30 Jul 2025 4 min read Author Blog

I Can Change Anything Anytime

Whiplash. Five days ago I sent a query to a literary agent. Today, I am talking about an October publication date. What shifted in my thinking? Am I still aiming for a traditionally published book?

My book is cooked. Like, we're talking—the cake is in the oven, the timer is going off. I stick a toothpick in it, and maybe there's a little doughiness. I leave it in for another ten minutes. BUT, if I leave it too long, it's going to get dried out. There's a fine line between a dry brittle cake and a moist one.

person holds tray of muffins on tray — Photo by Taylor Grote / Unsplash

I've submitted my work to 151 agents. I was ghosted by perhaps 50 of them—closing the query after a suitable amount of time. Most were extremely nice and responded. Some asked for my next work to be queried to them but they passed on the current work. I've had my expectations raised, I've had my expectations crashed. My family has seen my excitement and my heartbreak.

I suspect if my novel took place in modern times and was a romance, I would have have made a connection by now. Most agents seem to be wanting to diversify their lists. There are a few who are interested in South Asian mythological retellings, but the competition is fierce. There are so many younger, more energetic authors with a bigger following and more work submitted to literary publications than I have life to live. They are all deserving of representation.

Rumours is, publishers aren't publishing anything that isn't a done deal. Work that lives on the fringes or smokes of controversial topics may be a hard sell requiring an agent who is more than dedicated, in love in fact, with my work. They have to sell the work to the next person, after-all. How does my work compare to Babel, Ten Incarnations of Rebellion, or the fact that searching for 'mythological fantasy' only pulls up Nordic and Greek fantasy on Google Search?

It's a tough market. I have to prove myself without being in it. Impossible.

I can change anything anytime.

In a dream world, an editor or agent will call me up in the next 24 hours wanting to know more about my work.

I don't live in the dream world. I write the dream world.

So game plan. Set a deadline. Find out what I need to do before that deadline. Maybe I get it right. Maybe I get it wrong. It may not be my first rodeo but it's the first time I will be publishing the first book of what I see is a series.

A Lion's Head is my freebie. It's the litmus test for whether or not readers will accept my work. A Lion's Pride will be the sequel. A Monkey's Head a continuation.

There is a path to walk here. I can not wait for others to stand behind me and hold me up. I may have to walk this path alone for some time. I'm okay with that. My whole life has been working up to that. I am the project manager, graphics designer, author, content editor, marketer, and publisher all wrapped into one. Thank God for my editor, EMSA Publishing, or I would not be sane or confident about my work. Thank the Greater Gods for the people who have supported and continue to support my efforts.

My dad reading the ePub I uploaded to Kindle gave this feedback:

I am reading your book as a person who is an alien to Eastern religions and cultures. With the initial glimpse, I find it difficult to grasp the meaning of certain words. It is good to attach notes to explain the meaning of certain words and dogma.

Just a few I picked up, what is the meaning of dhamma. Born again as someone else ( reincarnation). Once these little tools are given, the
Curiosity will be built for the reader even if the reader is a total alien to Eastern religions and culture.

Which only goes to show you that even your own father will be a harsh critic. I've had a few people ask for the definition of words to be included. I've erred on the side of not including said list. For one, it won't help people listening to the audiobook version. It also won't be easily accessible on an eBook. Instead, I try to explain the concepts like Asura in context of the unfolding story. After all, Tolkien did not include the definition of a troll (though the man is known for his pages of exposition). But that IS a known challenge for modern fantasy publishing.