On Writing

I’ve devoted my last week to stone laying (my cottage project) and pitching my new novel (working title), Agony of a Woman, to agents. I am taking a quick break as I’m waiting for the last agent to decide if she wants actually to see the book.

I’ve written about this before, but the way it works in the writing-publishing industry is that you must first hire an agent (who usually works on commission) to represent your book to publishers. A typical agent may receive as many as 1500 queries per month from no-name authors like me and decide to represent four or five per year. So, based on the odds, I have a 2% chance of a deal. I hear it is the same in the music industry, where there is a plethora of talented people, but so few can do it professionally.

With my first book, Butterflies in the Belfry, I presented it directly to a traditional publisher, and they accepted it. However, they included it in their academic portfolio and assigned a price of $38 for the small paperback. I pulled out of our agreement and self-published it because I wanted a broader audience. That was a big mistake, because I didn’t understand that future agents would have taken me more seriously if I had a book published by a traditional publisher under my belt. I ended up self-publishing my next six books.

There is only a very slim chance I can land a book deal with a publisher, not based upon my writing skills, but based on my lack of notoriety. Agents and publishers understand that books by famous people sell, regardless of how well they are written, and books by nobodies like me are difficult to promote, no matter how well they are written.

Storytelling via writing is my passion. It has never been about making money. It is also one of my few gifts. But like any artist, I crave an audience. The only reason that I am seeking a traditional publisher again is because of the stigma attached to independent publishers, like mine. It is assumed that if a big publishing house does not put out your book, it is inferior. It is an issue of respect. With more respect, I can gain a larger audience. Even though my books have sold well for independently published books, I have not been able to tap into a broader audience. It is like being a music performer. Most would rather perform for an audience of thousands than hundreds.

I love to tell stories that are complex and address fundamental social issues. The Stones of Yemen was a deep dive into the impetus of Islamic terrorism and the plight of the victims. There was no better way than to do that than by making the perpetrator of Islamic terrorism the best friend of a victim of such heinous acts.

My new book is an intense dive into the issue of abortion, the most divisive of social issues. There will be something in the story for “Pro-lifers” as well as for the “Pro-choicers.” Yet, with my social awkwardness and bad luck, most people from both sides will join the ranks of the “Mike-haters.” Geez. Denise has advised me to publish it under a pen name.

On Abiogenesis’

I just heard about a fascinating paper published in July, on the mathematical probabilities of life evolving from chemistry, (abiogenesis). Because “pre-life” chemical reactions break down far faster than they can “evolve,” the probabilities of this are so absurd that it would take many times over more time than the universe has existed. You can see the paper here. You can also listen to a description of the paper by one of my favorite science presenters, here. Also, notice how hard they come up with other explanations for life, without considering the concept of a creator because of the anti-creator bias.

I could be wrong; however, I could not find any agenda for the author Dr. Robert G. Endres, such as being a theist, for his work. You can view his other work here.

Up until about fifty years ago, people still believed in objective truth, as they always have. However, with the conservative Christians declaring war on science and truth, and the progressive Christians adopting a “Subjective truth only” approach to God, few will see the immense value in such a paper. But I know some people come here who still value truth, for which this story will be meaningful.

Mike