Rolling on the River

Guest post by mystery author Susan Shea
 
There are times, as a writer, when I feel like a lumberjack rolling logs down a river, jumping from one unsteady floating raft to another, aware that I may fall into the roiling waters, get clunked on the head and go under.

Publishing is like that today, with so many options for getting to your readers, but on shifting platforms that move rapidly with the currents. Nimbleness is a requirement, risk-taking a necessity, constant vigilance demanded.

At the moment – and bless the fates for this – I am represented by a fantastic agent and being published traditionally, albeit with a small press, Top Five Books out of Chicago. (The second book in my Dani O’Rourke series, The King’s Jar, comes out May 1 in trade paper and e-book formats.) But if I have learned anything since 2010, when my debut novel was published by another traditional outfit, it’s that there are no sure things in this business unless you’re James Patterson or Sue Grafton.

Consider: My agent began shopping my first mystery in August 2008. Yes, that’s right, just as the bottom fell out of the stock market and editors at the major publishers got orders from the bean counters to freeze all purchases. The next set of orders began the trend we’re seeing today: Buy only sure best sellers from known authors – forget the mid list, those authors who might, if encouraged for a couple of books, find audiences.

My book eventually sold to a publisher that concentrated largely on library sales, so I got a hard cover debut and some nice reviews, but limited sales because it was difficult for bookstores to get stock. Eventually, as other editions were licensed, I began to get modest royalties, but it was no path to riches. Meanwhile, some of my savvy friends (including some on Crime Fiction Collective) jumped onto a different rolling log and decided to go the route of the new version of self-publishing, not the old vanity-press style but a more rigorous, credible, and audience-focused process that rightly blurred the lines between the traditional path and an independent one.

Today, there are many reputable authors, including scores who were traditionally published in the past, who have chosen the independent publishing mode and are doing well, editorially and financially. I’m not quite so nimble and, with the support of an agent who sticks with her authors, have that new book coming out. But I am keenly aware that the logs are shifting all the time, that there is no guarantee beyond my two-book contract, and that the burden to stay afloat is largely on my head.

If you’re a writer, hang on for dear life and never give up – there are alternative paths we never had before. If you’re a reader, thank you from all of us navigating the rivers of publishing – you’re why we’re afloat in any form!

Susan C Shea writes the Dani O’Rourke Mystery series. The first is Murder in the Abstract and the sequel is The King’s Jar, published May 1. You can read more about her at www.susancshea.com .