Hi. I thought I'd give you an update about the book and about the writing process. I must say first that I was saddened last week by the hateful, venomous comments some of my readers wrote. I've said it before--I have no problem with us disagreeing, with us challenging each others' ideas. If we didn't do that, none of us would ever learn a thing. But, when we resort to name-calling, to attacking one another, it upsets me to be the one providing the forum for this activity. Sure, I could switch to comment moderation, and I'm seriously considering this option. But, I'm not a big fan of censorship and I feel that something would be lost (at least in the immediacy) as the exchange of feelings and ideas is paused, awaiting my approval. I've deleted one comment (after the fact) in the 20 months I've had this blog, but last week, I considered deleting others. Any guidance on this? Also, way back when, someone posted an extremely apt quote about the oppressed (in this case, women) attacking one another, but I can't find it in my archives--can someone please help??
So, the book. . . Earlier this year, I thought I was on track, with a publisher expressing serious interest in my work. I sent the publisher over 50 pages of writing and continued to receive positive reviews. The publisher loved the idea (even the title!), said she wanted to publish the book, even stating that she wished she had written the material herself. But, then. . . The publisher met with her team and they decided that they would not, in fact, publish the book. The team felt that the title was off-putting, that the book was more socio-cultural investigation than self-help (their speciality). And, so I became publisher-less, back to just a woman with an idea. As an acquaintance said to me last year, "Isn't everyone in New York writing a book?"
About six months of dead time ensued. I needed a break from the writing (and the disappointment of the above), and so I took some time away, to focus on my clinical work, to build my practice, and to regroup. So, here I am, now ready again to tackle this task (in my 20 minutes a week of free time). Bottom line is, I need a publisher. An agent would be a start. But, it's really, really hard to break into the world of publishing when you've spent 100% of your professional life doing something extraordinarily different and your only contacts are your patients and psychologist friends.
I have moments when I want to stop, throw my hands up, and return to what I'm better at, what I've been trained to do. I've thought about other book ideas. But, I've already invested so much in this project, it's hard to walk away. This weekend, I took inventory of my writing--I have 100 pages or so that are polished, another 50-75that I've written, but need some editing. I'd be able to pull everything together(even the 25 or so unwritten pages), if I had an publisher or agent who believed in the project, willing to back it financially, but more so ideologically.
So, that's where I'm at. I'd appreciate any ideas or input from those of you who have experience in the publishing world. The time I could spend writing (and, um, doing the job that pays my bills), I seem to need to spend shopping the book around, writing query letters to agents, who, in turn, send truncated form letters of rejection with no direction. I'm told to contact magazines, soliciting excerpts from the book. The magazines that I've queried require past magazine publication. I'm living a Catch-22. Ideas?
