Hi Friends-
Sorry for the blog silence. A lot has been going on lately.
Today I was planning on writing about my awesome experiences at BEA, and also telling you all about how I got hopelessly, hopelessly lost in NYC (but luckily not kidnapped by slave traffickers) and how my wonderful editor Jimmy Olsen came to my rescue . . . However, my beloved grandmother passed away last night. I am extremely happy that I had the chance to go say goodbye to her just hours before she passed, and I am glad that she is finally our of pain, but I'm still shaken up and sad about losing her. So I guess I till save my insanely funny/pathetic stories about getting lost for another day.
However, I do have a few matters of business that I need to take care of before we travel to California for the funeral:
1. This Friday I will be participating in a big "School's Out!" event at the Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble at 5:00 pm. Me, Mette Ivie Harrison, Kristen Chandler, and Frank Cole will be discussing our books and signing. It should be an awesome event, so if you're in the area, come on by.
2. Who's excited for the ECLIPSE premiere? I know I am! Number one, because ECLIPSE is my favotire of all the Twilight novels (that tent scene gets me every time). And number two, because we're going to be doing some awesome stuff for TDD that premiere weekend!!
First off, we are in the process of making a TDD teaser trailer that will play in the top 2 grossing theatres for the Twilight movies during premiere week. I am so excited about this ad, and I've had way too much fun picking out the models to play Daniel and Grace. I'm hoping we come out with a fantastic end product. If you're going to be seeing ECLIPSE during premiere week at The Megaplex Theatres at Jordan Commons or the District, be sure to keep an eye out for the TDD ad before the movie.
Secondly, I am going to be participating in the ECLIPSE Premiere Party at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons. We'll have out very own TDD booth where I'll be signing books and handing out tons of TDD nail polish and bookmarks. I'll be there from 4:00 pm until Midnight, so if you're going to the party, be sure to stop by the booth.
(Note: If you're planning an ECLIPSE party in your area and would like to have some TDD goodies for your swag bags, email me details about your party at readbree (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll see if I can get some TDD goods sent your way.)
3. I need to announce winners from the Egmont USA debut week giveaways.
The winner of the TCS glass slipper bookmark is: Ally
The winner of the RENEGADE X bookmark is: Renae
And the winner of the SCONES AND SENSIBILITY lace handkerchief is: Kaylie
Winners, please email me at readbree (at) gmail (dot) come with your address.
Have a wonderful day! I'm off to have lunch with a friend in hopes to lift my spirits. I promise a much better BEA post in the near future . . . and also a "behind the scenes" post on the making of the trailer!
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good news. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll love ya tomorrow. It's only a day away!
So I seriously can't believe that THE DARK DIVINE comes out tomorrow. For the last year since I sold TDD (not to mention the last decade since I started writing) it felt like this day would never actually come. But now I can see it just over the horizon. It's tomorrow!
And some good things are going on that I want to share with you all:
1.Tonight Mundie Moms is hosting a Pre-launch chat party for TDD at 7pm MST/9pm EST. I'll be chatting with readers and answering your questions. So be sure to come on over and join the fun. To find out more info on how to join the chat CLICK HERE.
2. TDD got a smashing 5 star review from The Story Siren. Here's my favorite line: "Three words: I. Loved. It." To read the rest of the review, CLICK HERE.
3. Booklist gave TDD a great review, too. Can't link to this one, but here's my favorite part: "Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated." Squee!
4. Rumor has it that B&N will be featuring TDD on their "Dark Romance" table, so be sure to look for it there. *Crossing my fingers this actually happens.*
5. Mundie Moms has started a forum for all things TDD. This is a great place to discuss the book, characters, your undying devotion for Daniel . . . You will have to register with MM to be able to participate, but don't let that scare you away. The registration is just to keep spammers off the site. They won't demand your first born kid or anything. Be sure to check it out HERE.
6. Today is the last day to enter the Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt. Win 3 signed books from 3 debut authors. Go HERE for more information.
7. Romantic Times just posted the 6th chapter of TDD on their blog. Be sure to look for it HERE. Remember, if you read the chapter and post a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me about it, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a prize from my random prize grab-bag. The winner from last week is: Brodie
(Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send you a list of prizes to choose from.)
8. Tomorrow is a TDD Day! Come back here for a new post tomorrow--and a new contest to kick of my book's birthday.
And some good things are going on that I want to share with you all:
1.Tonight Mundie Moms is hosting a Pre-launch chat party for TDD at 7pm MST/9pm EST. I'll be chatting with readers and answering your questions. So be sure to come on over and join the fun. To find out more info on how to join the chat CLICK HERE.
2. TDD got a smashing 5 star review from The Story Siren. Here's my favorite line: "Three words: I. Loved. It." To read the rest of the review, CLICK HERE.
3. Booklist gave TDD a great review, too. Can't link to this one, but here's my favorite part: "Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated." Squee!
4. Rumor has it that B&N will be featuring TDD on their "Dark Romance" table, so be sure to look for it there. *Crossing my fingers this actually happens.*
5. Mundie Moms has started a forum for all things TDD. This is a great place to discuss the book, characters, your undying devotion for Daniel . . . You will have to register with MM to be able to participate, but don't let that scare you away. The registration is just to keep spammers off the site. They won't demand your first born kid or anything. Be sure to check it out HERE.
6. Today is the last day to enter the Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt. Win 3 signed books from 3 debut authors. Go HERE for more information.
7. Romantic Times just posted the 6th chapter of TDD on their blog. Be sure to look for it HERE. Remember, if you read the chapter and post a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me about it, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a prize from my random prize grab-bag. The winner from last week is: Brodie
(Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send you a list of prizes to choose from.)
8. Tomorrow is a TDD Day! Come back here for a new post tomorrow--and a new contest to kick of my book's birthday.
Friday, January 9, 2009
I'm Officially Official!!!
We interrupt our normal broadcast of The Dark Divine Play-list/Soundtrack to bring you a very special announcement . . .
Actually, before the announcement, I would like to direct your attention to the header of my blog. It used to say, "Yep, I'm an aspiring YA author (status pending)." But if you look at it closely, you will notice a couple of small changes that make a huge difference--as in, the "aspiring" part has been removed . . .and the status is no longer pending. Do you see it? Do you? Huh? Huh?
Okay, just in case I'm being too subtle for anyone out there, I'll just go ahead and say it:
I SOLD MY BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M A REAL AUTHOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you believe it?
I almost can. It's almost sunk in. I've almost convinced myself that I'm not asleep and having the most amazing dream ever.
And not only did they buy my book, they bought a second one from me. One I haven't even written yet! How freaking cool is that?
They like me! They really like me!!
Dude, all I can say is that Agent Ted seriously rocks the casbah! (Which is the term we use in our house for the highest form of praise.)
In fact, I think we should all have a moment of silence in honor of Agent Ted's awesomeness. Starting right now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Okay, that's enough. We don't want Ted to get a big head.
So how did it all go down, you ask? Well I'll tell you.
1. I got an agent. (To read about how that went down, click here)
2. Agent Ted had me do revisions for about a month (for more on this, click here)
3. Agent Ted gave the manuscript the green light and sent it out on submissions. He also banned me from talking about the submissions process on my blog . . .so, sorry I haven't been a fount of juicy tidbits lately.
4. One month later, on December 18th (which has been an extremely important date in my life for the last 6 years, so the fact that this phone call came on this day is the absolute most perfect form of karma ever--and if you don't know the significance of this date to me, then click here) Ted called me out of the blue--and I didn't answer. Seriously, I thought he was a telemarketer so I let one of the most important calls of my life go to voicemail. To be fair, he was calling from a totally different phone number than usual (with a totally different area code). So anyway, when I listened to my voicemail a few minutes later and heard Ted's voice telling me to call him back right away . . .I completely freaked out and almost lost all ability to press the little digit buttons on my phone.
Ted answered but he was on the subway so it was kind of hard to hear him when he said in an oh so somber voice, "Oh, hey, so I called you because I have some really bad news."
Right then my stomach attempted to fold itself inside out. No joke. And I was like, "What?" And my mind was racing, trying to think of what could possibly be so bad that he would have to call me in person instead of email (our normal form of communication). Did he decide to drop me as his client because he realized that my manuscript was unsellable? Did someone accuse me of lifting ten whole pages from someone else 's novel and inserting them into mine? (Not that anyone would ever actually do that.) Did he decide that his true calling in life was to be a go-go dancer so he's dumping all of his clients and moving to Las Vegas?
So then Ted says, all serious, (did I ever mention that he's also an actor) "Are you ready for this? Because the reason I called is to tell you that I can no longer call you one of my. . ."
Me: Crap, crap, crap! He is dropping me as his client.
Ted: " . . .unpublished authors!"
Me: "You big dork!!"
Okay, so that's not what I actually said. I was more like, "Seriously?!"
And then Ted went on to tell me about this really awesome offer that we had just received from Regina Griffin from Egmont USA, while I tried really really hard to stay all calm and professional and not start screaming like a 13-year-old-Jonas-Brothers-fan.
5. (Yeah, cause remember this was a list way back up there) Ted told me that the offer was good, but that there was still more negotiating to do, so I'd have to sit tight over the holidays. (Because the entire publishing industry shuts down from the week before Christmas until after the new year.) Oh yeah, and he told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone (other than close friends and family) and especially no blogging!
6. I tried to stay sane over the holidays. Tried not to blurt out the news to every friend I saw at every party. Tried not to check my email every 5 seconds just in case something new developed on Christmas Eve. Tried not to have nightmares that all of New York City had imploded over night, sucking Agent Ted and Egmont publishing into the center of the earth--therefore rendering the publishing offer null and void. And even tried out how it would sound to introduce myself as an author on a couple of random strangers.
7. Negotiations reconvened on Jan 5th--and Ted called me again on the 7th with an even better offer from Egmont. He told me to "sleep on it" and contact him in the morning.
8. Attempted to "sleep on it," but no actual sleeping happened.
9. Emailed Ted with my answer at 5:00am and went back to bed. (Actually slept for about two hours until I got up and started an all-day vigil in front of the computer, waiting for Ted's latest update.)
10. Realized my back was killing me, so I decided to pull myself away from the computer in order to go to my chiropractor appointment. Arrived home an hour and a half later and discovered that I had forgotten my phone--and had missed a call, and an email from Ted, saying I needed to call him back asap.
11. After a lengthy game of phone-tag, Ted and I touched bases at 7:00 pm New York time--when it was now too late to finalize things with Regina.
12. Had another sleepless night, and an all day computer vigil (even checked the news a couple of times to make sure NYC hadn't imploded) until I got the email from Ted saying that everything was official--and that I was finally allowed to tell the world.
13. I started calling, emailing, and blogging in order to let everyone I've ever met know that I am officially a published author!!!
So anyway, thanks for sticking with me through this LONG post. But you can't rush a girl who has been waiting 9 years to tell this kind of news. I am basking. I am glowing. I'm so happy, I just might puke. . . or that might be from the fact that I ate my weight in Massaman curry at our celebration dinner. Mmmm . . .
Anyway, here are the details I'm able to share at the moment:
I have a two book deal (the second book still to be determined--it might be a sequel) with Egmont-USA (who is the brand new US branch of the European powerhouse publisher Egmont-UK) and my editor is the amazing Regina Griffin (who has edited many YA greats including Walter Dean Myers and Cynthia Voigt). If you would like to learn more about Egmont-USA, their publisher, staff, and forthcoming books, click here.
More details to come (I promise). And for those of you who came here looking for a new song from the play-list, I'll double post songs tomorrow.
And THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me get to this wonderful day: Agent Ted, Editor Regina, my writer peeps, my parents, my siblings, my many teachers and mentors, my kids (for being patient--and yes, now we can go to Disneyland), and most especially my super freaking awesome husband (who puts up with all my neurosis, and is my #1 cheerleader).
Actually, before the announcement, I would like to direct your attention to the header of my blog. It used to say, "Yep, I'm an aspiring YA author (status pending)." But if you look at it closely, you will notice a couple of small changes that make a huge difference--as in, the "aspiring" part has been removed . . .and the status is no longer pending. Do you see it? Do you? Huh? Huh?
Okay, just in case I'm being too subtle for anyone out there, I'll just go ahead and say it:
I SOLD MY BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'M A REAL AUTHOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you believe it?
I almost can. It's almost sunk in. I've almost convinced myself that I'm not asleep and having the most amazing dream ever.
And not only did they buy my book, they bought a second one from me. One I haven't even written yet! How freaking cool is that?
They like me! They really like me!!
Dude, all I can say is that Agent Ted seriously rocks the casbah! (Which is the term we use in our house for the highest form of praise.)
In fact, I think we should all have a moment of silence in honor of Agent Ted's awesomeness. Starting right now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Okay, that's enough. We don't want Ted to get a big head.
So how did it all go down, you ask? Well I'll tell you.
1. I got an agent. (To read about how that went down, click here)
2. Agent Ted had me do revisions for about a month (for more on this, click here)
3. Agent Ted gave the manuscript the green light and sent it out on submissions. He also banned me from talking about the submissions process on my blog . . .so, sorry I haven't been a fount of juicy tidbits lately.
4. One month later, on December 18th (which has been an extremely important date in my life for the last 6 years, so the fact that this phone call came on this day is the absolute most perfect form of karma ever--and if you don't know the significance of this date to me, then click here) Ted called me out of the blue--and I didn't answer. Seriously, I thought he was a telemarketer so I let one of the most important calls of my life go to voicemail. To be fair, he was calling from a totally different phone number than usual (with a totally different area code). So anyway, when I listened to my voicemail a few minutes later and heard Ted's voice telling me to call him back right away . . .I completely freaked out and almost lost all ability to press the little digit buttons on my phone.
Ted answered but he was on the subway so it was kind of hard to hear him when he said in an oh so somber voice, "Oh, hey, so I called you because I have some really bad news."
Right then my stomach attempted to fold itself inside out. No joke. And I was like, "What?" And my mind was racing, trying to think of what could possibly be so bad that he would have to call me in person instead of email (our normal form of communication). Did he decide to drop me as his client because he realized that my manuscript was unsellable? Did someone accuse me of lifting ten whole pages from someone else 's novel and inserting them into mine? (Not that anyone would ever actually do that.) Did he decide that his true calling in life was to be a go-go dancer so he's dumping all of his clients and moving to Las Vegas?
So then Ted says, all serious, (did I ever mention that he's also an actor) "Are you ready for this? Because the reason I called is to tell you that I can no longer call you one of my. . ."
Me: Crap, crap, crap! He is dropping me as his client.
Ted: " . . .unpublished authors!"
Me: "You big dork!!"
Okay, so that's not what I actually said. I was more like, "Seriously?!"
And then Ted went on to tell me about this really awesome offer that we had just received from Regina Griffin from Egmont USA, while I tried really really hard to stay all calm and professional and not start screaming like a 13-year-old-Jonas-Brothers-fan.
5. (Yeah, cause remember this was a list way back up there) Ted told me that the offer was good, but that there was still more negotiating to do, so I'd have to sit tight over the holidays. (Because the entire publishing industry shuts down from the week before Christmas until after the new year.) Oh yeah, and he told me I wasn't allowed to tell anyone (other than close friends and family) and especially no blogging!
6. I tried to stay sane over the holidays. Tried not to blurt out the news to every friend I saw at every party. Tried not to check my email every 5 seconds just in case something new developed on Christmas Eve. Tried not to have nightmares that all of New York City had imploded over night, sucking Agent Ted and Egmont publishing into the center of the earth--therefore rendering the publishing offer null and void. And even tried out how it would sound to introduce myself as an author on a couple of random strangers.
7. Negotiations reconvened on Jan 5th--and Ted called me again on the 7th with an even better offer from Egmont. He told me to "sleep on it" and contact him in the morning.
8. Attempted to "sleep on it," but no actual sleeping happened.
9. Emailed Ted with my answer at 5:00am and went back to bed. (Actually slept for about two hours until I got up and started an all-day vigil in front of the computer, waiting for Ted's latest update.)
10. Realized my back was killing me, so I decided to pull myself away from the computer in order to go to my chiropractor appointment. Arrived home an hour and a half later and discovered that I had forgotten my phone--and had missed a call, and an email from Ted, saying I needed to call him back asap.
11. After a lengthy game of phone-tag, Ted and I touched bases at 7:00 pm New York time--when it was now too late to finalize things with Regina.
12. Had another sleepless night, and an all day computer vigil (even checked the news a couple of times to make sure NYC hadn't imploded) until I got the email from Ted saying that everything was official--and that I was finally allowed to tell the world.
13. I started calling, emailing, and blogging in order to let everyone I've ever met know that I am officially a published author!!!
So anyway, thanks for sticking with me through this LONG post. But you can't rush a girl who has been waiting 9 years to tell this kind of news. I am basking. I am glowing. I'm so happy, I just might puke. . . or that might be from the fact that I ate my weight in Massaman curry at our celebration dinner. Mmmm . . .
Anyway, here are the details I'm able to share at the moment:
I have a two book deal (the second book still to be determined--it might be a sequel) with Egmont-USA (who is the brand new US branch of the European powerhouse publisher Egmont-UK) and my editor is the amazing Regina Griffin (who has edited many YA greats including Walter Dean Myers and Cynthia Voigt). If you would like to learn more about Egmont-USA, their publisher, staff, and forthcoming books, click here.
More details to come (I promise). And for those of you who came here looking for a new song from the play-list, I'll double post songs tomorrow.
And THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me get to this wonderful day: Agent Ted, Editor Regina, my writer peeps, my parents, my siblings, my many teachers and mentors, my kids (for being patient--and yes, now we can go to Disneyland), and most especially my super freaking awesome husband (who puts up with all my neurosis, and is my #1 cheerleader).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Confession is . . .I'm a pessimist
Yep, it's true. It drives my friends and family crazy, but I have never been a "glass half full" kind of girl. They call it being negative. I call it always being prepared for the worst. My husband is constantly saying to me, "Would it kill you to be positive for once?" Um . . .no. But apparently NOT being positive might.
Last night, hubby and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Leonardo (thanks Kersten!). The main focus of the exhibit was on the human heart, and one of the placards talked about the effects of pessimism on the heart. Apparently people who constantly see the glass as half empty are much more likely to die from cardiovascular complications than those who don't. So in addition to being an eternal pessimist, now I know it's probably going to kill me. How's that for irony?
So in an effort to give my heart a little jump start in a positive, more optimistic direction, I've decided to post a few tidbits of good news.
1. Kid Z (my 6 year old) made the Principal's honor roll for having perfect behavior every day. How's that for showing I've actually got some good mommy-ing skills? (Never mind the fact that I got a call from his teacher the VERY NEXT DAY because Kid Z got caught teasing someone at his table. Every kid is allowed an off day, right? I'm still a good mom, right?)
2. Kid A finally said the words to me I've been waiting the last 2 years and 7 months to hear: "I love you, Mommy." Never mind the fact that he kicked me in the nose this morning while I was attempting to change his diaper, those 4 little words make it all seem worth it. Most of the time.
3. My fabulous friend Emily Wing Smith got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly for her debut novel, THE WAY HE LIVED. In my opinion, PW is the authority on all things publishing related so getting reviewed by them in the first place is pretty big--but getting a starred review is FREAKING AWESOME. Most book-buyers for libraries and bookstores will only purchase books that get reviewed by one of the big name publications, and some buyers will only look at the starred reviews. Hopefully, this means big things are in store for Emily and her book. I can just hear the National Book Award committee dialing her number . . . Just remember that you heard about Emily from me first.
4. Emily also got this review from a School Library Journal teen reviewer. (So what are you waiting for--go buy Emily's book already :))
5. And last but not least: Ted gave my manuscript the green light this morning! Wish me luck!
P.S. I promise I'll post about my crazy weekend soon. I'm waiting on a few pictures first. Because you all want to know what fabulous agent Ted looks like, right? (Not to mention, prove that he really exists.)
Last night, hubby and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Leonardo (thanks Kersten!). The main focus of the exhibit was on the human heart, and one of the placards talked about the effects of pessimism on the heart. Apparently people who constantly see the glass as half empty are much more likely to die from cardiovascular complications than those who don't. So in addition to being an eternal pessimist, now I know it's probably going to kill me. How's that for irony?
So in an effort to give my heart a little jump start in a positive, more optimistic direction, I've decided to post a few tidbits of good news.
1. Kid Z (my 6 year old) made the Principal's honor roll for having perfect behavior every day. How's that for showing I've actually got some good mommy-ing skills? (Never mind the fact that I got a call from his teacher the VERY NEXT DAY because Kid Z got caught teasing someone at his table. Every kid is allowed an off day, right? I'm still a good mom, right?)
2. Kid A finally said the words to me I've been waiting the last 2 years and 7 months to hear: "I love you, Mommy." Never mind the fact that he kicked me in the nose this morning while I was attempting to change his diaper, those 4 little words make it all seem worth it. Most of the time.
3. My fabulous friend Emily Wing Smith got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly for her debut novel, THE WAY HE LIVED. In my opinion, PW is the authority on all things publishing related so getting reviewed by them in the first place is pretty big--but getting a starred review is FREAKING AWESOME. Most book-buyers for libraries and bookstores will only purchase books that get reviewed by one of the big name publications, and some buyers will only look at the starred reviews. Hopefully, this means big things are in store for Emily and her book. I can just hear the National Book Award committee dialing her number . . . Just remember that you heard about Emily from me first.
4. Emily also got this review from a School Library Journal teen reviewer. (So what are you waiting for--go buy Emily's book already :))
5. And last but not least: Ted gave my manuscript the green light this morning! Wish me luck!
P.S. I promise I'll post about my crazy weekend soon. I'm waiting on a few pictures first. Because you all want to know what fabulous agent Ted looks like, right? (Not to mention, prove that he really exists.)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I have a big announcement . . .and no, I'm NOT pregnant
I have an agent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I'd go on with the exclamation points, but I think you get the point.) I have accepted representation with the fabulous Ted Malawer of Firebrand Literary. I can finally say those four wonderful words I've been waiting to say for the last NINE years: I have an agent! I can also say things like those writers in movies who are terribly busy and successful--things like, "I don't know, let me check with my agent," or "My agent just called," or "Run that by my agent." I'm giddy just thinking about it.
So for my friends who don't know what an agent does (and can't figure out why I'm so excited), an agent is someone who sells your book for you, brokers your publishing contracts, manages your career, and tells you that you are wonderful and talented when your crippling self-doubt gets out of hand. Since 80% of publishing houses won't even look at your manuscripts if you don't have an agent (I totally made up that figure, but it's close, if not on the low side), getting an agent is like getting the "golden ticket" and then eventually moving on to the final 3 on American Idol. It's not a guarantee you'll get published, but it ups your odds by about 95% (yet another made up statistic, but it's close, I swear). The biggest conundrum in the publishing industry is that it is nearly impossible to get published without an agent, but almost more impossible to get an agent without being published. Seriously, why would anyone wonder why writers are so neurotic?
So you can see why little old me is so darn excited.
For anyone who is wondering, this is how the process went (Warning, this goes on for a bit):
1. Wrote a book.
2. Revised, revised, revised, and revised book some more.
3. Realized 1st book was just for practice and started a second book
4. Repeated step 2 (plus a little more)
5. Sent queries (1 page letter describing yourself and your book) for the 2nd book to about a dozen agents. Half flat out rejected it. Half asked to read the first few chapters of the book. One or two asked to read the whole thing. In the end, all rejected it with positive feedback and well-wishes . . .they "liked" it, but weren't "in love" with it.
6. Being several months pregnant and void of all brain-power, I decided to put the book away for awhile and let it percolate.
7. Started a 3rd book and after several months, ideas for the 2nd book started conflicting with the third.
8. Put the 3rd book in a drawer and picked up the 2nd book again (almost 1 year after I put it away) and set to work completely rewriting 75% of the novel and adding 101 pages of new content.
9. Had the first chapter critiqued by an editor at a conference who said she loved the story and wanted to see the rest of it as soon as it was finished (May 2008). Joy. Self doubt. Stress. Panic.
10. Sent MS off to the editor at the end of August 2008
11. Decided to look for an agent instead of twiddling my thumbs
12. Did research and narrowed my list to about 8 agents who I thought would be the best fit for my manuscript.
13. Wrote query, showed it to writers groups, revised, revised, and revised it some more
14. Sent very first query to the top agent on my list with the first 2 pages (What was I thinking?! Who queries their top choice first?)
15. Sent out second query with client referral and first 5 pages. Got immediate response asking to see the full!
16. A couple of days later, #1 agent responded asking for the full asap because he's leaving on a trip and wants to take my MS with him!!!
17. Sent MS right away. Obsessively checked email for a few days. Convinced self that both agents were probably never going to respond even though it had been less than a week. Sent out 3 more queries without any pages of my MS. Got almost immediate rejections on all 3. One rejection came in less than 2 minutes from when I sent the email query (Was that a world record?) Major self doubt ensued.
18. Wait, exactly one week after sending full to agent #1, got email saying that he's almost done reading the manuscript and he LOVES it. Wants to show it to the other agents in his office on the following Tuesday. Do I have a synopsis I can send him for the other agents to look at? Sure, I have a synopsis. It's over here somewhere . . .
19. Hurried and wrote a synopsis. (Actually, I had a synopsis but I hadn't revised it since I sent out the manuscript the first time over two years before--and it stank!)
20. Sent synopsis Monday morning. Got one of the best emails of my life from agent #1 outlining all of the things he loved about my book and promising to get back to me after his meeting on Tuesday.
21. Tuesday came and went and no matter how many times I refreshed my email--no email from agent #1 appeared. Major self-doubt ensued. . .convinced self that the other agents must have hated the manuscript and convinced #1 that he must be on drugs if he liked it. They're staging an intervention right now . . .
22. Wednesday afternoon: received email saying he got great feedback from other agents and wants to call me on Friday so we can chat. Later that afternoon, received email from agent #2 with a very complimentary rejection of the manuscript with an invitation to send other materials. Couldn't care less--still doing the happy dance about #1.
23. Thursday: another email asking if we can postpone chat until Saturday. (Somebody just shoot me now. I can't take the anticipation anymore!) Used the meantime to do more research on #1, talked to a couple of his clients. Convinced self that he must just be calling to give me some revision notes or something. Husband said, "Why would he call you on a SATURDAY for that?"
24. Paced anxiously around the house for the next 48 hours and practically jumped out of my skin when the phone rang and then sat down and gave the fakest-calm, "Hello . . .this is she. Hi, Ted . . ." you've ever heard. And to make this very, very long story short: He offered representation and I accepted. The happy dance has yet to stop at our house!
So that's the story in a very large nutshell. And since Ted is an awesome agent, I will hopefully have more announcements to come in the next few months. So stay tuned . . .
P.S. Thank you to all of my friends, family, and teachers who have supported me, and helped me revise over all these years. You know who you are. XOXOXOXOXOXO
(I'd go on with the exclamation points, but I think you get the point.) I have accepted representation with the fabulous Ted Malawer of Firebrand Literary. I can finally say those four wonderful words I've been waiting to say for the last NINE years: I have an agent! I can also say things like those writers in movies who are terribly busy and successful--things like, "I don't know, let me check with my agent," or "My agent just called," or "Run that by my agent." I'm giddy just thinking about it.
So for my friends who don't know what an agent does (and can't figure out why I'm so excited), an agent is someone who sells your book for you, brokers your publishing contracts, manages your career, and tells you that you are wonderful and talented when your crippling self-doubt gets out of hand. Since 80% of publishing houses won't even look at your manuscripts if you don't have an agent (I totally made up that figure, but it's close, if not on the low side), getting an agent is like getting the "golden ticket" and then eventually moving on to the final 3 on American Idol. It's not a guarantee you'll get published, but it ups your odds by about 95% (yet another made up statistic, but it's close, I swear). The biggest conundrum in the publishing industry is that it is nearly impossible to get published without an agent, but almost more impossible to get an agent without being published. Seriously, why would anyone wonder why writers are so neurotic?
So you can see why little old me is so darn excited.
For anyone who is wondering, this is how the process went (Warning, this goes on for a bit):
1. Wrote a book.
2. Revised, revised, revised, and revised book some more.
3. Realized 1st book was just for practice and started a second book
4. Repeated step 2 (plus a little more)
5. Sent queries (1 page letter describing yourself and your book) for the 2nd book to about a dozen agents. Half flat out rejected it. Half asked to read the first few chapters of the book. One or two asked to read the whole thing. In the end, all rejected it with positive feedback and well-wishes . . .they "liked" it, but weren't "in love" with it.
6. Being several months pregnant and void of all brain-power, I decided to put the book away for awhile and let it percolate.
7. Started a 3rd book and after several months, ideas for the 2nd book started conflicting with the third.
8. Put the 3rd book in a drawer and picked up the 2nd book again (almost 1 year after I put it away) and set to work completely rewriting 75% of the novel and adding 101 pages of new content.
9. Had the first chapter critiqued by an editor at a conference who said she loved the story and wanted to see the rest of it as soon as it was finished (May 2008). Joy. Self doubt. Stress. Panic.
10. Sent MS off to the editor at the end of August 2008
11. Decided to look for an agent instead of twiddling my thumbs
12. Did research and narrowed my list to about 8 agents who I thought would be the best fit for my manuscript.
13. Wrote query, showed it to writers groups, revised, revised, and revised it some more
14. Sent very first query to the top agent on my list with the first 2 pages (What was I thinking?! Who queries their top choice first?)
15. Sent out second query with client referral and first 5 pages. Got immediate response asking to see the full!
16. A couple of days later, #1 agent responded asking for the full asap because he's leaving on a trip and wants to take my MS with him!!!
17. Sent MS right away. Obsessively checked email for a few days. Convinced self that both agents were probably never going to respond even though it had been less than a week. Sent out 3 more queries without any pages of my MS. Got almost immediate rejections on all 3. One rejection came in less than 2 minutes from when I sent the email query (Was that a world record?) Major self doubt ensued.
18. Wait, exactly one week after sending full to agent #1, got email saying that he's almost done reading the manuscript and he LOVES it. Wants to show it to the other agents in his office on the following Tuesday. Do I have a synopsis I can send him for the other agents to look at? Sure, I have a synopsis. It's over here somewhere . . .
19. Hurried and wrote a synopsis. (Actually, I had a synopsis but I hadn't revised it since I sent out the manuscript the first time over two years before--and it stank!)
20. Sent synopsis Monday morning. Got one of the best emails of my life from agent #1 outlining all of the things he loved about my book and promising to get back to me after his meeting on Tuesday.
21. Tuesday came and went and no matter how many times I refreshed my email--no email from agent #1 appeared. Major self-doubt ensued. . .convinced self that the other agents must have hated the manuscript and convinced #1 that he must be on drugs if he liked it. They're staging an intervention right now . . .
22. Wednesday afternoon: received email saying he got great feedback from other agents and wants to call me on Friday so we can chat. Later that afternoon, received email from agent #2 with a very complimentary rejection of the manuscript with an invitation to send other materials. Couldn't care less--still doing the happy dance about #1.
23. Thursday: another email asking if we can postpone chat until Saturday. (Somebody just shoot me now. I can't take the anticipation anymore!) Used the meantime to do more research on #1, talked to a couple of his clients. Convinced self that he must just be calling to give me some revision notes or something. Husband said, "Why would he call you on a SATURDAY for that?"
24. Paced anxiously around the house for the next 48 hours and practically jumped out of my skin when the phone rang and then sat down and gave the fakest-calm, "Hello . . .this is she. Hi, Ted . . ." you've ever heard. And to make this very, very long story short: He offered representation and I accepted. The happy dance has yet to stop at our house!
So that's the story in a very large nutshell. And since Ted is an awesome agent, I will hopefully have more announcements to come in the next few months. So stay tuned . . .
P.S. Thank you to all of my friends, family, and teachers who have supported me, and helped me revise over all these years. You know who you are. XOXOXOXOXOXO
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