As I reflect on last year and my journey thus far, I am filled with awe and encouragement. My little part of the world along the Thumb Coast has embraced local authors, hosting regular events for authors and readers to gather together and discuss what they love most… books!
I attended a couple of these events and even participated as a notable up-and-coming author at the National Book Lovers Day event in Yale, Michigan. It has been a whirlwind of momentum that seems to have no end, and I am excited and anxious at the same time for my future. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my husband and children. They are my guiding light and small voice that reminds me to take a break and focus on my own self-care every now and then.
The most encouraging thing that happened to me at one of these events was an impromptu one-on-one conversation with Stephen Mack Jones and his wife, the incredible Mrs. Jones. Stephen is a wonderfully pleasant man and quite knowledgeable about the publishing industry. What impressed me the most was not what he said to me personally, but what he said to the audience, “This is your job.”
So if I wanted to be a published author, I had to take on a second career and work to the bones to get my writing life to move forward. I had to think like an entrepreneur. Not only did I have to create goals and tasks to achieve those goals, but I needed to create a yearly work plan with a marketing plan, and a budget to boot. I had to invest my own money into my art, just like entrepreneurs invest in their businesses.
Luckily, I am a creative and a quick-study. I was able to put more investment dollars into the marketing of my debut novel and promotional materials, and I learned how to utilize apps designed to assist the writer without compromising the integrity of the story. I engaged in writer forums, swallowed my ego, and traded stories for professional feedback. Amazon and Etsy were easy to get set up once I learned the ropes. I even opened up my own authorship checking account and was recently accepted as an official Goodreads author.
I did more beyond the scope of my original work plan for 2023, and I continue to forge ahead. In the beginning, I did not want to do self-publishing since I already have a career outside of writing. Over 75 query letters were submitted to agents after spending countless hours researching and reading every single website of over 300 agents, narrowing it down to 125 agents. Over time, some agents left their agency, and I had to find a new agent to replace them within that agency. Some were closed to queries before I could get my query in, and others ended up being duds (I don’t know what happened there, but sketchy sites give me the creeps). I received about 25 rejection letters. Since I did not hear back from the other 50, I’m assuming those are rejections as well based on the wording in their guidelines.
The more I dived into looking at writing as a career from an entrepreneur’s perspective, the more I discovered, agented or not, that I still have to put forth a lot of extra work. If this is my passion, my dream, then this is what I have to do. Since the writing industry is a hard shell to break into for any debut novelist, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to try the self-published route for my first book. Maybe then, I will have real numbers to present at the next round of agent query letters for my next project.
The road to publication is a dark and scary road to travel. It is full of unknowns and missteps along the way, but I am not afraid to travel this road and I am pushing forward anyway. Now that my cover design is complete and reviewed by a professional, my novel is finished and reviewed by two rounds of beta readers, my accounts are in order, the kinks are worked out in my socials, and I have designed my newsletter, I can log onto my publisher account and begin the process of publishing Grandfather’s Whispers. I will also be able to set up giveaways for my advanced reader copies so that I can receive reviews on Goodreads prior to the book’s release date. Then, I can prepare a pre-order system and plan a launch party.
I really don’t know what else is in store for me in 2024, but I am looking forward to the journey. Maybe another television interview or a podcast interview or two will come my way. Maybe I will travel to a few events and do some book signings. I know I plan to do more writing for future books to come, and I will share them with you when the time is right. For now, I am eager to complete this stage of my writing journey and finally get my story into your hands.
Thank you for following along in my journey, and I hope to continue to provide you with great reads in the near future.
STACY N. ELLIOTT 
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