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| Frustration! |
Nearing
forty published books, frequent guest mystery author Marilyn Meredith is the
epitome of perseverance. Learn why today as she tells us about her frustrating
publishing journey. Learn more about Marilyn and her books at her website and
blog.
FRUSTRATIONS
My whole publishing career has been fraught
with frustrations.
After nearly thirty rejections, my first book
was published by a major publisher way back in 1982. I thought I had it made. Surely
my second book would be accepted by the same publisher. Nope, the editor who
loved that first book moved on; her replacement wasn’t interested.
To be perfectly honest, I’m not exactly sure of
the order of the next events unfolded, but I’ll just list them.
That second book was picked up by a publisher
who turned out a beautiful book—the problem was that the publisher decided he
could make more money by gambling away what should have been his authors’
royalties, and he landed in jail.
Way back in the early part of my career and
before the Internet, I had a book accepted by a publisher, but he wanted it
camera-ready. My computer wasn’t up to that, so a friend who owned a computer
shop let me use one of his computers between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
when he opened. I slaved over that book and finally sent it in. I didn’t hear
for ages, so called, and this is what his wife said, “Oh, my dear, my husband
passed away, and I’ve no plans to continue his publishing business.”
I found the publisher for my Rocky Bluff P.D.
series in the Writer’s Digest Market Place—signed the contract and found out
that he was only going to publish e-books. This was long before anyone had a
clue what an e-book was and if someone could figure out how to buy it, it had
to be read on a computer. That didn’t work.
Then I found another publisher for the first
two books in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series. Unfortunately, he didn’t keep track
of nor pay royalties. I took back my rights and went with a highly recommended
publisher, who did the next two books, and then decided she didn’t want to be a
publisher anymore.
Yes, I did find another publisher for that
series and everything went well for many more books before disaster struck. The
publisher had a series of strokes, and all operations ceased. (She was a good
friend, and it’s been hard on many levels.) I am still dealing with the
aftermath, though have found another publisher for the series.
With my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series, the
first four books were published as mass-market paperbacks—and this publisher,
another good friend, passed away. The series was picked up by another great
publisher, but several family tragedies made her close the publishing house.
Now the series is being published by Mundania Press, and I’m happy.
Looking back, despite all that happened, I’m
glad I never gave up.
A Cold Death
Deputy Tempe Crabtree is the resident deputy of the mountain
community of Bear Creek and its nearby surroundings in the Southern Sierra.
A horrific snow storm traps Tempe and her husband in the lodge
of a summer camp along with the caretakers and seven most unpleasant
people--one becomes a murder victim.
And to complicate matters, the ghost of a former camper makes
contact with Tempe.
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9 comments:
Thank you so much for hosting me today. When I reread what I wrote, I couldn't help but wonder why I kept going. Really, really stubborn, I guess.
So happy we were able to help you re-publish some of them. You will never lose the rights to these, and as long as Amazon is around, they will remain available. These are your intellectual property, and you need to remain vigilant to stay on top of them. Not an easy task with as many as you have!
Marilyn, thanks for offering an inside peek at some of your journey. There was such a lot of death and loss in there. I guess the larger houses do offer some stability by contrast. However, it sounds as if you have made some lifetime friends along the way--and landed in great hands now.
I'm also glad you never gave up, Marilyn. You've overcome some big challenges with those publishers...even more than the normal changes we're getting accustomed to in this new age.
Lorna has been an angel with the resurrection of some of my titles. Something I had no idea how to tackled. And Jenny, I've had so much support and made some great friends despite all the problems. Patricia, it's been tough at times and sometimes I'm amazed that I didn't give up and try something new. Shows how stubborn I am.
You've done a great job, Marilyn, and I know how you felt. I tried going the agent route and had three agents die on me before they did any good. I've told my experiences in a book just coming out titled Everything But The Kitchen Sink - A Writer's Memoir. You don't seem to slow down, but at 92 I have.
Thanks for commenting, Chester. I have definitely slowed down. I no longer fly to events or conferences. If we (meaning my daughter) can't drive, we don't go. I don't get nearly done in a day as I once did, this old lady needs a nap and I go to bed much earlier than I once did.
Marilyn, for some reason reading your post reminded me of advice one of my college professors gave me -- "View life, with it's ups and downs, as a learning experience." Best wishes with your latest book release!
Great advice, Angela, and thank you.
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