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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Day 4, I don't know why I'm still going by days...

Ok, so yesterday there wasn't any new blog posts by me, but I did add a couple of new pages. First is a map of the world in which the Existence Chronicles takes place. I will be adding things to this map as time goes on, such as general history of some areas as well as the governments and factions in control and so on and so forth. The second page is dedicated to the "Legends" in my book. These legends are the framework of their history. There are going to be a lot of these, and I'm definitely going to need to make a better way to keep track of all of them on this site. I'm only allowed ten separate pages though, so it'll take a little creativity. That's for later on anyway though.
Today I spent some time editing some portions of my book. One of the people I gave it to gave me a bunch of suggestions, and I'm putting all the areas of uncertainty under very close scrutiny. I've decided I'm also going to assemble a list of self-publishers and their prices as that could be valuable for some people to be able to find a good sized list all in one place. Dog Ear Publishing has already done something like that, which I find convenient, but they also leave out competitors that offer deals that some people might find more appealing. So, I'm going to try to piece together that little corporate puzzle. Also I saw today that my site is now locatable on google after having signed it into the google directory. Of course, you have to look for the site almost directly, "Existence Chronicles," in the toolbar is about the only thing that does it. Still it's good to see that.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Day 2, the backstory....

Well, for those of you seeing a trend here (OK I know nobody is even looking at this site yet, but I'll pretend I'm talking to somebody in the off chance that I actually catch someone's interest this early on) I've posted two consecutive days. That's probably going to be a trend that is broken by tomorrow, but I figured it would be good to provide you with where I presently stand in my quest for finding a publisher. I have contacted a couple publishing agents, which I found on www.agentquery.com. I'm not going to say which ones specifically, but I'll give you what they said. Quite simply, cold hard rejection, but hey, that's to be expected the first couple of times. I've looked around at a bunch of different publishing houses, including Random House, Scholastic, and Pearson, all of which do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. I have assembled a list of publishers, but I haven't yet sorted through them to see which ones do not require you to have a publishing agent. I do know that Tate Publishing doesn't require an agent, but apparently they've never had a book reach the best seller list. I'd prefer a better track record than that.
If you want to see a list of the big wigs in publishing you can take a look at this site: http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/06/top-ten-book-publishers-in-america-through-march-2008.html
Which lists the top ten publishers of 08, a little outdated yes, but all of these guys are still the top dogs in their industry.
As for where I stand with my actual accomplishments in publishing I have actually gotten some short stories accepted, nothing big, but still. In total I was paid thirty-five bucks for my work, which technically makes me a professional writer. If you want to take a look then check out FriedFiction.com or Short-Story.Me. Both of the stories were written under my name, just look for F.G. King and you'll be able to find them pretty quick.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Day 1, and Desperate

There is a lot to be gleaned from a title. A title contains so many hints as to what the following information may pertain to. I suppose that from the title you see above, that you would be able to infer that this is my first day ever engaging in the activity known as "blogging." Then the second part is that I am desperate about something. So, as it is my first day in the trials of this endeavor I obviously should clear up a few things. I am F. G. King, a prospective author (that's the more interesting bit, but I'll get back to that later). I'm still in high school at the time of this post, though it is my last year of the dreaded, hormone-laden halls of the secondary stage of the public school system. Soon enough, I'll be free. Yes, the freedom of completing the most basic level of education, displayed by the ever so coveted High School Diploma. Almost done, and that is where my desperation enters the field. As pointed out above, I hope to be a professional author, but I had intended on having my first book in print before the completion of my senior year. After six long years of writing (Yes six, I started going insane when I was 12 and have been mad ever since) I have learned and matured and learned some more. I now know that the possibilities of me being published are fairly slim, as it takes resources that I have yet to acquire, as well as time that I don't have to spare. The odds are not in my favor, but if life were easy it wouldn't be any fun. Publishing before high school is over is now no longer part of my intentions. This blog is instead going to be my public forum for my continued quest to publish my manuscript. For those of you enterprising in the same venture you can use this place to follow my footsteps, or learn from my mistakes. Of course, this blog isn't going to be dedicated solely to that purpose. For the rest of you reading this who aren't interested in me babbling on about how many publishing houses have rejected me, I will be posting small snippets of back-story, unrelated short stories, and maybe even portions of my manuscript itself. Welcome to day one, and our journey begins...