Long-time readers of this blog will recall that, back in April, I landed an agent to represent my novel, The Accumulator. At that time, I promised to update this space news about whether you’ll be able to find my writing in your local book store. Well, I have bad news and good news.
I learned this past fall that none of the major publishing houses were interested in The Accumulator. This is not a huge surprise, in retrospect, given the amount of risk an editor would need to take on a young(ish) writer like myself whose publishing record is limited to poetry, radio commentaries, a short story that won’t be appearing in print until this April, and this blog. Facts don’t insulate us from disappointment, though, and that disappointment has a lot to do with why things have been so quiet here.
But here’s the good news: The Accumulator is now a semi-finalist in Amazon.com’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest, the end result of which is a publishing contract with Penguin. Which novels get ushered into the finals will be the decision of Penguin and Publishers Weekly, but a huge factor in that decision is customer reviews.
So here is where I need your help.
If you have the time and inclination, you can read an excerpt of The Accumulator here, on Amazon.com. And then, if you feel inspired (and you’re not put off by sex, drugs, or violence), write a review! The service you will be doing for me is incalculable, and will pretty much put you in the black, karma-wise.
And if I move on to the finals, my karma will be squarely in the red——and I will owe you all a thousand hand-knit sweaters.