Rolling a boulder uphill

 

My partner, the novelist, and I have just completed the Sisyphean task of filling out the IngramSpark self-publishing form and uploading the text and cover of her new novel. This gruelling task, involving devising cover prices that will return a small positive margin, and writing long and short book descriptions, has occupied parts of the past three or four days.

Before that, of course, was the design process, which, after a few hiccups, resulted in the sort of beautiful artefact typical of our designer, who has worked similar wonders for us for the previous books in the saga.

And before that we had the massive struggle to get the novel finished. Beginning its life in 2015, the novel’s entire development has been pitched against one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history, as well as a time of various troubling health issues in our own lives. As the final volume in a family trilogy, it has evolved from a third adult-focused story into a Young Adult coming-of-age tale narrated by a teenage protagonist — a significant shift in viewpoint that led to total rewriting of much of the opening of the story.

I am not about to indulge in illicit self-publicity. All identifying details will be withheld! My point rather is that the writing, design, and publication of a book can, for some of us, be a prolonged and agonizing struggle; the reward, the knowledge that one has put one’s heart into it. There is no presumption of sales, let alone return on capital investment, at the end of the process. There’s just the hope that somebody will pick up the book and enjoy it. 

The flurry of cover reveals, launches, book signings, author talks, audiobooks, awards, and all the rest, will likely pass us by. The book will probably not be picked up on ACW radar as a candidate for its legendary encouragement, any more than its two precursors were. They probably missed out because of their realistic portrayal of church culture, and maybe also because they included some ‘swear words’. The latest book also features both (teenagers do occasionally use rude words!) but in very gentle measure, and it is otherwise clean and non-violent.

The writing process leaves one drained and exhausted. The highest pitch of emotion one can summon up is relief and gratitude for the grace to have got through. My novelist partner is delighted at the prospect of not having to ‘be a writer’ any more!