Anthony Lee
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Countdown to My Debut Novel Release

14 days and counting...

Doctor Lucifer by Anthony Lee will be available for sale on the websites of Amazon and Barnes & Noble starting May 24, 2024. You can preorder it now. See my website for links.

Read this thread for today's fun facts about the book. 🙂
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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thread 2/9
Believe it or not, the first time I wrote my novel and queried literary agents about it was around 2010.

At that time, I wrote the book in third person, not first person as it is now. Looking back, I do feel I didn't deserve any representation because the book was not as good as it is now.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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After a while, I gave up on it and just deleted the whole manuscript. I figured that if traditional publishers set a very high bar and self-publishing was for loser authors, I might as well not waste my time writing books.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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I had three doubts about the 2010 version of Doctor Lucifer:

1. Would people be interested in a cyberattack affecting a hospital?
2. Would people care about an Asian American protagonist in a thriller?
3. Would anyone appreciate a cynical protagonist?

Early on, I felt the answer was no for each.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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Now fast forward a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic, January 6th insurrection, and other emotionally distressing events created a sense of doom in so many of us.

During this time, I looked back on the novel I wrote a decade before. All of a sudden, the three doubts I had no longer existed.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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thread 6/9
First, cyberattacks became more commonplace.

Second, there was greater awareness of Asian Americans in film and literature, in light of a push for more diverse voices.

Third, many people became angry at the world.

My novel may not have made sense before, but now it does.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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With that realization, I rewrote Doctor Lucifer from scratch starting in early 2021, based on what I could still remember about it, all while switching to first-person perspective for greater dramatic effect. Then I tried querying literary agents, with a greater sense of hope.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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Of 172 literary agents I queried over a two-and-a-half-year period, most rejected it with a reply or said nothing. The few who requested my full manuscript ultimately did not sign me, either rejecting the manuscript or saying nothing even after I followed up with them many months later.
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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Anthony Lee
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thread 9/9
So here I am, embracing my status as a self-published author since that's my only option now. This time, I won't give up like last time. I am going all in with promoting and selling this book, finally realizing my dream of publishing a book.

Only one question remains: will I be a bestseller? 🙂
09:59 AM - May 10, 2024
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