It’s funny, but this post has been so hard for me to compose. I started fooling around with it in Word yesterday and deleted at least three partial versions of what I wanted to say. Should I do a month-by-month round up of my own experiences? Or maybe just a narrative form. And then I realized that I think what I have to do is outline common steps all authors will take. So this is what I’ve come up with and feel free to ask questions if I don’t cover what you’re most interested in.

The Call
This is the big moment all writers wait for. It will either come from your editor if you don’t have an agent or your agent. If you don’t have an agent, I’d strongly suggest being happy, excited, and then telling the editor that you’d like to call an agent and have them contact her for contract negotiation. Then call a couple of your top choices and tell them you have contract in hand. Trust me, you’ll want an agent to help you work out the details. And after the call? Celebrate baby!

Signing the Contract
It will depend on the publishing house and the extensiveness of your negotiation, but sometime between a month and three to four months after The Call, a package with your contract will arrive on your doorstep. The first time you draw that contract out and look at your name on it… it’s so thrilling. I cried (this is a common theme for me). Take a picture of you signing your first contract… but before you sign it - READ IT! If you don’t understand what it means, call your agent and ask her. She’ll be happy to explain. That’s part of her job.

The Check is in the Mail
And then another envelope will arrive. It will contain money. We like money. Make sure you hold some aside for taxes and also a little for promotion (like get that website started if you haven’t already). But also, if you have any extra left over, buy yourself something. Something permanent. Something that you’ll always be able to look at remember this moment. This job is all about moments and this is one of the biggest.

Scheduling
This may happen before the contract and the check (in fact, it probably will). It’s really exciting. In October 2004 I found out Scandalous would be out in October 2005. It seemed like a thousand years away… but I would soon find out that time flies when you’re getting published (it also drags, but that’s another story).

The Cover Conference and Changing Titles
After your book is scheduled, your editor will go to cover conference (with Avon it’s about a year ahead of the release). This will likely be the time your title will change if it’s going to. Be flexible about this. I know you might be attached, but this is not worth fighting over. Marketing and the Art Department and the editorial staff have very good reasons for why they ask for changes. Give suggestions, talk it out. Pick something that you’ll be happy with, but don’t dig your heels in when you don’t have to.

Also, have some info ready to give to your editor for cover conference. You might not get it, but you’re much more likely to get what you want if you have descriptions of your hero and heroine, potential scenes for the cover in mind, etc.

Revisions
This word should come with a scary music background. You’ll get a letter from your editor (at least most new authors will). It will contain things your editor likes about your book. Hang on to those things. Remember that she bought your book because she liked it. And that everything she’s going to do next is to make your book better. Look at the suggestions she makes about changes. Really think about them. And then my process has always been to try them. Save an original of your manuscript, then do everything she’s asking for on another copy. Read that after you’ve polished it. And I’ll bet you’ll see it’s better and that she was right. And if you really don’t like an element… well, then when you call her to tell her, at least you can say you tried it and it didn’t work for X reason. She’ll feel like you took her seriously and you’ll know that you did your best to give her what she wanted.

But more often than not, you’re going to be happier with the changes you made. The editor is an outside eye and she can see things you may not be able to. Embrace this process. It makes you a better author.

Acceptance
There’s nothing sweeter than the magic words from your editor, I’m accepting this, we’re good to go! It’s like music of angels on high. Your main part in this adventure is coming to a close. The writing… the real writing… is over for this book.

What Write More??
Which only leads to more writing. Now you’re going to need to turn in your next proposal (which you’ve hopefully been working on in the midst of all the chaos. Don’t forget to write. It can get lost in the hustle and the bustle, but it is the most important part.

Promotion
And now that you have a book and a release date, you’ll want to start promoting. Most important thing:

Website. If you can only do one thing… do a website. Put some time and effort into content. Hire someone to design it if you can’t (Try Fred’s Brother). But do it and get it up as soon as possible.

Other things to consider. I broke down my potential markets into three categories: Readers, Writers and Booksellers/Librarians. Then I picked one group to put my main focus on. For me, it was booksellers. One bookseller could reach a huge amount of readers, so it seemed like the best place to put my time. I put together my own ARCs, a coverletter of introduction, that sort of thing and sent them out about 5-6 months before my release (when the ordering begins). I also did chapter ARCs to another select group of booksellers.

In addition, I supplemented my effort with reader promotions. I joined and became extremely active on the Avon Authors board and website. Authors should check to see if their publisher or authors in their publisher have a similar website. Be active if you can.

And of course, I did my You Tell Me the Story promo. Since most of you hadn’t read my work before, it was a way to introduce you to my style and engage you in the story. It generated excitement about Scandalous with readers and was a promotional effort that excited my publisher.

The bottom line with promotions is to analyze what activities will give the greatest potential return on your investment. And also which activities you’ll enjoy most. Pick the ones that have both and you’ll probably be happy with what you see.

And then… the book is out
So the next thing you know, your book is shipping from Amazon and people are telling you they’re finding it in stores and it’s there. This thing you’ve been preparing for is happening. And you wonder where the time went.

Highlights for Me
Getting my cover
The first coverflats (there’s a world of difference between a .jpg and a coverflat with foil and raised font)
The bound ARCs (debut authors at Avon get a small bunch of bound Advanced Reader Copies for promo purposes. These look EXACTLY like the real book and they’re fabulous).
The first real book I held in my hand
The first time I saw the book in a store
The first fan letter

The first year from the moment of sale to the moment of on sale is a whirlwind of emotion and excitement. Drink it in. And be ready.