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How it all started…
About two years ago I took a plunge and sent a query letter to a fancy New York agent.
Included were twenty sample pages of what was widely considered a fine novel.
(Okay, widely considered fine among a narrow group of friends and associates.)
I waited, and waited, and waited. About the time I was giving up hope an e-mail
came from the agent’s office. They were intrigued and interested in reading the
whole manuscript. Those of you have taken a similar plunge understand how
exciting that is. As a writer even the hint of success is cause for
celebration.
After a series of communications, a modest rewrite, and more communication the agent
decided to pass on the project. There was no animosity. The agent and his
assistant made what they believed to be the best decision.
At a gathering of writers I shared my experience. Needless to say they were very
supportive and we discussed the situation. The discussion grew. We grumbled
about how hard it was to be published, how poor some published works were, and
how unfair it was that a small group of people had all that power. The
frustration grew into a little bitterness.
Always positive I began to look for a way out of that unfortunate situation.
Self-publishing was an option, but there is a huge (and unfair) stigma attached
to self-published books. Perhaps in the past that type of book, that “category”,
contained some, well, less than wonderful products; but that was changing.
As a casual observer of the music and recording industry I have been watching the
slow and painful demise of big label recording companies. Technology had made
them obsolete and instead of adapting they had tried to force everyone to play
by their rules. They were dinosaurs sinking into the mud. It didn’t take much
imagination to see the publishing industry standing at the edge of that same
muddy pit. The future was in independent publishing; let the artists control
the process.
A decision was made. Risks would be taken and Rattlesnake Valley Publishing was
born. It has, so far, been a struggle. The struggle has been worth it. We now
have two projects finished and for sale. The first project, Rattlesnake Valley
Sampler, was done in the spirit of the record company samplers: A variety of
voices and pieces combined with the goal to make a book with a little something
for everyone. It was designed to give the reader just a little taste of what
was out there, and we accomplished that goal.
Authors are the meat and potatoes of any literary meal and the contributors to the
Sampler are not exception. Thank you all for your work and your patience as we
wandered through our first project.
Anyway, that’s the RVP story so far. Check back for updates and reports on the next steps…
IT’S DONE! The anthology is finished. The Rattlesnake Valley Sampler is out. Copies can be purchased from Amazon.com. or at the catalog page here (see the menu to the left).