Putting My Money Where My Pen Is

I wrote a draft of A Car of One’s Own last year and shopped it around to agents, to no avail. It’s a weird length at 30,000 words, and it’s not the kind of book a person would buy at Barnes and Noble for $15. It’s a tough sell for an agent.

Publishing it electronically myself seemed to make sense. So I said I would, and then I didn’t.

Then my friend Nicole, owner of Spot Color Studio, caught me in a brave (read: tipsy) moment. She was very convincing in her support of the book — she’d read an early version — and she had ideas for marketing it. I said, “Yeah! Let’s do it!” And then I didn’t for another little while.

Finally, I said I would publish this book myself enough times that I had to put up or shut up. So I put up. I put up a huge down payment to Spot Color. Nicole brought me a contract and a timeline and a to-do list and a harsh truth: A Car of One’s Own is a title for literary nerds like me, not for the vast majority of women who could benefit from the book. I brought her a big check.

I’m lucky that my marketing person is also my friend, and that she totally believes in this project. She knows how terrible I am at marketing and how good I am at writing, and she’s willing to make up for my weaknesses. She’s also willing to push me beyond my comfort zone, which I left the second I signed the contract and committed to publishing this book.

When I got home after drinking coffee and signing contracts with Nicole, I told my husband that all I wanted was to hide under a blanket with the dog (we enjoy it; it’s one of our hobbies). He said I was aloud to hide for two days, and then I had to get out there and hustle.

Regular blog updates are part of the hustle, apparently, so I’ll be posting here more often during the publication process. Next up: new title!