My Publishing Nightmare

Hello, hello. It's me again with another spout of random nonsense for your eyes. It occurred to me, earlier today, that I have this blog that I write everyday, and I have yet to talk about my book. At least, I don't think I've given it much press on here. Well, here we go regardless:

My book, The Days After, was published last November. Right before Thanksgiving. I started it January 1st of last year (it was my New Years Resolution) and wrote the final words somewhere in mid-July. Seven months. The ending is a little to mushy for my taste, but it is what it is. To be honest, it's a little rushed as well, but that's not really my fault. Well, actually it is a little my fault too. 

Y'see, When I was about three quarters of the way finished, I started my search. The great search of a publisher. I was optimistic, but also afraid. What if no one liked the book, I thought. What if I had to go another year working at a place that drove me to homicidal thoughts on a daily basis? I looked, and I looked, and I looked some more. My biggest issue was: I had no idea what the hell I was doing. Of course, I was dreaming of a fairy tale. The one every author dreams of. A big-time publisher would contact me and give me thousands of dollars to sell my book. Which would give me the freedom to write full-time.

But that dream is better slept on than it is lived. It wasn't until much later that I discovered the secrets to finding one of those publishers: An agent, but any agent with that kind of power will not always consider a nobody author with nothing under his belt except one short story in an obscure magazine. Nobody said the dreamer's life was an easy one. 

Anyway, I did find a publisher. I won't disclose the name on here, but find me in person and I'll express it to you without hesitation. This company, a hybrid publisher. Meaning, they charge a fee,  build the book for you, and then make it available on various sites. They even made me a fancy-schmancy website. Sounds pretty good right? I mean, I'll be honest, when I got the call from them I started to cry. All my hard work was finally paying off. I left school to follow a pipe dream of becoming a writer, and here I was, one year later, making it happen. 

Let me give some advice for anyone interested in writing a book: DO NOT DO IT FOR THE MONEY!

I'm not saying I did, but of course that's part of the reason. I wanted money, and fame, and etc... Don't we all? But the thing is, make sure you're not getting swindled in the process of following you dreams. There are plenty of people who are more than happy to take advantage of you. I should know...

I even contacted my creative writing professor to tell her the good news, and also ask her advice on whether or not I should pay this company to make my book. She, always having great confidence in my work, told me way back then that my work was good enough to get a traditional publishing company, but, if I was looking for the quick paycheck I should accept the offer I was given.

Spoiler: I took the "quick paycheck"

And here's why:

1. I hated my job and would do anything to get away from it
2. My own fear kept nagging me that I wouldn't get another chance
3. I fully believed that my best interests were in the mind of this man I talked to on the phone

So, I took the offer, and I paid the man. Now, was the worst part. I still needed to finish the book, so that was stressful. I was getting daily phone calls from the publishers asking if the book was done, so that was stressful. And, I paid WAY more than I should've and knew I would be staying at my job for at least a couple more months, so that was stressful.

I felt rushed, and broke, and that's why the ending isn't my all-time favorite. But, I got it done. It was sent off, and now production could begin. It went smoothly, and then the book was online. That's when another hiccup occurred: I was getting calls from marketing teams. They wanted MORE money, and believe me, by this time I was asking for my roommates to pay part of my rent so that I could buy groceries. I was donating plasma for fifty dollars so I could put gas in my car. Dark times, let me tell you. The only thing keeping me barely afloat now is that I finally finished paying the monthly dues I had to pay for them. 

I'm not trying to scare anyone from writing a book, or following some dream you have. I'm just saying to look carefully, and learn the business. Make sure you recognize the differences between a legitimate business, and a swindler. A simple google search would've saved me thousands of dollars. 

Alright, I think I've vented long enough. Lord knows I've been wanting to do that for quite some time now. I'll see you all tomorrow, thanks for reading, and good luck out there. Buh-bye.