I suspect some writers, perhaps many, are, like me, self doubters. Imposter syndrome gone wild. That’s why when someone says, “I’m interested,” we light up. If you were rejected a lot in your youth it doesn’t make it any easier as an adult.
For the second time my first good novel (I’ve written some not good ones) has found an interested publisher. There’s a validation there. A quiet joy that seldom comes from anything else.
It looks like Interview with the Gorgon will be out in 2027, published by Parisian Phoenix Publishing. This novel was under contract with Vagabondage in 2012. The acquiring editor left before it hit production and the press decided to kill it. But Medusa won’t die.
In subsequent years I kept trying. Many small presses. I queried over 100 agents. One responded that it was obviously a smart story and I was an intelligent writer, but it wasn’t for her. Otherwise, crickets.
In order to get published, it seems, you have to be published. This snake biting its own tail just keeps rolling. And rolling. And rolling. It’s a wonder new authors ever see the light of day.
Probably there are others of you out there that were encouraged to publish in high school. I have to admit that although I was, it took nearly thirty years for it to happen. My first short story appeared in 2009. High school ended in the Reagan administration.
Other acceptances quickly followed then quickly dried up. I reverted to nonfiction where I’ve had six published books, all with traditional (if academic) publishers. But I know better than to get too confident.
A friend of mine with a couple published novels (one with Macmillan, no less), and writing awards, still struggles to get her stories accepted. Validation is difficult to come by. When it comes, invite it in and offer to let it stay the night.
I will post more as the book progresses.
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