Today is Rupsey, is what me and my husband say, most Sundays. It's out little joke. We've added an extra day to the weekend. Our week has eight days and Rupsey is the eighth day. I know, it's crazy. He was reading The Mis-education of the Negro, and he was teasing me because I hadn't, and he said, "Yeah, they say that slaves added another day to the weekend and called it Rupsey!" He's such a jokester that I didn't know, at first, if he was serious or not. I though, if he was, I needed to put down Alice Walker's "Anything We love can be Saved," and read this for myself. Needless to say, he was infact joking, and for some reason I busted out laughing. I started saying things, in our normal conversation, like: I'm gonna get up early Rupsey morning and do the grocery shopping. Anyway, though Rupsey is the title of today's blog, it isn't what I'm gonna write about.
Today is the first day after a year and a few months that I decided to write down my experience with publishing my novel, An Aspirin for a Heartache. It's written. It's been through several edits and several declines. And, if you can't tell already--I'm crazy. And sometimes when I get a decline letter-- I go off! Let the agent know "what time it is". I get so angry because agents have no idea what Black women want to read! I could go on forever about this topic. I won't.
So right now the cover is in the process of being completed. And I really like it. Me and this really talented artist are working hard. It should be ready by next week.
I decided to do some publicity, on the side, for other writers. I say on the side, but it's through my company, Moontree Books, that I sarted back in April, to publish my book. I am also looking over "Heartache," still finding mistakes! AAAAAAAAAAAHGH!, like on Charlie Brown.
Okay, now, so my next move: I have Heartache at Agate. I don't know. I'd like to think that they'd publish it. My money is so short right now, I'll take it anyway I can get it. I still would like to publish through my own company. If they do acquire "Heartache," I'll but my pulse in the marketing of it and hopefully it will sell out of the roof and then, when I publish through moontree Books, I will have the much needed pre-exposure for the novel that I'm currently working on. We'll see what happens. I have a friend who want's to go into the publishing business with me, and If I do it this way, you can expect "Heartache" to be out in Feb or Mar 2006. If it get's acquired, I don't know when it'll be out but I do know it will be much later than this.
Did I mention I have three kids? Since I started writing this, they have asked for hot cocoa, cake, cereal, malt-o-meal, and I'm working on two out of four: guess which ones? Now you see why I need a tradidional publisher!