My first article was one titled "Are Young Writers Interesting?" It was inspired by my conversation with Junot Diaz. The full version of my conversation can be found in that post.
The conversation took place in mid-September of last year. Almost seven months later, I am still in the same state of mind as I was then. Young writers have voices too, some of which deserve to be heard. Maybe to inspire other young people, writers or not. Perhaps to prove that age does not mean a thing. Life experience has no age requirement, and neither does writing.
For the past five months I have been sending query letters out to agents. Dozens of agents. Two form letters, one personal message, and the all of the rest, pure silence. The book that I was shopping was one that understandably could quickly turn agents away. The tale is about a young writer by a young writer. It is one of those dangerous topics for novelists to choose because some critics and publishers believe that it is taking the easy way out or cliche, or even pretentious.
Throughout the past month, I started the process of writing another novel, but during that time I still have been disturbed by the lack of interest in a novel that I believe could inspire people. Maybe not millions of people, but even if it helped just one person, all of the hundreds of hours put into the book would prove to be a success.
The decision to self-publish did not come easy, because I wanted a physical copy in my hands, see it on shelves in bookstores, and have a publisher to put it out there. Instead, I listed my novel, Concept Of Home on Amazon Tuesday for $3.99.
The publishing industry is changing every day, and it is becoming even more difficult for unknown writers to break through and find some success. I have some with nonfiction, but with novels, I still have a drawer full of unpublished manuscripts.
Concept Of Home is my best work in my opinion, and even though it is not the ideal route to go, I want people who think that a young writer can be interesting to have access to it if they so choose.
Are young writers interesting? I'm trying to prove that since no agent would even read a single page of my book. I believe in it, and to all the other young writers out there, show the publishing industry that taking on new writers, even young writers, is worth it.
Concept Of Home is a story about a young writer, but it is not even really about writing. It is about self-discovery, disappointments, love and finding the true meaning of home.
And now I'm going back to work at my next novel, not knowing if an agent or editor will ever read a word of it, but that does not matter. All that matters is that I'm doing what I love. If even one person buys my book and finds something that sticks with them throughout life, then that is success in my eyes.