In my inaugural post (if you’ve been with me that long) I mentioned that I have been writing a novel. I have been writing stories my whole life, but this is the first one that I’ve truly believed in. I’ve put my blood, sweat, and a lot of time into it. I joined a writing school and finished an editing class that helped me take this novel from an idea to a story, to a whole different story, to the completed manuscript that it is now.
And somehow none of that was the hard part.
The Last Empress
The concept of my novel, or the concepts of the plan for my novel as Donald Trump might say, looked very different than the words on the page today. It started with the idea of writing a perhaps sci-fi-esque thriller set in Rome where the ancient emperor Nero returned to once again wreak havoc on the city. The inspiration came from a National Geographic article titled “Rome’s Bad Boy: Nero Rises from the Ashes.”
Ancient Roman history is littered with fascinating characters, but Nero was arguably the most intriguing (read: most crazy, obviously). So when the idea came to me for a revitalization of Nero in the modern world I put pen to paper. Not literally, I started typing on my computer actually.
And then, as happens with an idea, it twisted and changed. Maybe events in my personal life, maybe events in the world at large, but “The Last Emperor” became “The Last Empress.” The emperor Nero became a woman named Cybele, supposedly dead and vilified in history by the all-male governing body to be used as the justification for the subjugation of women. But The Empress is not truly gone, and she and the main character, Ophelia June, have the power to change everything and free women from the life of oppression that has become the norm.
When I tell you I am proud of what I wrote it is an understatement. Sometimes, embarrassingly, I read a chapter or a line or a paragraph and then say out loud “I thought of that?” So to me, it seems a no-brainer that others would want to put this book out into the world and monetize it.
The Realities of the Publishing World
I have tried to get published before. I wrote a middle-grade novel about a little girl who spends the summer with her curmudgeonly grandfather. I wrote a not-so-middle-grade memoir recounting one of my most traumatizing breakups and the lessons I learned. I sent queries to agents to no avail.
If you’re wondering what the hell that means it’s a key step in the publishing process. Very few (traditionally) published authors can get their work in front of a publisher without an agent. Not unlike a cover letter for a job application, a query letter showcases your work and pitches the agent on why they should want to represent it.
To date, I have sent out thirty query letters for The Last Empress. I have received 14 replies and 100% of those were rejections. It is so hard to continue to persevere in the face of that rejection. To continue to believe that I am a good writer and that my work is worthy of an editor, of publication, and maybe even of fame is nearly impossible.
And yet, every morning I write my affirmation: “I will publish my book this year.” I will. Ideally, I’d like it to be with a traditional publisher who handles all the marketing and promotion for me. I have put too much into The Last Empress, however, to not put her out into the world and will self-publish. So no matter how many rejection letters I receive, no matter how hard it is to smile and persevere, it is truly my only option in this world of writing. I must continue to believe in The Last Empress, I must continue to believe in myself.
And maybe pray for some kind of miracle or a long-lost cousin who is a book agent or something.
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