THE "EASY" ROAD to PUBLICATION
by Travis Perry
For me, the publication of my novel was surprisingly easy. The hard part was finishing the story in the first place.
I began writing The Crystal Portal in 2006. I had written short stories before and had a few published in small magazines, and one of my stories made it into a book anthology. But I had never written a novel and really didn't know anything about how to proceed with and finish a work of that length.
I wrote about a quarter of the the story (in a different order than it is now) and got stuck. Discouraged that my story would be of no interest to anyone, busy with ordinary life, and suffering from a serious case of writer's block, I only made marginal progress for the next several years.
I finally realized my problem was that I was only thinking of the story in terms of my main character and other point of view characters. I was not taking into account my villain's actions, which is why I was so stumped as to what should happen next in the tale. It may seem like a simple thing, but since I did not ask anyone for advice on the story or read anything about how to write a novel, it was a major realization for me.
After I completed the story in 2009, I read it over and felt something was missing. Other friends who read it didn't react to it the way I expected. I had done my own editing, but I knew I needed help.
On an online group of Christian speculative fiction authors (the Lost Genre Guild), I asked if anyone would be willing to help me edit and fix the story for the reward of having coauthor credit and a share of any profits that might ensue from publication. I had several people express interest, but Mike Lynch seemed to be the most interested and had the most experience in having other books published.
Mike and I worked together to edit the story. A number of parts were cut out, the order of a number of scenes changed, and we did a lot of other editing. Mike wrote one scene that hadn't been in the book before I started working with him.
After we had done our work together, Mike was looking for some objective readers for some good feedback on our work. One of the people he showed the story to was Grace Bridges, who is the owner of Splashdown Books. She loved the story and was immediately interested in publishing it.
Of course, she had interest in other edits and story changes, but with her help, the process of actually getting published was quick and mostly painless. So I was very blessed to have stumbled onto people willing to help me, and who saw something good in my story.
Now if only I get to generate some sales...
by Travis Perry and Mike Lynch
Splashdown Books, 2011
And Yeshua said, "His ears will be a sign to you."
A time-travelling warrior elf on a manhunt for an evil genius. A state-of-the-art robot from New Los Angeles. And a carpenter's son from first-century Israel. Entering the Portal, they join forces with a princess of the Sapphire Monarchy to defy their power-mad adversary.
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PAAbOF6nA
Travis Perry was born and raised in the mountains of western Montana, where he learned to let his imagination soar. A one time-pastoral student and active church member, he has a keen interest in faraway places and has studied (attaining varying degrees of proficiency): Spanish, French, German, Biblical Greek and Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, and Dari (Farsi). Blending Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Biblical Historical Fiction, he created the worlds of his first novel, The Crystal Portal, co-authored with Mike Lynch. An Army Reserve officer recently serving in Afghanistan, he is currently on his way home to his wife and six children in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Contest Rules:
Comment on Travis Perry's The Easy Road to Publication by Tuesday, July 19, 2011 and your name will go into a drawing for a free e-book of The Crystal Portal in the e-book format of your choice. Contest closes Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Winner must provide an e-mail to Brenda AT BrendaAndersonBooks DOT com. Do not post your mailing address anywhere on this blog. 
It's always interesting to hear someone else's process. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone who doesn't write can fully understand the lengthy process that goes into birthing a book. Glad you persevered! Congrats on your debut novel.
ReplyDeleteTravis,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you stopping by & sharing your journey with us. It's always an inspiration to see all the different paths God has us take.
I pray God will bless this new journey of yours.