You were fantastic on our panel and I actually did look around for you later at the conference to chat more about your books and the industry. You weren’t the only without books, late panel assignments etc. I also have a love/hate relationship with these conventions, but I’m always glad after I’ve gone!
Oh, goodness, this whole publishing business sounds emotionally exhausting. I wish there was an instruction manual for surviving this club that unpublished writers are desperately trying to get into... I'm worried about how to manage it, if I'm even lucky enough to get that far...
there kind of is- Courtney Maum's book Before and After the Book Deal. she has a very popular substack too. but also, you can learn a lot from the business from just consuming media about the industry.
I'm really sorry to hear about your conference experience. I know this is a post primarily about publishing but I actually came her to commiserate about taking of your parents lol as someone in their late-20s with a father in his mid-70s (that's right, his 70s!!!!), ugh I totally get it. It's not something anyone prepares you for, and it probably always feels like it's happening too soon, like, I thought I had at least another decade! I don't know how many days I'm just like, whatever I'm not doing this anymore. I say this to say, I see you! It's hard, but hang in there <3
Honestly so much of this resonates with me - not having your second book do as well as your first, feeling invisible among other authors, writing Book 3 out of contract with no idea if the market will want it. And I’m sorry about the elder care issues. The US system is so shitty at supporting caregivers and we’re unprepared until a crisis happens a lot of the time.
Really appreciate the honesty. Thank you.
You were fantastic on our panel and I actually did look around for you later at the conference to chat more about your books and the industry. You weren’t the only without books, late panel assignments etc. I also have a love/hate relationship with these conventions, but I’m always glad after I’ve gone!
i keep thinking about exactly how many books could have been sold that week!
Oh, goodness, this whole publishing business sounds emotionally exhausting. I wish there was an instruction manual for surviving this club that unpublished writers are desperately trying to get into... I'm worried about how to manage it, if I'm even lucky enough to get that far...
there kind of is- Courtney Maum's book Before and After the Book Deal. she has a very popular substack too. but also, you can learn a lot from the business from just consuming media about the industry.
I love that book and refer to it often, and subscribe to her Substack! Definitely very helpful! Nevertheless, I doubt my survival skills 😬
I'm really sorry to hear about your conference experience. I know this is a post primarily about publishing but I actually came her to commiserate about taking of your parents lol as someone in their late-20s with a father in his mid-70s (that's right, his 70s!!!!), ugh I totally get it. It's not something anyone prepares you for, and it probably always feels like it's happening too soon, like, I thought I had at least another decade! I don't know how many days I'm just like, whatever I'm not doing this anymore. I say this to say, I see you! It's hard, but hang in there <3
Honestly so much of this resonates with me - not having your second book do as well as your first, feeling invisible among other authors, writing Book 3 out of contract with no idea if the market will want it. And I’m sorry about the elder care issues. The US system is so shitty at supporting caregivers and we’re unprepared until a crisis happens a lot of the time.
Glad we got to hang out at Bcon though!
I actually love this post. It's you giving us potential and current authors multiple things:
A look behind the curtains
And that "me too" feeling that those writers gave you.
I've been having completely different writing related but also life struggles and reading this makes me feel like we're on a life team.