Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Friday, January 21, 2011

Being Published

Being published is not the end all. That's why it's not wise to jump at the first contract that is offered. Hopefully, you did your homework before submitting to publishers in the first place. What I would recommend is to at least check the P & E site for any publisher to whom you are considering sending your manuscript and see what they have to say about them. If P & E does not recommend them, you can bet that they are not a publisher to whom you want to submit. When I was on my own submitting THE VASE, I systematically pored over that list on P & E and did not submit to any of the ones who were not recommended.

But, there is another factor. It's one that I was not too concerned about, but maybe I should be. The main reason, I believe, that publishers will not be recommended is because they are vanity publishers. You know, the Self-Publishers, the Subsidy Publishers, and any other type of publisher that charges the author fees to be published by them. Then there are the other types that don't call themselves that, but still they charge fees. They just mask those fees as some kind of charge that they justify for whatever reason.

The bottom line is that you don't want to pay to get published. Not even for editing, and not even for marketing. And this is the other factor. If you have to find your own editor, as I was asked to do with the first publisher who offered a contract, that is a red flag. And the next thing, and possibly a very sticky topic, is marketing. Most, and maybe even all of the small, independent publishers will require the author to have some kind of role in marketing his/her book. But if the publisher has a hand in it, too, at least you won't be on your own.

It's a team effort. Find out if the publisher has a marketing plan. Check their website and see if they have a marketing specialist on their staff. If they do, that is a good sign. Better yet, go to the bookstore and see if any of their books are on the shelves. That's the best sign of all.
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2 comments:

  1. Sean Thomas FisherJanuary 22, 2011 at 8:09 AM

    Hey SwampFox, I've seen your comments on some other blogs, like Nathan's, and popped over to check you out. First off, congratulations on getting a killer deal for The Vase. Recently, I had Nephelle Tempest at The Knight Agency - in an online Q&A - tell me it would hurt my chances of getting an agent if I had submitted to publishers and they had, subsequently, turned me down. I've just started querying agents for my zombie novel and I'm itching to send it to some publishers that handle similar books to mine. I know your agent would only rep your first book, but were you worried about jeapordizing any future representation for The Vase by sending to pubs on your own? Obviously, it paid off and that's awesome. Seems like you got more done on your own than with your agent...

    Also, you've got some great info on your blog! Thanks for that, and I can't wait to find out what The Vase is all about.

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  2. Mr. DJanuary 22, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    Hi Sean, thanks for stopping by.

    The bottom line was I had two options: Find another agent, or, find a publisher for THE VASE on my own.

    Since my agent is committed to KILLER OF KILLERS, I didn't want to jeopardize that by dumping her, and then going through an agent search all over again.

    So I figured to submit THE VASE to the publishers who didn't require an agent. Yeah, they're the smaller houses, the indie publishers, but some of them are quite good.

    To answer your question directly, I had no plans to seek additional representation for THE VASE, so it wasn't an issue.

    Good luck to you and your zombie novel. Once it finds a home, let me know, I'll be sure to buy it.

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