So, at the end of 2018 I had finally finished my martial arts novel, and I felt I was ready to submit it to publishers. Back in 2016, while promoting my self-published book of short stories, I had made an online acquaintance with an acquisition editor affiliated with Earnshaw Books (a Hong Kong-based publisher that specializes in English language books about China,) and she was a fellow fan of martial arts fiction. She was the one that encouraged me to write my story in the first place, so it was only natural that I would submit the completed novel first to Earnshaw Books. Lo and behold, they liked my story and writing and offered me a publishing deal, which I happily signed.
For the last couple of months I’ve been working on moving things forward, contracting the work of a wonderful artist for the cover, and working with the publisher/editor on fine-tuning the story and tightening up the writing. I’m not sure exactly when the final release date will be, either late 2019 or early 2020. But I’m not overly concerned about that: when it’s done, it will be ready.
After self-publishing my previous book, I’m finding that working with a traditional publisher is a rather different experience, and generally a very positive one. With self-publishing, you do have complete creative control over everything, and you don’t have to meet the standards of the “gate-keepers” to get your work out there. However, you’re also responsible for doing virtually everything yourself. And let’s face it, most of us aren’t capable of doing our best work without some help. It’s a huge psychological boost to now be working with a publisher and thinking “Wow, an objective professional sees some worth in my writing, and now I have someone else—someone with experience, resources, and professional acumen—interested in my story and invested in the success of my book. Somebody other than just me!” It’s very encouraging.
Stay tuned for more updates…