Jul
When Your Dream Comes True: Getting a Book Published
Thanks to everyone who posted a question or comment on Monday. I know some of you had trouble getting a password. If you are having a problem, you can email me at margodll@aol.com, and I will post your question/comment for you. Your name will be put in for the free critique. Now, on to the topic of the day!
Last July, I opened my email inbox one day, and there was an email from an independent publisher, White Mane Kids (www.whitemane.com) . I thought for sure it was a, “Sorry, we’re not interested,” email, but when I opened it, I was totally surprised. They wanted to publish my middle-grade, historical fiction novel, Finding My Place! They wanted to send me a preliminary contract. WOW!
So, how did this all come about? It was a long process, and it is still going on. But I hope after you read this post today, you will have some inspiration, hope, and a few tips about submitting your manuscript to agents or publishing houses.
I started researching and writing this book in the fall of 2001. I was actually scheduled to fly to Baton Rouge on Sept. 14, 2001 to visit some friends, rent a car, and drive to Vicksburg, Mississippi to do my research. But as you notice with the date, no one was flying then due to the terrible tragedies on September 11, so I wound up driving to Vicksburg later that week for research. It took two and a half years to write a rough draft of this book and take it to my critique group. Then I revised it again and took it to another critique group for about two years. So, I started seriously submitting it in the fall of 2005, and I actually kept revising it as I was sending it. I am not recommending my process. I had no idea what I was doing. It was my first novel!
How did I send it out, and how did I know who to send it to? The first two places I sent it to were an editor and agent I met through the Missouri Writers’ Guild conference in 2005. The agent rejected me within a couple months, but she sent me a letter with revision suggestions. (The editor rejected me like a year and a half later.) I followed her suggestions and sent it to Walker and Company in New York. I found their listing in a Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI www.scbwi.org) publication because I am a member of this group (which I will talk more about on Friday.) I had an editor’s name, Emily Easton, and I followed the guidelines, which were to send a query and first three chapters if I remember correctly. She wrote me back and asked me to send her the whole manuscript. This was INCREDIBLY exciting until I got her rejection. The rejection was nice, but she said that my book wasn’t really marketable at the time, and I should try a smaller publisher or more school and library markets.
I followed her advice and sent queries to two smaller publishers—White Mane Kids and Blooming Tree Press. Again, I found both of these listings through children’s publications I subscribed to. I found White Mane Kids in the Children’s Insider newsletter (www.write4kids.com), and I found Blooming Tree Press through a children’s listserv I belong to through SCBWI. Both of these companies wanted query letters, a synopsis, and sample chapters. I sent these, and both requested the full manuscript. This entire process with these two companies took almost a year! My point here is this is not a fast process. Another point I can share with this experience is I tried to follow the advice of the people in the industry when they rejected me. If they took the time to write a note to me, I listened to them and revised my manuscript based on their advice.
So, what happened once I got the contract? When I received the White Mane Kids contract, I was lost. I did a little research on the Internet, but I was still lost. There was a lot of legalese in the contract, and I needed some help. I have a friend, who is a lawyer and interested in book contracts, so she read it over for me. She said it was pretty fair, but she told me to negotiate a few points. I tried to negotiate a few points, but as my husband said, “You are a tiny fish in a huge sea. You better take what you can get.” So, they gave me a couple of my negotiation points, I signed the contract, and then I waited again. ☺ I do recommend getting someone to look over a contract for you—whether it is a lawyer or an agent, even if you are the smallest fish.
The editor sent me my manuscript back, along with a bunch of instructions for how they wanted it formatted and turned back in, some corrections I needed to make, and a huge booklet for me to fill out. I am not sure if this is how every company does things, but I was grateful that White Mane Kids wanted my opinion in so many decisions. In the booklet, they asked me for 10 title suggestions, my bio, my thoughts on jacket and catalog copy, and authors to send a galley to for a blurb. I actually emailed authors I know, who write for children—and in the genre of historical fiction—and asked them if they would provide a blurb. All of them said yes.
White Mane Kids also needed a photo for the cover of my book, which meant I had to go get professional photos taken. A local photographer actually has a business package, so this wasn’t such a painful process. He takes photos for authors and businesses, where people put their photos on their business cards, etc. So, I did all my corrections to the manuscript, filled out my paperwork, prepared my electronic versions, and sent it all to them in December 2007. Then, I waited again.
I have had a few email exchanges with them this year, and I knew it would take at least 12-18 months for them to publish my book because they are a small company and have a lot of manuscripts they want to publish. The email exchanges with the editor and marketing department have been about what I wanted the catalog copy to say and if I had ideas for the cover of my book. They are hiring an artist to do an illustration for the cover. I also know I should expect galleys in the fall from a recent email exchange with an editor. I think and hope I should expect to hold copies of Finding My Place in 2009!
So, this has been my dream-come-true experience. From the time I had the idea in a fifth-grade classroom to the publication date will probably be about eight years! It actually doesn’t seem that long, and I try not to think about it too much, but I just can’t wait to hold my book.
If you have any questions on agents, editors, queries, submissions, market listings, revision, critique groups, or you want to share your own experience with us, please do! Remember, if you are having trouble leaving your comment, you can email me at margodll@aol.com .
Thanks!
Happy Writing!
Margo Dill
www.margodill.com
Margo, what a great example of how twisty-turny the road to publication can be. It just goes to show that being persistent and leaving no stone unturned — following up on leads — is so important.
I hope you keep us apprised of your progress as your journey continues.
You say that you don’t recommend your process–which I find so interesting knowing how organized you are.
So, my question is, what would you do differently? Or, perhaps the correct question is, what will you do differently next time?
Thanks for being here!
July 17th, 2008 at 1:54 amCandace
Margo,
July 17th, 2008 at 4:20 amI enjoyed both of your blogs. The writing 101 had several sites/tips that I did not know about. I’ve bookmarked these.
It’s encouraging to hear about other authors who get their first book published. You make it sound so easy but we all know that’s not the case at all.
I like the way you’ve tied in all your skills and interests to earn a living (doing what you love rather than tolerating a job you hate). You’re the perfect example of the modern slash career woman. Teacher/Writer//Editor/Speaker
I’ve told you before but will say it again - I wouldn’t be this far in my writing career without your encouragement and help.
Thanks.
Margaret Norton
From Margo:
Candace, what I mean by my process is how I kept sending out my novel to editors/agents and revising it at the same time. I was starting to lose track of what version I had sent to who, and I would panic at how terrible the version was that I sent out to so and so. If an editor wanted to publish that “terrible” version, I would have to say, “Well, actually I have what I think is a better version,” and I wasn’t sure how someone would take that. White Mane Kids accepted all the changes I wanted to make, and the changes they wanted, so it all worked out. But what I plan to do with the YA novel I am working on or any of the picture books is get them totally revised, send them out, and work on something NEW! I won’t look at the YA or pb manuscripts until they get rejected (I don’t mean to be such a pessimist but I do always expect to get rejected at least 10 times ;), and then see if I can improve anything in the manuscript or improve based on any comments I may get from the rejection. This is a process I’ve heard of before from other authors– “Send it out and forget about it.” Of course, this is easier said than done!
Margaret–you are too kind! Thank you for your nice comments.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:05 pmMargo, thanks for this inside look at the tedious, time-consuming process of getting a book published. I found it encouraging to follow your progress and realize more than ever that publication calls for persistence and PATIENCE!
July 17th, 2008 at 3:50 pmI have a book proposal “out there” right now, and should I get a nibble, I will be much better informed on what to do, thanks to you.
I look forward to seeing the finished product.
Question from email: Jennifer S.
Your blog was very inspirational for me. Thank you for advice, insight and experiences.
You have given me hope again, when I thought there was nothing left.
I do have a question. Is it necessary to have a degree in some writing field, i.e.; journalism, creative writing, etc., in order to be taken seriously in the magazine market?
The gigs you’ve done, what was it about you that made them want you? Had you ever been published before and then they wanted you? Are you degreed? I know the website said you’re a teacher, but I was curious as to whether or not you had any other educational certificates that have helped accomplish these goals?
Jennifer S.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:19 pmFrom Margo:
Jennifer, thanks for your question. No, you do not have to have some degree like that to be taken seriously in the magazine world. You just have to know how to write a good query letter or be familiar with the guidelines for the magazine you want to submit to. To be taken seriously, all you have to do is send in a good manuscript in proper format or a well-constructed query letter. You can find all sorts of resources for how to format a manuscript on-line or in the bookstore with other writing related resources.
I do have a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in elementary education, but I don’t feel like these were what got me published. I took a course through the Institute of Children’s Literature, which I felt helped me a lot, and I joined an awesome critique group where I met Amy and Candace who run this site. I learned a lot about submitting and publication through this critique group and when I went with them to writing conferences. I was published when I started working for the newspaper and Demand Studios, but it did take me a while. I started by entering contests, and then sending in my work to smaller magazines.
I hope this helps, Jennifer. If you have any more questions, please let me know.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:26 pmThanks!
Margo
Comment from email: Donna V.
Hi Margo,
July 17th, 2008 at 8:27 pmThanks for walking us through the process of writing, editing, revising, submitting, revising (again), and collaborating to get your book published. What I’ve learned from your experience is a writer has to do more than write a good book. She must also network, find resources to help on her journey, research the industry to find the right publisher, and become skilled in marketing and public relations. Most of all, persistence, patience and listening to the advice of others are vital for success. How wonderful that your publisher (White Mane Kids) lets you have input on the title and jacket and catalog copy. An advantage of working with White Mane seems to be the personal attention they give their authors, which tells me they value the creativity of writers. I hope you will let us know when you get the printed copy of your book in your hands so we can come to one of your book signings. And, don’t forget to let us know when you’ll be on Oprah! I can’t wait to read the finished book. Yours is an informative and inspiring success story! Thanks for sharing.
Donna V.
Margo,
I love hearing success stories. I’m in the revision process and it’s not fun. The initial writing is the fun part, then the work begins. Thanks for sharing your road to publication.
Tricia
July 18th, 2008 at 12:24 am