The Moment I Found Out About My Book Deal, Now With 30% More Details!

So this post isn’t particularly helpful to writers, and also smacks a bit of me loving to hear myself talk (type?), but finding out about my book deal was an AMAZING moment in my life and also a bit funny, so I thought I’d share the story with my lovely followers J

Allow me to set the scene:

It was a Monday. Not just any Monday, but the day my agent set up as the final day for offers on THE WITCH HUNTER’S BIBLE. I’d long ago decided to expect rejections all around so that I wouldn’t be upset if/when that happened. So there I was at work in the NICU, obsessively checking my email toiling away with nursing duties, when I received an email from my agent: Two editors passed, BUT DON’T WORRY! Because there are other editors, etc etc.

Womp womp.

So I decided I’d just concentrate on charting and not think about it. Yes, that was a good idea. And I did that, quite successfully, I might add, for another whole twenty minutes before I had to check my email again. And what did I find then but an email from Adriann: Can you call me please?

I almost vomited. Like most people in my life that I share a close relationship with, Adriann and I communicate mostly via email. She wanted me to call? This HAD TO BE IMPORTANT.

Great! Except two nurses were on lunch break and the only ones left were me and a nurse named Carol, who was in an isolation room, and so I couldn’t leave the unit to use my phone…

Also great—I forgot my phone at home, and you can’t dial long distance from the hospital phone without explaining yourself to the operator (Somehow I thought ‘I need to call my literary agent in New York’ wouldn’t suffice as an explanation).

Okay, no big deal. I’d just wait until Carol got out of the isolation room and ask to use her cell phone. No need to panic. Except WHAT THE EFF IS SHE DOING IN THERE? IT’S BEEN FIVE MINUTES!!!! COME ON, CAROL, LET THOSE PARENTS HOLD THEIR BABY, ALREADY! NEW BEDDING NOW? REALLY? WELL THAT’S FINE—OH, OKAY, SO YOU’RE GOING TO TALK TO THE PARENTS, HUH? FREAKING CAROL, ALWAYS GOING THE EXTRA MILE…

Okay, so I was panicking. I even resorted to frantic hand gesturing at the window of the isolation room. Alas, she did not see me. But Carol did FINALLY come out. The minute the door swung open I charged on her and breathlessly begged ‘TfhdakfjdhakjfhkfhadskfDo you have a cell phone here and can I use it to call New Yorkndkasfjadkfvnadvnd?'

Bless her heart, Carol said ‘Sure’ without batting an eyelash. Seriously, who doesn’t inquire further at a question like that? (Carol’s made of awesome. I might even pay her back for the long distance charges some day.)

Anyway, so I took Carol’s phone to the Labor and Delivery waiting room and called Adriann. Of course we know she told me Wendy Loggia from Delacorte/Random House wanted to buy my book, and of course I died—it was years of hard work finally paying off—but I was at work and there were people around, so I couldn’t lose it like I wanted to. And dammit, I really wanted to lose it!  I blame that bottled up emotion for what happened next.

So I got off the phone with Adriann and went to the bathroom, where I took calming breaths so I wouldn’t cry because I had to go back inside the unit and there were parents in there and I had to be professional. After a few minutes I decided I was okay to go back in.

I entered the unit and gave Carol back her cell phone. She casually asked ‘Everything okay?’ And so of course the logical response to that was to break down crying. Yup. Not pretty crying either, like a few tears of joy. I SOBBED. By that time, Kelly, one of the nurses who’d been on lunch break, was back. So Kelly and Carol exchanged a glance that pretty much said ‘Shit, she’s crying—what should we do?’

Carol gave me an awkward hug. Then Kelly gave me an awkward hug.

But I was still crying.

Kelly and Carol looked at each other and exchanged another glance that said ‘Shit, she’s still crying. What now?’

I took that as my cue to go back to the bathroom and properly collect myself. That is until I called my husband and my sister and broke down again.

So there it is. I LOVE THAT STORY! I hope you did too, and I hope you all get to have a moment like that someday, where you realize your dream has come true J (I’ve gone all sappy on you, haven’t I? Go ahead and slap me.) 

How To Get Your Book Published (or at least how I did): Part One, Literary Agents

Since announcing that I have a book deal (YAY!!!!!!!) I’ve been asked a lot of questions as to how I went about getting an agent/my book published. And while I love answering these questions, (seriously, I do!) I thought it was about time I devised a more coherent, non-rambling answer to them.

Disclaimer #1- In no way am I saying that if you follow these steps, you will get a literary agent/sell you book for millions/that there are no other, just-as-good ways to publish your book/that I even come close to knowing everything about the process. These are entirely my own thoughts. 

Disclaimer #2- I ramble. The short answer is this: I got an agent, my agent submitted my book to editors at publishing houses, an editor made an offer my agent and I both loved, we accepted the offer. You will find all the details of this answer (more than you ever wanted, probably) below. I will have to break this up into several posts due to ramblage. Today I’m focusing on the literary agent aspect.

So…..

To submit a book to a publishing house, you will need a literary agent. In the past anyone could submit to a publishing house, agented or no, however most big companies no longer allow unagented submissions (also known as unsolicited submissions). You can ask someone else why (I’m assuming it has something to do with the sheer number of submissions, the gem-to-crap ratio, and how time-consuming it is to weed through the crap to find the gem—now that job belongs to literary agents). Some small and “indie” presses still allow unagented submissions, and of course there’s self-publishing, but right now I’m talking about traditional publishing with established publishing houses.

There are tons and tons of amazing literary agents out there. It's a reputable profession, even though some people will try to convince you that literary agents are going to steal your book, swindle your money, and do other evil things like clean the toilet with your toothbrush (Okay, so maybe not that last one).

My agent is amazing and I don’t know where I’d be without her. Also, no you can’t have her, she’s mine! Mwuahaha!

Having said that, there are some shady agents out there. It’s rare, but true. 

Signs an agent is reputable:

-They do not charge you up-front fees. Reputable literary agents are paid only when you get paid (usually 10-20% commission of the sale of book rights to publishers). They don’t charge you reading fees, they don’t charge you up-front for supplies to do their job, and they don’t refer you fee-charging editorial services

-You’ve researched him/her extensively and have heard mostly good things.

-The agent has sales under their belt (It’s important to note that not having any sales isn’t a direct sign of a non-reputable agent, as everyone starts somewhere and an agent may just be new to the job, but it certainly doesn’t hurt, right?)

So how do you find an agent? Where do you even start?

To find an agent, you have to do your research. Trusted sources include The Writer’s Market, available at most bookstores, and The Literary Marketplace, found at most libraries. I preferred the Internet, myself. A website I found very helpful was AgentQuery.  Here you can enter your genre and have a list of agents who meet your criteria generated, as well as read more information about each agent. I also LOVED Casey McCormick’s blog, Literary Rambles, and highly suggest it during research time. 

Following this basic search, it’s a good idea to do more research on each agent’s website re: what he/she is looking for and if you/your writing would be a good fit, as their website will always be the most up-to-date source of information.

Once you have a list of agents you’d like to submit to, you send them a query letter, along with whatever sample of writing they ask for. Usually, it's anywhere from 5-10 pages but can be up to 50 pages or, rarely, more than that. If the agent likes what they've read, they'll request to read more.

It's generally expected and condoned that you submit to multiple agents at once (But for god's sake, people, don't cc agents in one mass email!). It takes days to weeks to months to hear back on the query letter alone, and the response may only be a form rejection, so it's in the author's best interest to query widely. A few agents ask for exclusive submissions; I just clucked my tongue and didn't send to any of them.

So if an agent requests your full manuscript and loved it, they'll either call you or make an appointment via email to call you (more common). This is a great time to do this:

During this call, if you've made it that far, you'll likely be offered representation if you’re not crazy and don’t scare away the agent (No pressure!).

But before screaming YES!! remember it's considered professional etiquette to let every agent who has your full or partial manuscript know that you have an offer on the table, which usually gets your manuscript shuffled to the top of the slush pile. If you're lucky, you may have a few offerees vying for you and get to choose your agent.

I make it sound easy, don’t I? Well, it’s not. I got 29 rejections and only one partial request (which later turned into a rejection) on my first book. And if you’ve been following my blog, you know about the rejections for The Witch Hunter’s Bible. Rejection is par for the course with writing. Getting your book published requires hard work, dedication, and loads and loads of perseverance. Also, a great query letter, which will be discussed next.

Whew!  So there’s today’s huge post. Writerly friends, pipe up if you have something to offer or if you simply want to tell me shut up, already!