This is my Guest Blog Contribution to the Mystery Bookworm Blogs, published 30 Oct 2020.
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After months and months of effort, your book is finished. A cover letter and synopsis have been painstakingly prepared and submitted, alongside the opening three chapters, for agent representation. The wait is on…
When a response finally comes back it’s polite, but disappointing. Something along the lines of the book not being quite right for the agent’s list but wishing you all the very best in placing elsewhere.
So, you tweak a few things here and there. Try and inject even more excitement and momentum into that all-important opening chapter. Then you try again, and so the cycle goes on...
By this point, self-doubts have kicked in. Then there’s only so many times you can hear well-meaning friends tell you how many times young Harry Potter was rejected before being discovered. Of course, this is true and the rest there is history. One can but hope…
Indeed, I’m pretty sure most authors dream about obtaining representation and then signing a book deal with a publisher, perhaps with foreign and film rights all thrown in for good measure.
But what if this hasn’t happened? What do you do about that story you’ve conceived, gestated and birthed? The new world you’ve discovered. The characters you’ve created, loved and in some cases lost. The story arcs carefully woven together as part of an intricate and exciting tapestry.
In my case, I finished my debut book The Dreamguardians back in February 2018 during a rare quiet period between jobs in my professional life. After spending some time unsuccessfully trying to get an agent and following a fair bit of disillusionment with the whole process, a new work venture kicked in and the book went on the back burner.
But at the start of the summer this year, I started thinking about it again.
Having spent so much time on the book, I decided I really needed to publish it. After all, it was just gathering dust on the OneDrive and, despite all of the self-doubts, I honestly thought it was too good for that. A friend’s successful participation in The Great Pottery Throwdown on TV earlier this year inspired me to just take a risk, go for it and see what happens.
I also thought it was about time I started to seriously think about working on a sequel to The Dreamguardians, as I’d actually found the whole writing process of the first book liberating. Up to then I’d been writing in a professional capacity but constrained by the need to provide sound economic research and analysis.
This was different (obviously). A chance to see what would emerge. As it turned out, it was a wonderful journey of discovery, as the complex and secret world inhabited by Dreamguardians and their arch enemy the Dreamstealers emerged.
I leveraged memories and places across the world I had visited. Researched and learnt new things about sleep and dreams. One day as I sat writing I quite unexpectedly met a new character who appeared from nowhere and opened up a whole new dimension to the story.
I used to write a couple of chapters of the book and then read them at bedtime to my children who were 9 and 11 years old at the time. That was a very rewarding experience and I have fond memories of that special time with them. It also gave me important feedback almost in real-time and probably explains why I love a good cliff-hanger at the end of chapters! It always left them wanting more…
So what did I do?
In the end I self-published my book The Dreamguardians in August on Kindle, where it is still currently free on Kindle Unlimited until November.
I was then extremely fortunate to somehow convince the incredibly talented illustrator David Ziggy Greene (formerly of Private Eye’s ‘Scene and Heard’ fame) to design the book cover for the paperback edition. David captured brilliantly the essence of the book, with his wraparound book cover design featuring one of the main young protagonists TJ, with his all-important Dreamswick, and the terrifying Dominus Tenebris, complete with hand-carved creature atop the staff of evil.
The paperback edition was finally published on 8 October, fulfilling a long-held ambition. I was then extremely surprised and delighted to see it reach #1 in the Amazon Best Seller Rank in the ‘Christian Fantasy (Books)’ category. This category is appropriate, since the origins of being a Dreamguardian can be traced back thousands of years to the Book of Genesis. Intrigued? You’ll have to read what the Dreamorian has to tell you about that in Chapters 17-19.
Whilst I would have loved the invaluable experience and support of an agent, and marketing prowess, weight and prestige of a publisher, it is now relatively straightforward to self-publish a book, in my case through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
As with anything, there are pros and cons of such an approach. One obvious downside is not being able to support local bookshops and see your book adorning its shelves. But I remind myself that I did try the traditional route first.
Indeed, life as an indie author is not easy and has its drawbacks. But there’s nothing quite like the thrill of receiving a 5-star review and fantastic feedback from someone who has enjoyed your book. Or seeing a picture on social media of a copy of your book finding a new home. Knowing that someone is buzzing about your book, trying to work out all the answers to the intrigue and mystery within it makes all the effort worthwhile.
The Dreamguardians is a fantasy adventure story, written with the upper MG and YA audience in mind, but I have always believed it was a book for a wider Adult audience too. Indeed, if you’ve ever enjoyed Harry Potter, books by Philip Pullman and C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia then I’m confident you’ll enjoy The Dreamguardians.
With that in mind, I was particularly excited to receive a glowing 5-star Amazon review from a sceptical septuagenarian who took a chance on the book and ended up loving it, calling it “a beautiful and exciting read”.
Another 5-star review came from a reader in Germany, who said: “Definitely recommended. This is a tale full of adventure, mystery and surprise that’s so well-crafted you won’t put it down. I enjoyed it immensely. No-one’s too old to read this book.”
As we all know, reviews are the lifeblood for any new book. But this is especially true for an indie-author, without the established contacts and means to easily compile a book blog tour or get the book significantly noticed in the marketplace.
So, if you’re a book reviewer or blogger, why not consider taking some time to read an unknown indie-author? You never know, you might be surprised by what you find. Maybe you could even play a pivotal role in uncovering and revealing a precious gem. Some fantastic books do slip the net during the more traditional trawling process, I’m sure.
For now, my focus remains on continuing to increase the profile of my debut novel, The Dreamguardians, including a recent invitation to discuss the book and its journey on Premier Christian Radio.
Only time will tell whether I explore again the traditional route for my next book, as The Dreamguardians has a lot more to offer as a series of books.
At least for now, my dream of seeing the first instalment of The Dreamguardians published and being enjoyed is a reality. The first in the series - or dare I say ‘franchise’ - is now out there for the world to read!
As one of the young protagonists in the story discovers from Grandpa Mal fairly early on in the book, a Dreamguardian exists to ensure the safe passage of someone else’s dreams.
I certainly hope they are successful in protecting and growing my own dreams for The Dreamguardians, and are able to keep those dreaded Dreamstealers at bay...
The Dreamguardians by N. R. Matthews
Available on Amazon:
Paperback: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KQG2T74/
Kindle Edition: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08F8R836B/
Follow the progress of The Dreamguardians via:
Twitter: @TDreamguardians
Facebook: @thedreamguardians.nrmatthews
Instagram: @nrmatthews_dreamguardians
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This blog was first published on 30 Oct by Mystery Bookworm Blogs:
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