A self-publisher to watch?

Here's the QLH thread:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205896&highlight=Anna+Emerson

PS I bought it without even trying the sample. I'm looking for something to read anyway and this sounds up my street. Her 5* reviews on amazon's uk site are by established, prolific reviewers. That's what I look for.
Congrats to an AW-nurtured succesful novelist!

Susan Littlefield said:

It seems to me there are grammar and some tense errors, but from what I read it seems like an interesting story.

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This. I found I was having to re-read sentences several times.

Of course, about an hour later, my head did erupted into a migraine.

I've been reading her blog.
Here is a post that shows why she decided to SP: http://www.traceygarvisgraves.com/2011/06/fiction-friday.html

Good for her!

Thanks, aruna, for digging up the blog post. That was fascinating.

Aruna, you are a gem, thanks so much for both links.

Reading the query letters taught me (not that I ever doubted) the power of a query letter. The first one left me...ho hum, another island story, meh. But the second one grabbed me and made me want to download that book and read it now. Fascinating that they are both about the same book!

Now if you'll all excuse me, I need to step on over to Amazon and take a look at this book...

BethS said:

I have to admit, based on the premise and what little I read of it, this looks to be several cuts above your average self-pubbed novel. I wonder why she couldn't get an agent and publisher for this.

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I think the trouble, as hinted at in her blog, is the premise and the mix of genres. Mixed genre novels seem to frighten people in publishing. I thought the premise was terrific and I'm tempted to read it myself, if I ever find the time.

I'm really pleased for her. She's worked hard and she deserves the rewards.

You're welcome.
It seems to me that she gave up the agent search rather early; that had she continued and an agent finally agreed to actually read the book, she would have certainly found a trade publisher. OTOH hand she had a blog following and readers who read the ms and gave good feedback and that was what encouraged her to sp.

Of all the break-through sp authors I've read about, this is the only one I've ever been even tempted to read. It sounds like true quality that would have made it anyway, as opposed to those books that simply just hit the right nerve at the right time.

aruna said:

You're welcome.
It seems to me that she gave up the agent search rather early; that had she continued and an agent finally agreed to actually read the book, she would have certainly found a trade publisher. OTOH hand she had a blog following and readers who read the ms and gave good feedback and that was what encouraged her to sp.

Of all the break-through sp authors I've read about, this is the only one I've ever been even tempted to read. It sounds like true quality that would have made it anyway, as opposed to those books that simply just hit the right nerve at the right time.

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That's what I thought also. I think when I was subbing my first novel, it took up to about 10 agents before I actually recieved a request.

Wow, good luck to her. My first book was also a desert island premise. The few readers I had said they loved it, and one stayed up till 1 a.m. on a work night to finish it. It's a fun premise to write, and obviously a fun one to read, too.

Mixed genres are indeed tough to query. My third book is a mix of women's fiction and YA, with time shifts between thirty years. I've queried over 200 agents for both incarnations, and I'm ready to give up. Some loved the premise but couldn't pigeon hole it. I feel her pain.

Hello everyone,

Thank you to Literateparakeet for bringing this thread to my attention and thank you for the well-wishes. I haven't been around much lately, but the AW forums were instrumental in teaching me so many things about writing and for that I'll always be grateful. I found my critique partner here and she's been a true blessing.

The decision to self-publish was the right one for me, and I have no regrets. Once the decision was made I hired a professional editor for a developmental and line edit (she freelances for Carina Press), and then sent it to a copyeditor for a final check. If there are errors we all missed them.

I really don't believe an agent could have sold On the Island because it's a mix of genres and has a risky storyline. I could have continued to query and hope that an agent would finally request pages, but there was no guarantee that a publisher would have been interested. I think self-publishing can be a great option for books like this.

Dystel and Goderich approached me last month and wanted to know if I was interested in discussing representation. I was not interested in an agent for my print or e-book rights, but I needed some assistance with foreign transactions. I had already sold the Hungarian and Indonesian rights via two separate agents in those countries and decided to let D&G handle future foreign rights sales. They have since handled the French sale and they've been absolutely wonderful to work with.

It's a heavily reviewed book and the volume of my e-mail is staggering so there are many that don't review it but write to me instead. On the Island has definitely connected with many of its readers, and I'm truly grateful for their positive feedback and support. This experience has surpassed my wildest expectations.

Thank you to those who have downloaded the sample and/or purchased the book. I really appreciate it. This is a happy time for me, and I am very thankful for everything that has happened. I've connected with some great people all around the world.

I'll try to stop by more often. This really is a wonderful place, and I've recommended it to others many, many times.

Best,

Tracey

Thanks for stopping by, Tracey. Your story is very unique and demonstrates how quickly publishing is changing and how different choices can work for different writers. Congratulations on your success.

Best of luck to you, Tracey, and congratulations on engaging so many readers with your book!

Congratulations, Tracey!

Congrats Tracey! Thanks for sharing your story!!

People really have to understand that a lot of times self-pubbing doesn't mean you can't write or haven't tried traditionally to be agented or published. There are a lot of great books out there that make it to agents, find editor love, and then die out in editorial meetings(cough, my first novel, cough, lol). So you never know the full story of why a book has been self pubbed.

Others want the full control of how their book is edited or marketed.

I think the whole landscape of publishing is changing and is going to continue to change. And considering some of the absolute contrived, drivel the Big 6 continue to put out or support(50 Shades), it's about time someone else called the shots!

Fantastic, inspiring story! Congrats for your success!

Off to get this one!

MysteryRiter said:

Trolling through Amazon the other day, I found this book. It's not my type of read, but it caught my attention being #9 on Amazon and self-published.

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I read the sample. The story started off okay, but I was frequently jerked out of the storyline by the uneven writing. I think it could have done with a few rounds of editing.

Maybe if I read the full novel, I'd have a different opinion.

dangerousbill said:

I read the sample. The story started off okay, but I was frequently jerked out of the storyline by the uneven writing. I think it could have done with a few rounds of editing.

Maybe if I read the full novel, I'd have a different opinion.

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Not sure if you saw it, or read it, the author said above:

I hired a professional editor for a developmental and line edit (she freelances for Carina Press), and then sent it to a copyeditor for a final check.

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Doesn't mean it's for everyone, just wanted to make sure you saw that she'd covered her editing bases so-to-speak.

dangerousbill said:

I read the sample. The story started off okay, but I was frequently jerked out of the storyline by the uneven writing. I think it could have done with a few rounds of editing.

Maybe if I read the full novel, I'd have a different opinion.

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Yeah, so could a lot of Big 6 published novels!!!

Juneluv12 said:

Yeah, so could a lot of Big 6 published novels!!!

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QFT.

Juneluv12 said:

Yeah, so could a lot of Big 6 published novels!!!

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So true! Recently I read a novel by an award-winning author and he wrote:

She bowed her head and apologized, "I'm sorry."

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Seriously? Unecessary narrative summary and redundancy.

Congrats again Tracey, I look forward to reading your book.

Too true, Krista!

Congrats on the wonderful progress with the book, Tracey! Sounds like the book earned every great review! I'll be checking it out!

absitinvidia said:

The date stamp on the first page says it's June 2001.

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Ah. Missed that! Thanks.

Welcome back to the forums, Tracy! It's so wonderful to hear the success you are having with your book.

Tracey, not that it's any of my business, but I'd encourage you to at least consider allowing Dystel and Goderich to represent your book to US publishers. If you get offers that sound good to you, then you can take them up. If not, you can always refuse. Allowing Dystel and Goderich to shop your book to US publishers would not in any way obligate you to sign with publishers who offer you a contract. It would just open up options for you, and potentially allow you to reach a greater audience. Just my two cents. Regardless of what you decide, I wish you well, and will likely be buying the book when I get a chance.