Confessions of a Curmudgeon

For years I have wanted to scream out the things in my head. I have been writing since I was fourteen years old. My first effort was a short story. I shared it with no one but my sister, who encouraged me to write more. It took years before I actually tried to write. When I did, I was a fan of Andy Rooney and Lewis Grizzard, whom I tried to emulate badly, I might add. I tried a lot of publishers and newspapers and received a ton of rejection letters.

When I was 36 and recently divorced, I wrote my first novel. It was called Chance of a Lifetime, and it was a catharsis for my ravaged heart. I wrote the story I wanted to have lived but didn’t. I tried for several years to get an agent and a publisher. It was then I realized that you needed one to get the other. You need an agent to get a publisher and an interested publisher to obtain an agent.

Fast forward to 2012, when I was conversing with a friend on Facebook. He told me he was writing a book and had an agent/publisher interested. He passed on her info, and I submitted a query letter and a sample. I was stunned to receive a reply that she wanted to see the whole manuscript. After a few letters between the publisher and myself, she made me an offer to publish. And in 2013, my first novel was published, and I was now an author. It was a small press with about ten titles out of Frisco, Texas, and she used Create Space to publish my book under her imprint. I paid the printing fees and had to do all the merchandising and media independently. In return, she got 20% of my royalties. At the end of the first year, I sold a few hundred copies, primarily to friends and family, trying to be supportive. At the end of the year, we mutually agreed to part ways, and all publishing rights reverted to me.

In the course of that year, I wrote the second of my novels, Forever and For Always, and decided to self-publish through Create Space. I also repackaged the first novel, and in 2014, I published the second novel and re-released the first. Sales were better because the same people not only bought the second, but their word of mouth and some creative social media marketing netted a lot more sales. This novel was a fictionalized account of my sister and brother-in-law and their 28-year love story.

In 2015, I published number three, Careless Whispers. This was a break from the first two novels, which were both romance novels. CW was a suspense novel based in my hometown. I felt it was my best work, and it indeed outsold both of the other two. I was on my way, or so I thought. I started writing the sequel to CW when I was downsized in my work, and my whole world turned upside down. All my books may be purchased here: Ed Stuteville Books

For the next five years, I worked for three companies and then for myself, trying to get my world back in order. That brings me to now. I have settled down and am working to finally make my life my own as a writer again. I have started writing again and have four or five good ideas. I am trying to see which one comes to me first. In the meantime, I will be writing my posts here and sharing it with you.

I hope to create a community here to build a following for my work. I know that people with like minds will tend to congregate and bring others they think will be engaged and entertained. Sometimes I will post short stories. Sometimes I may post things that have become important to me. Other times, I will share personal stories like this one. This will also be where I post sneak peeks of upcoming books or articles.

This will be at least a weekly posting, but I aim to have daily postings eventually. As I work this out, everything will be free to all subscribers. As things become more frequent, I will open a paid subscription, allowing access to the premium content. What will the premium content consist of? That is a work in progress. As for now, let’s get to know each other.