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10/09/2009

You never forget your first...



It's October 9th, and today I'm thrilled to welcome debut author and fellow Scarlet Rose Lynne Roberts! First Date is out now from The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses, and to commemorate popping her publishing cherry, Lynne is celebrating in a big way on her blog and elsewhere. And I'm happy dancing with her! She generously wrote up this great post about her journey to this day, and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I did. Then go off and buy First Date! ;)

Take it away, Lynne!

In the spirit of my first release, First Date, I’m here to write about being published for the first time.

When I sat down and to write this blog, I thought I could focus on the road to publication or the tricks of the trade (not that I know many).  Definitely, I could write about perseverance and how to handle rejection. But as I thought about it, I realized that the road to publication is different for everyone. So instead of going into generalities, I thought I’d stick with a brief glimpse of my road I’d like to call: There is a contract with my name on it. Ready?

There it is, in your email. You feel the excitement bubbling up inside of you, perhaps a little squeal escapes. So what do you do? Well, tell everyone. You receive the congratulations with a kind of stunned disbelief. Yes. This is really happening to you. I bet you’re even looking forward to the editing letter. Hello! It’s. An. Editing. Letter! Like from a real editor, at a real publishing house.

It seems like you’re waiting forever. And then you get it. Deep breath, okay, you can do this. You’re a writer *teehee* At this point you giggle because it still feels kind of like cheating to say that.

You work hard and send that editing letter back way before the deadline. A few weeks later, here it comes again.

Mmm. Not quite so excited to see this one, but okay, obviously you didn’t get all the kinks out. You glance through the letter. Holy Moly! No kidding didn’t you get all the kinks out. Who knew you could even use the word ‘pull’ that many times. I mean pull? And how many times can there be ‘as’ in 8K words? Hold on a minute:  1,2,3…20! Yikes. 20!

So back to work and the manuscript you slaved over becomes a puzzle. You can’t use groan here because you’ve used it on the prior page, but growl is out too. Twine, wind, bury…. It’s time to play the synonym and clever rewording game. I’m not even going to go into the autonomous body parts—my mind is wandering.

Okay screech stop.

Somewhere around this point you get to see your cover for the very first time. This is truly an overwhelming moment. And yes, you’ll celebrate… as soon as you get those revisions done.

Suddenly it dawns on you. This book is actually getting published. You need someone to buy it! So, you jump right into the promotion whirlwind, which begins to feel more like a tornado. Blog? Website? Trailer? Oh my! Yes, you will feel like Dorothy.

Eventually, you finish the last revision (after try number 6) your editor said it’s a go and by this time you don’t want to see the !@$%^ manuscript for a long time.

No! I’m joking. It’s great! Buy it. Please.

Okay seriously. You’ve worked hard and under a deadline and you’ll celebrate, as soon as you get a little energy. *cue dramatic music* and then here come the galleys.

Galleys, piece o cake right? Um, no.  Galleys:  in which you pick apart every single word you’ve written... several times… to get them all just right… again.

But then comes the day, the long awaited release day. There it is, your book, available for purchase and suddenly, everything was worth it.

And then you get your first review… LOL I haven’t gotten yet. Stay tuned. : )

Cari, thank you so much for letting me borrow your blog! You rock! 

Right back at you, Lynne! Huge congratulations and wishing you many more release days! Now I'm off to buy First Date...

Edited to add... because I was a remiss blogger last night...don't forget to pick up Helen Hardt's Blood Wolf, and J.A. Saare's Soft as Moonlight. Both released TODAY!

16 comments:

J.A. Saare / Aline Hunter said...

Hey Lynne,

First, congrats!!

Being published is not at all what I envisioned. I figured you:

Write book.
Submit book.
Contract book.
Polish book.
Print book.
Get to work on next project.

HA! Boy, was I in the land of Oz!! Crimson Moon is 94k words. When I wrote it, I was so proud of myself. Now? I curse the day I was stupid enough to write something that hocking long!!

The promo and networking stuff, for me, are the hardest. I don't like being in the spotlight, and you certainly won't hear me saying, "My book is so good! You'll love it!" because I go back and forth with loving/hating it.

I know you're going to do great with those reviews! Don't sweat it!

Wishing you nothing but tons of sales, positive feedback, and more of the same in the future.

Jaime

Kaily Hart said...

Congratulations Lynne! I can imagine its wonderful and scary all at once (that's how I would probably feel), but what an amazing accomplishment. I think as we aspire to publication we don't think too much about what happens beyond acceptance. Sure, most of us probably accept there will be revisions but all the other stuff? A whole other set of skills to learn....

Best wishes for your sales numbers!

Lia Slater said...

LOL! Lynne, nice description of the process. :-) CONGRATS!!! Hope you sell gazillions.

Helen Hardt said...

Lynne, I'm on my way out the door, but wanted to stop by and say happy release day!

Helen

Becca Simone said...

Lynne--congrats on your first release. I celebrated mine recently and it's such a rush, isn't it? :)

Thanks for sharing your journey. I think our struggles to reach publication just make us appreciate it all the more, don't you?

May you have many sales!

Shawna Thomas said...

Sorry I'm late, had to get all the kids to school! Life goes on even on release day! : )

Jaime,
It isn't like you expect, I agree. And about the 4th edit, I remember being really glad I'd started with a Rosette! Promo is the most difficult part for me too. I tend to say, "um, please buy my book." Instead of, "You'll love First Date! Buy it and you won't regret it." LOL

Kaily,
Thank you so much! You nailed it! Wonderful and scary. Good luck on your road to publication!

Lia,
From your mouth to God's ears. : ) Thank you!

Helen,
Thank you so much for stopping by. Have fun at the conference! And good luck with your Black Rose release today!

Becca,
It is a rush! I downloaded Midnight Treat to read last week. I'm so looking forward to it.

And you're right--today makes all the mind-numbing edits worth it. : )

Shawna Thomas said...

Oh, Jaime. Congratulations on Soft as Moonlight releasing today! What a great title. Good luck!

Crystal Posey said...

Oh Lynne, you are just too cute. *cue dramatic music* LOL

J.A. Saare / Aline Hunter said...

Hey again Lynne!

Thanks! =)

Shawna Thomas said...

Too cute? *grumble grumble* I've always wanted to be sexy and svelte... maybe mysterious ; ) LOL! Thanks, Crystal!

Shawna Thomas said...

Jaime, You're welcome. ; )

Shawna Thomas said...

Cari,

Thanks again for having me here. I can't wait until it's your turn. : )

Shelley Munro said...

Congrats on the new release, Lynne.

Shawna Thomas said...

Thank you, Shelley! I'm thrilled it's finally out. : )

Kaye Manro said...

Sorry I'm so late-- but congrats, Lynne! And again a wonderful interview, Cari!

Shawna Thomas said...

Hi Kaye! Don't worry about being late, it's fashionable, no? : )

Thank you so much!

~Lynne