Ah lads. Can hardly believe it. I’m to be published!

And yes, what they all said. It’s true. Don’t give up. If you want to get published, you have to put in the time and effort. And lordy there is a lot of time and effort needed. But it can, and does, pay off.

I just need to say it again. I am going to be published! Whoop whoop – and Phew!

There it is.

Independent Publishers, Sweeney & O’Donovan will publish this Spring ’22, my non-fiction book, ‘Overload: A Brother, a Wake, and a Secret’

Getting this far was a long road. Two years of writing/editing the book (2017/18) and another three years of self-doubt and researching publishers and agents. Throw in some more self doubt, submissions and query letters and then the rejections started coming in (I think I counted 50 before I stopped counting) So I am truly delighted to announce that the memoir I wrote after my brother died (mentioned in a previous blog here), has been taken up and is to be published – by an actual publisher!

I say actual publisher, ‘cos technically I have been published before, self-publlished that is, for my teen series K-Girls but this is different. This is publishing in the traditional sense.

I am so excited that someone has liked Overload (and my writing) enough to invest and take it on commercially. ‘Cos after all, that is what getting published in the traditional sense IS (and we forget that sometimes). Someone is willing to take a financial gamble on my words written down on paper, in the hope that the world at large (or at least a lump of readers in it) will pay to read those same words.

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You might ask what tips to getting published – there are thousands of websites that go into all that. But the key I think is to keep reminding yourself to:

approach getting published like you are applying for a job (cos that is what it is – you are applying for the job as author for an agency and you are going to be working together and it is important you like them as much as they like you)

research your agent/publisher by making sure you are a match for genre

check their submissions guidelines and adjust your query letter/synopsis accordingly

keep a track of who you are contacting (I used Query Tracker and found it great)

submit submit submit – remember rejections are part of the process – and it is ok to feel not ok, but you still gotta keep on keeping on.

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Some folk ask why did I choose to go down this tradional route as opposed to self-publishing like I did before? It is a question I often asked myself (especially when the rejection emails kept coming in) and I debated should I just self-publish and get it ‘out there’. However, there was that part of me that also wanted to prove to the world/myself that Overload is worthy of being published (where someone thinks the writing deserving of investment) and for my story to get out there more than I could ever do (publishers have a lot more clout when it comes to distributing books to bookshops/stores)

And get this! As a result of Overload being published, and because I have also self-publlished my teen fiction, this also means that very soon I will be a hybrid author – that is with one foot in the indie world and the other in the traditional publshed world. How cool is that!

I know I will still have a lot of work to do (edits/pr/marketing etc) but I have to say I am relieved and chuffed that I have the backing and support of someone along side me.

As for my teen fiction, I am still working on book 3 in my K-Girl series. Albeit Overload will probably take a priority as we get ready for launching later in the Spring ’22.

Cheers to that!