For the past year or more I’ve been trying desperately to learn everything I need to not just get my book published but to ensure it’s a success. Last year at a workshop I found myself surrounded by would-by authors who almost all had a book published but were having difficulty selling it. This was fresh after my reading about the joy of landing a multi-book deal and the horror of having that deal disappear due to missing sales projections. That reaffirmed my resolve to not let that happen to me.
Two years ago almost to the day I received a response from one of the most respected agents in the country who said “if you had a platform…”. That was the catalyst for me to figure out how to get an audience. All the experts I looked up said the same thing, one way or another, but none of them delved much into the “how” aspect. No matter, I’d plod along and take my chances, learning and connecting along the way.
During discussion panels at Phoenix Comicon ’11, the advice was the opposite. “Don’t waste your time building a platform!” As you can imagine, that caught my attention. “The publisher may change your name or the title of your book, in which case all your efforts are wasted.” Definitely not good news, but when they explained further I understood where they were coming from. “Go for the contract first. You then have eighteen to twenty-four months to build the website and do all the things you need to do to attract an audience.”
I began wondering if maybe my efforts have been wasted. I essentially stopped writing some time ago to concentrate all my energy into overcoming seemingly insurmountable apathy in some corners. I’d been working on creative and somewhat unconventional solutions to keep busy and to ward off impatience, but hearing what the panelists were saying filled me with momentary doubt. Should I abandon my current approach, get an agent, and take whatever deal I might be offered?
When the panel opened the floor to questions, my hand was the first to shoot up. “Does what you’re saying also apply to memoir?”
After some hesitation, one of the panelists replied, “Memoir may be the one exception.”
Yahoo! But now what? I’m on the right track, I’m sure, and I’m driving the right car, so what’s the problem? Hmm…maybe I’ve got bad gas.
