This is the second time I’ve written this post. I’m not sure what happened to the first draft but it has disappeared. I hate it when something I’ve written is lost. Especially when it is something that I thought came out well.
I’d written awhile ago that I’ve been working on a project that has been taking up my time. So much time that I haven’t been posting on this blog. That’s true, but it leaves something out. Being busy isn’t the only reason I haven’t posted. The other reason is that I’ve been dealing with a stigma attached to this project. Mostly it exists in my own head and past expectations but it has been something that I needed to work through.
In a nutshell, I’ve been self-publishing my work.
A shocker, no? My work is coming out under the Glittering Throng Press label. In one sense this is the direction I’ve always been heading towards, whether I realized it or not. Even as a child I tended to learn more and do better when I worked independently. I’ve toyed with the idea in the past but always hesitated. Then, earlier this year, I was thinking about what I wanted to do this year. I thought about a book I’d written a few years ago, then titled Detective Moreau, that I wanted to revise. After I wrote the novel I put it aside and hadn’t touched it since but I liked the book. I liked the detective, Brock Marsden, that narrated the story. While thinking about it I had another idea.
What if Brock Marsden somehow got sent back through time to our present? How would he make a living? What if he decided to write novels based on his experiences and cases in the future? Would he really send out queries to agents, wait months for a response requesting a partial? And then wait even longer before request for a full manuscript? Would he have the time to go through that whole process all the way through publication? And for what? A first novel might receive a $5,000 advance split into three or four payments over up to two years.
No, I don’t think so.
Brock is highly intelligent and adaptable. He would write his story and make it available directly to readers. Use blogs and social networking sites to market the novel. And that’s just what happened. He created a blog at brockmarsden.blogspot.com. On April 1st Brock released the first installment of Dark Matters on Memoware.com, Scribd.com, Lulu.com and on Amazon’s Kindle. All ten installments will be out by the end of June and will be followed in July with the complete novel in e-book and print formats.
The response has been good. Since the first installment was uploaded there have been over 2,500 downloads at Memoware.com. Dark Matters: Volume 1 was selected as a featured document on Scribd.com and the installments have been viewed over 1,500 times. Kindle users have even purchased copies. Feedback has been positive about the book. I’ve found it encouraging that there has been so much response in only a couple months since the first release.
Dark Matters is the first release from Glittering Throng Press and there is more to come this year. The next release will be Ravyn Washington’s story in Waking Dead Things. Then late this year I believe Brock Marsden has yet another exciting science fiction / mystery novel planned. I hope readers continue to respond well and show their support by purchasing copies of the books or downloading the e-book releases.
I’ve been writing for a long time. I’ve had a few stories published. I even have a Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. This is the first time I’ve felt this excited about my work. No more worrying about agents, slush-readers, editors or publishers. I’ll write and make my stories directly available to readers. Whether the audience is large or small isn’t important. Sure, I’d like it to be large and sell lots of books but that won’t decide whether or not I continue. Working independently I can write what I want, publish my work and retain all of the rights to the books. It should be fun.
For the latest releases visit Glittering Throng Press. To keep up on what’s happening with Brock visit his blog.
Word Counts - Today: 1,272 | May: 29,991 | 2008: 161,112
Tags: Brock Marsden, Dark Matters, Glittering Throng Press, Ravyn Washington, Self-Publishing, Waking Dead Things
