While looking into the traditional method of finding an agent, getting into a publishing house and becoming a legitimate author, I found myself floating in a sea along with other wary travelers. Bobbing around in the cold, dark waters, our limbs feel numb. We look as others around us are scooped up into the life rafts, sometimes with no rationale as to why, as other deserving drifters are passed by.
Some of us continue to float, waiting for our chance. Others slip their arms through the life preserver and let the obsolete bitterness of the lonely deep consume their passion. They sink, admitting defeat and accept that no one will come for them.
How then? How does one get rescued in this sea of gifted writers when the boats come near? Well, as I am truly learning, staying still and quiet will get you nowhere. Unless you are drifting into a scare genre or a special niche, prepare to bump into a swarm of people looking for salvation along side you.
So what do you do? Well, stop floating and starting swimming. (Does anyone else hear Dori from Finding Nemo in their heads?) If the boat passes you, swim to keep up. Make noise. Get others on that boat who have been rescued look back and take notice. Yes, in this very exhaustive metaphor, don’t try once or twice or a dozen times. If you want to survive, you have to keep going. Get reviews. Befriend writers in your genre as well as others. Join groups and put your name out there as often as possible.
I’ve recently stopped treading and decided to start moving. So, if you’d like to come along, let’s see who gets in the boat first. And if it means self-publishing in order to get attention, then that is what I plan to do.
Jonas Lee 