Recently, I was celebrating the anniversary of the time I finished rough drafting my first full manuscript, and a friend told me that I’d lost 8 years of royalties and should really finish it! He was trying to be encouraging and supportive, but instead, all I really have is a pile of justifications.
Now, I’m not saying you should wait as long as I have before putting your book out into the world, but there are a few reasons why you might wait before publishing.
1. I wanted external validation
While traditional publishing is full of gatekeeping, you do have people other than yourself and your mother saying “yes, your book is worth publishing.” (Then again, mothers may vary. My mom’s a retired librarian, and I haven’t shown her a finished novel for fear of her judgment.)
Traditional publishing has had a larger share of the market, so why wouldn’t I at least try to get an agent? I sent out dozens of query letters, even getting a couple full requests (where the agent asks to see the full manuscript), and a Revise and Resubmit (R&R).
2. It was the wrong length
My rough draft was 131,000 words of a YA fantasy! Adult fantasy usually tops out at 120,000 words.
Now, self-publishing has the advantage that you can be a lot more flexible with book lengths, especially if you’re only offering electronic versions. But the target audience for YA books doesn’t have easy credit card access.
Plus, while they are guidelines, page count averages for a genre tell you what people are reading, and what people are buying. Ignoring the market when trying to market a book is a good way to fail.
3. It was a rough draft!
The entire thing needed editing! In particular, the ending was a hot mess that took me 3 tries to get right. Most writers don’t draft cleanly, and few successful authors publish the first version of a manuscript. Especially the first version of their first full manuscript.
By the time it was ready to query initially, it was closer to 5 years of lost royalties, not 8.
I don’t suggest doing what I did, though. Every 5-10 query rejections, I revised my full manuscript. *facepalm*
Now, if an agent likes your query letter and opening pages, they’ll ask for your “full” — ie. for you to send them your full manuscript. And I got a few requests, which gave me hope. And then…
After my full manuscript got rejected, I reached out to a mentor and we worked through my full manuscript. And I kept querying agents. After another request and rejection, this one a form rejection explaining how beta readers work on a Revise & Resubmit (R&R), I found another mentor. The second mentor and I didn’t finish revisions until the middle of the pandemic.
Yes, my manuscript kept getting better, and stronger. But, maybe I should have trusted my own vision more.
4. I didn’t know the industry
I had just started my writing journey at that time. I had a light idea of how traditional publishing worked, and very little idea of how small press and indie publishing worked. I hadn’t done my research yet!
5. I had no idea how to market myself or my book
There are plenty of authors who just want to put their work out there and see their name on that by-line. If that’s what you’re going for, I support you!
But, I wanted a bigger audience for my book, and I didn’t know how to get there. These days, I know a lot of the things that don’t work, a few things that do, and that the market is rapidly changing. Marketing your books is a full-time hustle if you want to get some traction with building an audience.
From book covers, to blurbs, to where to send advance reader copies (ARCs), I know a little more, now.
6. YA doesn’t do as well as indie as some genres
A little bit of research did show me that Young Adult novels, especially a stand-alone, (although mine does have series potential), don’t do as well when independently published.
Romance, mysteries, and easily serialized works — especially aimed at adults with credit cards — usually have better traction. Especially for writers who write and polish quickly. I’m not that quick.
And? To really get momentum, a series works best. I don’t have one.
7. Publishing went on strike!
I hadn’t quite thrown in the towel on traditional publishing when the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster merger was taken to court, and editors were on strike! Agents were hesitating to take on books since many of the places to submit manuscripts were closed! And my dad didn’t raise me to be a strike-breaker.
With publishing in turmoil and 10-20% of agents leaving the field, I wanted to see where things shook up!
8. I drafted other novels
Many authors consider their first book a “practice” book, and you’ll never get better if you don’t keep writing.
So far, I haven’t looked back at my first manuscript in horror, but there are a few elements I’m not sure of.
Some people have a single book in them, and that’s okay! For me, though, I want to have enough to build a career. Plus, I want to keep striving to be a better writer.
9. Horror stories of publishing regrets
I’ve seen many self-published — or indi published — authors take down their first book — or more — to revise, edit, and rebrand them.
Even some traditionally published authors, after all the gatekeeping and editors, will talk of having published too soon, before the book was ready.
I didn’t want to regret my first book!
10. Fear of failure
Fear – sure, that’s in here.
I’ve had friends do quite well for themselves with indie or small press publishing, and I’ve had friends debut with 25 sales. I don’t know if I dream of a bestseller, but I dream of being able to make a living. I dream of people I don’t know coming up to me to say that my story meant something to them.
I don’t want to publish with a whisper, I want to make waves.
I know I fear making the wrong choice, but I’m trying not to let fear guide me. But first, I’m going to query my latest manuscript and see if it can get me an agent, and some traction. However, I’ve stopped pinning my hopes on it. Agent or not, watch out world, my stories are coming.
WRITING TIPS & WRITERLY MUSINGS 
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