Also in September I had another deal go through—well two actually, but they were pre-emptive deals. Month9Books acquired Into the Fire and the two other books in the Birth of the Phoenix series.
And Swoon Romance acquired the three novellas in my Game. Set. Match Heartbreak series.
Then in January, Spencer Hill Press bought Face of Death, the final book in the Touch of Death trilogy, but it wasn't your typical submission process since they already had the first two books.
Since then, I've written a few books. My agent is reading my YA contemporary romance now, and I'm itching to get her feedback and go through edits to get it ready for submission. I love the thrill of wondering if a publisher will love my book as much as I do. It's scary, but exciting at the same time.
Do you enjoy the submission process as much as I do?
You've written a few books since January?! I am such a slacker compared to you. Congrats on all your successes! You deserve them! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I should say two were novellas and only one was a full-length novel. And... the novel is being completely reworked in another tense and one novella needs a lot of work. LOL
DeleteOh, I see. "Only" two novellas and a novel. lol
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. The info about Tut's parents and half-sister is shocking, but don't forget that in the past, European royal families had hemophiliacs and other genetic problem from inbreeding, too. Cultures all over the world have been greedy about keeping money and power in the family. It's only in the past 100 years that there was scientific evidence about the dangers of inbreeding...
Yes, it was big with royalty too, wasn't it?
DeleteThat cover for Into The Fire is awesome! And I agree, being on submission is a bot of a thrill. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with the cover. Month9Books did a fantastic job. And yes, you know how exciting being on submission is. :)
DeleteYou go girl! Your Swoon Romance novella covers are all awesome. Well, all your covers are awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you!
DeleteYou do seem to have great luck with your covers. ;)
ReplyDeleteAs someone currently on submission, I'm trying to take it in a very laid back manner, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. I consider myself lucky to have made it this far and I'm trying not to get too excited about it. (But now that you've reminded me, I may have to go ask our agent if she has any updates...)
Crossing my fingers for you, Jessie!
DeleteThe cover is awesome! :) You've written a lot this year!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteLove your covers. Congrats on all your book deals! It's always inspiring hearing about other writer's success.
ReplyDeleteJust saw your poster on your blog. Very awesome!
DeleteI still just wish I could write as fast as you. How do you write while you're editing?
ReplyDeleteThat can be tricky, but I edit in two different modes. My first run through is pretty quick because I'm focusing on the story itself and looking for inconsistencies. It's tough to write during that kind of edit. But when I do my second read through (which is backwards) to catch grammar and punctuation issues, I only edit a set number of pages at a time and I take breaks. I don't want the story to suck me in, so I have plenty of time to write my own books during that round.
DeleteHow do you read backwards? I tried this the first time you told me you do this, but I got really confused.
DeleteI read the last sentence, then the second to last, then the third, etc. I read the sentences from start to finish but at start with the end of the document so I can't get caught up in the story and lose focus of SPAG.
Deletebut so when the sentence starts on the page before it how do you keep from being confused?
DeleteP.S. if we're taking up too much space on your blog u can email me
DeleteThen I move up to the beginning of the sentence on the next page. I have to read each sentence in tact.
DeleteSo if the paragraph was:
She moved about the room in her slippers, careful not to make a sound. She couldn't let anyone know she was awake.
I'd read it:
She couldn't let anyone know she was awake. She moved about the room in her slippers, careful not to make a sound.
Onward, Kelly. And continued good fortune in publishing, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lee!
DeleteGeez, you are a fast writer! The submission process is exciting and nerve wracking.
ReplyDeleteYes, the two seem to go hand in hand. ;)
DeleteKelly, you deserve every bit of your success. I'm not surprised that so many publishers love your work. Keep it up! :-)
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you, Faith!
DeleteKelly, you truly are amazing!
ReplyDeleteNot really, but thank you. :)
DeleteAs an un-agented writer I am my own submitter, but I know the feeling, Kelly.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with all the commentators^ who call you "amazing." Really.
Aw, thank you, Mirka. I still submit my magazine stories and picture books myself. My agent handles my middle grade and young adult novels and novellas.
DeleteI shall have to take your word for it. I decided to go indie, so agents and publishers weren't going to be part of the picture.
ReplyDelete:) No rejection during the submission process that way.
DeleteI hated the submission process. Probably because the answer was always no.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, but when you get that yes the others don't matter anymore. :)
DeleteMy goodness. Do you ever sleep??? I do understand that itch to be out on submission, though. Even though it's stressful, it can also feel so full of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteLOL. On occasion. ;) Yes, stressful but hopeful.
DeleteWow. I am so happy for you! Live it! Beautiful covers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Virginia!
DeleteCongratulations on all your success. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcia!
DeleteThis is my last submission to my agent - she has had mss for 7 weeks - not got back to me. I am going Indie (have alreadysubmitted to a friendly one I follow on FB) I hate the process as my genre is harder to place and here in the UK it is a smaller pool. But hey - I enjoy hearing of your successes!
ReplyDeleteI love small presses. I still dream of getting one of the big six though.
DeleteI feel your pain, Carol, my niche (Animal Fantasy) is hard to place because it's NOT for preschoolers (That said, don't think Ted or that stage play Avenue Q [aka the cheeky and snarky Sesame Street from the "Wrong" side of the Tracks, I don't
Delete"go there" and don't mean to bad mouth those who do, it's just not my area of interest.]) and don't get me wrong, writing for emergent readers is not as simple as it look, and many of my stories are inspired from movies and shows I grew up on as a child, but did them MY way(Note I said 'inspired' and not 'copy' because I had to refit them to work for MG).
I don't like "Being my own agent" simply because it can give a misrepresentation of what I'm about because so much is riding on query letters, and for those who say it's not a factor for them, they either are better at them than I am, have agents to assist here, and/or they have past sales and/or notoriety to aid in backing them.
I know it's not any easier (My favorite authors still get rejected, etc), but there can still be a bias that helps no writer, fair to say, Kelly?
Writing about a book for business puporses will just NEVER be 1 to 1 by writing the ACTUAL BOOK.
I posted after your reply to Carol, Kelly.
DeleteI'm glad G8 Press is taking a chance on me and Gabriel, but I still want to publish in more widely accessible(For readers) publishers.
It doesn't have to be the "Big 6" (Or is that Fabulous 5 now that Penguin and Random House are merging?) I strive to work with Candlewick Press someday, many of my favorite authors had books published by them, and I always hear authors had a good experiece working with them, and books by them have such charm and quality, and best of all for me, they're not averse to animal fantasy.
Yes, it is 5 now. You're right. I love that you have a dream publisher, Taurean. Keep striving for them.
DeleteThanks for the support, Kelly. We'll have to do some cross-promotion since you have books coming out via G8 Press.
DeleteI haven't followed the news surronding the merger. I wonder what they'll call themselves? Will it be some combo of their names, like "Random Penguin?"
Or will they do what Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did and just hyphenate their name to be "Penguin-Random House" or vice versa.
Or do what Kmart and Sears did and keep their names and just share assets and staff resources?
Random Penguin just totally cracked me up! :)
DeleteMe too!
DeleteOn second thought, they may not choose that combo. It's great if you just publish children's books and YA, but both Random House and Penguin have adult fiction and nonfiction imprints, it might look too cheeky.
That said, if they create a children's imprint called "Random Penguin" I predicted it first.
I'll remember you called it first. :)
DeleteGosh, I don't know how you work on multiple projects at once like that. I usually get so obsessed with whatever I'm working on that I live and breathe those characters. I am more likely to spend 4 months writing 4 drafts of the same novel than switching to a new project.
ReplyDeleteI can only write one book at a time.
DeleteI'm not surprised so many publishers appreciate your work, I'm not a writer but I believe you are really talented! I mean it. By the way, Into the Fire cover is gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you, Cori! That means a lot to me. :)
DeleteWow! So good, Kelly. I wish I could get the words down like you do :). I'm putting the finishing touches to my WIP and nervous about handing it to my beta readers.
ReplyDeleteThat's exciting. I hope they have lots of great feedback for you.
DeleteYou're so prolific.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy being on submission. Sure it's a waiting game, but I like how something is in the works.
Yes, well said.
DeleteDang Kelly, you are a busy lady. I've only done a few submission and it was nerve racking each time. It's not my favorite part of writing, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteBeing busy keeps me out of trouble. ;)
DeleteWoohoo! All good news! Congratulations and all the best!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nas!
DeleteNot sure yet, but I promise to let you know when i do.
ReplyDelete:)
Delete