Like Glass No Longer a VHP Title
The title pretty much says it all; officially, as of today, Like Glass will not be published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. I will continue to distribute it via the current channels (i.e. Amazon and CreateSpace) at least until the first of the year, though I’m unsure whether I will continue to pursue it after that.
I’m at work right now, so I can’t really discuss the subject too much; suffice to say that it’s better for all parties involved that the novel finds a different home.
I would like to sincerely offer my thanks and gratitude to Kimberlee Williams, the editor at VHP, for the time and effort she and her staff put into what work had already been done on the novel, and for putting up with a rather tedious client. I’d also like to once again thank Mary Quast, the author who introduced me to VHP in the first place; even though it didn’t work out, it was still a wonderful experience that I wouldn’t have had without your assistance.
Okay, back to the rat race.
–Matt
It Ain’t Easy….
A lot of times when I first tell someone that I’ve written a book, I get the same response: “Well, you’ve done the hard part, now you just have to sell it,” — or some variation thereof. It seems to be a common perception that, because everyone wants to write a book but can’t get it out, the creative process must be the hardest part.
I like talking to people about the book, but I do want to get one thing out of the way once and for all: Writing the book was one of the easiest things I’ve done in my life. It was time consuming, and in some ways even a little painful, but putting the words to paper just came naturally, as I’m sure it does for a lot of writers.
Selling it, on the other hand…
If you’ve never tried to start a business from scratch, you probably won’t understand what’s so hard about it. I know I didn’t — send out a few emails to agents or publishers, and bam! You’re an overnight success. Well, you’ll get a couple of rejection letters, but bear with them and, if there’s any advice in them then take it and move on. Simple, right?
Yep, that’s what I thought when I started this game, but, in case you haven’t made the connection yet, I want to let you in on a little secret: it ain’t that easy.
I’ve had times in my life where I was unemployed, beating the pavement in a suit and tie with a stack of resumes in one hand, trying to find anyone that would hire me. That was pretty rough stuff, but it’s a walk in the park compared to trying to convince someone to take the time to read a book. Seriously, have you ever tried walking for a few miles, in desert heat, a black suit, and dress shoes? Not pleasant. But you do what you gotta do.
I’m taking a similar walk right now, though I’m finding a lot more closed doors than there were that summer I needed a job. And I’m probaby making it harder on myself, because — to keep with the analogy, kinda — I’m also holding up a sign to the street saying “Will work for food.” Okay, that might be a bit of an overkill, but I’m trying to get my foot in the door on one side and sell the book to the general public on the other. All without a budget or a clue.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m having the time of my life; it’s a strange mix of misery and ecstasy, waiting to see what each day brings. For the most part, I guess I’m looking to apologize in a way, or at least seek understanding, from some people I’ve surely annoyed over the past couple of weeks.
I’ve been trying to push Like Glass harder than anything I’ve ever done, and in doing so, I’ve probably pushed it a little too hard in some areas. And if I’ve come across as pushy, or needy, or even desperate, I’m damned sorry. There isn’t anyone else out there doing the work for me though. There isn’t a marketing company trying to get the book in a radio spot or a newspaper spot. No one’s putting displays up at Barnes and Nobles with a rose on a black background. It’s all me, and I can only think of so many avenues to go that seem viable and modestly simple before I start repeating myself in the same venues. As I write this, I can’t even budget a few bucks for a simple pay-per-click campaign.
Damn, I hope I don’t sound like I’m asking for pity here — I’m not. Like I said, just seeking some understanding from anyone I might’ve pissed off recently. Anyone else who’s tried to sell a book, or start any kind of business from the ground up surely understands. There isn’t anyone else out there who gives a crap whether you sink or swim, so you got to fight for yourself. If you’re lucky enough to have something to back you — a publisher, a bankroll, whatever — then you can rest a little bit. If not, you start to get that wild look in your eyes wondering what the hell you’re doing wrong, hitting the refresh button on your web-visit stats hoping for that one visitor who might actually buy it. It’s terrible, but exhilirating at the same time.
Okay, I hope that makes sense somehow. If not, well, I got it off my chest a little so I can relax for a while 
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About a Publisher
You’ve probably heard me mention a few times (most likely at the “original” Chocolate for Dogs blog) about having Like Glass “professionally” published — i.e. through an actual publishing house. I wish I could say I was posting now to say it was finally accepted (or even rejected; as I’m sure any author will agree, waiting to hear back is almost as bad as hearing “Sorry, not for us”).
Alas, I’m not, though I wanted to just post a … what’s the phrase … “shout out”? Yeah, that’s as good as any I guess — a shout out to the company, Rager Media. They’re based in Akron, Ohio, and they have a blog I wanted to introduce you to, The Akrocentric. There’s a lot of posts there about publishing (of course), and a lot of stuff about Akron itself — if, like me, you come from an area where the locals look on the city with high levels of contempt, it’s quite a strange and refreshing experience. I honestly never heard of an “Akronism” (not to be confused with an anachronism, a word I more closely relate with my current locale).
The company is quite new for the publishing industry — roughly a year old — but they’re already starting to make a few (albeit small) waves, with Jonathan Baumbach and Gary D. Wilson both getting good reviews — Baumbach’s You, or the Invention of Memory in the LA Times, and Wilson’s Sing, Ronnie Blue reviewed in the Chicago Sun-Times and on Kansas.com (unfortunately, both of those reviews are older than either site allows access to — if you can find a link, by all means let me know).
Rager Media’s “official” website (i.e. .com) is a little … well, under the weather. Which is strange, because when I first made my acquaintance with the company (~ June 2007) it was quite nice — nothing spectacular, but attractive and friendly. As a web developer I admit I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to websites, even though the design aspect (read: the pretty stuff) of web development was always a little beyond me. There is a lot of good information there, though, and a lot more info on their authors than I can put here, so be sure to check it out.
As I said, they’re still quite new to the business, so they’re swamped with submissions at the moment, and they don’t have the staff yet to keep up with it. I was speaking with the editor-in-chief, Christopher White, today, and he was saying that one of the main reasons they haven’t gotten to my novel yet was that they’re trying to give the authors personal attention, and there’s still a few of their “earliest” authors they haven’t gotten to.
That’s the way it should be — I’d much rather know that my work was accepted (or rejected) by someone who was giving it a serious effort, instead of just glancing through it and tossing it out because they just weren’t in the mood to read it. Even if it means having to wait a little longer to hear anything about it, it’s definitely worth it.
Be sure to check out the sites though, and take a look at the two books I’d linked to above (though I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that your primary interest should lay with my book, of course — which, for the time being, is still in my hands).
Paperback on Amazon
Just a quick note: Like Glass is now officially available, in paper back, on Amazon.com — you can get it here. Granted, it’s the exact same thing you’d find at the book’s CreateSpace store, but still…it’s Amazon….
A Mild Epiphany
(Originally posted on http://mcory.wordpress.com/ on 10/14/07)
Maybe I’m going about this writing stuff all wrong. I keep looking through Wordpress’s writing tag (on the Tag Surfer), hoping that I’ll come across some other website/blog with the magic tip to get me going or the right contact to get me published.
It’s crap; it’s a stupid, idiotic waste of time.
I think a couple of books might’ve been written way back in the stone age, before everyone had a blog and a cell phone. Someone surely wrote a short story or a poem or two without wigging out over who to send it to or how quickly it’d hit the search engines and feed aggregators. No worries about “social networking” or who to link to or who’s blog to comment on.
It’s stupid.
Anyways, Patti just got home so I’m wrapping this up early. Just wanted to share that little epiphany real quick. I think I’ll try to stop surfing the web in order to market something I don’t have yet or get inspirations for something I can’t write and just worry about making something up on my own.
After a smoke and a nap though, of course.
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