I hope this post is interesting and informative to other writers maybe

I'm going through my info regarding my novel Light Boxes.

Most of the book was written last year, from April 07 to October 07. Actually, the first paragraph was written in March of 07, but the book didn't take off until May. The book is written in a lot of really small sections, about 90 I think. A few people think they read like prose poems. I wrote about 120 of these little sections and cut thirty. I also wrote a lot of lists, but decided on only using like 3 or 4. I cut about ten. I also wrote a strange diary/town history that was about 3,000 words long that I cut. There was also a really long section about two characters playing a card game that didn't seem to fit and I cut that. The drafting of the book went like this: I wrote between 1 and 3 sections a day, with many days off just thinking about the book. I did more thinking than writing probably. I really lived in the world for months. I wrote for an hour in the morning before work, and I wrote on my lunch break. I also wrote on my laptop in my car. That's one of my favorite places to write. If I could afford it, I would buy a writing car and just drive it into a field or someplace quiet and sit and write.

I first tried to get it published by Calamari Press. Derek White was going to read it when he got back from vacation. I waited a month. After he got back I sent a follow-up email and he wrote back saying he was very busy and it would be better if I just submitted to Sleepingfish. I said how excited I was to send it to him. I spent a few hours writing a cover letter and editing and just sitting around thinking about it. Derek agreed to look at it and rejected it shortly after, only getting through about the first thirty pages. I understand where he was coming from -- it just didn't grab him. I sent him some excerpts from the book for Sleepingfish and they were rejected.

Next I sent lots of emails to presses. I spent endless hours on duotrope and googling and writing query emails. I wrote probably close to 40 emails in the first few months. With follow-up emails and everything I probably wrote about 100 emails concerning Light Boxes. I was also sending lots of excerpts out -- 9 places accepted sections, and about 7 rejected them. This started in December and would end when I sent the manuscript to Adam at Publishing Genius in June.

James Chapman from Fugue State wrote a really nice rejection letter.

Featherproof and Dzanc held the book since the very end of November and I just wrote them an email saying I need to withdraw the book. I had previously sent them each two follow-up emails concerning the status of it.

Fence books was a terrible decision on my part. I traded about half a dozen emails with Rebecca about the book. She held the first 30 pages for four months before rejecting it.

McSweeney's rejected it after four months or so and that's not a surprise.

I withdrew from Hotel St. George after a series of strange emails and then the Paul Fattaruso disaster which climaxed with poet Michael Earl Craig emailing me his phone number with just the words "call me" typed. I called and we talked for almost a half hour and basically Michael Earl Craig thought I was an asshole making fun of Paul Fattaruso and I agreed to not post any more about Paul Fattaruso. I'm not even sure what I did wrong but Michael Earl Craig was sticking up for his friend and I respect that in a way. I still feel bad and strange about the whole thing.

Sunnyoutside seemed interested but after a few months rejected the first 30 pages saying they couldn't support the project.

I sent the manuscript out to lots of people who asked to read it like: Chris Killen, Jesse Ball, Blake Butler, Tao Lin, Sam Pink, Brandon Scott Gorrell, Katheryn Regina, and I think that's it. Most read it and responded, some with edits, and a few haven't read it yet or looked at and rejected it like the other editors. I understand that not everyone is going to like it. I understand people are going to think it's bad for many reasons and that's okay.

Rose Metal Press seemed really interested in it. I contacted them in March about the book. They said to send it to them on the first day of their open reading period on May 1st. I waited and sent the book first thing on May 1st. They rejected it two weeks later saying it wasn't right for them.

New Michigan Press was another bad decision to go after. Ander was interested but after I sent him the book he said it was too self-indulgent. That rejection took about a month.

I sent emails to Kevin Sampsall. The first was in December. He wrote back a month later saying he was too busy and to check in later. I wrote another email in May and he wrote back saying he was still too busy.

I withdrew from Hawthorne books and Narrative Magazine.

I tried Aaron at Hobart but withdrew after Adam took it and Aaron wrote back saying he was probably too busy and didn't have the energy anyways to publish it but still wanted to take a look.

I tried Ugly Duckling Presse. Some editor wrote to me during the winter to send a sample and he would see if there was any interest among the staff. He never wrote back. I wrote a follow-up email to check the status four months later and there hasn't been any response.

Invisible Press, Clear Cut, Action Yes, Open City, Vegabond, Ghost Road, and about a dozen more never responded to my query emails.

FC2 said to enter their contest.

I traded several emails with one of the editors at Caketrain who had suggestions on what I could do with the manuscript. He then suggested Adam at Publishing Genius which I am now grateful for.

I also withdrew from Octopus and Black Ocean.

I printed out the manuscript and put it in an envelope to send to Melville House but got depressed and threw it out.

Same with Soft Skull Press. Actually, that sat in the back of my car for a month and I felt silly and threw it out.

I think that's about it. I'm sure I'm missing more.

If I had been more aware of Publishing Genius this wouldn't have taken so long. But also the timing was right. When I wrote Adam the query email it was a really long shot -- he hadn't published a novel -- so why was I even writing the email? But he wrote back that he was interested in doing a longer project. I think Adam took a month to read and accept the book. He's sent me a three page contract with specific deadline/layout from what will happen from now until February, got an ISBN already, and been ridiculously supportive. It feels good.

I hope this post isn't annoying. It probably is. Someone is probably reading this and thinking I'm an asshole. They wouldn't have made it this far though. I think it's good for writers, no matter how small, to discuss how they got their work published. I feel refreshed when I read stuff like that. I think David Markson has an essay, or maybe it was an interview, where he said he sent Wittgenstein's Mistress to 55 presses and they all rejected it. I think in our culture, maybe I'm thinking more of television, things seem so easy and automatic and you don't really see any of the struggle. It's also really kind of crazy to work on a book and get it published. I'll be lucky to sell 300 copies. I'll make very little money. But it's fun and I think it's important. I really respect writers. I just thought of Peter Markus for some reason. He seems like a really hard working smaller writer. What the fuck are we doing? I better click the spell checker. I had three words misssssssssspeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllleasjkflkjsd.