I thought I would never do this. Then again, I never thought I would be building my own website either. But I am a writer with a novel and no audience, so here I am, trying to make myself known on the Internet.
The story so far...
I returned from Japan in 1999 and went straight to work adapting a novel into a screenplay. At the same time, I was searching everywhere for books about Ishikawa Jozan, because I wanted to know everything there was to know about his life and his masterpiece, the villa known as Shisendo. I found a couple books, but it still wasn’t enough, so in 2000 I decided to write a novel to fill in the gaps.
Since then, I have found a full time job--which limited my writing time. Thanks to my understanding and supportive wife, I managed to complete the novel last year. Before it was finished, I uploaded an excerpt onto Harper Collins UK’s site, authonomy. The feedback I received from people there motivated me to polish the novel further, then I began sending it out to agents and publishers.
Knowing how the publishing industry works, I expected rejection. In fact, I celebrated each rejection letter, believing that it was just a necessary step along the way. Almost a year after sending out my first package though, I am 0 for 1 with agents and 0 for 5 with publishers. Considering that my initial focus was publishers with strong backlists of Japanese titles, it does feel discouraging sometimes.
Anyway, here I am now, trying to raise my profile around the world. If I can build an audience first, perhaps a publisher will take a chance on The Samurai Poet.
[Edit: I'm happy to report that since this post was written four years ago, The Samurai Poet has been published. Learn more here.]
The story so far...
I returned from Japan in 1999 and went straight to work adapting a novel into a screenplay. At the same time, I was searching everywhere for books about Ishikawa Jozan, because I wanted to know everything there was to know about his life and his masterpiece, the villa known as Shisendo. I found a couple books, but it still wasn’t enough, so in 2000 I decided to write a novel to fill in the gaps.
Since then, I have found a full time job--which limited my writing time. Thanks to my understanding and supportive wife, I managed to complete the novel last year. Before it was finished, I uploaded an excerpt onto Harper Collins UK’s site, authonomy. The feedback I received from people there motivated me to polish the novel further, then I began sending it out to agents and publishers.
Knowing how the publishing industry works, I expected rejection. In fact, I celebrated each rejection letter, believing that it was just a necessary step along the way. Almost a year after sending out my first package though, I am 0 for 1 with agents and 0 for 5 with publishers. Considering that my initial focus was publishers with strong backlists of Japanese titles, it does feel discouraging sometimes.
Anyway, here I am now, trying to raise my profile around the world. If I can build an audience first, perhaps a publisher will take a chance on The Samurai Poet.
[Edit: I'm happy to report that since this post was written four years ago, The Samurai Poet has been published. Learn more here.]
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