Seth McLane's Blog - Posts Tagged "self-publishing"
My Journey to Self-Publishing
If I’m being completely honest, I feel a bit like a fraud, an imposter. I’ve been pursuing this goal—secretly—for ten years. GOOSH is my fourth completed manuscript. The goal was to be traditionally published, to be fought over by literary agents, to travel to New York, and to get multiple offers from the big publishers.
I got close. I’ve had two agents. I learned so much from my first agent. She guided me through major revisions to my first manuscript. She offered it to the big publishers. I received great feedback, but ultimately the idea didn’t “fit their list.” In the meantime, I wrote book 2. And then, my one-year contract with that agent ended. Less than a week later, I found a new one. Here we go, only a matter of time, right? Well, that agent sucked. Something felt off and that, too, fizzled out. Meanwhile, I wrote book 3.
Then, Covid happened, and I started book 4, GOOSH, while still trying to find an agent for my previous books. For each book, I sent 100s of query letters. I received 100s of rejections with a few glimmers of false hope. Fortunately, my favorite part of this whole process was the writing—creating characters, brainstorming plot ideas, filling up my notebooks with my ideas, typing them out, and letting Jared and my mom read them.
The worst part was having to rely on some stranger in New York to tell me whether people would buy my books. But, as long as I kept writing, I felt like eventually I would break through. “Keep your chin up” and “Don’t give up” were two mantras my dad instilled in me. Then, in September of 2022, part way through writing GOOSH, he died. If you know my father and what my relationship with him was like, you’ll see him all throughout this book.
When I finished drafting in March of 2023, I started querying agents. On the very first day, I received the following from an agent in New York City: “I just finished reading these pages, and I have to say—there's something really compelling about your writing! Please go ahead and send me the full manuscript at your earliest convenience. I cannot wait to continue.” Needless to say, I was filled with hope. This feels different, I thought. This book is the one! It’s fate.
And then she ghosted me for an entire year. Apparently, she could wait to continue. In March of 2024 when the anniversary of that email arrived, I finally did what I should’ve done a while ago. I said, “Screw it. I’m making this book myself.”
So, I never achieved the ultimate goal, but I wrote a book I’m proud of, and now, people can read it. Someday soon, I’ll receive a message from a kid who connects in some way to this story.
And it will all be worth it.
Goosh
Seth McLane
Purchase on Amazon
I got close. I’ve had two agents. I learned so much from my first agent. She guided me through major revisions to my first manuscript. She offered it to the big publishers. I received great feedback, but ultimately the idea didn’t “fit their list.” In the meantime, I wrote book 2. And then, my one-year contract with that agent ended. Less than a week later, I found a new one. Here we go, only a matter of time, right? Well, that agent sucked. Something felt off and that, too, fizzled out. Meanwhile, I wrote book 3.
Then, Covid happened, and I started book 4, GOOSH, while still trying to find an agent for my previous books. For each book, I sent 100s of query letters. I received 100s of rejections with a few glimmers of false hope. Fortunately, my favorite part of this whole process was the writing—creating characters, brainstorming plot ideas, filling up my notebooks with my ideas, typing them out, and letting Jared and my mom read them.
The worst part was having to rely on some stranger in New York to tell me whether people would buy my books. But, as long as I kept writing, I felt like eventually I would break through. “Keep your chin up” and “Don’t give up” were two mantras my dad instilled in me. Then, in September of 2022, part way through writing GOOSH, he died. If you know my father and what my relationship with him was like, you’ll see him all throughout this book.
When I finished drafting in March of 2023, I started querying agents. On the very first day, I received the following from an agent in New York City: “I just finished reading these pages, and I have to say—there's something really compelling about your writing! Please go ahead and send me the full manuscript at your earliest convenience. I cannot wait to continue.” Needless to say, I was filled with hope. This feels different, I thought. This book is the one! It’s fate.
And then she ghosted me for an entire year. Apparently, she could wait to continue. In March of 2024 when the anniversary of that email arrived, I finally did what I should’ve done a while ago. I said, “Screw it. I’m making this book myself.”
So, I never achieved the ultimate goal, but I wrote a book I’m proud of, and now, people can read it. Someday soon, I’ll receive a message from a kid who connects in some way to this story.
And it will all be worth it.
Goosh
Seth McLane
Purchase on Amazon
