So you would think that with my first book coming out tomorrow morning that I would be talking it up and telling you it is the best book ever; that it’s going to change your life or something. But in fact what I want to do is preemptively apologize. I bet that makes you want to run out and buy it, right?
I should explain. Something new is always a little scary. This is scary on lots of different levels.
Any time you create something and put it out there to be judged, you run the risk of rejection and ridicule, so I am having the “I made this, please don’t make fun of it” feelings. Sure, some of my friends will buy this and they will tell me it is great. But since this is something I am doing in the hopes of building a career on it, strangers have to buy to. What if they buy it, read it, and hate it? What if no one buys it and my little spirit is crushed?
This is self-published, so I don’t have any validation from an expert. If this was traditionally published, someone whose career is knowing which books will make money would be telling me my book has a chance. I have lots of cheerleaders, and a few of them have even worked in the publishing world. But I don’t have someone who is willing to risk their reputation or money on my work.
I know a great story when I read one. I have read some amazing stories over the years. A few that come to mind are “The Fiddler of Bayou Teche” by Delia Sherman, “Snow,Glass and Apples” by Neil Gaiman, “Braiding the Ghost” by C. S. E. Cooney, and “Article of Faith” by Mike Resnick. None of the stories in my collection are great stories; they are entertaining and might make you think, but they are not the work of the masters. Don’t misunderstand – I think my stories are good, or I would not waste my time trying to sell them at all.
I want to be able to sit down with each person who buys “Treacherous Nature” and before they read it say, “OK, so if my career goes the way I hope, this will be the worst thing I ever publish. Someday people might look back at this, and chuckle at my embarrassing first collection of stories, and that is OK. Kitty of September Future is doing well and she looks back at these and laughs too. However for Kitty of September Present, these are the best stories she can write. These are months of hard work, stress, and tears. To Kitty of September Past, this is the fulfillment of several dreams. She dreamed of the day when she would have the motivation to finish stories; she longed for the day when she would have the self-confidence to put her work into the world. So please, for the sake of Kitty of September Past and Kitty of September Present, save all your negative comments for Kitty of September Future”.
But I can’t do that. People will buy or not buy; people will like it or hate it. Once I post the links, this collection has to stand or fall on its own.
kittysarkozy.com 