Musings

So I just finished writing my 50,000 th word this evening. The story isn't done, nor is the manuscript much more than a rough draft (although I did go back over a few places and scrubbed some sense into it.)

This is my fourth manuscript sitting in my 'TBP' (to be published) files with no feasible way, really,  to publish them other than self-publishing.

Now don't get me wrong. Self publishing is actually a lot of fun. And if one ever does enough marketing, there's a dollar or two to be made (more to be spent but most right-brained people like me don't count the cost).

But even with spending a lot of money on ads and promotions and giveaways, there is very very little return. Which, for me, I can shrug at. The joy was in the journey of writing. However, an author never reaches their destination or comes close to their goal unless someone reads their book.

So I'm toying with the idea of publishing one of my recent (last three years) manuscripts as a blog series and I was just wondering what my readers of this blog would think.

The story, if I do publish it in sections as a series, would be my urban fantasy, horror-comedy, An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody.

Why am I thinking along these lines?

Simple. I would like you to read it. I think it's an enjoyable story. It's funny. (My critique group laughs.) And it has 'heart'.

I want something more for my stories than to have them sit at the bottom of Amazon's slush pile, lost in the cyberspace of colorful digital book covers. I write books to bring enjoyment to people, and if people don't read them because they can't find them or don't know they exist, or don't want to spend any money, than my labor is going to waste.

Another note, also that I'm learning through all of this is, when you market your own book, a stigma starts growing on your name, kind of like black mold in the Pacific Northwest. People don't want to hear about your work over and over again because they think you are tying to get something from them, when in reality, you're only trying to share a story you spend hours researching for, developing and writing.

A good author has to prove themselves, and a good author can only do that by having someone...anyone...read their books.

If enough people read my books and tell me I'm not a good author, well then I can't say I didn't try.

Comments would be nice because if I don't hear back, I'll probably toss this idea out with the bath water.

Thanks for listening!