About being published or rather not being published

I’ve been thinking a bit about being published by a publisher. At the moment that seems to be completely impossible. For me anyway, and for many people like me, who don’t write what’s considered ‘interesting’ right now. And I’m not an immigrant either, which is one criteria publishers go by here in Sweden. Don’t get me wrong. I love reading books by so called ‘immigrants’, though I’m not in the habit of categorizing people according to their country of origin. In any case, I also like to read other things. For me, what’s important is what the book is about, not where the author is from.

Another problem I have is that I write either too long stories, if I wanted to define them as ‘short stories’, or too short if I wanted to define them as novels. I really can’t write anything much shorter than 7000 – 10 000 words. Less wouldn’t be enough to develop plot and characters. It’s just not in me.

On the other hand, I might be able to write a little longer than the novellas/novels for kids that I usually write. In other words, I might be able to write about 70 000. But not that much more. I think I’m a person who writes succinctly, strangely enough, considering the fact that I can’t write what’s defined as ‘short stories’. But that’s probably because I can’t cut the plot short, not that I write lengthy sentences.

For a while, all this was quite depressing, not being able to have a book published by a publisher. Then I realized that it also means I’m free to write what I want. No one will tell me what’s ‘usable’, ‘interesting’, or ‘the current trend’, or whatever those editors say. When they’re not sending out a standard letter, which says loud and clear that they never read my book. They just left it lying around for a while, before returning it to me, if that’s what they do. I’d really appreciate it if they’d left a message on their home pages that they’re not currently receiving scripts from previously unpublished authors. That would be much better than letting you believe they’re actually interested in new scripts, when in fact they’re not. Unless it’s from someone who’s already famous for something.

Perhaps I should sign up for one of those so called ‘reality series’. If I flashed my hmm ‘assets’ I’d become famous and then maybe I’d be published. No, that’s not really my thing, actually. Besides, that’s probably very 90’s, becoming a celebrity just for flashing my ‘assets’. Nowadays, you need to have sex on camera, preferably with someone of the same sex. Shoot. That tore it.

No, I’ll have to find some other way of being published. Perhaps I could publish it myself, then market and sell it on my own. That probably won’t work very well, but what a rush it would be, seeing my own creation as a book. Even if I have to pay for it myself.