“The Call” for WICKED PARADISE (my third novel) was just as
exciting if not more so than the first one in 2007. It felt like my first. Why,
you ask? Because I was at my wits end. Plus, I was ending a stressful and hectic
9-month period in my personal life (no, I didn’t pop out a baby!), and I desperately
wanted my life, especially my writing life, to return to normal once again. Had
I sat on my laurels waiting for an agent or publisher offer to fall in my lap?
Heck, no. It had been four years since CHASING SHADOWS was released in April
2008, and over three years of looking for an agent on not one, but three books
(which included two versions of one novel and three versions of WICKED PARADISE).
I had a few close calls and 2 almost agent offers. Nothing panned out.
My agent search story is not unique. Agents have so few
“slots” to fill for new authors. One popular agent receives over 35,000 query letters
a year and only signs on a handful of new authors. Competition is tough. I
recognized that. But I watched many of my peers get agent offers and book
deals, and I kept wondering (yeah, okay, agonizing over) when my time would
come. Even though I felt like giving up many times, I refused to let it beat me
down. I had been published once, and I’d get there again.
The one thing that kept me going was the characters and
worlds in my head. They refused to be ignored. Writing is in my blood. I knew I
would find a home for one or all of my books. It was just a matter of time (or
the proper alignment of the stars, sun, and moon!). I honed my craft with each
book and each revision. I kept at it.
Flash forward to Fall of 2011. I decided it was time to
query digital publishers with WICKED PARADISE. Although, I never lost sight of
one day holding a print version of one of my books in my hand, digital books
were here to stay. I’ve been reading eBooks since 2002 on various devices, and I
crossed the divide this year where I actually prefer reading electronically to
print.
Earlier this year, I heard about Crimson Romance, a new digital
romance imprint of Adams Media, launching in June. They planned to digitize
their releases first with print-on-demand to follow! I’d heard of Adams Media
and its parent company F+W Media, Inc. (who owns Writers Digest), and both are well-respected,
stable companies. I read in an interview with Jennifer Lawler, Crimson’s
managing editor, that they wanted romances in the 50,000-word range, give or
take. My bubble burst. WICKED PARADISE was 91,000 words. I was sure it was too
long for them, so I put thoughts of submitting to Crimson aside. But I couldn’t
stop thinking about them. I liked the idea of getting in on the ground floor,
watching the imprint flourish with great romance books.
One evening, I was visiting my favorite online writing forum
and someone mentioned that she had submitted a longer work to Crimson, a novel in
the upper 80K range. She suggested I give it a whirl. What’s the worst that
could happen? I get rejected (rejections bounce off my skin now)? Or they ask
me to cut 20-30K words? So I shot out a query letter to the managing/acquiring
editor, still thinking I didn’t have a chance. Lo and behold, the next day, I received
an email from Jennifer requesting to read the full manuscript! I immediately
sent the full out by email and put it out of my mind. I had too much on my
plate to obsess over it, anyway. Plus, been there, done that. I didn’t want to
get too excited.
Five weeks later on May 7, I received an email reply from Jennifer.
It had that paperclip attachment icon next to the subject line. I stared at it
without opening the email, wondering what she was sending me with her
rejection. At the same time, my heart began to race. I opened the email and
read that she’d love to add WICKED
PARADISE to Crimson’s lineup!!! The contract was attached. I had to read the
email 3 times before it sunk in. An offer? Did I just get an offer? Thank
goodness I was home. I screeched. I did a little jig. I clapped. My drought had
ended.
I accepted the offer by email, still not believing it was
true. One day later, I signed and returned the contract. Then it was a done
deal.
Last week, I finished my first round of edits and WICKED
PARADISE remains at 91,000 words. Crimson Romance releases it to the world on
August 13.
People in this business always say, “keep writing, your time
will come.” I believe it now.
