TOPIC: Life on the flip-side...

This article was published in the WRITERS' LIFE column of the August 2011 edition of  the RWAustralia Hearts Talk magazine.

With conference fast approaching, part of the fun of attending one is meeting the authors and listening to their stories of ‘life after getting the CALL’. I took it all in with keen anticipation, dreaming of the day I walked in their shoes, but it wasn’t until I stepped over the threshold that I really understood what they were talking about.

Simple fact is getting the call really does change your life in many, many ways. Some good, some unexpected.

What initially caught me by surprise after getting that email was the speed with which everything happened. I had a week to accept the offer.

Having done the research yonks ago I was already in the process of submitting queries, so contacting my top list of I’d-kill-to-be-represented-by-these-agents was a matter of whipping off a few emails alerting them to the book deal on offer.

I can’t stress enough if you’re submitting work to editors, and intend being represented by an agent then make the time to find out about whom you’d like to represent you. Leaving it to the last minute is stress you don’t need.

Why? Well, that seven days will be manic (particularly if you’re working across time zones). Let me repeat that.

The.Week.Will.Be.MANIC.

Organise representation, scheduling phone calls, e-mails to’ing and fro’ing from your agent and editor, and then sealing the deal with the publisher. Be prepared for a week of little sleep.

And if this isn’t excitement enough for you, the prospect of embarking on two new professional relationships – with your agent and editor - is a feeling you won’t ever forget.

Another thing, if you end up with a multiple book deal offer, like I did (ie. a series), have a short outline of your books ready to send your agent/editor. Think back cover blurbs. With only a week to negotiate the deal, and most of that taken up arranging representation by an agent, I ended up writing two extra blurbs in less than twenty-four hours. Not recommended.

Once the initial chaos of representation and the deal is over, the decision of deadlines needs to be made. These dates go in your contract. I knew what I could produce word count-wise and thought I’d factored in things like family, work, the publishing process, health-issues, unexpected interruptions etc.

Remember all those sessions at conference where you heard authors say ‘be disciplined, produce a daily word, write even though you don’t feel like it’? Engrave those words on your forehead or pin them up in your office at eye level. You no longer have the luxury of time or procrastination once you have a legally binding deadline.

Producing my first and second contracted books has been a huge learning experience but the one thing I now understand is that it takes more time than you think to juggle everything.

It’s life vs. the publishing process (sending in a synopsis & sample chapters, author bio/photo, acknowledgements page, revisions, copy edits, cover copies, galleys, marketing and promotion etc., beginning the next book and repeating that process).

It all takes time away from writing your next book. Next contract (yes, being optimistic here!), I’m adding another two months minimum to the deadline.

One of the true eye-openers of being under contract is the precious amount of time I have for reading for pleasure. Pre-call I read 3-4 books a week, now I’m lucky to read a book a month.

Another lesson I learned – it’s easy to get tied up writing your own stories and end up feeling ‘stale’. Reading for pleasure is a must, even when I’m writing. I need it. It’s like a respite or recharging of the batteries.

It’s been an amazing journey so far, a lot of exciting firsts – getting The Call, receiving the first cover, being hit by the realisation that my book is really going to be in print, finding out who’s going to write the cover-quotes of my book, and meeting fair dinkum deadlines.

I have a quote on the wall in my office that says, “When I’m writing I know I’m doing the thing I was born to do.” (Anne Sexton). It’s so true. I’m almost a year into my journey and while I’ve yet to experience the joy of seeing my first book on the shelves, I wouldn’t give up or swap what I’m doing for anything.

Yes, the learning curves have been steep, and I know I’m still wearing L-plates having just crossed over the unpubbed-pubbed line, but I love my ‘new career’ - the learning, the passion of creating, the pressure and stress, the satisfaction of meeting goals, they’re all part of the life I’ve chosen for myself.

It’s a delicate balance between portraying the joys and the reality of being published. I don’t want to discourage anybody or put anyone off achieving their dream, but I hope that by sharing some of my journey with you, yours will be that little bit more informed.

See you on the flip-side!

CRAFT: Need help with your crafting skills?

Over the years I've collected a heap of website links that I've used at various stages in my writing journey. Some I still use because they really gel with my style as a writer, others are more research or information based sites.

Maybe some of these might work for you.

How to Write Query Letters/Synopses/Proposals (a screed of helpful articles compiled by Gabrielle Luthy)
Georges Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations (a site that lists and gives great detail on the situations you find in most stories)
Great Source - grammar (a wonderful basic guide to grammar)
How to write a novel using the Snowflake Method (starting small & building on your ideas)
Kathy Carmichael's Pitch Generator (how to create the basics for a pitch)
Dictionary of Sexual Terms
Australian Military Organisation & Structure (ranks in the army, navy & airforce)
The Passionate Pen (a list of romance publishers)
Wordle (a great way to check for repetitious words in your work)
Karen Fox's Romance Deals (a year by year list of deals, a bit like Publishers Marketplace)
Author Tech Tips (some hints about what titles to avoid using in your blog)

I hope you find some of these as helpful as I did!

CRAFT: How To Write a Synopsis...Without Turning Homicidal!

What a great title, eh? It certainly caught my attention.

Need a guide on how to write a synopsis? Gracie O'Neil is the author behind the idea. She's giving the whole series "How To Write a Synopsis Without Turning Homicidal" away as a freebie on her website.

The pdf document is a step by step, examples-constructed-and-deconstructed guide on how to write a high concept, back cover blurb, 1pg, 2pg, 4pg & 8pg synopsis.

A VERY useful resource for any writer to have - I highly recommend it.

CRAFT: Query Letters & Agent Hunting

At the end of 2009 my agent, Jenny, unfortunately had to close her agency due to the economic situation in the US - the recession has hit the publishing industry pretty hard. I've no doubt Jenny's decision was difficult as it meant not only the ending of many professional relationships with her clients but the closure ot her dreams of being an agent with her own agency. I wish her well in her future ventures, whatever they may be.
So, 2010 sees me on the hunt for a new agent. I've already started. I've surfed the 'net, looking at websites, updating my Top 10 agent wish-list, researching submission procedures and writing new query letters.
It's time consuming, sometimes monotonous but always a challenge. Writing that query letter just so, to hook the interest of an agent, is no easy thing. I spent the better part of today fine tuning individual QL's, checking formatting and spelling etc. and then emailing it off to my first chosen few.
What do I put in my QL's?
An introductory paragraph - ms title, word count, genre/target market. Sometimes this is also the paragraph I remind an agent they previously requested a full manuscript in an earlier submission (it doesn't hurt to remind them you've had former contact with them, they might even remember you!).
2nd paragraph - a description of the manuscript (I tend to write mine like the back cover blurb of a book).
3rd paragraph - the credentials of the manuscript being pitched (its contest placings, any publications etc.).
4th paragraph - a statement to the effect that I'm enclosing in the body* of the email what the individual agent required as a submission (eg. 3 chapters & a synopsis).
5th paragraph - a statement saying that I'd be more than happy to send them the full ms if the query interests them and that I'm looking forward to hearing from them.
Sign off with full contact details - name, address, phone number (including international area code) and email address.
*Most agencies filter out emails with attachments and unless the agent has specifically requested your work as an attachment, put it in the body of your email, after your query letter. Chapters or sample work first then synopsis.
Most agencies on my Top 10 list accept email queries and submissions. Some don't, so check carefully when researching information about your chosen agent or agency.
I also jot down, usually on my calendar when I sent a query, partial, full to an agent and when I'll follow up on the query (some agencies state when to check back with them after a certain period time) as well as who sent back a rejection, a rejections with feedback and so on.
Once I've done the rounds of sending out queries, I then sit back and wait, and continue writing the next book. It makes the time pass faster.
So, here's to a successful 2010 - Year of Hunting for a New Agent.