Everyone tells stories of how authors like J.K. Rowling queried 30+ agents before finding one that would take on her wizarding school concept and the “boy who lived.” While I admire that amount of commitment to find an agent willing to take her, I don’t know if I can do it her way.
I sent out 11 queries out at the end of July and as of today I’m in my 11th week of waiting. I’ll send out reminder queries at the end of the 12th week — you know, one of those: “Hey! Just wanted to make sure you got my query!”-emails. Some agents ask you to reach out if you haven’t heard from them, others say: “If you don’t hear from me, sucks to be you.”
If I don’t hear from an agent by week 15, I’ll go ahead and self publish. I have the benefit of years of experience, having published 30+ volumes on Amazon, even though I only wrote three of them. The cover design, layout and design, web layout, email list management, social media … I know enough to drive onward without an agent. I’ll pour my heart and money getting real advertising for it and really push on my own.
Then, perhaps in six months to a year of returns, I can go back to an agent with actual numbers. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m happy to be at this stage. I will not stop. Period. One way or the other, this series is happening and I will publish them, with or without an agent.
And, of course, if you’re reading this, I’ve already gone live with the site!
While I wait on an agent, I’m researching the best POD options and also ability to scale with offset printing (mass printing). I want a system that can grow with me without having to scramble to switch later. That’s one reason I’m looking at IngramSpark and Lightning Source as options — both are by Ingram, the biggest name in book catalogs.
I’ll give you guys updates, one way or the other, as I progress. Later!
