Maybe it wasn't so much a lie, but rather the relaying of misinformation. Something that I believed to be true, but as it turned out – otherwise.
Remember this?
Yeah - that isn't happening, and it's my own fault. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
Here's what happened. The agreement with my agent for PRICK was coming to the end of the one-year commitment and I had decided to go ahead and self-publish it in 2021. Everything was falling into place and arrangements were made. Then my agent read another of my novels I had previously sent to her (MOVING FEAR) and LOVED it. She wanted to sign a different contract for that book and I thought, why not? I can still pursue a traditional publishing deal while at the same time still moving forward with self-publishing PRICK. Seemed like a win-win to me, which is what led to me posting the announcement above.
Here's what I didn't consider. I discovered that if my agent and I were to sign a publishing contract, it was very possible the publisher could ask that I restrict what I self-published on my own (both books are YA). It probably wouldn't affect PRICK, as it would already be out in the world, but that book is the first of a trilogy and the publisher could maybe quash my plans for books two and three. Everyone knows you don't make money on a single book (unless it's a blockbuster), so I would be setting myself up for failure. Sure, I could use a pen name, but that wouldn't be the satisfaction I was looking for. The publisher could also be understanding and let me go ahead, but that was too big of a risk.
So I'm back to waiting for good news from my agent concerning MOVING FEAR and/or PRICK, but even though there was some serious interest at first and plenty of nibbles, there's nothing happening right now. It's starting to look like "aspiring author" title will be sticking around for a while.
Sorry for the untruth.
This is another in a long line of disappointments.
I could say you get used to them.
But that would be another lie.
