The Publishing Road Less Taken by Heather Day Gilbert
Following God's
leading isn't always easy. I'm finding that, for a writer, you have to be in
tune with God's nudges and follow them, no matter how crazy and off-the-wall it
might look to others.
I could share
several instances when I've done what I knew was the right thing, even if it
didn't make sense. But the one I'm going to focus on today is my decision to
self-publish my Viking historical novel, God's
Daughter.
Most
people who know me know I've been pursuing traditional publication in the
Christian Book Association for some time. A bit over five years now, to be
exact.
To be honest, God had to push me to even consider self-publication.
And yet once I did decide to become a hybrid author (meaning I have an agent
and a book out on submission with traditional publishers, while in the meantime
I am self-pubbing another novel), the responses varied.
Most authors want
the best for other authors. We usually try to build each other up, because we
know we're all going to get rejected at some point or another. And rejection
stinks. But let's admit it—it's easy for jealousy or misunderstanding to cloud
our vision, so we make blanket statements that might not apply to every writer.
I'm sure I've done that myself. It's good to remind ourselves that not everyone
will have the same path to publication we did, or encounter the same obstacles.
So once I
announced my hybridization, if you
will, I was glad God had made it very clear that was the right route for my
historical. Because as comments trickled in from other authors, so did my
doubts.
For example, some
thought it was the easy way out. I know that's not true, given how long I was
out on submission with said historical. I can honestly say I tried every avenue
I was willing to go down with this novel before deciding to self-pub.
Some thought I
should wait for traditional publication first. I also understand this
reasoning—I mean, then you have a built-in reader platform, right? But I knew I
had to get this book out while Vikings were trending in the media--various
movies and TV shows release around the same time I'm releasing this novel. That
was not an accident—I deliberately wanted a media overlap. Nothing like
hashtagging #Vikings when it's not a football team people are tweeting about!
In the end,
when God tells you to do something, you do it. You can't count the cost. There
were so many times I could've said, "This time period isn't marketable
because the publishers have said so. I should give up." Or "I can't
self-publish because I haven't hired an editor for the entire manuscript."
Or "I have no idea how to market this." There are so many excuses...and
believe me, I did entertain them. But then I came back to this:
"If God be for us, who can be against
us?"
If God was in
this venture, as I knew He was, no doubts could stop me. I had to move in
response to His leading.
I don't know
yet how God's Daughter will do, though
I'm thankful that early reader feedback has been positive. But I can say I gave
it 110 percent. I built my platform and marketed and edited and learned more
than I ever wanted to know about formatting. I stuck with this dream until God
decided how it would come to fruition—and it wasn't anything like what I had
planned.
It was, in
fact, bigger and better than anything I could've concocted.
Stick with it,
author friends. In due time, you will
reap if you faint not! Blessings to you all. And thank you so much for
having me, Elaine. I always enjoy your blog!
Questions for Heather:
Did
a certain inspirational song, Bible passage, or one of those
wake-in-in-the-morning-ah-ha moments help you to listen to God more in your
decision making about how to publish your Viking novel?
Ooh,
very good question! I would say that talking with my crit partner and author
friends, as well as my husband, helped open my mind to taking this step. Also,
it seemed like something God had been bringing to mind for a little while, but
I'd dismissed it because I didn't feel ready. It was just one of those things
where you give up your dream (traditional publication) to the Lord, and trust
Him to do with it what HE wants and get your book out to the right people. As
for a specific verse—not one that really hit me, but quite often what I read in
the Bible tends to line up with sermons and things my Christian friends tell
me.
Did
you receive any helpful advice from any publishing professionals during the
process of self-publishing?
Another
great question! Actually, mostly I talked to author friends who have gone down
this path. One professional resource I love is Joanna Penn's blog,
thecreativepenn.com. She has self-pubbed and has all sorts of up-to-date
resources on self-pubbing.
Have
you been devouring self-promotion information? What unique options are you
trying?
I
have read some excellent posts on it, but what I've done is go with my gut and
targeted the media outlets I tend to use as a reader. I figure my target
audience probably utilizes those outlets, as well (Pinterest, FB, and Goodreads
factor in heavily). I've had some hits and misses, but all in all, you can't
get discouraged. You just keep trying and seeing what people respond to.
I
loved author Jessica Dotta's idea of an online FB "tea party" with
people sending in photos of themselves and teacups. I did another take on that
by having people send in photos of themselves and their favorite Bibles. I
haven't gotten as many photos as she has, but the ones I have gotten are just
stellar. I wanted to increase our appreciation for the abundance of Bibles we
have, because my Viking main character didn't have one.
Have
you learned any lessons from the self-publishing route that you want to use for
your more traditional publications?
I
guess I've learned that I'll keep writing what I want to write, whether
traditional publishers pick it up or not. I no longer feel the crunch to fit my
stories into "what's trending" in the CBA. I can just write for my
readers...and that's exactly what I was setting out to do when I started
writing!
Also,
I feel I can have confidence with traditional publishers on the
"platform" front. I will already have a reader base in place for any
book they want to pick up. Even if the genre is different, my writing style and
my use of married main characters will still be the same. Unless I branch into
YA at some point...grin.
What’s
on tap for Heather next?
Wow.
Good question—I'm wondering that myself! I have a paranormal novel I've wanted
to edit for a while now and get out to readers. However, I figure I'll be
working on the second Viking novel next, unless a publisher picks up my
mystery—then the mystery would take precedence. But it takes longer to write my
historicals—more like six to nine months as opposed to two to three.
Heather's Ah-hahs To Tweet:
Meet author
Heather Day Gilbert, hybrid author & thankful about it. (Tweet This)
Author Heather
Day Gilbert on Everyone’s Story: following God’s path for her Viking
novel. (Tweet This)
Everyone has a
story: Heather Day Gilbert shares her different road to publication. (Tweet This)
Author Bio:
Heather
enjoys writing stories about authentic, believable marriages. Sixteen years of
marriage to her sweet Yankee husband have given her some perspective, as well
as ten years spent homeschooling her three children. Heather is the ACFW West
Virginia Area Coordinator.
You can find
Heather at her website, Heather Day
Gilbert--Author, and at her Facebook Author Page, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads. Look for her Viking
novel, God's Daughter, coming to Amazon November 1, 2013!
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