Thank you for the suggestion, Mike, but self-publishing is a last resort for me — one I’ll only consider if all traditional paths have been exhausted. Once a book is self-published, the road to most publishers and literary agents is effectively closed. They explicitly state that they don’t accept previously published manuscripts and prefer not to deal with them at all. Beyond that, many self-published books end up lost in a sea of similar titles, and without strong marketing or media backing, they stand little chance of success.
Right now, I’m collecting feedback from beta readers, and after this stage, I plan to start approaching publishers that accept direct submissions. Unfortunately, most of them only work through literary agents — who, in effect, decide whether a book gets published or not.
I wonder if the Daily Wire would be able to assist with finding a literary agent who specializes in fiction which appeals to patriotic and mostly Christian Middle America - might be worth looking into once you’re ready.
I am reading the first two chapters and I am really enjoying it. Maybe self-publishing and growing the readership via word of mouth will be the only way to go.
Thank you for the kind words — I truly appreciate you taking the time to start reading the first two chapters.
As for self-publishing — that would be a last resort, one I’ll only consider after I’ve exhausted all other options. Once a book is self-published, no agent or publisher will look at it again.
If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be grateful if you could leave a comment under my latest post inviting readers to become beta readers — once you’ve finished reading. Thank you again!
Azantian is about the wokest, queerest literary agency out there; but I agree with you that they're saying the quiet part out loud. (I spent a year querying a hyper-woke queer fantasy that one of their agents looked at for ages before passing on.)
I daresay that a book like yours is really swimming upstream in this market. It's not just the Israel/IDF stuff, though that is a dealbreaker for many if not most agents. It's also that you're writing about traditionally masculine experiences as a man. You could rewrite it as being about the sufferings of a "trans man" (biological woman) in the US military, and it still would get binned because of the military part.
OTOH, if you can pay for some good cover design, light editing, and typesetting, this does sound like the sort of special interest title that might do well as a self-published book. Even better if you produce an audiobook version. Or look at what Elissa Wald's new publishing venture is doing (https://substack.com/@elissawald) and if your book would be a good fit with them.
I am so terribly sorry you are having to deal with this. I expect you and other Jewish writers would win a class action suit, hands-down. I can not do anything about most of what you say in this article. What I can do, is read it if you are willing to share it. I am sure it is a beautiful, poignant, and meaningful story to be shared.
Thank you for your genuine support. I’m not giving up and continuing to explore alternative paths. Hopefully, they’ll bear fruit — and when they do, I’ll be able to share some encouraging news. But it’s one step at a time. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
I am not surprised and think you are naive.
Which is surprising for someone with your World experience.
Self publish.
Here in NZ trosspublishing.com are a good bunch.
At the very best John McLean would give you some good advice.
Please use my name
Mike Mckee, Seatoun
Thank you for the suggestion, Mike, but self-publishing is a last resort for me — one I’ll only consider if all traditional paths have been exhausted. Once a book is self-published, the road to most publishers and literary agents is effectively closed. They explicitly state that they don’t accept previously published manuscripts and prefer not to deal with them at all. Beyond that, many self-published books end up lost in a sea of similar titles, and without strong marketing or media backing, they stand little chance of success.
Yet they trip over themselves to publish anything & everything with a Marxist, Communist or Maoist ideology. Clown-world.
Any traditional American pro-military publishers ? You know, like the Daily Wire with films.
Right now, I’m collecting feedback from beta readers, and after this stage, I plan to start approaching publishers that accept direct submissions. Unfortunately, most of them only work through literary agents — who, in effect, decide whether a book gets published or not.
I wonder if the Daily Wire would be able to assist with finding a literary agent who specializes in fiction which appeals to patriotic and mostly Christian Middle America - might be worth looking into once you’re ready.
I am reading the first two chapters and I am really enjoying it. Maybe self-publishing and growing the readership via word of mouth will be the only way to go.
Thank you for the kind words — I truly appreciate you taking the time to start reading the first two chapters.
As for self-publishing — that would be a last resort, one I’ll only consider after I’ve exhausted all other options. Once a book is self-published, no agent or publisher will look at it again.
If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be grateful if you could leave a comment under my latest post inviting readers to become beta readers — once you’ve finished reading. Thank you again!
Don’t give up.
Azantian is about the wokest, queerest literary agency out there; but I agree with you that they're saying the quiet part out loud. (I spent a year querying a hyper-woke queer fantasy that one of their agents looked at for ages before passing on.)
I daresay that a book like yours is really swimming upstream in this market. It's not just the Israel/IDF stuff, though that is a dealbreaker for many if not most agents. It's also that you're writing about traditionally masculine experiences as a man. You could rewrite it as being about the sufferings of a "trans man" (biological woman) in the US military, and it still would get binned because of the military part.
OTOH, if you can pay for some good cover design, light editing, and typesetting, this does sound like the sort of special interest title that might do well as a self-published book. Even better if you produce an audiobook version. Or look at what Elissa Wald's new publishing venture is doing (https://substack.com/@elissawald) and if your book would be a good fit with them.
I am so terribly sorry you are having to deal with this. I expect you and other Jewish writers would win a class action suit, hands-down. I can not do anything about most of what you say in this article. What I can do, is read it if you are willing to share it. I am sure it is a beautiful, poignant, and meaningful story to be shared.
Thank you for your genuine support. I’m not giving up and continuing to explore alternative paths. Hopefully, they’ll bear fruit — and when they do, I’ll be able to share some encouraging news. But it’s one step at a time. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
And continuing on that topic — what has happened since then:
https://mikelivschitz.substack.com/p/storm-in-the-shadow-the-novel-they