It has been nearly a whole month since my last Cataclysm update. There is good reason for that. While I juggled a thousand tasks preparing for a life as an independent (indie) author, I received an email that took me by surprise.
I am pleased to inform you that "Cataclysm: An 11:34 Novel" has been accepted for publication and we would like to offer you one of our inclusive contracts as I feel the work is well written and has a good chance of success in the market place. (From Pegasus Publishers)
I cannot lie. On this occasion, one or two of those joyful raindrops fell from my eyes. All the hard work that had shaped me had brought me to this deeply gratifying moment. I shared the news with my closest friends and family.
We receive several hundred new submissions every month, out of that, on average only 10% will be taken through to the final review stage, there are many that we regrettably have to decline. (From Pegasus Publishers)
More importantly, it validated me as a good writer, an author! I have an opportunity to publish traditionally through brick-and-mortar, which many authors find appealing. It gives the work visibility, whereas indie authors, especially relatively new ones, have to do all the legwork to market it. Getting attention from lists like the New York Times Best Sellers or USA Today Best Sellers puts the author and their novel in the spotlight.
The conundrum for me has nothing to do with best-seller lists or attention or anything like that. I have so many things to consider now. Am I prepared to give up the rights to my novel? Am I okay with the contract terms? I'm working through that. During this time, I will reach out to consult with literary agents within my genre. They tend to be more accepting of potential clients who have been given an offer. In some cases, they could work out a better deal that would be mutually beneficial to them and me.
Regardless of which path is taken, one fact remains most luminous of all: my novel is good, enough so to capture the attention of a mainstream publisher. And that is all we really want in life, right? Vindication. Approval. Justification. I worked really hard to get to this point. However it plays out, there's still much more work to do.
