It’s a historical fantasy; a coming-of-age tale of swords, gods and sorcery set during the time of the ancient Mayans. The tale explores the myths and history of the Mayans though the eyes of a father and daughter, simple farmers swept into an adventure they didn’t want, as they venture across the Mesoamerican landscape.
A (Very) Long Time Coming
It was seven and half years ago that I put the first words on the page. At the time, I wrote the original rough draft in just over three weeks, record speed (for me anyway). I felt so inspired, so solid with my idea, that it felt almost like I wasn't creating the story, simply channeling it from the ether. This was not my first attempt at writing a novel. In fact, the very first time I wrote a novel all the way through a completed rough draft was in 2007. Later, feverishly pursuing this dream, I received a degree in creative writing in 2011 from Colorado Mesa University. I've attempted several other novels since. But there was something about this book, the way it was spilling out of me, that made me think this was the one. It had to be.
Years passed. I plowed through many draft cycles. It was fun at first, but eventually it grew tedious. Life got complicated. We moved to a new state. We bought a house, then another. We had a baby girl. Sometimes the book would sit in its little corner of my hard drive forgotten for months.
In 2021, four and half years after "finishing" that rough draft, I decided it was finally ready and began the process of querying literary agents. This method, known in the writing world as "traditional publishing" is still the only way to see your work published by a major publishing house. But after dozens, then nearly a hundred, such queries, the best responses I received were a few form-letter rejections, each an echo of the one previous: "We're sorry but at this time... yadda yadda." It was crushing. And after I had queried almost every reputable agent in the fantasy genre and failed, my dream of becoming a publishing fiction novelist, a dream I'd held for fourteen years, essentially died.
Then, on New Year's Eve 2023, I made a resolution that I was going to "publish my novel or else," even if it had to be self-published. It killed me that all that work would go to waste. If only my friends and family would ever see it, that was okay. At least somebody would read it. I spent another eight months poring through yet another draft cycle, designing the layout and the cover, and uploading it onto Amazon Kindle Direct.
Do I think it is perfect? No. Could I have kept working on it and improving it? Of course. I'm pretty certain I will always find something to change. But as famous photographer/content creator Peter McKinnon (and many others) likes to say, "done is better than perfect." At some point you have to let go and move on, for better or worse.
Now this novel is done but definitely not perfect. I think I'm okay with that....
On the Dubious Nature of Self Publishing
There is something dubious about self-publishing. You could, after all, type the letter “z” a few hundred thousand times, upload it onto Amazon and call yourself a published author. That a book full of ZZZ's would literally put someone to sleep is another matter. My point is there is no guarantee of quality with self-publishing, and there are a lot of self-published books that feel more like drafts still needing polishing. While I've worked hard to produce quality work that I can feel proud of, there's a distinct possibility that many of you might feel like this book is unpolished or perhaps even just plain bad.
When I tried the traditional method of publishing, I discovered several harsh truths about fiction writing: only about one in 10,000 manuscripts are ever accepted, and timing and trends are everything. In other words, being merely a “good” writer isn’t even close to enough. You have to be the top 99.99%. And beyond that, not only do you have to be the best of the best of the best, but you have to have impeccable, conceptual timing with literary trends in the eyes of the 100 or so gatekeepers that are the (reputable) literary agents in your genre. Simply put, you could have the right book at the wrong time and fail.
Well, It's Done Now and I'm Scared....
The hard truth is that I have to accept these possible realities. The "nothing ventured, nothing gained" adage rings accurate. And even if the novel doesn't break the "friends and family 50" curse (that the only people who buy your book are the 50 friends and family members who buy it mostly because they care about you), I can take pride that I undertook this massive effort and saw it all the way to it's conclusion.
Finally, the Sales Plug
Anyway, I am proud of this work. It may not be flawless, but I believed in it for years and it makes me happy to send it forth into the world. The Kindle e-book is available for $3.99, a price akin to buying me a cup of coffee, and the print version is available for $12.99. Personally, I recommend the print book. In my eyes, that is how it was meant to be consumed.
For those that believed in me from the beginning and read early excerpts and drafts, your support means the world. And for those that might continue to support me in the future, you also are what keeps that creative flame inside me burning. You are the best.
