Of books and ebooks, Model Ts and hybrids
When I first started writing “The Mayonnaise Murders” more than 20 years ago, there wasn’t any such thing as a website. There was no such thing as a Twitter. Facebook? The kid who invented that social media phenomenon, Mark Zuckerburg, hadn’t even reached high school yet. That’s because he was only 11 years old at the time.
When I first started writing “The Mayonnaise Murders” people still read books that they purchased from these places called bookstores, and they still listened to their music on CDs. I know, right?
So it’s safe to say that things have changed somewhat since I first came up with the idea of a detective named Vid from Planet 10. Back then, even though the book was originally conceived to satisfy a request from a company that wanted me to create a detective series for children, I was still trying to figure out how to find the right agent who would connect my book with the right publisher who would then (hopefully and prayerfully) love my book enough to convince hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting readers that Mayonnaise Murders was a must-read. Plan and simple.
Nearly 20 years later I’m not quite so worried about finding that right agent or that right publishing house because I am now my own agent who is co-owner of his own publishing house. I will confess that as of this date I have not yet sold those hundreds of thousands of books I dreamed of, but that’s OK. One thing at a time. First thing is to get to 100, then 1,000, and then ever upward. It’s going to take a lot of work. A whole lot of work. But I don’t mind. Because this time I don’t have to wait for someone to tell me my book is worthy for others to read and enjoy. I already know that. I just need to connect with my audience, and I already have a good idea who they are.
Do I sound confident? I damned sure hope so. Because if you don’t believe in yourself…?