The Author Guy Blog by Larry B. Gildersleeve

 9th February 2024

Hello out there,

Welcome back. I have so much to learn about my chosen craft of fiction writing that I seek advice and information whenever and wherever I can find it. As a result, I’ve joined several author-centric Facebook groups and up until now I just read the postings, make notes when appropriate, and keep on scrolling. But not this week.

An author inquired of the group if her already-published indie novel had any chance of being picked up by a mainstream publishing house. Another group member responded “Absolutely not” and went on to opine that it would only happen if the book had achieved stunning sales success, as was the one-off and well-known instance of Fifty Shades of Grey. Two, possibly
three, problems with that response.

First, I don’t believe in “absolutes” in the co-joined worlds of writing and publishing. Second, from personal experience, I know the “absolutely not” to be absolutely not true. My award-winning fourth novel, Blue by You, did not achieve great sales success (as is the case for 99.9% of self-published books – it’s just a sad but true reality). But it will be republished and re-released later this year by an affiliate imprint of one of the world’s Big Five publishing houses.

The third possible problem with the “absolutely not” statement is that I can’t find the woman’s three-part name anywhere as a published author. If she is, then I guess it’s with a nom de plume. If she’s not a published author, from whence gains her this “absolute” insight?

Opinions are like noses – every person has one. I fear this person may have become a bit of a Pinocchio with hers.

Until next week … Vaya con Dios

Larry B. Gildersleeve