Hehe.  That title looks more desperate than I thought it would.

Actually, this is a somewhat serious request.  After almost a year-and-a-half of writing and rewriting, I have finally completed my first novel – and it’s available for sale!  The book, titled Teal, is available at

https://www.createspace.com/3341273

…for the very reasonable price of $9.95 (USD).  For those of you with Amazon accounts, you can also find the book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Teal-Zargansk-Wars-Book-1/dp/1434886956/

I don’t plan on making much (if any) money from selling Teal this way.  In fact, I’m just about ready to start sending out the book – along with the requisite query letters and such – to publishers and agents with the hopes of an actual publishing company picking it up. (Update: read here for the latest news, including Teal being acquired by an agent!)

So why go to all the work to self-publish this edition?  Actually, Amazon was kind enough to make the entire self-publication process free due to my participation in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, and I plan on using this edition as a way to get the attention of agents and publishers.  My hope is that an actual, published copy of the book will look significantly more serious than a plain paper manuscript.  And, even if agents and publishers don’t read it, they can give the book to their kid….and maybe the kid will like it!

It’s certainly worth a try.

In the event that I’m able to acquire any money from self-published sales (which will be tricky, since Amazon takes an overwhelming percentage of that $9.95 price), it will all go directly into the “postage to find a real publisher” pot, and once that’s filled into the “pay for tannerhelland.com server” pot.  So c’mon, spare $10 for a good read and support an up-and-coming writer!

And who knows – if I’m ever famous, a first edition copy of my first book could be worth a lot of money.  Take John Grisham, for example: after much rejection, he eventually managed to get a small publishing house to print 5,000 copies of his first novel (A Time to Kill) of which Grisham himself bought 2,500 copies.  He used the books as Christmas presents and tried selling some to friends and family, but he was ultimately unable to sign up a big publisher.  It wasn’t until an agent picked up Grisham’s 2nd novel – The Firm – and got it made into a movie that people even knew he existed.

The irony?  Those first edition copies, which Grisham couldn’t sell even at $10 a piece, are now worth as much as $5,000.

So consider it an investment and buy a couple copies.  Give them to families and friends.  It makes for a great, inexpensive birthday present for anyone into Harry Potter, Eragon, Artemis Fowl, Alex Ryder, Percy Jackson or similar YA Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

Honestly, I think the book’s pretty good.  I’d love any feedback, and thanks in advance for your purchase!  :)

(The John Grisham story appears courtesy of “How to Write & Sell Your First Novel” by Oscar Collier and Frances Spatz Leighton.  A link to this book – an excellent one – appears below.)

How to Write & Sell Your First Novel