I started writing late in life. Having taken a BA, MA and PhD as a very mature student, I managed
to get a biography of Mary De Morgan, Out of the Shadows: the life and works
of Mary De Morgan, published in 2012, when I was in my late fifties. I then wrote a fictional account of De
Morgan’s life, The Jewel Garden, and after almost a year’s worth of
rejections it was published by a small, independent publisher in 2018. Unfortunately, he stopped taking submissions
a few months later.
Whilst I was trying to get The Jewel Garden published, I heard a programme on the radio about how in eighteenth-century Italy boys were bought from poor families, castrated and taught to sing; the seeds of my next novel were sown. Within a year I was ready to send Song of the Nightingale: a tale of two castrati out to a long list of literary agents and publishers.
After months of depressing rejections.....I had a call in August 2019 from a publisher, who said he absolutely loved my book - music to an author’s ears. There followed, however, days of indecision, sleepless nights, numerous calls with the publisher, e-mails to other writer friends, much trawling through the internet and speaking with a couple of the authors on the publisher's list.
The reason why the decision was so hard? Because he wanted me to pay £755 up front for the administration and the design of the cover. Oh, and another five hundred or so for 300 copies to be printed (200 of which would be delivered to my door for me to sell).
I could hear the screams of "Nooooooooooooooooooo!" and the mantra "Authors should never, ever pay a publisher" resounding around the country.
The publisher assured me that they are not a vanity publisher; they are a hybrid-publisher – this being somewhere between a traditional publisher and self-publishing, a route I wasn’t yet willing to go down.
Having convinced myself it wasn’t a vanity publisher, I eventually decided to go with them. After all, I was merely paying for a service: a professionally designed cover; a book ready for publication and on the world-wide e-book sales sites; print copies available and all the things a traditional publisher does. If I had self-published I would have had to do all these things myself. I was lucky enough to have the money and I was thrilled that someone else loved my book and really, all I wanted was to get it out there so that people could enjoy it. Was that too much to ask? Am I the devil’s spawn for being willing to put some money where my mouth is?
I think not, but will I use the publisher again for my new books? No, for the following reasons:
Whilst I was trying to get The Jewel Garden published, I heard a programme on the radio about how in eighteenth-century Italy boys were bought from poor families, castrated and taught to sing; the seeds of my next novel were sown. Within a year I was ready to send Song of the Nightingale: a tale of two castrati out to a long list of literary agents and publishers.
After months of depressing rejections.....I had a call in August 2019 from a publisher, who said he absolutely loved my book - music to an author’s ears. There followed, however, days of indecision, sleepless nights, numerous calls with the publisher, e-mails to other writer friends, much trawling through the internet and speaking with a couple of the authors on the publisher's list.
The reason why the decision was so hard? Because he wanted me to pay £755 up front for the administration and the design of the cover. Oh, and another five hundred or so for 300 copies to be printed (200 of which would be delivered to my door for me to sell).
I could hear the screams of "Nooooooooooooooooooo!" and the mantra "Authors should never, ever pay a publisher" resounding around the country.
The publisher assured me that they are not a vanity publisher; they are a hybrid-publisher – this being somewhere between a traditional publisher and self-publishing, a route I wasn’t yet willing to go down.
Having convinced myself it wasn’t a vanity publisher, I eventually decided to go with them. After all, I was merely paying for a service: a professionally designed cover; a book ready for publication and on the world-wide e-book sales sites; print copies available and all the things a traditional publisher does. If I had self-published I would have had to do all these things myself. I was lucky enough to have the money and I was thrilled that someone else loved my book and really, all I wanted was to get it out there so that people could enjoy it. Was that too much to ask? Am I the devil’s spawn for being willing to put some money where my mouth is?
I think not, but will I use the publisher again for my new books? No, for the following reasons:
I can no longer afford it. Song of the Nightingale has not earned anything like enough to cover the costs.I still have about 150 books in a cupboard; there is no room for more.I was lucky enough to find a literary agent eighteen months ago and am hoping she will find me a publisher.If she doesn’t and I have to go down the self-publishing route, then I think I can achieve what the publisher did for far less and I would keep all the profit.However my next books are published I will still need to market and promote myself.
There are lots of horror stories of authors being suckered in, sending their money and never seeing a printed page, but I now have a beautiful book that I am immensely proud of and that is available for readers to enjoy.
The boys are innocents, victims of circumstances beyond their control. Surely they can have nothing to do with a barber’s mysterious death, or the suicide of an abusive Jesuit priest?
This is a tale of passion, revenge, guilt, regret, loss and redemption.
Would you sell your son so he can forever sing God’s praises? If it means he will lead a better life than you can offer him? If it means a bag of gold for you? If it means the boy is castrated and will never lead a 'normal’ life?
Winner of the 2020 International Rubery Book Award Fiction Category.
You can get the book and follow Marilyn on Amazon.com
I enjoyed meeting Marilyn and her novel sounds great. Will add to my list.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Allan.
DeleteI enjoyed reading such an honest account of Marilyn and her publishing journey. I wish her every success in the future.
DeleteHi, Alyson, thanks for visiting. I always find other writers journeys to publication fascinating.
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