Apr 5, 2013

Signing the contract. What I’ve learned in the last 12 months.



This time exactly twelve months ago something incredible happened. I signed my first publishing contract. I know it’s twelve months ago because we have a bat-crazy cycle race in our town called the Graperide. It’s on this weekend, and it was the day after Graperide that I received the email I’d been dreaming about for years.

I’d thought so much about “The Call” over the years.  I’d imagined the phone ringing in the middle of the night and me squealing with delight and then fainting in a dramatic swoon. It didn’t happen like that at all. I remember I was trying to scrub dried up egg off the lunch plates (we’d had friends staying because of the cycle race and we’d eaten our eggy lunch in the sun and it had dried on the plates)  Cursing the lack of a kitchen maid I’d gone to the computer to check something and there it was. The email to say my publisher-to-be wanted to contract my book. On a Sunday afternoon, with me in my sweatpants and the kids fighting over the TV remote.

There was much squealing, and then my partner-in-parenting-crime (bless his cotton socks) produced a bottle of Bolly he’d been saving for exactly that moment and we sat amidst the eggy plates and drank bubbly wine and laughed and cried.


So, what experiences have I had in 365 days as a signed up author? Here’s my top five list:

5: Despite high hopes, I wasn’t issued a secretary who’d transcribe my stories while I patted fluffy dogs and ate bon-bons

4: My mother still calls in the middle of my writing day and says “I know you’re busy writing but I just had to tell you my bridge/croquet/eye exam score”.

3: My beloved critique partners still tell me there’s work to be done

2:  The next contract was just as exciting as the first.

1:  Readers. The one thing I have now is real live readers and that’s changed everything. I love the interaction, the friendship, the questions about my characters and my next books. That’s the best part of all.

Is there something you’ve been looking forward to for a long time? Has it happened yet?

31 comments:

  1. Hi Barbara,

    Thanks for sharing your experience. I've just signed a publishing contract and while the excitement hasn't died down quite yet two things have changed in my world.

    1. I no longer feel guilty for writing instead of doing housework. Writing is not just something I do to keep sane, it's a paying job now. One I love.

    2. When people ask me what I do for work, I no longer have to shrug and say, 'Nothing'. I now proudly say I'm a writer. Of course, I'm still going to hold onto the term trophy wife until I start to out-earn my husband.

    Looking forward to your next book. I thoroughly enjoyed Contract for Marriage.

    Cheers,
    Alexia

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  2. Hi Barbara, I'm looking forward to winning Lotto... one day... I have your book that I won to read next, I cant wait for that either :D

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  3. Alexia!! Huge congrats on your contract! Do you have a release date and title yet? I'd LOVE to read it.

    You know, I was chatting with a new writer at my local chapter meeting this week and she was saying how hard she finds it justifying the time away from family and "real work" to write. That was definitely a struggle for me too but putting a line in the sand and saying "this is what I do" made people take me more seriously, I think.

    Ha, trophy wife!! I'd be keeping hold of that one too :)

    I'm SO pleased you enjoyed Contract for Marriage.

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  4. Tash, I'm looking forward to that Lotto win too. I wonder which one of us will hit the jackpot first... Someone just down the road from me won 10 million the other day. Not a bad day's work.

    I hope you enjoy Contract for Marriage!

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  5. LOL Barb - you realise if someone just down the road from you won 10 mil that the chances you have of winning just lengthened even more :-)

    I'm looking forward to hanging up my nursing shoes and just writing. Of course I'm going to miss it but I've been published now for 9 years and its been my main goal to give up the "day job" from the beginning.
    And I think I'm getting there - I think I'm going to "retire" at the end of next year.

    Here's hoping that comes true!

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  6. Gah! Sorry meant to say congrats to Alexia! That's so exciting!

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  7. Congratulations on your first year, Barb! Wow, is it that long already?

    Alexia, congratulations on your first contract! Let the champagne flow :-)

    Barb, one thing I've been looking forward to for 26 years is returning to Hawaii, and I get on a plane tomorrow! Sooooo looking forward to it.

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  8. Congrats on the first published year, Barb. That was one quick year!

    Something I'm looking forward to, but don't know if it will ever happen, is living overseas somewhere with the family. I really want the kids to experience another culture, language and landscape when they are young. Just have to work out a way to pull it off.

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  9. Hi Barb, congrats on a whole year of being a published author! Time has definitely flown. And congrats to Alexia too! I'm looking forward to going to RWA (America) again this year- last year was my first time and I loved it so much I'm going again. Can't wait to catch up with all the lovely friends I made last year, and hopefully make some new ones too!

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  10. Thank you Barbara, Amy and Yvonne on the congratulations. I didn't mean to take over the post congratulating your first year, Barbara.

    While having a contract certainly validates my writing I must say having a supportive family tops it all. Barbara, sounds like your man believed in you, having the bottle of champers on hand, not 'just in case' but 'for the day...' But for all those not yet published, if writing makes you happy then there is no need to feel guilty doing it.

    As for my book, it is titled Singapore Fling and will be published by Crimson Romance on June 3rd. When is your next one out Barbara?

    PS. I lived in Dunedin for a year so love NZ based stories.

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  11. Hey thanks, Amy. Did you just walk right in and put maths and statistics in front of me? I thought you knew me better than that. I shun logic!

    How exciting giving up the day job, although I know it's been an amazing one. Yay for having more time to give the world more Amy Andrews books!

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  12. Oh, Yvonne, Hawaii tomorrow is just about as perfect a thing to look forward to as I can imagine. Have a fabulous time.

    Thanks so much for the congrats!

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  13. Hi Jennifer, living overseas would be an AWESOME thing to plan for. We took our four kids to Greece and Cyprus last year and it was life changing. Truly life changing. I do hope you can make it happen!

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  14. I' so jealous of you going to RWA again, Louisa. I loved travelling there with you last year! Have a fantastic time.

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  15. Alexia, you didn't hijack it at ! I'll be looking forward to Sinapore fling in June! My next one is out in July.

    Carrying on writing for the simple reason that you enjoy it is a great piece of advice. I've always said that if I got nothing more from writing that the time in my own head, the friends and the incredible people I've met in the writing and reading community, I'd be truly satisfied.

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  16. Congratulations on your first 12 months, Barb. Wow, that seems to have flown by! I am very disappointed you don't get a secretary and get to lay back with your dogs and bon-bons! Damn, you've shattered all my dreams now :(

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  17. Congratulations on the first year Barbara! And Yay! On making friends and meeting readers.

    Amy! If no one won Lotto in my country in a long time then according to you, I should be the next winner? *Nas, off to buy heaps of lotto tickets!*

    Congrats to Alexia, too!

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  18. Barbara, how terrific to take time to look back on your first published year. So many firsts, but then, so many things that don't magically change.

    Me - I've been looking forward for over a year to getting some renovations done. Last weekend we sat under our revamped pergola and enjoyed a lovely meal where we could't before - worth the wait!

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  19. Hi Barbara - hasn't that year gone fast. Congratulations on your debut and here's to many more of your wonderful books in the future.

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  20. Congratulations on your first published year, Barb! Really looking forward to celebrating with cocktails and dessert at our next meeting!
    xx m

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  21. I'm sorry to have dashed your dreams, Kez! I try to pat the dog and eat a barley sugar every so often to soften the blow.

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  22. So lovely to see you here, Nas! The friends cam a long time before the contract but their continued support is incredible. Chatting with readers and THINKING about my readers every time I sit down to write these days are some of my greatest joys.

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  23. Yay on the renovations getting started, Annie! Those are something I've been looking forward to for a long time too, and I suspect there are going to be many more years of looking forward too...

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  24. Thanks so much, Helen! It sure does seem like a fast year. I hope 2013 slows down a little so I can fit more books in!

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  25. Marg, sharing a cocktail and a dessert with you doesn't need and occasion! Thanks so much for your congrats.

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  26. A leisurely vacation around the Greek Islands. It WILL happen! :)

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  27. Awesome, Barb! Congratulations all over again!

    Hey, shame about the secretary... keep working on that one... or better still, get a maid to tackle eggy dishes while you type your stories!

    We're going on a rather challenging 4WD trip soon - have been looking forward to this for about 8 months! Can't wait!

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  28. Robyn, all the very best with your goal of travelling in Grecce. It's one of my most favourite places in the world. In fact, my dh's long term goal is for us to live there five months of the year when our kids are all in University. I think me earning plenty from my books and him retiring also comes into that equation so it's going to be busy times if it's to happen!

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  29. Hi Sharon and thank you! I'm always ready to accept congrats. {:o) All the best for your trip, it sounds fabulous!

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  30. Barb, congrats on your one year anniversary! I'm still so thrilled that your book is out there, sharing itself with the world. :)

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  31. Thanks, Rachel! It's been a fantastic year and I do love any opportunity to celebrate {:o)

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