10th Anniversary: Another Crossroads

Back in February 2006, I found myself at a crossroads.  I was deciding whether to focus on academics or on rewriting my novel, Pilot Point.  I decided for academics for a time, particularly studies in Oxford at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in the Autumn of 2007, an experience which was not easy, but provided many fond memories (some of which you may find in the archives at right).

But now my life has taken another turn.  I did eventually return to Pilot Point and rewrote it in more recent years.  Now I am in the process of getting it published – finally!  And I am doing so by joining “The Indie Author Revolt.”

More and more authors are going independent, bypassing publishing houses by publishing and selling their books themselves.  Said self-publishing is frequently taking the form of e-books.  And it is taking market share from traditional publishers.  Yes, this is no longer that new of a trend, but it is gaining momentum.

I can tell you from personal experience that many publishing houses have it coming to them.   Publishing houses used to have all the power in the book world when the then primitive state of technology made bypassing them problematic at best.  They abused that power, often putting easy sales above serving creative authors and discriminating readers.  (That got so ridiculous for my novel that I decided to set aside trying to get it published decades ago with the intent of trying again when the environment was better.  That decision is proving wise and/or lucky.)

But today authors are using the internet and improved technology to bypass the houses every day.  And, fed up by delays, foot dragging, and sometimes downright laziness from publisher after publisher in this and other writing ventures, I am joining the Indie Author Revolt myself.*

I will say the delays in publishing Pilot Point have been providential.  When I first finished it in the Nineties (Yes, that long ago.), I didn’t know an Anglican from an angel nor a rood screen from a rude scream.  But in rewriting the novel, I have enriched it with Anglicanism and liturgy.  That’s not something you see every day in a very Texan novel.  And it has greatly improved it if I may say so myself.

Now the delays are near an end.  Expect Pilot Point to be available this summer, in both paperback and e-book.

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*NOTE: I would be unfair if I did not also say that I’ve had positive experiences with some publishers as well.  I hope these manage to thrive as the world of publishing undergoes needful change.  Recent years have not been easy ones particularly for small publishers.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:

Yes, the calendar commands that the 10^th Anniversary month of this humble blog is now at an end.  But I have decided to continue to mark occasionally the 10 years as I come across times and places that bring back memories.  I promise not to be too insufferable about it.