In my last blog, I shared Part 1 of how I bumbled my way into published authorhood, Forrest Gump-style. Here’s the rest along with a little advice from my inner Mama Gump.
One day I was in Target and figured I’d swing by the book section on my way out. My eyes fell upon a book that looked similar to what I wanted to publish. It was The Daily Book of Positive Quotations by Linda Picone. I bought the book (which I highly recommend), looked up the publisher when I got home and sent them a query.
We were like peas and carrots.
Two days later, I received an email. “Your timing was very serendipitous,” it read. “We were just deciding on our 2010 editorial calendar and thinking it would be great to have a food journal in our line-up.” That publishing house turned out to be my book’s perfect home and The Positive Portions Food & Fitness Journal was born.
My journey from finished manuscript to published book took approximately two years, far too many rewrites than I care to list here, many chewed up fingernails and a lot of lessons learned along the way.
I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I…I think maybe it’s both.
So here’s the wisdom I can impart to you that stemmed out of my journey to publication:
- Believe in your book. If the author of the book doesn’t believe it’s good, how can you expect anybody else to? I believed my book was good, that is was needed, and that it would help people. Never once amidst all the rejections did I waver from these beliefs. You have to learn be your own advocate (or at least learn how to “act as if” if you’re not feeling it).
- Formulate a Plan B. I always knew my book would get published one way or another. If I hadn’t found a publisher within a few years, I planned to self-publish (and turn my book into Christmas presents that I’d impose on my friends and family). Don’t rule out self-publishing as an option.
- Gather your troops. We all need the help of people who believe in us, believe in our work, and will tell us that those who reject us are idiots. Find your people and lean on them.
- Be flexible. I loved that my publisher shared my overall vision of what I wanted my book to be. They chose the cover design and asked me to rewrite some text to make it more accessible to a broader audience. I trusted their judgment (after all, selling books is what they do), I did what they asked, and I’m thrilled with the end result. If you trust that your publisher shares your vision, be flexible on the changes they request and work with them as a team.
If you have publishing experience, share it in the Comments section below. In the meantime, keep writing!
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