As I Wait

My dream of signing a traditional publishing contract has become a reality. I have a manuscript of my most recent short stories accepted for publishing by a small publishing firm in India. Now I wait for them to assign an editor to my work and for the editor to send me requests for revisions. Now having someone else do all the work is very new for me. I began self-publishing some years ago and I have become accustomed to doing it all. First recruiting a team starting with an editor, then formatter last but not least proofreaders. Many people think that using software like Grammarly will do the job of editing and proofreading. It is only a start. You need an editor to let you know when you are too wordy or not using enough words. Also, to let you know if you are on the right track with your characters and how you portray them to the reader.

Your proofreaders will let you know if your work is easy to read. This is a must because if your work is not easy to read you lose your audience. Now your formatter will put your work in good physical shape so it looks great and will meet printing criteria. Of course, you need a cover design, distribution and marketing assistance. It takes a lot to get a manuscript ready to publish. It takes a village! You can never really do it well alone. Having others look at your work they see what you do not see. Do not believe for one moment that you do not need a team. If you do, you will be doomed! I learned the hard way and it is a lesson I learned well. Great books are a team effort! Ask any of the writers who make the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Now getting back to waiting to hear from my editor. Getting a traditional book contract is not easy and I am learning to work with a team of people I do not know and may not get to know on a personal level. Since the company is doing all the work and putting out all the money I have very little say in what is done. I wait to hear from them. The wait right now is driving me crazy! Not knowing what is being done or discussed about my manuscript is troubling to me. However, I know this is a good experience for me. If I had not started out self-publishing this would not be a problem. Because I know something about publishing handing my baby (manuscript) to strangers is equal to a mother handing over her child to people she does not know.

As I wait to hear from the publishing house about my manuscript, I daydream a lot about what the finished product will look like. What will they do with the cover? Will I like the cover? Now I can make suggestions once they are about three quarters of the way complete with the book however they get the last word. They are putting up the money and the time to get my manuscript ready for the public. They will also set up the distribution and market the book. Now I will be able to pass on their post about my book to my online list of friends and followers. However, they will be setting up my book signings, speaking engagements (if any) and doing all the stuff I am accustomed to doing only with one huge difference they have a larger budget and more contacts. They can get me places I probably have not even thought about promoting my book. Plus, when you are being traditionally published it is sort of a status symbol. Someone else thinks your work is worthy. Someone else is saying “Look at her work!”

If I decide to continue to seek other publishing contracts or not, I will have this experience to draw from in the future. I will have learned a lot and have other resources to put into my publishing toolbox to use later if I decide to continue to self-publish. Right now, I am enjoying telling people I have signed a contract to be published by Reverend Crown Publishing. It does not matter if they have heard of them or not. Most people do not know the names of the top ten publishing houses in the US or abroad and most of them have been around for many, many years. One more accomplishment to check off my long list of writing things to do.