Well, we started at 108,000 words with 36 chapters, and so far I have reached chapter 28 and we are only down to 105,000 words. My goal needed to be 75,000. Hahaha! IdkwhatmyplansareafterI’mdonewiththisdraft.
Part of me says not to worry because there are other debut MG novels that were longer than this. The other part of me says I can’t expect to be an exception to the rule.
On a different note, my friend, Starcrossing, whom I do a casual podcast and play DnD with, recently asked me if I’d ever considered self-publishing.
Back in 2010, when I finished the first draft of book one, I told myself I would get it published. It didn’t matter how. Many people used to talk down about self-publishing, but that is far less common these days. There is still a bad connotation to it, but many well-written and popular books today are being self-published.
Metaphor time!
Art is subjective and not a business. It is a wildflower field, where each art piece is a flower that blooms from originality (the seed/author’s mind), water and care (editing, studying, improving), and sunlight (visibility/luck). Each flower is unique, even if they look similar. The success and quality of a flower (book/artwork) comes from these ingredients.
Some people grow their flowers in a more garden-like section of the field, with a publishing house, agents, editors—a whole team surrounding you. Others grow flowers in the untamed sections, and perhaps build their own open gardens with more freelance services not connected to a house. If the flower is beautiful and thrives in the end, it doesn’t matter where it comes from.
</end metaphor>
My main hesitation with self-publishing is the amount of work (and money) it takes to do the more business side of the book’s success. Marketing. The whole sunlight/luck thing. However, as time goes on, the industry changes. I used to think an agent’s job was to help with marketing. Now I’ve learned that the publishing house was once expected to spearhead this. Yet, these days, traditional publishing vs self-publishing seems a lot like buying a house vs renting an apartment.
Lemme e’splain.
Where I live, at least, apartments were once expected to cover the cost of most utilities. However, what I’ve found lately is that most apartments don’t mention that you are also paying for water/trash/sewage alongside electricity and internet. The whole shebang (that is the first time I’ve ever written that word). Many people are questioning the difference of buying and house and renting an apartment now, if they have to cover the cost and do all the work anyways (good maintenance crew is luck).
So it might be with traditional publishing houses. I’ve heard people complaining that some well-known publishing houses are expecting the authors to do a lot if not all of the work that was previously covered by the publishing house (e.g. marketing plans).Personally, I want to be involved as much as possible, but I want someone with knowledge and experience to guide me at the very least. That’s not to say there aren’t still benefits of working with a traditional publisher. A house and an apartment still do have their pros and cons.
Yet, I also look at self-publishing as a sort of freedom. You get to maintain all your rights when you self-publish. It’s potentially harder work, but work that is hopefully worth it. With freedom also comes the heightened responsibility to learn, make hard decisions, and give effort toward whatever your dreams are.
So, honestly, yes. I’ve considered self-publishing. I still consider it. I have a lot of desire for a team—a family—but I also fear losing control of my art. It takes a village to raise a child, but who then does the child belong to?
Thus, I’m still aiming for the traditional publishing route, but perhaps tentatively. I’m researching hybrid options and what agented self-publishing might look like. I’m studying contract expectations and red flags and how traditional publishing works. I’m practicing and learning marketing techniques from my retail boss who was actually a Marketing Major in college.
And I’m trying to prune my word count down to 75,000 words. XD
Anyway, that’s all I think for now. Take care this October! Let your inner child live a little. If you already are a child, than don’t let anyone tell you to stop (unless it’s hurting someone. Then maybe stop that. :P)
❤ Bye!
N. K. Valek: Author 