Time for the next evolution. Coming soon will be my website, kennethwbarber.com, where you will all be able to peruse my work and order yourselves as many copies as you want. You want lots of copies. Look into my eyes-lots...of...copies. There, now that's settled let's move on to the rest of the post.
For those of you trying to break into the business, like all the rest of us poor deluded souls, there are a few things that I've learned you need. Let me start by saying that this dream we all have of writing our novels, our ART, and then sending it to an agent and having them go goo goo and gaa gaa and may I please represent you doesn't exist. Well, it almost doesn't exist. I suppose there may be a few lucky souls who hit the right agent on the right day and presto, they get published. But for the rest of us here's the truth. It takes work. Lots of work. Writing your novel may be art, but getting it published is business. And business takes work.
Do you have a blog? No? Get one. Have you built yourself a website? No? Get started. Also make sure you have a presence on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Another important step is making connections with others in your field. Doesn't matter if they're published or prepublished (that's what I call myself. Hey man,you gotta have faith) like you. Make the connections. You never know when that one connection might be the very thing that lifts you from the pack and sets you soaring above the rest. Develop a profile on LinkedIn. Attend conferences. Join a writing group of your peers. Not only could these things help your career, but they could give you support when you need it.
You're going to have times when you get discouraged. You start thinking that if your work was good someone would have picked it up by now. Maybe you should just give up. This is where your peer group comes in. It's their job to tell you that your work is good. That you should just keep going. That almost everyone experiences rejection. They will be right, too. Keep plugging away and if you just can't wait to see your work in print you can always publish it yourself. That's another post right there. Look for it soon. The Path of Self Publication. Dun Dun Duuuuuuuun.
Anyway, I wanted to know if any of you have experiences that could be helpful to the rest of us. Please feel free to post them as a response to this post. I will reply if you do. I promise. Back to my website. I will make an announcement when it is up and running and the first 50 who order The Harrowing will receive a signed edition.
Good Luck. Keep writing and please share any experiences you have with me and those who read my modest little blog.
Thanks!
Kenneth W. Barber
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