Waiting.
More Waiting.
Then an offer! Whoo
hoo, the waiting is over!
Just kidding.
I had heard stories over the years about how things move
slowly in the publishing world, but I'm not sure I ever really understood
that.
It took about two months to go from the offer to a signed
contract/announcement of the deal. What
was the delay? First, we had to give
time for other potential publishers to respond, just like in the query
process. In that time frame, I was able
to have a conversion with my editor and get a feel for her vision, which was
great. But what really took the most time? The contract itself.
This is the part where I say I am so glad I had an
agent.
I know that lots of people do this without an agent, but I
would have had no clue how to read that document nor what was the most
important aspect of negotiation, particularly in relationship to rights.
One of the things that became very clear is that it wasn't
just having an agent, but having someone you trusted had your best interests in
mind, someone who could explain why something was important.
I probably would have signed the first draft because I just
wanted to be published so badly.
And this was a small deal with a smaller publisher on what I
perceive is a quiet book. I can't
imagine how complicated it gets with bigger books and bigger deals.
I've said this before in my blogging process, but it's a
life lesson that I keep learning over and over.
You need to surround yourself with the right people, the right support
and then let them support you.
I'm self-confessed control freak, pretty independent overall,
but there's not a stage of the writing and publishing process that hasn't been
improved by trusting other people to help me.
It kind of makes me wonder if I'll ever remember that in
other aspects of my life, too.
How easy is it for you to let go of control?
