One year ago this book was published, via Atmosphere Press. It was reviewed well; got a nice Kirkus Review; won a minor monthly award at Literary Titan. It was nice to know I’m not terrible at this writing thing.
But like all small indie books from no one important, it didn’t really sell. Granted, I may could have done more marketing; but I have a full time job and also really hate being annoying. Self-promotion is the absolute worst feeling. And to be blunt, I don’t have the proper “identity” to be considered interesting in the Wokie publishing industry these days. I was never going to get much attention, and in fact had at least one extremely negative interaction when trying to do some promotion (Barbara’s Bookshop in Chicagoland—do not recommend).
I have more books in my mind, and one I’m writing now. I like it, I think it will turn out well. Will I publish it? Maybe, maybe not. Probably I would not bother with a physical publisher again but instead serialize it here on Substack or another website. Having a physical copy is amazing, nothing beats the feeling of holding your own book in your hands and seeing on shelves. But as Alex Perez wrote so well earlier this week on The Free Press (The Fight For The Future Of Publishing) those days may be numbered. The traditional industry is dying and the new wild west of writing is exciting and scary and it’s very difficult to get attention and stand out.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too down and it’s Friday at the end of a long work week and I just need a beer and a nap, in that order or reverse. But if you’re feeling interested and kind, the book can be bought anywhere Ingrams distributes so all websites and bookshops.
It’s a book for, well, everyone. Give it a try.