2011 literary , self-publish , subjective , trend 1 Comments

The other day I finished my rough draft to my second book in the ‘Beyond the Eyes’ series.

YAY.

So now I’ve been doing some research on my third book. Kevin thinks I should do four books in the series, but I’m just going to do three and see what happens. I think if I don’t have an agent, by the time all three books are polished and ready to be publicly read, then I’m going to self-publish. I know a lot of people are doing it now, even authors who have already been traditionally published.

Two years ago I thought if I had to self-publish then I must suck as a writer.

Not True.

There are wonderful writers out there who have decided to self-publish, and they’re doing well. Some of them have even had offers from agents/publishers, after they had self-published. I’m not saying that’ll happen to me, but ya never know. Then again, by then I might not want to traditionally publish. But the point is, just because you decide to self-publish, doesn’t mean your writing or story sucks ass.

The literary world is very subjective, and nobody can predict what the next popular thing is going to be.

It’s a guessing game.

I do think because of the Hunger Games movie coming out, which by the way, I can’t wait to see, dystopian-type books will probably be popular for a while. Not too long ago, I read that interest in the young adult paranormal books are dying out. However, there are some publishers still buying them. I personally think that although the shelves are saturated with YA paranormal books, that genre will still remain popular but in a different way. I believe that it’s going to evolve beyond what has already been done. I think the stories will get more creative and bolder, leaving behind the predictable and tiresome stories that now have readers rolling their eyes when they see another one of those books again. Not that there’s anything wrong with those books, but it’s virtually like all the other ones crammed next to it. It reminds me of. . . .

A vanilla shake.

You may have a penchant for vanilla shakes, but eventually you get tired of them because it’s the same thing–milk and ice-cream. Then one day you come across an ice-cream parlor that has turned your beloved vanilla shakes into a mouth watering–tastebud pleasing–oh my frickin’ God–I have to have one–creation.

The Blizzard.

Hell, yeah.

See where I’m going with this?

I know it’s a silly analogy, but hey, it works for me. But seriously, right now, the YA paranormal books are those vanilla shakes. I think there are a lot of readers out there who are diehard fans of that genre, but it’s becoming too bland for them. I think what they want are added goodies to that genre, and that’s what us writers need to give them. And not just the same goodies–a variety of them.

Okay, moving on before I start to embarrass myself.

Anyway, I’m trying to decide whether I should reread my first and second books, and then start editing/rewriting the second book, or start on the third one. I know when a writer is finished with their rough draft of their book, they’re supposed to put it aside for like six weeks, then go back and do the editing/rewriting, that way they’re going back over it with fresh eyes.

I don’t know.

All I know is if I don’t work on it after a few days, I miss it. Therefore, I have to figure out what to do.

Hmmmm. . . . What does my gut tell me?

*Big sigh*

Well, regardless of what I decide to do, I’m going to keep plugging away at it until I reach my goal(s).

HAPPY FRIDAY!
　