What Do Writers Do? We Move On!

 This is one of my favorite quotes: “Make your comeback bigger than your setback.”

 

And if 2024 has been anything for me, it’s been a year of comebacks!

 

Before the year began, I signed a contract with an independent publisher for a collection of YA horror stories. This book would be my debut into YA horror. And not only was this book accepted, but my second collection of YA horror stories was also accepted. I was thrilled!

 

Another awesome thing happened in early 2024: This publishing company welcomed me aboard as a YA Editor. I have worked as an editor for a publishing company in the past, and since that ended, I had hoped to get a similar position with another publisher at some point. So I was excited when this happened.

 

But just as quickly as it happened, it all fell apart. That publishing company shut down in April. I was so disheartened, because now my two books with them were out of print and my job was no more.

 

Still, someone came along and bought what remained of that press. There was the promise of all books under contract getting republished, and it was a long time before that happened. But it DID happen! The result was Twisted Dreams Press. Not only were my contracts for my books renewed with this brand but, after someone stepped down as partner, I stepped up, and I became an Executive Editor for this company.

 

Ever since then, we have worked with the authors of the old press in getting their books back out there.

 

And now the books which I had under contract are out there, too! The books which I was told would be published during certain months were indeed published in these months.

 

These books were:

 

Monsters and Mayhem

Triggered (my second YA horror story collection)

I’ll Be Ghosting You

Home for the Holidays

 

And with the publication of these books, I have the invitation to submit more manuscripts in the new year.

 

Ever since that publishing company shut down, I have also noticed that some of the other people who were involved with it have gone on to do other things with their stories, their books, and their businesses. One author started to self-publish all of his books, others have completely revised their books and found another publisher for them, and another author put their stories into completely brand new books.

 

I am happy with how things have worked out, and I’m happy for the other authors who also extricated themselves from that disaster and forged a new path for themselves. These amazing people have created something bigger and better! They have found success with their new things, and they keep rocking the scene without looking back.

 

This only goes to show just how resilient authors are, and should be. The end is never “the end.” It’s more of “to be continued.”

 

If an author wants to survive in this industry, the author must be resilient. They must be able to pick themselves back up, dust themselves off, and move forward. An author must be able to gather their broken pieces and create something new out of it.

 

Publishing companies shut down. Magazines shut down. Contracts get terminated, decisions get changed and planned projects tend to fall apart. It happens. And if you are involved in something like this, just know that it’s an opportunity to find something else that will work for you. Don’t give up and don’t give in! Pick yourself back up and try again!

 

When you experience disaster in your attempts to get published, then the best thing to do with your work is to get back up again and go in another direction. Do something else with your writing. Create something else out of it, or make it brand new again and either self-publish it or take it elsewhere. Bring your writing back to life in some other way. Don’t give up just because things did not go as planned; instead, make a new plan! Do something else! Go somewhere else.

 

The point is that even after things fall apart in your plans to get published, you have the power to put your work and your plans back together again in your own way. Don’t see the closure or rejection as the end of your journey to publication; see it as an opportunity to come back bigger and better than ever. Someone somewhere else out there will accept and publish your work, giving your hard work and effort the reward it deserves.

 

Make your comeback bigger than your setback. That’s what professional authors who have been in this situation have done, and this is what every aspiring author or writer hoping to get published should do as well. Get back up again, dust yourself off, and move forward.