on dying any
time soon, but that’s exactly what happens when she makes the mistake of
getting behind the wheel after a night of bar-hopping with friends. She finds
herself stranded on Earth as a ghost, where food has no taste, the alcohol doesn’t
get you drunk, and the only person who can see her is a fourteen year old
boy-genius who can see dead people, thanks to a book he found in his school
library. This sounds suspiciously like hell to Irene, so she prepares to strike
out for the Great Beyond. The problem is, while this side has exorcism, ghost
repellents, and soul devouring demons, the other side has three-headed hell
hounds, final judgment, and eternal torment. If only there was a third option…
1 comment:
Thank you. I'm already a little clearer about what my goals are for getting my next novel published than I was before I read this post. I plan to read the rest of the interview. It's very informative already.
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