Progress Made (1/21/24)
Hi, my name is Nic. Do I have to do that every time? I feel like at this point I don’t. From here on out, no more my name blah blah blah. We’ve moved past it, we’re closer now, all is right in the world. How are you? Comfy? Cozy? Relaxed? God, I hope so. Too much tension in the world, we need more comfy, cozy, and relaxed people. I’m rambling? Yeah, that’s fair. Okay, to the point then… that introduction wasn’t a real post, I feel like. This is supposed to help whoever’s reading this better understand who I am. My vibe, my personality. Which, after this first paragraph, has a 50/50 shot of selling you on me. But the blog does present an interesting opportunity. A captains log type situation where I can periodically update the progress of publishing my first novel. That could be cool, right? Does it sound cool? I think it sounds cool… cool.
How many stock images do you guys think I can burn through by the end of this whole thing? My guess is all of them. Might be fun to keep a tally. So far we’re at three, I think.
To catch up, I’ve queried about fifty or so agents with various materials. I have a completed trilogy that I’m quite proud of and hope to get out there some day. But I think it’s a bit too big for agents to bite right now. I need to show my worth before they take those books seriously. At least, that’s the vibe I’m getting. No one has said that, but they haven’t not said it. There’s also a handful of short stories (that centipede one being the shortest), as well as a short novel. That short novel, a horror novella if you will, is what I’m trying to get published now. I went to a literary event about a week or so ago (shout out to ScribbleHousePGH’s “Send It!”) and got some really good advice from the people there. They said getting an agent without having anything published was going to be very difficult, so I decided to take that short novel and get it published so I could get an agent for the trilogy. SO, where does that leave me?
I’ve submitted the manuscript to three smaller presses/publishers in the hopes to get the ball rolling on that. Hopefully, one of them will bite. If they’re anything like the agents I queried, I have a lot more submitting to do. For some odd reason, I always thought writing would be the hardest part of this whole process. If you read the about page then you know I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. In all those years of writing aspirations I never once thought getting an agent, representation, or publication would be difficult. In hindsight, that’s incredibly naive, but I was a kid. Now, I realize that writing is the easiest (and best) part; But if I want to do this for a living then I have to get the writing out there onto shelves and into your hands.
I hope to do that, soon. There’s nothing I love more than this, than typing away on a keyboard and conveying something to someone, or at least trying. I’m largely pessimistic, and self deprecating, which is why I’m so shocked by my confidence in the stuff I write. I genuinely think it’s good literature, and I think you will agree with me. My job is to give you the opportunity to judge for yourself.
Before I go, I’ll leave a brief synopsis of the horror novel in case anyone is interested. Also, thank you for reading this. Means a lot to me. Alright, toodles.
The Mountain King
The Mountain King is a horror novel/novella that tells the story of David, a meek and admittedly weak man with not much going on in life. After discovering his wife’s infidelity, she divorces him and gets full custody of the children leaving him on his own. Meanwhile, he runs into an old friend of his, Mark, an alpinist who has everything in life. He’s rich, he’s handsome, and he doesn’t have to work for a living. In their reunion, David realizes he wants to climb a mountain with his long lost friend. Both to compensate for his perceived emasculation and to prove to himself he’s not weak. They decide on the Annapurna Circuit, a dangerous route in a dangerous time of year. Their guide, Faneel, leads the small group made up of David and Mark. As well as Bryce, the experienced alcoholic who’s climbed many times before. Finally, there is Larry and Wendy, a toxic couple who are just as much amateurs as David is. They all embark on this adventure for their own reasons, there’s only one problem…
Something sinister awaits them on their route. A malevolent creature that is eager to greet these newcomers. It is sadistic, cunning, strong, and most of all… hungry.
