Top Ten Things I've Learned Since Getting THE CALL
by Jess Michaels with special thanks to Susanna Carr
Well, I’ve been published all of what… two months? It certainly seems appropriate that I write a list of things I’ve learned since I got “The Call”, right? I mean, I must know everything by now… um, NOT. But here you go:
10. You Don't Know Anything... Ever.
In keeping with my comment above, I thought I'd start with this truth. No matter how much you prepare for THE CALL and do research and talk to all your published friends, when the moment comes... You will be clueless. From the moment you sell, information starts flying at you from all sides. Contract stuff, promotional overload and dates and times and to do lists. It can get massively overwhelming.
Luckily for me, I have friends to guide me and ask questions of when I get lost, but I still feel like I'm drowning lots of nights as I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling fan.
9. Sleep? Ha! Published Authors Need No Sleep!
That staring at the ceiling fan thing happens more often than you'd think. First you lay in bed, wide awake because damn, you are a published author! Your book is coming out!! Some nights you stare at the ceiling wondering if it was all a mistake and someone is going to call to take it all back. Then there are the times when you wonder if your option book will sell. Or if people will like the book when it comes out. Or if you'll do everything you need to do before the book comes out.
Honestly, sleep is pretty low on my priorities list anymore. :)
8. Show Me the Money! Oh Wait, I've Already Spent It.
The money issue is a sticky one. Though there are great resources like Brenda Hiatt's fabulous "Show Me the Money" survey, no one wants to talk about cold hard cash in this business. And for good reasons. It's no one's business but their own. Unfortunately, that can lead to some powerful misconceptions about the amount of money an author is going to receive. Now granted, my book is coming out from a small press and my advance is very small (the rewards really come at the back end), but even authors with major New York houses are slapped in the face by the money monster. Advances are split into various payments. And they can be very slow to come (months sometimes). The lesson: realize that you will probably be spending money out of pocket before you receive your first payment.
7. Pack Your Patience.
I was at a chat the other night talking to another author who was published by a major house. She and I were both lamenting the waiting game. And guess what? We weren't talking about outside publishing houses. That's right. Even after an editor has bought a book from you (or two or three), you're still going to encounter wait times to have your additional works read and responded to. And there's no guarantee they're going to take that next manuscript. So all that nail biting you did as an aspiring author... here it comes again!
6. What, No Fast Track?
And now we come to those houses outside your own. Somehow I thought that when I sold my book angels would sing, candles would blaze into full glow and the doors to the world would open to me. Unfortunately, that has not happened. Although my sale has been mentioned in query letters and in follow-up contact in the past two months, my responses and response time have not improved. I am still the same little fish. I'm just a little fish with a big date to look forward to. :)
5. You Wanna Piece of Me?
All these things are not to say that people don't want you. On the contrary, once you sell it seems like the world takes notice. Sometimes it seems like everyone wants a piece. Other authors wrote me 'congratulatory' emails, which were really thinly veiled attempts to garner more information on Red Sage Publishing and how I approached them. I've been offered interviews, promotional opportunities (at a price) and more as I have forged my way forward.
This isn't to say that these things aren't great. But it's very strange to go from being just another wanna-be writer to a resource and source or someone else's income in just a few weeks. Be ready and be ready to pick and choose what you're comfortable doing.
4. Hey, What Do You Mean By 'Have A Nice Day'?
One of the biggest things newly published authors don't realize is how emotionally charged the first sale can make you. Yeah, it's a happy time and there's crying and yelling and laughing. But there's more than that. All those powerful emotions (the joy, the fear, the worry) are often translated into an ultra-sensitive state. You may find yourself crying over nothing. Or biting someone's head off for the tiniest reason. It's very easy to get a little paranoid, so be aware that your emotions are very fragile at this point. Do your best not to take everything personally.
3. Revisions? We Don't Need No Stinking Revisions!
And while you're in this highly emotional, don't-take-it-personally state, what happens? Well, you probably get revisions. I admit, I was absolutely terrified of my revisions. To the point where I know I drove my husband and friends crazy with my neurotic focus on something I hadn't seen and couldn't change. And yet, when they came... they really weren't that big a deal. My advice?
Don't stress over them if you can (I did).
Read over them when they arrive, but don't do anything about them immediately.
Try what's being advised, even if you hate it. You can always return to your original version.
Talk to your editor if you just can't make a suggestion work. She may be able to help you see why the change has to be made or she may come to a compromise you can live with.
2. What Do You Mean I Still Have to Write?
This was a big one for me. For a month after I sold, I was utterly useless. I didn't write (though I did revise my contracted work), I didn't even open my current WIP. There are so many other little things you can find to do that it's easy to let the writing slide to the side of the road. The writing is what got you here. The writing is what will take you forward. Don't forget the writing. Even if it's hard, write again.
1. Pinch Me. Ouch. Okay, This Isn't a Dream.
It may seem from my little list that I'm not having the time of my life, but this feeling, the "I did it!!" feeling, it doesn't go away. Or at least it hasn't yet. Don't forget to enjoy this time for as long as you possibly can. You only get a first sale once. Bask in it.