It’s WOW Wednesday again, and we are excited to have Kiera Cass guestblogging about her untraditional road to publication. Kiera, in case you didn’t catch the results of our Underappreciated YA Novel poll last week, is the author of the #1 Underappreciated YA Novel: The Siren.

Kiera was born and raised in South Carolina, was a nerd in high school, and majored in History at Radford University where she learend to tell stories and fell in love with writing. The Siren, came out in July of 2009, and her newest project, The Selection, is being pitched to editors as we speak. She is represented by the Caren Johnson Literary Agency. You can stalk Kiera on her website or via Twitter.

I make New Year’s Goals Lists every year. Not resolutions, mind you, but goals. These are quantifiable things like ride an elephant and learn to hula hoop (both of which I’ve accomplished). And so, because it had crossed my mind a thousand times, in 2008 I put “write a book” on my list. I was sure that would be one of the ones I failed at, like getting knocked up (which I got around to later) or building a cardboard boat. Sometimes the stars just don’t align.

Sometimes they do.

One not-so-special day I woke up from a nap with an idea in my head. I promptly wrote down four paragraphs that were the seed of this story, and then went to a friend’s birthday party where I did nothing but think about my little story and wish I was at home writing it. We left early.

Days passed… weeks passed… and eventually I had a finished product. I wrote a book! From that moment on I was in love! I spent months going over the text again and again, really learning who my characters were, making the descriptions shine, showing it to trusted friends. I was pleased as punch until I realized that these characters that I loved so much might only live within this tiny circle of people. I wanted to share them, so I decided to try and publish it.

Now, I don’t know what I was expecting, but this is what I got: I sent query letters for The Siren to about 70 agents, maybe 10 or so requested more, and in the end no one felt like they could sell it. The market’s tough right now, so it was understandable. I wrote to small publishing houses, trying to get in without an agent. No such luck. In the end, I decided to go with an idea I’d been flirting with from the very beginning: self-publishing.

For those unaware, self-publishing is where you pay a fee to have your book printed. I myself have no problem with this, but the bookstores and book buyers of the world typically do. Most assume that because your paid to have your book printed, it must suck. Let me just say that there are a lot of crappy self-published books out there. I shiver when I see the covers alone. But Eragon, The Shack, Still Alice, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul books were all originally self-published and then picked up by larger companies. They don’t suck. And, based on all the feedback I got from the agents I submitted to, I didn’t think my book was bad either. It just wasn’t the right fit. For me, choosing to do it independently was good. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.

To be clear, I worked my ass off. I got into book fairs, I went to conventions, I made my presence known on the web, I held contests… I did everything I could for my book. And we did okay. For someone who did it alone, I’m proud of my sales and of my awesome fans who support me and share The Siren with their friends. But I always wonder, could I have done better?

I’m no agent. I’m no editor. I’m no publicist. But I had to become all those things for the sake of my characters. I don’t know a whole lot of other independent publishers, so I can’t compare notes on how I did at those jobs. Even if I could, would I want to?

In the almost-year that The Siren has been out making its rounds, other stories have demanded my attention, and finally one, The Selection, held my heart the most. So the entire process starts again. I knew what to expect this time: dozens of queries, piles of rejections, and more work that I’m not necessarily the best at. This is what I got: I sent out 13 queries, I had 2 agents ask to represent my story, I got the opportunity to choose who I worked with, and now my story is making its rounds with editors in the hopes of being picked up.

Yeah, you might notice some tiny differences there.

What can I say? Sometimes the right story makes it into the right hands at the right time. And this time around it’s much more exciting because I get to focus on what my role is: storytelling. I don’t regret my decisions with The Siren. I made what felt like the best decision for it at the time, and I love the following that’s grown for it. Still, I’m excited to step out again with a new cast of characters that I love, this time with an army of people behind them. Because that’s one of the most satisfying parts about writing, isn’t it? Sharing it?

The point of all this? I’m not sure. But I know that people who tend to read things like this are writers themselves going through the nerves about writing a good query or trying to make a solid list of agents or dealing with rejection after rejection. I say to you: Hello, friend. You are embarking on something that is very difficult. You will be tested, and there will be days when all the Ben & Jerry’s in the world will not be enough to comfort you. But, if you love it, please don’t give up. You just never know when or how it will all work out.