Learning from Experience

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I truly love to hear the origin stories of authors, don't you? Everyone is absolutely different, and yet, and yet, there are things in them that are similar. The things we all share.

Challenges, especially, and every time someone we know faces a challenge and conquers it, we can all learn from it, right? And that is exactly what our guest today has done... Faced a  challenge, conquered it, and then--generously offered to share what she learned with others. She put it to work!

Again, your experiences may be different, and they may be the same, and that is why we're here!

 

From Emily Climbs to Finding My Path

by Judy Penz Sheluk

I was six or seven when a close family friend gave me a hardcover copy of Emily Climbs for Christmas. Written by L.M. Montgomery (better known for her Anne of Green Gables series), Emily Climbs tells the story of Emily Starr of New Moon, Prince Edward Island, and her quest to become a writer (spoiler alert: she succeeds).

Mystery authors often claim that they were inspired to take up the life by reading Nancy Drew or the works Agatha Christie, and I’ll admit to being influenced by both. But it was Emily Climbs that resonated deep in my soul. I knew, from that day forward, that I wanted to be a writer.

Many moves, downsizing, and decluttering attempts later, that book, since reread more than once as a teen, and then as an adult, is one of few that remain on my bookshelf, the jacket cover still intact, if a bit worse for the wear.

I’d like to tell you that I followed that “write” path right out of school, but the truth is I joined the business world of credit management and spent a good twenty-plus years there, successfully climbing the corporate ladder until I thought my spirit would break altogether. I finally had the courage to leave the financial security of that world in 2003 to become a freelance journalist. I’ve never looked back.

It wasn’t until 2012, while attending Bloody Words, a now-defunct mystery conference held bi-annually in Toronto, that I decided I wanted to write a novel. As I’ve heard Hank laughingly say, “After all, how hard could it be?”

I balanced my freelance writing and editing work (by then, I was the Senior Editor of New England Antiques Journal and the Editor of Home BUILDER Canada and was under freelance contract with two publishers of trade/association magazines) with trying to write a chapter a day.

I managed to complete the book and its many revisions in 2013, but like many new authors, I had no idea how to proceed beyond the pipe dream of getting an agent and possibly buying a chateau in France with my massive book royalties.

I quickly learned getting an agent wasn’t quite that simple (and seven novels and counting later, that the chateau would probably have to wait unless I won the lottery). At the time, self-publishing still had (and, in some circles, still does) a stigma attached to it, and frustrated by the time the whole agent thing was taking (patience has never been one of my virtues), I started down the independent publishers’ path, where I found more interest.

I signed a contract for my debut novel in July 2014 with a Mystery Writers of America approved publisher. In 2016, not wanting to put all my books into one basket, I signed a contract with another publisher for my Marketville mystery series.

The second publisher and I parted ways a year later. I would be the first of many, until all that remained were her own titles. The first publisher shuttered its doors in the summer of 2018. I was lucky, got my rights back from both, and was paid any royalties owing in full. That’s not always the case.

Twice bitten, but decidedly more knowledgeable than I was in 2013, in 2018 I started my own publishing imprint, Superior Shores Press. I’ve never once regretted the decision.

Turns out I’m a bit of a control freak, a quality needed if you want to self-publish and be successful. Since then, I’ve edited and published three multi-author anthologies of mystery and suspense, brokered a deal with a Taiwanese publisher for the Chinese language rights to Skeletons in the Attic, and sold the mass market paperback rights for my Glass Dolphin and Marketville mystery series to WWL Mystery (a division of Harlequin/HarperCollins)—and I did it without an agent.

All this finally brings me to the point of this post, which is to shamelessly self-promote my latest book, Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide. It’s a how-to for the aspiring author looking at publishing options, but it doesn’t stop there. Because the one thing I’ve learned is that one path doesn’t fit all, and it doesn’t necessarily fit who you are now, vs. who you were when you started.

Perhaps you had a publishing contract and were “orphaned.” What are your options? What if you’ve been writing on Wattpad and gained a following? Can you parlay that into agent interest? How can you tell the difference between a vanity press and a legit hybrid publisher?

In Finding Your Path to Publication, I’ve taken my own experiences and my background as a journalist to research and reach out to experts and associations. Whether it’s the Big 5, defining independent publishers (micro, small, medium, and large), hybrid/assisted, an intro to self-publishing, or understanding social publishing platforms like Wattpad and Inkitt, you’ll find honest answers and statistical information in accessible language. What you won’t find is advice on which path you should take. That choice is yours, and yours alone.

So, what can you expect to learn? Well, there are tips on how-to secure a literary agent or publisher (writing query letters, loglines, and the dreaded synopsis---seriously, if there is one benefit to self-publishing, it’s that you don’t need to write one!), understanding contracts and copyright (did you that putting the copyright symbol © on your manuscript screams “amateur”), understanding royalties and advances, the benefits of joining a writing association, how to select (and prepare for) the perfect writing conference for this stage of your career, and more.

The publishing world can be a cruel one, but it is less so when authors help each other. This book is my small way of trying to do just that.

Reds & Readers: Do you have a question about publishing? Want to share a story of your own? Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to respond but fair warning: I can’t endorse any one path, person, publisher, or platform.


HANK: Cannot wait to hear your questions—and your answers! And what have you all learned along the way?

About the book:

The road to publishing is paved with good intentions…and horror stories of authors who had to learn the hard way.

For the emerging author, the publishing world can be overwhelming. You’ve written the book, and you’re ready to share it with the world, but don’t know where to start. Traditional, independent press, hybrid, self-publishing, and online social platforms—all are valid publishing paths. The question is, which one is right for you?

Finding Your Path to Publication is an introduction to an industry that remains a mystery to those on the outside. Learn how each publishing option works, what to expect from the process start to finish, how to identify red flags, and avoid common pitfalls. With statistics, examples, and helpful resources compiled by an industry insider who’s been down a few of these paths, this is your roadmap to decide which path you’d like to explore, and where to begin your author journey.

Available in trade paperback, large print, hardcover, and e-book. Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/FindingYourPathtoPublication

 

About the author:

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries, both of which have been published in multiple languages. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including the Superior Shores Anthologies, which she also edited. Judy is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors for five years, the final two as Chair. She lives in Northern Ontario. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.