Cry For Tomorrow Released

It only took four years.  After a nearly a year of writing followed by three years of repeated editing, proofing, and formatting, the print edition of Cry For Tomorrow was finally released Saturday.  The book is available for immediate purchase on Amazon.  The Kindle, nook, iPad, and Sony eReader editions will be released very soon.  The Kindle edition will be released directly through Amazon and the others through the incredibly amazing Smashwords website.  Also, Cry for Tomorrow can be purchased through the CreateSpace website. 

So, what's next?  Well, I need to start working on the sequel.  Cry For Tomorrow wasn't meant to be a one-shot deal.  What will happen to Gina and Dr. Tuzak?  Who will the new world leader be?  Have we seen the last of Mark?  The answers - and several surprises - will be in the sequel.  

At the same time, I'm working on my start up company in the hopes of bringing relief to people who've hit on hard times.  Read about that here.  And, of course, Cry For Tomorrow won't sell itself, I have to work on marketing the book.  As it turns out, I'm extremely busy - and I don't even have a job (that was actually a part of why Cry For Tomorrow took four years - I spent thirteen months in job purgatory).

My goal in self-publishing is to sell enough copies to garner the attention of a major publisher.  I admit, this is a long shot, but it's better than begging agents to submit my work for me and enduring continual rejection (some agents don't even bother to respond).  There's no doubt the publishing world is undergoing huge change.  With authors able to self publish and distribute their work to the same venues as established publishers, the playing field has suddenly leveled dramatically.  Suddenly, an author can be successful without an agent or a publisher behind him.  Although I still think those things help, the author is now less dependent on these two industry mainstays.  What will separate successful independent authors from the unsuccessful?  It shouldn't be a surprise: hard work, good writing (which includes knowing what to write about), and marketing savvy.  I think, in the long run, we're destined to see better quality coming to the market through all this, with the market being the ultimate decider of who gets recognized instead of a small group of people sitting in offices in major cities.

Who can say?  These are exciting times - possibly as revolutionary as the introduction of the printing press.  It may be that in five years, agents will no longer be part of the publishing game.  I'm sure they will fight hard to ensure their own survival, but it seems they will be hard pressed to prove their worth.  As for the publishers, they may be in the same boat if they cannot show they provide real value to the process through superior marketing and distribution.  If I were Stephen King or John Grisham, I think I would seriously consider leaving my agent and publishing company behind.  Then again, I'm still trying to get there.