What's one myth about being an author you'd like to debunk? See my response and join in on this week’s Thriller Roundtable at http://www.thebigthrill.org/thriller-roundtable/
As a recently published author who chased her goal for many years, I think the myth I’d most like to dispel is that upon obtaining an agent, a writer’s dream will be fulfilled. I’m not here to dampen anyone’s spirits but it’s a crucial piece of information I wish I had understood. Because during the years I attended writers’ conferences and spent my hard-earned dollars to make a pitch, I (wrongly) came to assume that if I were lucky enough to sign with an agent, all roadblocks would dissipate.
In my case, after many years of submissions and a sprinkling of fairy dust, I signed with the agent of my dreams, Rebecca Scherer of JRA. She’s everything I want in an agent: smart, professional and well-read with a keen understanding of the industry. And yet, although we received positive feedback, we failed to sell the manuscript that had sold Rebecca on me.
At the time I was devastated. I felt dejected and confused. I had achieved the goal of obtaining an agent, what more could I have done? And then I slowly learned a truth that was hard for me to accept - the odds of selling a book to a major publisher, even after obtaining a respected agent, is nowhere near one hundred percent.
Am I saying this to discourage yet-to-be-published authors? Absolutely not. But what I will say is they need to be ready to pivot in the event their manuscript doesn’t sell. In my case, I spent a few weeks wallowing in self-pity before I got back to work. I wrote the first draft of What She Gave Away in three months and within six months we signed a two-book deal with Thomas & Mercer with an option on a third. The closely linked sequel, What She Never Said, was released this past month.