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Conundrum Time!

Writer's picture: Mike MallowMike Mallow

I've been teasing a big decision for a month or so now, and it's time to 'fess up to it. A GHOST CHASES THE HORIZON may end up self-published under my own imprint.


At the West Virginia Book Festival, I had a booth neighbor in Dana Fraedrich, who is something of a self-publishing guru. Other author friends I know have been gradually nudging me into considering the possibility, but it was Dana who really ripped away the blinders.


I love creative control, well into freak-levels. If I'm offered the choice between creative control and more money, I will take control every time. The option was already attractive. The exceptions are the sheer amount of marketing that needs to be done to make it work and the stigma of self-published work being of vanity.


But I'm frustrated. The book has been on the market for publishers and literary agents for two years. It's had several nibbles, one or two bites, and one that slipped off the hook at the last minute. I can't do it anymore. Not for this tome, at least.


What finally pushed me deep into the realm was the book design. Aside from covers, I am wholly unversed in book design. Newspaper design I can nail, but, much like newspaper writing, it's a different beast entirely. A five-minute YouTube tutorial on laying out a book in Adobe InDesign changed all that. Suddenly, I have a professional-looking book without any outside help. Three-quarters of this battle is won.


So where's the conundrum?


There are still a few prospective presses out there who have not gotten back to me. One's I would still want to work with if an offer came through. WVU Press was my dream press. They've had the manuscript for almost a year and a half. In early September, they told me they were reviewing it then and would get back to me in a week. I've been ghosted (pun intended!) by them ever since. Not a word at all. I may have to let the dream die on the vine.


The other press I am interested in won't get back to me until June at the latest, making July 1 my cutoff for making the self-publishing decision.


I've booked an editor for August, and everything needs to be ready by then. If a publisher doesn't get back to me by July 1, that creates an entirely different pickle. I won't need the editor if the book gets sold before and I need to turn in something. That would mean the first book of QUANTUM CROSSING would need to be in the final stages of editing by Aug. 1, which is a tall order with its complex continuity.


A final thing that gives me hope: I had an internal review of A GHOST CHASES THE HORIZON done by Readers' Favorite. It's a group generous with reviews but always provides good insight into what type of story I have and how to angle it in the market.


The review received an overall five-star rating, which is not terribly surprising. Again, they are generous. What was surprising is that it received a perfect score in all categories (including editing?!). My only other book to ace everything was IN THE COUNTRY DARK.


That is a tremendously good sign.

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