Completing My First Novel

Welcome!

Keeping this blog updated every week is a challenge for me. Since I have 3 other blogs (sports, humor) I keep active my writing here has been limited. Anyway I'm working on a second full edit of my baseball novel, Rookie Sensation. Currently stopped on page 55 which means I'm half way finished. While reading through chapters I've noticed the story needs to be restructured a little bit and still have some kinks worked out. Since I wish to have it published I need the scenes to flow together nicely, be in chronological order, and more importantly entertain readers.

I understood that there would much work involved in writing and producing a final draft for a book, but it's almost overwhelming. Information though I've gathered online has reassured me that they are numerous ways to promote a book and find the right outlets to market it. The tricky part is actually finding a publisher. The idea of self-publishing is okay, but it requires an inital investment which most writers can't afford. The option of print-on-demand interests me. Has anyone out there gone this route and found it to be successful for your book? I'm looking at testing the market first really. Since my novel caters primarily to young male adults and I'm a new author, releasing my book in a local or regional market could be a good way to experiment.

It will give me an idea of how the target market responds and what's appealing or not to them. Then if there was a rapid spur of interest or desire promotional efforts could be altered. Time is another factor in publishing too. A seasonal sport like baseball is best published in the early Spring before the start of the season or in mid-summer. That's why now I need to continue sending out query letters and notices about my novel to as many prospective publishers as possible. Weeding through all the unsuitable places and forwarded declines to read the manuscript may take a while. Despite that, I won't stop my pursuit to get published.