Mike Somers Gives Hope to Self-Published Authors

The decision to tell the truth — that I was a self-published author — has been a conflicted journey for me.

I work in higher education, where being “traditionally” published is the be-all and end-all, so there’s been an element of shame involved.  I imagined my colleagues saying, “What? His book wasn’t good enough to be published by a real publisher?”  I imagined the stink of failure wafting from the pages of my book as people I worked with flipped through it, wrinkling their noses.

No, my book was not traditionally published.  I wish it had been.  I think many authors hope for that.  Nine young-adult publishers, both big and medium, passed on STARVED, and most editors had very kind and supportive things to say about the story in their rejections.  I knew it wasn’t because I wrote a “bad” book; my agent, Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary understood the book and believed in it strongly enough to shop it around.

For a variety of business-related reasons, mostly that my book is considered midlist and midlist books are finding fewer and fewer slots, STARVED was turned down.  I knew the writing was good but I couldn’t find a home for it.

Once all of our best options had been exhausted, Karen suggested I self-publish so my story of Nathan, a teenaged boy with eating disorders, could find some sort of life with
readers, which I did in 2012. I won’t go into detail about that here, since I’ve written quite a bit about it on my website, michaelsomers.com, and I encourage you to visit the site to learn more about that part of my book’s journey.

Fast-forward to April 2014 and my email inbox.  Writer’s Digest had sent a call for submissions for their 22nd Annual Self-Published Book Award contest.  On a lark, I clicked on the link for the rules of entry and before I knew it, or thought too much about it, I had completed the application, paid the fee, and had a copy of STARVED sealed in an envelope.  I jumped in my car and drove
to the post office, riding a wave of self-empowerment.  Yes, I was Rundy Hill Press.  Yes, I was self-published.  If anything came of this contest, I’d worry about telling the world then.

So I put it out of my mind and honestly, rather forgot about it.

October came and I received an email from Writer’s Digest telling me STARVED had earned Honorable Mention in the Middle Grade/Young Adult category.  Sure, I wanted to sweep the category, but hey, Honorable Mention is pretty darn good!  I did a little happy dance in my living room, saying, “Omigodomigodomigod” on a loop as I twirled around.

If I hadn’t been encouraged to self-publish by my agent, if I hadn’t been lucky enough to speak to college and high school students about my book, if I hadn’t heard from men
and women around the world who recognized themselves or their loved ones in the book thanking me, if I hadn’t simply entered the contest, I likely still wouldn’t be willing to admit I am Rundy Hill Press.  Now I have a reason — a very good reason —
to own it and to own it with pride.

Michael Somers is a teaching writer who lives in mid-Michigan. His award-winning creative nonfiction has appeared in Cardinal Sins and Flashquake, and in November 2013, he was a featured essayist on This I Believe for his essay “The Power of Paying Attention.”

His first novel STARVED earned Honorable Mention in the 22nd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards for the Middle-Grade/Young Adult category.