Being a self-published Author

Being a self-published author is not easy at the best of times. I was asked in an interview a while ago if I had signed with an agent or manager.

The honest answer is that I was told I am a unicorn 🦄. Hang on, hear me out. I’m a Jamaican author who writes stories about my native land. But I live in the United States. I have for the last twenty-seven years. So why am I a unicorn? Because agents don’t know how to market me, this frightens them enough to avoid signing me.

One agent decided to take a chance on me, but she had no idea what to do with me. She didn’t understand the message in the books I wrote. Was Friendship Estate a Caribbean Bridgerton? You missed the mark completely if that’s what you got from that book. Is Redemption Songs a book about the song made famous by Bob Marley? Not even close, but the message of the song and the book are similar if you understand the history of the Caribbean.

I have yet to find an agent that sees the value in the life I have lived, understands the importance of the cadence of my voice, and the value of my stories. Finding an agent is not the hard part. Finding the right agent is.

As a self-published author, what are some of the issues that have come up against?