This week one of the restaurants in town announced that they’re going out of business. We were warned this would happen, which doesn’t make it any less sad. It is less surprising, though.
About fifteen years ago, my favorite Edmonds Tex-Mex restaurant, Quintana Roo, not only closed. It totally disappeared. When I wasn’t looking, the converted house with a view of Puget Sound was sold and torn down.
One Sunday, hoping for a table by the window and a bowl of its famous chili, we drove to what we thought was Qintana Roo’s location. It wasn’t there. We tried another street. And another. The following week I drove around again. No Quintana Roo.
It was upsetting.
Why? I know change is all around us all the time. That’s nothing new. In fact, Heraclitus, who died way back in 475 BC, is famously quoted as saying: “The only constant in life is change.” Yes, I get it.
And yet, it seems to me that we all have a preference for permanence. Or at least an expectation that for the most part the world around us will stay the same.
I look out the window now at my neighbor’s house, and I expect it to be there tomorrow, and the next day. The road in front of my house won’t disappear overnight. I can go to sleep tonight and be assured that when I wake up, everything … everything will be just as I left it–the bed, the roof, the floor I will step out on.
Wasn’t it reasonable that I should expect my publisher to continue in existence? Reasonable or not, unfortunately, that is not the case. The publisher of my first novel is now in the process of disappearing. And I’m more than surprised.
I had just assumed it would always be there, printing up copies of Tiger Tail Soup for anyone who wanted to read it.
So now what? Should I just let the book die? It’s true, I did consider that.
But it’s a good novel. It has 55 reviews on Amazon, only one of which is bad. (She said it was too hard.) There’s at least one book club still planning to discuss it in the near future. So now I’m thinking that I’ll self publish it, just to get it back out there.
The question is, can I do it? Can I handle all those technical details? Maybe. They say you’re never too old to learn new skills.
Okay then, (taking a deep breath) I’ll give it a try.
Wish me luck.
(Things are closing around us as well. Two of our favorite restaurants have shuttered permanently.)
As for the book, go ahead and self-publish it! There are a lot of tips online, and it’s not too difficult to do. Amazon has KDP for print & e-version; you can also publish directly on different platforms (B&N, Apple, etc.) or use a distributor like Draft2Digital (they even do print now).
Thanks for all the tips, Jennifer. I think I’ve settled on Amazon, at least to start. I’m not familiar Draft2Digita. I’m going to look into it.
Oh, no! I thought you were going to talk about some restaurant or café that had to close due to the epidemic… not about your publisher!
I do think Tiger Tail Soup deserves a second life. I thought it was good.
Thanks, Marta. I’m glad you thought so.
Yes, yes! I know you can keep Tiger Tail Soup in print. Shoot, you managed to write a whole BOOK … which I find an amazing thing to do.
Thank you, Sue. It’s great to have all this support. Of course, now I really have to follow through.
Oh, no! That feels like a punch to the gut. Were you also planning on publishing your next book with them?
Kindle publications do seem the easiest…but it’s not the same as holding a glossy-covered book in your hands.
Yeah, it’s annoying. I have another publisher for my next book: She Writes Press.
Amazon does both digital and print books now. (You knew they would.) The downside is, you can only sell on Amazon, which should be enough for now. We’ll see how it goes.
Definitely self publish Tiger Tale Soup, Nicki. It’s an excellent book and needs to be out there! Wishing you luck!
Thanks, Maureen. I kinda like it too.
Nothing stays the same for sure. My first book publisher went out of business (in this case, they deserved it). The second doesn’t do much but it’s still going – for now.
A year ago, Kizzie warned me about my publisher. I just thought, oh well. It’s too late now. I guess there were some shenanigans even before the pandemic. I’ll leave that for someone else to figure out and move on. What did you do about the first publisher?
I wish you luck. Looking forward to reading your new book on Vanuatu.
I hope you’ll like it, Lew. It’s just fiction.
I remember Quintana Roo also. We would drive from Seattle just to eat there. Loved the little house and of course, the food. Award winning chili. And then it disappeared only to be a bigger building with apartments.. No Quintana Roo…
I think it is only a few that can handle change.. I don’t like but understand that it happens all the time. But it still doesnt make it any easier. I don’t understand the publishing life but just thought your wonderful book would be around for life. How can a book just disappear? I don’t like change.
It’s interesting, Jeri, that you too remember Quintana Roo. It may be silly, but I liked the way they served coffee–in glass cups with little pedestals.
I think for most of us, we may not like change but we soon get used to the new normal. I remember being nervous on the first day of school when I was a kid, worried that 5th grade would be strange and difficult. It wasn’t, though. It was almost like fourth grade. I think 5th grade was when I started playing the clarinet. That was a good change.
Things disappear . . . leaving us with nostalgia.
I’d love to be able to time travel back to favorite places, people, and times. And, yes, some of those places would be favorite restaurants!
Good luck with your launch into self publishing, Nicki. You can do it!
In thinking back to long-gone places I remember fondly, the first thing that came to mind was The Short Stop, a modern (at the time) drive-through that served a slice of cantaloupe and something else with your burger. It was where I was introduced to the chocolate dip, a soft ice cream cone dipped in hot chocolate. I still love it.
Thank you so much for your support.
I’m so sorry to hear about your publisher, Nicki. Sadly, I’ve heard this had happened to many smaller publishing companies. I have a lot of friends who self-publish and say it’s easy to put your book up on Amazon. Many family owned businesses in our area have had no option, but to close. It’s sad to see the families lose their livelihood.
I feel the same way, Jill. It’s going to be hard for people who lose their jobs or their companies. They must be extremely worried.
Small publishers must have been existing on a knife’s edge even before the pandemic. I can’t really complain about my situation. I have other options. I’ll probably publish on Amazon.
By all means self-publish. Your book was wonderful. If anything, it needed stronger marketing because it was far better than most things I read.
Thank you, Kate. In the last couple of years, I just let the book languish and concentrated on other things. When my second novel comes out next April, maybe I can market both of them together.
That is sad when you find a restaurant you love suddenly closes down one day. If it had customers, you’d think the place had reason to keep going – as its always hard to set up in the first place. You got me curious and I Googled the Edmonds restaurant ‘Quintana Roo Mexicatessen’. Looks like the owners wanted to pursue other interests but I also found another piece saying they reopened elsewhere (not sure if it’s them).
Sometimes I also wonder if things will be the same if I wake up. Looking back on recent events, things can change so fast in a blink of an eye.
Sorry to hear your book publisher seems to be disappearing. Self-publishing is always an option, and good luck with that if you choose to publish that way. When I publish my first book, I will probably self-publish.
I googled Quintana Roo too. The original owner had family obligations (a deaf child to care for). I think the Mexicatessen is a different place.
I agree. Sometimes things can change in the blink of an eye. Most of the time it’s a personal issue, like a family member’s death. But larger societal changes can be particularly disorienting, especially when they happen fast. The only thing I can think of in American history in the past few generations would have been the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, our almost immediate declaration of war, and then the rapid nationwide changes that came with becoming a nation at war.
I hope you do publish a book, Mabel. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’m planning to do it the easiest way possible.
Tiger Tail Soup is a wonderful story, worth continuing being printed. Julie could help if you want help.
Yesterday I chose some excerpts for the new cover designer, and–not having read Tiger Tail Soup for quite some time–I found myself enjoying the book immensely.
Thanks for suggesting Julie. I wonder if she’d do a new webpage for me.
I wish you good luck with the book publishing
Thank you, Derrick.
Oh Nicki! How upsetting! 😥 I wish you well in this next stage of your novel’s existence!
Yesterday, a friend told me that the Barnes and Noble nearest to me closed. I hadn’t realized since I haven’t driven that far in months thanks to the stay at home order. She said she didn’t have the heart to tell me until then. ☹️
Thank you, L. Marie.
I’m afraid we’re going to have a very large reorganization of retail during and after this pandemic–consolidation into very large companies and more online retail. My guess is that some small businesses will survive and others will be started. Of course, that depends on us. I think our local bookstore will survive (Edmonds Bookshop) because they deliver during the pandemic, and also they’ve built up a tremendous amount of loyalty. Which reminds me: I must order my next book from them. (I buy a lot of Kindle books too.)
You can do it, Mom!
Thank you for your confidence in me, honey. I suppose I can.
Such an unexpected blow. But you definitely have to keep the book in the world. If self-publishing seems too daunting, maybe you could use a hybrid publisher that will look after all the technical side of getting the book set up for print-on-demand and listed on various sites. Though that means sharing the proceeds. Wishing you the best of luck whatever you decide.
I stayed up late last night looking at some of the possibilities. I even looked at setting up my own publishing company and choosing a logo. As of now, I think the easiest and fastest would be to stick with Amazon Kindle and Amazon print-on-demand. I’d also like to hire a designer for a new cover.