And so I ask the Internets...

Listening to: Fallout Boy, "Homesick at Space Camp"

I came up with an idea a few months ago. At first, I was all gung-ho. Now I'm vacillating back and forth, unable to really decide. So I thought, since it involves the Internet, I would ask the Internet. I fully welcome any and all honest opinions in the comments or, if you're too shy, email me at krisbaxter AT gmail DOT com. Really, people, I need your help on this one.

So I have this little book that I wrote. And edited. And edited. And edited. And queried. And queried. And queried some more. And I mostly got rejections, although a few requests made me temporarily happy and hopeful--only to have the usual disappointment. And I love it, still, after all that. I really, truly do.

It's my third novel, to be exact. I did not experience that post-editing love with either of the first two. Not...in...the...least.

And I have this domain that I bought over a year ago. I have yet to use it. I'm waiting for The Husband to be a little less busy, so he can help me with all the aspects of website creation that I don't really get.

So I'm thinking...my list of agents to query is ever-shrinking, although I have every intention of querying each and every agent that reps my genre before I move on to another step. And that step, for the first time, might not involve trunking the novel.*

Yes, that's right. I'm thinking about self-publishing, but on the Internet. On my own website. Essentially, the idea is that I love this book and I want people to read it, or at least give it a chance. When I think about it, I think about my protagonist Hazel, who I adore in all her snarky, sarcastic, loner glory. I love Hazel, and I want people to get to know her. It's as simple as that.

I have a few promotional ideas in mind, mostly involving giveaways. Awesome giveaways, by the way, although I'd prefer not to get into them right now. That might draw at least a few people to the site, and that's really all I want. I feel the expenditure on my part would be worth that. And, as it's a YA novel, it's more likely to draw readers due to that generation's higher use of the Internet.



But then I think...maybe I'm deluding myself. Maybe the book isn't all I think it is (note: I don't think it's spectacular or anything, and I know I can do better with my next novels, but I think it's at least somewhat entertaining and quite readable). Or maybe I will, against all odds, eventually find success in this business, and regret this move, because the Internet is forever. Maybe in five years I'll hate the book and wish I'd never put it out there. Maybe everyone will hate it, and I'll get tons of horrible feedback and spiral into a pit of self-pity and depression.** What if, what if, what if.

Important Note: This would all be happening sometime around April or May. I entered the novel in question into the Golden Hearts, and so I'd wait to see if I finaled before making any serious moves. No, I don't actuallyexpect to final, but the hope exists at least. The finalist list is, I think, release in March.

And so I ask you, Internet. What do you think? To Internet-self-publish, or not? Please, honest opinions and thoughts.

P.S. If there is some positive response, I'll publish a short synopsis, essentially the meaty part of my query letter, in a future post. Not quite ready for that yet, though.


*Don't worry: I continue to work on my next novel, and will go the usual query route with that, as well. I'm not solely focusing on this one novel--writing-wise, I have moved on.

**Okay, so I have more faith in myself than that, after all the rejections, which I've learned to handle rather well. But still, the potential is there.

One of Those Days, again

I spent most of this morning and a small part of the afternoon thinking that today was Thursday.

This would just be a normal, unremarkable lapse in brain function...

...if I hadn't also ran the dryer with nothing in it.

Nothing bad happened, but I still feel like an idiot.

Here, have a picture of the cat:

One of Those Days

At the drug store, I spent too much money on makeup, then signed on the wrong line for the cold medicine I bought (have to show ID and sign your life, soul, and future offspring away to buy anything effective anymore). Then I turned to leave and knocked over a heavy metal magazine rack...which, thankfully, was empty. It made a loud clatter, though, and the many customers in the vicinity turned to stare/grin/gawk.

This is why I'm not blogging anything else today;* I'm afraid I might 'splode the internets. That wouldn't be good for anybody.


*Also, I'm waiting until tomorrow to get a haircut. The clumsiness could be contagious, and I won't take the risk of infecting a hairstylist holding sharp scissors close to my head.

Crap!

*Headdesk* I just realized that, due to an omission in my record-keeping, I simultaneously queried two agents at the same agency. One I queried two months ago, via post, and haven't gotten a reply from. The second I queried just today--also via post, and the mailman probably picked the letter up half an hour ago.

Crap. Now I feel pretty damn stupid. That's the first mistake I've made since my very first query letter...which was sent with an incorrect home phone number.*

Crap.

On the plus side, this incident has made me recall another day, long ago, when I was even dumber (believe it or not, har har). And since I've already twice exposed my stupidity to the world today, may as well go for it, huh? This will complete my stupidity hat trick. And it's kind of funny.

When I was probably 12 or 13 years old, I rode along with my mom to the post office. She handed me a bunch of letters, including several bills, and asked me to A.) Buy some stamps, and B.) Send the letters.

I did exactly as she asked. I went to the counter and bought some stamps. Then I dropped the letters in the mail slot. Mission accomplished, right?

Notice anything missing from that progression? Like, maybe, putting the stamps ON the letters? Yeah. Oops.

For some reason--maybe she realized she had a moron for a daughter--my mom saw fit to ask, when we were several blocks away, if I had completed the unspoken part of the mission. That's when the light bulb went on over my head. The story, believe it or not, has a somewhat happy ending: we managed to talk the postmaster into removing the letters from the mail slot and letting us stamp and re-mail them. Not without some difficulty and a great deal of embarrassment on my part, though.

And now I use that embarrassing, humiliating experience to make myself feel slightly better. Because although I double-queried an agency, at least the phone number in the letters was correct, and at least I put stamps on the envelopes.

I think.

Anyone care to join me in showcasing their sheer idiocy for the world? Come on...it's fun!


*And it wasn't a typo, either...I actually didn't know my home phone number. In my defense, it was a new-ish number, with easily transposed digits, and...oh, why bother. I'm stupid, okay? That's the problem here. I'm stupid.