Hello, all.

A fiction writer’s job is to walk a line between telling a good story and unsettling readers to the point that they look at the world in a way they hadn’t considered. This belief has led me to coddle this novel for nearly half my life. And I do not see myself failing in my aim. Waver, yes. Falter, more than once. But I write on. I edit. I slash. I rebuild. And I write on.

After several significant drafts over the life of the manuscript, you might think there would be fewer typos. Not true. The most recent re-writes are done and took about six weeks. The changes to the manuscript were seismic and necessary; the novel and its concept are more relevant to the world we now live in. But when seismic events occur, things can get a little messy. Thanks to constructive feedback from a Heather Jacquemin and Joe Coccaro, I know I need to go back through the manuscript and tend to the technical aspects like stray commas and nefarious extra spaces. At the same time, I know I must paint the main characters with a little more detail and ask tough questions about structure.

I’ve been in talks with a hybrid publisher (Koehler Books). The first thing that I must think of when deliberating on a publisher (hybrid or traditional) is whether the publishing house is the best fit for my project. If you look at Koehler’s website, it is well-done, professional, and easy to navigate (which is more than I can say for other publishers that have expressed interest in my manuscript). John Koehler himself has been far more candid than I could have expected, and patient with my annoying questions. Furthermore, the executive editor (Joe Coccaro) was kind enough to do a review of my book, a service that usually costs extra money. 

On the other hand, it doesn’t appear as though there is much beyond genre fiction in the Koehler catalog. For instance, while my book certainly falls under a coming-of-age subgenre that you see on the Koehler website, I envision it quite outside such clear definitions. Some of the books I have done in the past year were marketed under the category of Adult Fiction, though one could say they are definitely coming-of-age books. Examples of such books are Americanah, We Need New Names, The Leavers, Long Division, and Salvage the Bones. So, in spite of the obvious publishing know-how of Koehler, I hesitate. I pause because I don’t see a category in the catalog that might be suitable for marketing my book (incidentally, this affects how the book cover may appear; compare my book cover for the campaign with the books mentioned above). I am, though, open to insights about this issue.

Another area that I hesitate is finances. The funds that you contributed were an obvious help in getting me to this stage in talks with a publisher: a strong fanbase willing to plunk down hard-earned cash for my pages looks very good. Additionally, your support is an immense inspiration; your belief in me and/or this project pushes me to make a good story even better. But if I go the route of hybrid publishing (called co-publishing on the Koehler website), the costs are much greater than the funds you helped me raise. And searching for a traditional deal could add a year or two onto what, in the publishing world, is typically a long production schedule. Also, it is time (after 17 years) for me to move on to the next project (the already-drafted sequel to Toil & Sound). Having said that, a hybrid deal will cover all the important aspects that I do not have an expertise in: marketing, distribution, cover & interior design, ISBN number, and line-editing/copy-editing/proofreading. To be clear, I am not asking you for more money. But as my patron, you should know that I am looking for additional sources of funding so as to make my choices a bit clearer. If the money doesn’t come through, I will find a way to fund the remainder myself. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks so much for your patience. Please write me an email if you have any questions.