By Yvonne Osborne
Note from Anne: Yvonne is a long-time reader of this blog. When her writing dreams came true and a traditional publisher was about to release her first book, I asked her to write about the process.
THE OFFER
I’m writing this guest post from behind two boxes of books just delivered from the publisher. When I pried one open, the cover of the novel I’ve labored over for so long was revealed, and I laughed out loud, like a schoolgirl. I couldn’t stop. The flood of emotion was a culmination of years of writing dreams and an arduous journey, one that started on September 20th, 2021.
On that warm September morning, I was sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee and the windows open to check my email. I set my cup down and stared at the message in my inbox. (I’m sure my mouth dropped.) I had an email from the Production Editor at Unsolicited Press, the independent publisher I had sent my manuscript to over nine months earlier. In part it read:
After reviewing thousands of submissions this summer, we narrowed it down to less than 40 projects to fill out 2023 and 2024. Your book was one of them. If the book is still available, contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss the details. This offer expires in two weeks.
I nearly fell off my chair. I was so used to the industry wide no response means no, I had assumed this submission had also fallen into that black hole. Was my book still available? Does my Hemingway cat have polydactyl thumbs?
THE BEGINNING
The true beginning of this journey dates back to September of 2017. That was when I finally let go of my writing dreams for Novel #1 and #2 and started to write the first draft of Novel #3, Let Evening Come.
After the first draft was complete, I gave it a short rest. But I was eager to get back into it and printed off a bunch of pages so I could mark it up with pencil. Somehow, seeing my story on paper helps me see what I want to say. After another edit and then another — falling in love a third time with a third book — I let my daughter, the editor, read it.
With her suggestions in mind I tightened the narrative, fixed my dialogue tags, added more character interiority — I tend to hold my reader at arm’s length — and nixed some unnecessary secondary character POV. After a couple more rounds with a sister or two who consented to reading another one of “Yvonne’s missives”, I thought I was in a good place to begin querying agents.
THE QUERY
I spent a great deal of time on that letter, until I had the most perfect query letter (swallow) imaginable. I had done my research and targeted my ideal agents, widening the circle as one by one they rejected me.
The responses (when there was one) were sadly the same: Publishing is a subjective business and other agents may feel differently.
I dearly wish I’d kept some of the handwritten rejection notes I got when I started querying my first novel, a Vietnam Era love story, which has since turned historical. (Every time I pen that word, I think hysterical. Kinda like the first time I wrote a blog post about bookstores and referred to B&N as B&E) 🙂
Those rejection notes carried a hint of personality. They were mine! And as dissimilar from today’s canned rejections as my floppy discs were from the Cloud. Who wants to print out impersonal, canned rejections to hang on the wall? And here I wanted to be like Stephen King, saving and bragging about his rejections.
I wasn’t comfortable with trying to self-publish, but I wasn’t giving up. There are many small independent publishers who accept manuscripts directly from writers, and I decided to give them a try. I winnowed that list down to the five I liked best — a considerably shorter list than my ideal agent list — and queried Unsolicited Press on 12/02/20. So, nearly nine months had passed before they responded via email on September 20, 2021, the morning I nearly fell off my chair.
THE “CALL”, THE CONTRACT & EDITORIAL CALENDAR
So, long story short, whereas it used to be “The Call” writers yearned for, now it’s as likely to be “The Email.”
Production Editor Esme gave me two weeks to respond, but I didn’t need two weeks. In fact, I didn’t need two days. I reckon I sent back a breathless YES that same morning.
The next step was signing the contract, a standard industry-wide document, but Esme wisely told me to take the weekend and write down any questions I had. Of course, I had questions but nothing they couldn’t answer to my satisfaction.
I then had several months to get my final copy to them. The manuscript was 110,000 words, so I needed all of that to go over it once again. Then came the editorial calendar with copy edits dates, cover development, proofreading dates and deadlines. We fell behind that calendar but finally the galley was out — I had a galley! — and my manuscript began to take the shape of a book. Writing dreams were coming true.
The press pulled it all together to get back on track to meet the original publishing date of April 2, 2024. They sent me one printed ARC to read, and I had my last and final chance to catch any errors. I only found one! My editor, Summer, told me that was the first time that had ever happened. Of course, I still fear there’s one lurking in the margins that everyone missed.
In the meantime, they set me up with a Universal Book Link through Books2Read. It’s the platform by which shoppers can access their digital store of choice with one click. It’s a great tool for self-published authors too.
PREORDERS – THE FINAL LAP
Preorders seed excitement.
If you like an author and want that person to keep writing books, then supporting them during a book launch isn’t such a bad idea. All preorders count towards the first week of sales so they help an author get all to a good start. When you preorder a book, it tells bookstores people want this book, which typically makes them stock more copies of the book, which of course means more people see it and buy it. So, if there is a book coming out from one of your writerly friends via traditional publishing that you plan to purchase anyway, the best way to support them is to preorder.
With ten days to go, my fear that it won’t be well received looms like a thunderhead.
The self-doubt that plagues all writers (our own worst enemy) keeps me up at night. But from first draft to planning a launch party, the long slog is worth it. (You have to have a party!!) In the end, we have to trust ourselves, our publishers, and all the people working on our behalf behind the scenes.
WRITING DREAMS DO COME TRUE
This is the third novel I’ve written, so from my experience, it’s true what “they” say — it’s unlikely your first novel will be published. At least not first. But never give up. If you love to write and have a story inside of you that has to get out, don’t give up. Hone your craft like any artist must. I’m proof that writing dreams come true. If I can do it, you can too.
by Yvonne Osborne, March 24th, 2024
***
What about you, scriveners? Have you ever had “the call”? from an agent or publisher? Have you gone through the process of working with a traditional publisher? Are you still hoping to find a traditional publisher for your work? Does Yvonne’s experience match your expectations and writing dreams?
ABOUT YVONNE OSBORNE
Yvonne Osborne is a 5th generation Michigander who grew up on the family farm under the tutelage of a grandmother who loved Shakespeare before Shakespeare was cool. After college and a stint in the Buckeye State, she and her husband moved back to the farm founded by her great-great-grandfather.
Her poetry and short stories can be found in The Slippery Elm Literary Journal, Flapper Press, Third Coast Review, Full of Crow, Midwest Review, Great Lakes Review, and in the Literary Lab’s anthologies. Let Evening Come is her debut novel.
You can find her at her website and her writing blog.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Let Evening Come
Let Evening Come is the love story between an Indigenous son displaced from his ancestral home on the Tar Sands of Canada and a motherless farm girl from Michigan who struggles to overcome loss while navigating the pitfalls of young adulthood. Together they combat suspicion and bigotry on both sides of the border and the cultural differences that separate them.
Launches April 2, 2024
Lovely post to read! And yes, you are right on target, Yvonne. The average ‘debut’ novel picked up by a publisher is the third or 4th novel written by them (3.4 is the average, I’ve been told.) It was my third as well, and I also started with a small press. That led to two big publishers over the years that followed. I am sincerely grateful that my first two were never published (however I did substantially rewrite my second novel in later years and it was happily published then, when I knew more.) Again, wonderful to hear your story!
Thank you Melodie! Huge congratulations on your subsequent publishing success. I figure I might also eventually have success with earlier manuscripts, now that I know more:)
Such a lovely story, and I for one am glad to see an extended happy ending like this one. All the best Yvonne!
Thank you, William. I appreciate you commenting on the story of my experience. At times like this it doesn’t feel quite so lonely.
Yvonne—Thanks for a great post! Inspiring, motivating, encouraging — & proof, yet again, of the power of Not Giving Up.
Thanks Ruth!! And thank both you and Anne for this opportunity and for providing an inspirational and informative blog.
Congratulations, Yvonne. Thanks for sharing your journey. Best of luck in your next chapter.
Thank you, Rose, for reading and commenting!
Thank you so much, Rose!
I love reading stories like yours. It gives me hope. I have tried everything under the sun to try to find an agent and am back in the querying stage AGAIN. But I’m also sending queries to small presses. I have self-published eight books and have had a publicist and several virtual assistants and can’t seem to find anyone interested in my women’s fiction novels. But I’m not giving up. Maybe some day…..
Patricia, it sounds like you are doing everything right. Don’t give up. Never give up!
Congratulations, Yvonne! Yes, that first book is always so exciting. You must’ve sent the full manuscript in the query to get offered a contract. And such a long wait. But that’s how this industry works!
Way to go Yvonne! YaY! And all best wishes!!
Jean, thank you so much!!!
Congratulations, Yvonne! I relived my experience through your words. When it finally came, I must have read that email that said YES at least 100 times. I have written three novels, and it is my first that is now under contract with an independent publisher, but it only happened two months ago. I have stubbornly continued to query agents with the second and third, but I’m about to give that up and look for indie presses for these two as well. Best of luck with sales for your debut!
Alex, you’re right. I had submitted the full manuscript. Thank you!
Congratulations to you too, Susan! Sounds like you’re just getting started, but maybe your process won’t be as long as mine was. Being stubborn in this business isn’t bad. Don your armor and query away! Thanks for commenting.
My experience was very similar to Yvonne’s, a WhatsApp message out of the blue from The Conrad Press. Yes, he liked it and he wanted to publish it. Like Yvonne’s, my novel, ‘Wodka, or Tea with Milk’ was on the long side, but he didn’t ask me to edit, for which I was relieved.
Yvonne speaks of nearly falling off her chair and an emphatic Yes. Me, I went into a state of shock. I was shaking like a leaf for about 2-3 days and a large part of me wanted to crawl back into my timid shell and whimper ‘No’. Most difficult was talking to my family about what had been, up until then, a very private world going through my mind.
And I remember the five cartons of books falling into my house. 150 in total, a lot of them still under the bed in the spare room.
Congratulations, Yvonne! I remember opening the box from the publisher with copies of my first novel. It was an experience unlike any other. Best wishes as you move forward through your writing journey.
Thanks Kay! Yes, I’ll never forget that day. Good luck to you as well.
What an interesting, encouraging, and enlightening story, Yvonne. Thanks for sharing your experience. And a Happy Sunday to Anne & Ruth!
Garry, thank you so much for commenting. I’m glad you liked my little story. Happy Sunday evening to you!
Hello yvonne and Anne,
Great to hear this tale. My mother used to say, “Things take longer than they do.” Seems to apply to your tale. Wahoo and may all the right readers find your book.
Rosemary,
I completely understand that impulse to crawl back into a shell. It’s difficult to talk about our writing, as you say, a very private world. A huge labor of love to release it into the world, so congratulations on getting your novel out there. But your final statement begs an explanation! Thank you for commenting.
Yvonne–Thanks for your inspirational story. I apologize for the WordPress elves, who seem to have got into the brandy again. They love to shuffle comment responses and put them in the wrong spots. Apparently there’s no solution. Sigh.
CS Perryess,
Your comment made me smile. Your mother was a wise woman! Thank you for the lovely sentiment. I believe that’s the job ahead of me.
A wonderful and inspirational story and a reminder to never give up.
I submitted my first manuscript to a small, Indie publisher at the age of sixty-nine. I had not only the doubts that plague other writers but also ones of relevance of my age. About 3 weeks later I got a response saying they were interested, but they wanted me to change from first to third person point of view. So, I rewrote all of it in third person, resubmitted, and got a contract a week later.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the several rounds of editing. However, I learned more from that process than anything else. At 70 my first book was published.
Since then I’ve written and published a 4 book series with another Indie publisher and now think I might try for an agent. If it doesn’t work out I can always go Indie again.
Anyway, it goes to prove a person is never too old.
Best of luck and good fortune to you, Yvonne, in your writing journey.
Hi Brenda, Bravo for you! Yours is an amazing story. I wish I’d started writing earlier but was busy juggling babies and jobs and these opportunities weren’t there, or weren’t readily available for women. I mean, I thought for the longest time that P.D. James was a man! When I started writing my first novel, I was only twenty pages in when our writing practicum teacher suggested I switch from 1st to 2nd person. That alone was a huge undertaking, so doing that for an entire novel would’ve been daunting. Thanks so much for commenting and good luck with that agent hunt!
I was just going to contact you to insist I’d properly done them in order. Glad it was your elves and not me cause I was not into the brandy last night!!!
And I just wanted to add, you have a very interesting background!
Coincidentally, Janice Hardy’s post (“Narrative Nuggets”/Fiction University) today talks about bringing previous manuscripts back to life , not to dismiss them out of hand.
Thanks for the tip Sally. In my heart, that’s truly what I want to do.
Sally, I couldn’t find that post. Do you have a link by chance? Thanks.
Yvonne–I think those Narrative Nuggets are only in Janice’s newsletter. But here’s a post from Ruth Harris on bringing back a manuscript from the dead. https://annerallen.com/2021/10/frankenstein-files-for-authors/
Best of luck, Yvonne! Hope you sell truckloads. 😀 I didn’t get published till my fifth novel. LOL
Sue, I’ll settle for the back seat of my Kia! Thanks!!
Thanks Anne. And many thanks for hosting me.