I know I’ve been talking about getting a publisher, applying for a grant, finding an agent…well none of this is going to happen. For one thing, after approaching numerous agents and publishers, it finally sunk in that “illustrated novel” is no longer a thing, and hasn’t been for decades.
No one I approached, even those that liked the work, had any idea of how this particular project fits into any current publishing niche. I have no doubt the project has potential, I’ve known it for years, but convincing anyone who has the means to publish it to see it like I do is enough for even Sisyphus to give up and go back to his rock just to take a breather.
I’ve published before on Amazon’s Kindle platform but it’s been years, and even though on principle I avoid shopping on Amazon, I’ve never had a complaint about the quality of their publishing business. It’s completely end-to-end and I can have my book published and up in the Amazon store for exactly zero dollars. Of course they take a cut for each book sold; I don’t expect them to not make any money, but their business model takes their share out of the sale of each book so all in all it’s a painless process for the creator.
I submitted my completed, laid-out book and after a little niggling with the layout to meet the Kindle standards, which exist for good reasons, it was uploaded a few days ago and I got a proof copy yesterday!
I would like to do more than just sell books. I will be donating copies to our local libraries, and if you know of a library not in the Tulsa area, let me know and I will see they get a copy just as soon as they are available.
In case you’re wondering, I won’t be doing an E-book with this project. The Kindle platform provides options for redesigning this into an E-book, but the layouts for different types of E-readers messes up the placement of the illustrations and getting them to fall on the proper pages to coincide with the text is a problem.
I’ll also be doing a major PR push to media, including newspapers and TV and radio stations, starting in my local area and expanding as I’m able.
I want to hear your suggestions! If you have an idea for promoting “The first ‘new’ Dickens novel in decades!” pass it on to me. If it’s a suggestion I can use, you get a free copy! You can email me at dickens@mooneyart.com
