Whether you want to be published traditionally or not, most of us are interested in what happens when you’ve crossed that fence. There have been some excellent posts on the mechanics of the publishing and I’m certain I can’t do any better. So here for your amusement is a series of observations from my first experience of publishing, told not in chronological order but as a series of alphabet snippets.
(Warning – shameless mention of new book contained within)
Enjoy!
A – is for agent or in my case agentless. It can be done without one, depending on which publisher you hope to be picked up by. However, having done the trapeze act without a net, so to speak, I think it’s probable that most of them earn their percentage!
B – is for balance. I’ve found it is really easy for your life to skew over sideways until everything is revolving around the new book/ writing/ edits. The book is not going to sprout legs and run off like the ginger bread man. Before your eyes start spinning like fruit machines, put it down and do something else. Ideally something mindless or at least different. Your brain (not to mention your significant other) will thank you.
C – is for contract. Possibly the scariest document I have ever seen in my life, full of esoteric phrases like force majeure. Even if you have a background in law get someone who has experience with publishing contracts to go through it. The Society of Authors are brilliant.
D – is for dread. That feeling you get when your mum says she is going to read your book. Yeah. And I’d already killed off the mother before the book starts. That led to an interesting conversation where I, quite justifiably, got laughed at by my mother for being daft.
E – is for edits, by extension editor. Depending on where you are published, this could be a really significant relationship for at least this book if not others as well. My editor is lovely but I still have to admit to a fair amount of initial dismay when my book came back covered in red writing detailing areas that needed attention. There was only one bit of major re-writing (about 300 words) but it was a hard one to swallow as I’d had it fixed in my head that the book started with this one particular line. As it turned out, my Editor was right. The next two re-writes were much less heavy. (Oh yes my MS went back and forth three times before my editor was happy!) While we’re talking about edits, lets bear in mind that I did seven edits (that’s within a six month period – see what I mean about balance?) before I sold the book. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the first draft is the finish line.
F- is for first draft. Having sold the series rights it was less than pleasant to start book two only to find that, guess what? The first draft of that was crap, just like the first draft of book one. I don’t know if there is a vital capacity for writing crap first drafts, but if there is I’m a long way from exceeding it yet. Still, it’s ok for draft one to be rubbish. And that’s what you have to keep telling yourself as having got one book to the publishing stage, a little imp pops up in the back of your mind telling you that you are losing your mojo. Not true. You’ve just started a new cycle. Which begins with a crap first draft.
G – is for gatekeepers. Actually I’m not sure if these really exist to the extent they are supposed to. There’s an amount of luck involved in being published but you can maximise your luck by writing the best book you can at that time in your life. You can maximise it further by trying and trying again. And you can max your luck to +10 luck armour of awesomeness by taking on board any feedback you get with rejections and making changes if necessary. Or by putting that book aside and writing another one and trying with that. Never give up, never surrender is the best and most long lasting form of luck.
H – is for ‘hang on a minute…’ there will be a moment, maybe several moments, where you will be convinced everything is going to go pear shaped. Or that your publisher/ agent/ hitherto best friend is trying to get one over on you. Or that you shouldn’t have written that scene thatway. Hang in there. Be sensible and try not to rush in half-cock, flinging accusations. Chances are there are good explanations if things really are off and it’s just that nobody has told you yet. Or perhaps that you are paranoid because there is nothing like the whiff of success to setthose juices flowing. If there really is something wrong, then make sure you address it directly and politely straight away. In my case the ‘hang on a minute’ moment came when I found out the editor-in-chief who had picked up my book was leaving. I had no reason to think that was the end of the road; it was done professionally, notice was given, a handover period established… But I’d heard enough horror stories of books vanishing from the ‘to be published list’ because staff had changed. This was not the case I’m happy to say but it does feel hopeless when you think you have to do the whole dance again.
I – is for ignorance. You’re only just learning about how many stages a book goes through at publication. It’s a lot. So when a family member asks for the 40th time ‘when’s your book out? You said it would be out in…’ take a deep breath, smile and say ‘one of the funny things no one tells you, is that unless a publication date was agreed in the contract, the author actually doesn’t know exactly what date a book is coming out and even then it can be subject to change. It is on its way though.’ Or something similar. Ignorance also goes between publisher and author; don’t assume they know you’re unhappy about something, tell them/ your agent. If you’re lucky you’ll get a publisher who communicates with you. Mine does.
J – is for joy. Not just being happy that your book has made it half way to the public but fun in general. Have fun with your book. It’s ok to talk about it on your blog or with your friends (as long as that’s not all you talk about.) If you really want to go crazy set up a dedicated website to that book’s universe and put up quizzes and cartoons and other bric-a-brac. I didn’t do any of this but I can see now that I would have had more fun if I had done. And I might have been able to relax and enjoy the process more.
K – is for karate. Or any martial art will do. Somewhere you can legally get into a fight under controlled conditions. Excellent stress buster.
L – is for launch and by extension launch party. I wasn’t going to have one of these but I had a good think about it (remembered item J) and decided ‘what the hell? When am I next going to launch my first book again? Plus wine!’ So I will be having a launch party later in the year. Watch this space…
M – is for *whispers* Marketing…considered a dirty word by most of us and I used to include myself in that group. It’s not actually a bad thing and ,newsflash, no matter who you’re published with, you will be expected to do some if not all of your own marketing. It doesn’t mean auto spamming people about your book on twitter. It’s about being the best version of yourself you can be and making connections with people. Think about it; if you ‘con’ someone into buying something once, they’re not going to come back are they? That earns you nothing. Far better to make friends and be open. Be willing to do some reading and critiquing for others without thinking ‘ah and now they will feel they owe me one.’ It doesn’t work like that. But in writing what goes around really does seem to come around. Aside from writing the best book you can, and then writing the next one and the next, the best marketing you can do is to make lasting connections. No one likes a hard sell or a grifter. Just be a decent person and willing to talk about your book if asked. Any strategy is secondary to that.
N – is for no way! As in (small brag) within 48 hours on pre-release my book made it onto number one new releases on Amazon! Ok it was a kick for me watching in disbelief as it rocketed up the charts. (Update: it has now occupied this spot six times and is staying fairly steadily high in the amazon.co.uk charts!)
O – is for obsession. You said you wouldn’t watch the ratings on the amazon book charts. You said you weren’t going to bother with them and yet here you are opening up amazon on your laptop again…yeah…no. It’s time to stop. That way madness lies!
P – is for paranoia. What if no one buys my book? What if no one reads my book? What if I get a negative review? Or a lot of negative reviews? What if no one reviews it at all? Or worse, what if it is really successful and I can’t EVER DO ANOTHER ONE… GAHHH! No. Again with the deep breathing. You’ve controlled everything within your control. You like the book you wrote. It’s out there. It’s gone. Too late now. So stop. And anyway what are you doing worrying? You should be doing that other ‘P’, you know? Project? You should be so busy writing your next book that you don’t have time for this. Well? Go on then!
Q – is for quiet. Specifically mental quiet. Some days it can feel like it gets pretty crowded in your own head while all this is going on so find ways to get away from it. Have designated times where the internet is not on and do something else.
R – is for Readers! Yes we all want a lot of these but in the end having just a few people really love your book is worth it. You won’t please everyone. There’s a good chance that you will get at least one negative review. But it’s nothing compared to getting a few lines from a complete stranger saying they loved your book. Remember B for balance! As in keep yours.
S – is for style. In this case ‘house style’ with regard to the publisher. It’s funny but you’ll notice little things that don’t necessarily matter which don’t go where you expect. I’m stretching things a bit here but I’m including cover design and artwork in ‘style’. Your publisher should consult you on the cover of your book although they have no obligation to go with what you want. I was really lucky and got consulted on every aspect of it. I still think the artist is psychic since I got what I wanted but didn’t think to ask for!
T – is for terror I mean trailer?! It wasn’t something I’d ever considered but I’ve seen some really good book trailers now and in keeping with my decision to have more fun with this whole thing…well I might just consider it…
U – is for universal. Writing is personal. Reading is subjective and publishing is is a business. Once your book is out there it belongs to the public; to the readers. It isn’t just yours anymore so – like sending a child off to school – you have to get a bit of distance and perspective because what other people think of it, and its journey now, (by and large) isn’t up to you anymore.
V – is for victory. So what if you only sell two copies. So what if only your mum reads it. You still did it. You wrote a book and got it published. Many people never finish a writing a book. Many people say they want to write a book and never start. You’re in the top 5% of 5% of 5% already. Enjoy that. (I’m working on it.)
W – is for Wine. One glass, apply as needed when situation is stressful.
X – is for Xperience…yes I am blatantly cheating now. Still it is all experience and there isn’t anything quite like it. And if you decide to do it all again, it will be less horrific the second time. (Or more horrific because you know what to expect but less surprising for the same reason.)
Y – is for Y not have some more wine?
Z – is for zzzzz. I don’t sleep much but I reckon I still lost out on some sleep with this publishing malarkey. I intend to learn from that, And if you are still with me and haven’t surrendered to the zzzzz yourself, thank you for reading.
And this is what all the fuss is about;
My debut YA novel is now available for pre-order from amazon, smash words etc. Print copies will be released soon.
Release date is 25/04/15
If you know anyone who might be interested, I’d be grateful if you passed it on. Many thanks 😉