Path to Publication Part 1

iStock / VladSt

In my first post on It’s About Time, I wrote that I’d be writing about writing. It’s about time that I delivered. So here’s Part 1 of my publishing journey. (Spoiler alert: I’m still on the road!)

After decades of writing a memoir and reading endless excerpts to my fellow writers, I felt ready to share my story with the world. I considered contacting a “hybrid” publisher (where the author and publisher share the costs) but why not aim high and seek out a literary agent who would promote my book to a publisher?

I was mulling over the options when, in a totally unrelated conversation with my therapist, she suggested I make new friends on MeetUp. I was lonesome after six years of widowhood. Friends had moved away or found a partner or died. I was still in the same place, with mainly my dog Sophie for companionship.

So I joined MeetUp and listed writing as my major interest. No sooner had I hit Enter than Marcy popped up, an agent in a nearby state seeking writers seeking agents. We were to “meet up” and bring up to ten pages of our manuscripts.

At the meetup, I read my opening chapter, the one I had fine-tuned over the years like the strings on a violin. Marcy was impressed. I sent her the whole manuscript.

She liked it! Would she be my agent?

Not so fast! “Your goal is 500,000 followers on social media,” she texted.  

Was that a typo? Did she mean 50,000?

Either figure was laughable. I had zero followers. I was never into social media.

Marcy explained that followers are potential buyers and readers. Without them, publishers won’t recoup their investment. So there would be no contract without social media—lots of it. Marcy offered to teach me. (I do see the irony in having once been a computer programming pioneer and am now a 21st-century SM Luddite.)

I never went back to MeetUp. I’m too busy now connecting with friends on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Now that I’ve gone public, I’m also posting on Substack, an online vehicle for authors. It’s an opportunity to write about growing old or grandchildren or most anything on my mind.

I hope to get a few followers. Even better, subscribers. Thanks!

Coming soon: Part 2 of my winding path to publication. Stay tuned.