A Writer's Rant

Dear Publishers       

Today I am hacked off, peed off and miffed.

It’s been a while coming, and I think I’ve done pretty well to hold off to this point, but today it finally hit.

You see, oh Great Ones, you missed out on me.  You let me slip through your net and we’re both losing out as a result.

What’s brought this on, I hear you ask?  Well, on my shopping trip today I saw a ‘proper published’ author signing copies of her books in W H Smith and I just had that little pang of ‘It should have been me’.

An advance from you came so tantalisingly close but, sorry, close is just not good enough anymore.  You backed out on me when the recession started to bite, and I’m going solo with an eBook instead, but now the bitterness is setting in.

I look at my reviews on Amazon and the majority of people who have bought my book say it’s a crime it’s not in paperback.  I also have countless people telling me that they would love to buy my novel if only it was in hard copy.

Doesn’t that tell you something?

It tells me that I have an audience out there who I’m not reaching.  No matter how hard I try, and how much I promote, I’ll always be missing out on a group of readers beyond my grasp.

Had I been a celebrity with a ditzy plot (obviously ghostwritten), I’d be splattered across the shelves before you could say “Jordan”.  But I’m not.  I’m just a little ol’ newbie with a good yarn to tell and (hopefully) the knack of giving readers a giggle.

The fact that I was asked by your top people to start on the sequel to Mummy Misfit (which I dutifully did), and that I’ve also started on my next project, add up to nothing.  The word culls and re-writes I was asked to complete can only have made my book better, but the fact remains I’m an unknown and that’s as far as you can see.

I was told by my agent that you’d given me ‘unprecedented praise for a first time author.’  (I have the emails to prove it!).

But where did it get me?

I’m prepared to spend every single day honing my craft.  There’s nothing I enjoy more than sitting down and working on my next project - I’m a grafter.  How many bloggers do you know who manage to post every day?  At the risk of boasting, I’m also promoting and writing every single one of those days.

Surely I’m worth taking a chance on?

So, publishers, I’m here for the long haul.  This is my dream and you won’t take it away from me.  I’ll keep on with the slog and I WILL make this work.

If you fancy lining your pockets by taking a chance on a newbie, you know where to find me …

… slogging over my laptop and churning out the next book for those who have asked for it.

Where else?

Yours sadly

Mummy Misfit

‘Diary of a Mummy Misfit’ is only available on Amazon for Kindle, PC or iPhone.  Check out my great reviews and if you’re a publisher, get in touch!!  Now also in paperback at Lulu. - because you missed out!