MY PUBLISHING JOURNEY: Author Raquel Levitt

Have you ever wondered how authors get their start?

How do they get agents?

How do they get published?

Is it luck? Talent? Drive?

This segment is an attempt to answer the one question: How did your book become a book?

Today's Featured Author:

RAQUEL LEVITT

www.raquellevitt.com

Author of

THE SEER

What has been your experience with literary agents and/or traditional publishing?

Is that a path you explored?

It is a path I explored. The problem was that I started querying 2 years after Covid and so did a kajillion other people which made it difficult to stand out. I knew in my heart my novel was ready to be out in the world, so I did whatever I had to, to get it out there.

When you started this journey, how many queries did you send? Or how long did it take you to find Acorn?

I spent one full year querying before I researched hybrid publishers.

How did you find Acorn Publishing?

As I was researching hybrid publishers, Holly Kammier happened to be a guest on a weekly Zoom meeting of the Historical Fiction group I belong to. I had just found Acorn’s website the day before and had marked them as a possibility. The next day I was surprised that she was the guest speaker and thought, ‘must be a sign.’ 😊 

What made you decide to publish through Acorn Publishing?

There are so many writers who tell you not to pay someone when you can do the work yourself, but I absolutely had no idea where to even begin. I wanted my novel to be eye-catching and well-packaged and I knew I couldn’t do it alone.  I checked to make sure Acorn was legit and that they didn’t have complaints from authors. I like that they don’t publish every manuscript that is sent to them, and their covers are well done.

What has been your favorite part of the publishing journey?

Aside from being completely blown away by my novel’s stunning cover (I love it so much, I had it enlarged, matted and framed!), I love getting reviews from people I’ve never met.

Was there anything about the process you didn't expect?

Just how much marketing I have to do. I’ve always heard “No one in the industry will care about your book as much as you,” and boy is that true. Authors must not be shy about putting themselves out on social media if they want their books to sell because you don’t get help.

If you could go back in time, what's one thing you would tell your earlier self about publishing?

That I need to let go of my insecurities, toughen my skin, and put myself ‘out there,’ because no one else is going to do it.

Any advice for aspiring authors just starting to explore writing?

Be prepared to revise your manuscript again, and again, and again. It might take years to get a polished draft and that’s OK!

Any advice for those about to begin the search for a publisher or an agent?

Research agents that rep your genre and personalize the query. Prepare yourself for rejection because it’s part of the process. But KEEP going. Don’t quit. You’ll know when you’ve reached the point of expanding your options to small, independent, hybrid or self-publishers.  I wish you all the best!

The Seer

In 1890s Missouri, secrets are a matter of survival.

Clairvoyant Sarah Richardson screams as her older sister Katherine is forced into a straitjacket and thrust into a carriage bound for the St. Louis City Lunatic Asylum. She is devastated to learn Katherine has been blamed for her inadvertent role in an abused woman’s murder. Now, too frightened to speak up, she hides the truth that it should have been her in that carriage.

Sarah’s mounting guilt becomes too much, and she heads to St. Louis, determined to regain her sister’s confidence and prove herself worthy of forgiveness.

While working to heal their relationship, Sarah meets a timid housewife who tries to hide her bruises. When troubling psychic visions of the woman begin to affect her, she sees an opportunity to atone for her past mistakes. Desperate to do whatever it takes to make things right, Sarah embarks on a perilous journey that may cost her everything—including her own life.

Trigger Warning: This book contains topics of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and death.

About the author

Raquel Y. Levitt's short stories have been published in journals and anthologies, including the multi award-winning anthology FEISTY DEEDS: HISTORICAL FICTIONS OF DARING WOMEN. She has an affinity for the mid-late 1800s and sets many of her stories during that era, including her debut novel THE SEER about a young woman who risks her life and freedom to redeem a past mistake. Many of her stories have a strong female protagonist finding her voice and her power. Besides being a writer, Raquel is an avid reader, book hoarder, world traveler, amateur nature photographer, cook, and collector of cool rocks.

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