Birthing a book is not for the faint of heart. Bringing your literary baby to market—especially your firstborn—is a long road fraught with unseen perils. While visions of #bestsellers and #Netflix deals dance in an author's head like so many sugarplums, the reality is, to cadge a phrase from #MontyPython, "something completely different."
My debut novel (albeit my third book), And Jilly Came Tumbling After, recently celebrated its first birthday to little fanfare and less celebration. I did receive a royalty check—which will just about cover one-half the annual cost of my author website and even as a tax write-off will figure about as significantly to my overall income as one wee whisker on my much-bewhiskered chinny, chin, chin.
Am I disappointed? Yes. Have I given up? No. (Although admittedly, the learning curve on social media—#Bookstagram? #TikTok, et al— has been a steep uphill climb, and most days I feel like #Sisyphus.)
Thanks to the marvelous #EJeanCarrol (or should that be @EJeanCarrol?) Jilly got her one and so far only sterling celebrity plug:
"Judy Cole's And Jilly Came Tumbling After sent me end over end in delight... (So I suggest you read it lying down!)"
Unfortunately, the kudos came in too late to make it to the back cover, but hope springs eternal it will be included in an upcoming revised edition. Stay tuned for further developments.