Countdown: 7: Securing a Contract

I submitted my novel Perilous on June 16, 2009, to five different publishing companies. On June 25, nine days after submission, I got an email from WiDo Publishing's acquisition editor. The email said that my novel was under review and WiDo wanted to know if there was a sequel, since the story didn't conclude.

That was by far the quickest response I had ever gotten! I got all excited, too, because it looked like someone was interested enough to inquire about a sequel. (I mean, if you didn't like the first one, would you care about a sequel?)

Of course I responded right away, letting her know about my outlined sequel. Then I sat on pins and needles, waiting.

Five days later, on June 30, I got this email:

Your submission... is currently under review, but before a final decision is made, the marketing team has a couple questions for you.

They are wondering if you have any ideas of how you would like to promote your book, and what kind of network you could establish to get the word out prior to publication? We notice you live in Arkansas, is there a local bookstore you're familiar with that would be willing to promote a local author, perhaps host a launch party? Do you have any media contacts where you could get articles and/or book reviews? Do you have an author blog? Are you part of a writer's group, or book club, where you could speak and create a buzz before or after publication?

I was prepared for this question. Several people had told me that this is important for a publishing company to know, especially a small press that must make a huge investment in you. So I cracked my fingers and fired back an email about my marketing plans. Then I hopped online and bit the bullet: I started a blog. This blog! And oh, wow, I know so much more about marketing now than I did then!

And of course I told my critique group, who cheered and gave me virtual high fives and pumped me up by saying this was a very encouraging question. I felt it. I felt encouraged. And I checked my email every two minutes.

About a week later, on July 6, I received another email. This one said:

We are very impressed with your submission. Several editors have reviewed it and all had a positive response. Our major concern with it is that the demographic it's apparently written for-- LDS adolescent and teen girls-- are generally scared to death of being kidnapped, murdered and/or raped; and here in this book it all happens.

One editor's suggestion was to bring in the opening cop characters more, to intertwine their investigation into the story, and thus make it more of an... adventure/thriller, in order to broaden the demographic. The four girls would still be the main characters and focus, but a team of investigators as introduced in your prologue would also be developed and followed in the background. Is this something you could consider doing?

Overall, your story is incredible, fast-paced and a really, really good read. Your plot development is excellent, and the characters are also well-developed and likeable, except for the villains, who are incredibly frightening. Again, this would make a highly marketable book as long as it could be broadened to an adult demographic. There still might be plenty of teenagers who would read it and enjoy it.

In conclusion, WiDo would like to offer you a contract and work with you on the editing, as long as you are willing to revise so that it could be marketed to a broader demographic. The suggestion about the investigators is merely that, and you may have other ideas of how to make your story more "adult friendly."

If you are agreeable to this offer, please respond by return email and a contract will be on its way.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Um, yeah? Wow, yes! Of course I said yes. Thus my novel went from being a YA coming-of-age novel to a YA thriller/suspense novel. And it's been quite a journey, but it's so fulfilling to find someone who believes in you, someone who backs you up and is willing to see you through to the end of that dream.

Assigned an Editor

Yesterday I was assigned my very own editor. Her name is Allie, and I feel like I already know her, thanks to the communications we've had since my submission. Other than William, who first requested my manuscript, Allie is the one who has emailed with me.

Now that I have my editor, the fun really begins! Here are snippets from Allie's email, which is respectful, courteous, and encouraging. I can hardly wait!

I have been assigned as editor for your work, "Walk Beside Me." I am excited about your wonderful ms., and together we will make it absolutely as good as it can be.

I like to do everything electronically, so I'll need the ms. emailed to me in Word. I'll make notations, email it back with suggestions for rewrites/revisions, and you will do your part and we'll go back and forth like this until it's done. You can email me any time with questions and comments, and I'll be fairly prompt in reply.

Please don't be dismayed by excessive notations on your ms, or by how long this can take. It's no reflection on your ability as a writer, it's simply the process of revision that can be quite tedious and lengthy. WiDo has high standards for what it publishes, and does not put anything out until it is completely and thoroughly edited.

I've already emailed my manuscript to her. Next she will begin marking it up and I will begin improving it. Yes! It's going to be awesome! After that we will begin discussing where we can add in our detectives and what not to change the demographic.

Rip it up, Allie! This book has to be stellar! This is where I get to watch someone take my diamond in the rough and make it shine.

What's in a Name?

When I received my contract, it came with a letter saying to pencil in any changes I wanted to make, and we'd negotiate them further. Well, I didn't really find any changes I wanted, except one, and that is in my author's name. In my contract it stated that my name would be displayed as Tamara Heiner. I assumed that was because that's my name, and it's what I put on my cover letter when I sent in my manuscript.

I requested to change my name to Tamara Hart Heiner so we could include my maiden name. My thinking behind this is that I know so many people from college and my mission to Brazil, and they may not know my last name. If one of them should walk into the bookstore and see the name 'Tamara Heiner', it might not mean anything (especially since many from my mission never knew my first name). But if they walk in and see 'Tamara Hart Heiner,' they might think, "Hmm. I wonder if that's that girl I knew way back when." Then they'll pick up the book, see my picture, and go, "It is her!" And buy the book, of course, because everyone wants to own a book written by someone they know!

But then I got to talking to another author who's publishing with WiDo, and she said they actually requested her to go by M. Gray instead of her full name. Fascinating! I had no idea the publisher had a preference! With that in mind, I hope they they're not put off by my request!

They probably won't recieve my contract back in the mail until tomorrow. Then I'm sure I'll hear from them and see if it's a Yay or Nay.

I'm getting published!!

So it's official! Yesterday I got an email from WiDo Publishing Company offering me a publishing contract. I quickly thought about it and sent an email back accepting!

Granted, they haven't emailed me the contract yet, I haven't read it, and haven't signed it. The next step is, they will mail me two copies of the contract. I sign it and send it back. I'm very anxious to see what my terms and conditions will be!

I'm so excited! This is fantastic for me. I always wanted to be published. I don't know if I could've broken into the market with a bigger company. WiDo is growing and needs writers, which fits perfectly with my needs to find a publisher.

There were some conditions already, though. They want me to change the demographics of my book. Here are some things from the email.

We are very impressed with your submission, "Walk Beside Me." Several editors have reviewed it and all had a positive response. Our major concern with it is that the demographic it's apparently written for-- LDS adolescent and teen girls.

One editor's suggestion was to bring in the opening cop characters more, to intertwine their investigation into the story, and thus make it more of an adult adventure/thriller, in order to broaden the demographic. The four girls would still be the main characters and focus, but a team of investigators as introduced in your prologue would also be developed and followed in the background. Is this something you could consider doing?

Overall, your story is incredible, fast-paced and a really, really good read. Your plot development is excellent, and the characters are also well-developed and likeable, except for the villains, who are incredibly frightening. Again, this would make a highly marketable book as long as it could be broadened to an adult demographic. There still might be plenty of teenagers who would read it and enjoy it, but limiting its appeal to simply the Mormon teen girl might be a very dangerous road to go, marketing wise, for above-stated reasons.

In conclusion, WiDo would like to offer you a contract and work with you on the editing, as long as you are willing to revise "Walk Beside Me" so that it could be marketed to a broader demographic.

If you are agreeable to this offer, please respond by return email and a contract will be on its way. Once we receive two copies of the signed contract, an editor will be assigned to you, to work closely with you throughout the long, often rigorous editing process.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Wow! Can you believe it? I've been trying to get this book published for years!!

Okay, so right now, here's my game plan: I've got to finish Branca. I'll work on that one until the end of next week. In the meantime, I'm going to make an outline of where to make Walk Beside Me have more 'adult elements.' This is going to be fun! Hopefully by then I'll be assigned to me editor, and we can start rewriting. And then I think I need to start working on the sequel!