a peek inside the fishbowl » Blog Archive » Writing, publishing, thinking

31 Mar, 2009

Writing, publishing, thinking

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life

The creative writing workshop I went to on Saturday was pretty good. It was hosted by Alan Cumyn, an author with ten published books of fiction under his belt. He’s published books for children as well as adults, so his perspective on the whole world of publishing was pretty interesting.

What I walked away with however, was the feeling that book publishing was 60% talent, 40% random luck. What he described sounded very much like a crapshoot. If your manuscript happens to fall out of the slush pile and happens to fall onto the the desk of a sympathetic editor who happens to be having a good day, well, then MAYBE you get your toe in the door. That is, of course, if the publishing house isn’t going under.

I spent the last hour of the class asking myself why I want to publish a children’s book when so many people want to do the exact same thing.

Is it because I want to make money? No.
Is it because I want to be famous? No.
Is it because I want to see my name on a cover? Well, okay, that would be pretty cool.
Is it because I want to bring a smile to someone’s face? Yes.

Gee that sounds hokey … in a LET’S HOLD HANDS KUMBAYA KIND OF WAY no less. Gah. But there it is. That is the kernel.

I.Love.Sharing.My.Words.

I asked about self-publishing. Alan frowned, looked down at the floor, and mumbled something about credibility. Self-published authors don’t have the benefit of editors or professional illustrators so they’re seen as something less than a published author. I get that, but I’ve decided it doesn’t matter to me.

Perhaps that means that I’ve given up before I’ve started, but I think a top spot on Amazon.ca isn’t realistic. (Or is it? Argh!)

I just want to finish the story I’m working on right now (at this point I don’t even have a solid ending), and give it away to friends and family. That’s all that matters to me right now.*

Ok. Back to work.

*and the whole time I would be SECRETLY HOPING that my self-published book would fall into the hands of a stunningly brilliant literary agent with international connections. *sigh*

10 Responses to "Writing, publishing, thinking"

March 31st, 2009 at 8:36 am

Hmm, well… I have to say, especially with you talent, DO NOT GIVE UP! It seems like an impossible dream, doesn’t it? But you know what? YOU WILL DO IT. And your books will sell! You have to stay positive. Really, when I look through all the books that are out there right now, I wonder how some of them were published! There is one book in particular that has so many errors in it, it is rather funny. (A children’s book).

Anyway, my mom has a friend who has published 1 children’s book already, with the majority of the proceeds going to a children’s hospital. She approached my mom a while back to work with her as the illustrator of her next book, and this book is coming out in a few months. I want to contact her to see how she did this!
I’ve had a few children’s stories that I have written and I’ve approched a publishing house, and basically if you pay – they’ll do the work for you, from editing, to promoting, to publishing… to marketing your book – however – is this legit? Can it be that easy? What do you think about this?

March 31st, 2009 at 9:03 am

I have this children’s book idea in my head. To me it is my million dollar idea, but the logistics, research and time needed to get it going… someone will likely beat me to the punch! Oh, to dream! For now, I encourage my grade 5 and 6 students to enter their work into contests and get themselves published. Maybe they will inspire me to get more motivated and put my plan into action.

3 | LO

March 31st, 2009 at 10:25 am

Yes Andrea, tis true. That is why I don’t go to things like that anymore. They end up negative. It’s your dream-follow it! AND it is a lot of luck and some talent for sure!!!!! I have many friends who are very successful writers and even they are having a hard time with a lot of the houses closing..sigh. Thank Goodness for the power of the word on the internet!:) AND as for self publishing-there is nothing wrong with that. These days it’s so easy to set up your own little publishing co just for that reason and maybe take a few writer friends along for the ride. Many are doing that now.

March 31st, 2009 at 10:58 am

I hope you don’t give up. It would be so awesome to read a book to my boys that you wrote. I think you are an amazing writer (it’s one of the many things that keeps me coming back to your blog!).

Good luck!

5 | Laura

March 31st, 2009 at 11:18 am

I have had fun using Blurb – they turn out wonderful and at least I see them being enjoyed by friends and family.

http://www.blurb.com/

Dont give up.

March 31st, 2009 at 12:02 pm

who knows then? may be me…. a stunningly brilliant literary agent with international connections *fiuhhh..

7 | Julie

March 31st, 2009 at 2:36 pm

1. People can say the same thing about blogs … no one reads ’em, or it’s too hard to gather an audience. But you have.

2. Published authors are the only one with distain for self-publishing. Go for it. Who knows where it could lead?

3. No one ever gets anywhere without a dream and without defying the critics.

4. Only take what you want from the course. Immediately delete the rest.

5. And last but not least, your blog could help you get a publisher. Dooce has just published her 2nd book.

March 31st, 2009 at 7:17 pm

Follow your dream! And who knows, maybe it will become an Ottawa sensation. I agree with a previous poster – use this wonderful blog to sell, market whatever need be…

9 | Jennifer

April 1st, 2009 at 6:32 am

If you had a book for sale, I’d definitely buy it! Then I would ask you to come and read it in person (my ‘ask’ from a previous post!). Go for it – you’d be great. I know a few people, one from Westboro, that self-published and she did it successfully.

April 2nd, 2009 at 7:12 am

I don’t think self publishing is out of the question. I think with your blog you have a great opportunity to open up possibilities. There’s always “someone who knows someone who knows someone . . . ” – right?

I think the people who get published are the ones who never give up. You strike me as one of those people. :-)

Do you have an illustrator? I know a couple, one is very interested in doing children’s books and has already had his works published.

Good luck . . . keep the dream alive!!!

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