Wow this was such an eye-opening letter. I had no idea that Lauren Kay was behaving unethically! Thank you for summarizing and sharing the goings-on. And I'm sending you all the good vibes for your second novel, and all the ones after!
Wow, Charlie. I related to SO much of what you've said here. I tried to break into traditional publishing for many years, and still may try, but I really related to what you alluded to at the end. Something about the querying process sucked the joy out of me and my process somewhere along the way. I'm a fairly fast writer, and it also slowed me down quite a bit too because of the emotional toll. Which is not good and honestly not helpful to increasing my skills as a writer.
Lately in life I like to ask myself if something is making me happy or not, and it not, I try to find a better way. Asking that question has led me to explore self-publishing, because the times I dipped a toe into it in the past it was really fun!
I think you'll find the right answer for you. I talked to a published author once and she told me I "wasn't allowed to feel bad" about my querying journey yet because I hadn't even hit 100 rejections, which I thought was really sweet of her to say. I asked another popular horror author about her journey and she said something to the tune of "7 years, 5 books." There's something to be said for perseverance.
And there's also something to be said for taking charge of your own fate! Good luck and thank you for the relatable writing.
It is really discouraging seeing all the rotten behavior in the industry, but there are still some good folks around.
Thank so much for taking the time to respond! I have to agree that querying has recently started sucking joy from my writing process. I've deliberated these last two/three weeks if traditional publishing is really worth my joy and I don't think it is. I read something like Brandon Sanderson wrote something like 12 books before he sold one. I'm not sure I have that level of persistance. Maybe I'm impatient? Either way, I've made a plan to self-publish my next novel because of it. My second book is already in the query trenches and waiting for 33 replies from agents. I'll let that one simmer while I write the next one. I appreciate you being here and sharing your thoughts. Glad to be finding some peers in the same place.
Wow this was such an eye-opening letter. I had no idea that Lauren Kay was behaving unethically! Thank you for summarizing and sharing the goings-on. And I'm sending you all the good vibes for your second novel, and all the ones after!
Yeah, it’s all a bit crazy. Still sort of processing. Hasn’t heard much talk of it here on Substack so thought it might be illumining for some.
Wow, Charlie. I related to SO much of what you've said here. I tried to break into traditional publishing for many years, and still may try, but I really related to what you alluded to at the end. Something about the querying process sucked the joy out of me and my process somewhere along the way. I'm a fairly fast writer, and it also slowed me down quite a bit too because of the emotional toll. Which is not good and honestly not helpful to increasing my skills as a writer.
Lately in life I like to ask myself if something is making me happy or not, and it not, I try to find a better way. Asking that question has led me to explore self-publishing, because the times I dipped a toe into it in the past it was really fun!
I think you'll find the right answer for you. I talked to a published author once and she told me I "wasn't allowed to feel bad" about my querying journey yet because I hadn't even hit 100 rejections, which I thought was really sweet of her to say. I asked another popular horror author about her journey and she said something to the tune of "7 years, 5 books." There's something to be said for perseverance.
And there's also something to be said for taking charge of your own fate! Good luck and thank you for the relatable writing.
It is really discouraging seeing all the rotten behavior in the industry, but there are still some good folks around.
Thank so much for taking the time to respond! I have to agree that querying has recently started sucking joy from my writing process. I've deliberated these last two/three weeks if traditional publishing is really worth my joy and I don't think it is. I read something like Brandon Sanderson wrote something like 12 books before he sold one. I'm not sure I have that level of persistance. Maybe I'm impatient? Either way, I've made a plan to self-publish my next novel because of it. My second book is already in the query trenches and waiting for 33 replies from agents. I'll let that one simmer while I write the next one. I appreciate you being here and sharing your thoughts. Glad to be finding some peers in the same place.