The First Time Author, Their First Good Book, and Their Publisher

As with anything, the first time you take on a new endeavor, you most likely don't know what you're doing and the learning process begins. When I started writing, I didn't know how long a book should be, show vs. tell, what point of view to use, or what a tag line was. However, I persevered and watched as my writing noticeably got better, and I still have a long way to go.

With a completed novel in hand, I started the next process, being published. This meant, too me, finding an agent. Thus the quest for the mythical perfect query letter began followed by rejection after rejection. I got a break, sort of. A local independent, small publisher spoke at one of my local writers associations meetings and offered to spend several hours looking at submissions. Of the forty-five submissions she waded through that night, she only asked to see the manuscripts of eight submissions, two of them were mine. From that group, I believe I was the only one who received a contract offer. I was ecstatic. My publisher turned out to be a wonderful woman who really showed care about helping new writers. There was one small hitch; they only produced trade and hardback formats, not mass market. It took me months of questions and thinking before I signed.

Once again, I was off on a new endeavor, clueless to the publishing and marketing process. Therefore, I placed a lot of faith in my publisher and when my novel was just a few months away from publication, I started learning about marketing a novel. Like anything, the more I learned, the more questions I had. I am probably at that often spoken of place, just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Here is what I'm finding out. Before you sign with a publisher, begin to train yourself in the publishing and marketing process, not after. Why? You won't know what to ask about their business. You won't have the knowledge to do the proper due diligence to make sure that you are getting what you need and expect. Writing for fun and writing to be published are two different things. One is a hobby and the other is business.

Therefore, I highly recommend that while you send out query letters and wait for responses that you take the time to begin to educate yourself on the publishing and marketing aspects. You'll be much better prepared to make a decision should an offer come along, and you'll save countless hours of frustration and disappointment after you sign that contract.

If you're interested in where to learn more about publishing and marketing, contact me and I'll help point you to some resources and answer the questions that I can.

Peace out.