In the coming months I’m attempting to overhaul this website: my own domain, an updated mailing list that actually works, a new author related email (and not the one I use for personal use); who knows, maybe even a professional looking photo so you all know I’m not a robot. Potentially I can get started with sending actual content to my subscribers at a set time each month. Adding other shorts from the wonderful world of the Treehouse Castaways (many have been shelved over the years). The possibilities are endless.
I’m also in the process (finally!) of publishing the first book in the series, as mentioned in my last post. Part of the reason this wasn’t done a lot sooner (as in, back in 2019 when I finished it) is because I was hoping to shoot for traditional publishing. I have since changed my mind and decided to go the route of the self-published because this series is far too important to have other people telling me what to change and how to handle it.
It’s also quite long and, being a first published novel, very unlikely to catch the attention of major agents and/or publishers. That’s okay. I’m slowly working on its visibility. In the meantime, I’m busy writing the second book (first draft is complete but there are some very heavy edits ahead), updating this here website as mentioned, and learning the ropes of self publishing.
I also put off publishing because I honestly am not much for self-promotion, marketing – basically the logistical side of being a writer. It took me many years to get over that hurdle and return now ready to jump into it. I also had many doubts that anyone really wanted to read it. I’ve reread it multiple times in order to keep track of subplots and content needed for the next few books, and I can say I love it so much every time. But I also wrote it for me, for anyone like me who’s never really fit in anywhere.
So even though many people around me (including those potential agents and publishers) don’t really understand the series or see its value, I know that’s because it’s not for them. It’s for others out there like me. Maybe that means there are a lot less people that will be interested in it. But it also means that for those whom it finds, the value will be infinite.
In that vein, my next steps with publishing include hiring a professional artist to give it a cover that brings the magic of the book to life. I’ve been halted here at this step since last year because this is a financial hurdle I’ve yet to overcome. I don’t often speak about my real-world struggles here (I prefer this space to be for the series and any themes that are relevant), however, this is the reality of our world, especially nowadays. Many factors – identity, systemic barriers, financial precarity, real-world inequities – can have a major impact on whose voice gets heard, and whose doesn’t.
This is a story for people like that, so I want to give it as much chance to fly as possible. I created a GoFundMe in an attempt to raise enough money to pay for a real (not AI) artist that can give this series some justice – give it a fighting chance on shelves with books from authors with more resources than me. If you have read this far and have any interest in supporting this series, I would be greatly appreciative and will add your name to the acknowledgements page of the first book in the series. You can find out more here at my GoFundMe Campaign on how to support. Even if you can’t support right now, I appreciate you sticking around to hear my story.
More to come in the coming weeks!
K.G. Wiles 