Debut Author Interviews

What happened when you received 'The Call' that your book would be published?

• Paula Chase on...The Call
• A.C.E. Bauer on...The Call
• Melissa Marr on...The Call
• Sarah Aronson on...The Call
• Kelly Bingham on...The Call
• Joni Sensel on...The Call
• Sara Zarr on...The Call
• Carrie Jones on...The Call
• Marlane Kennedy on...The Call
• Stephanie Hale on...The Call
• Tiffany Trent on...The Call
• Greg R. Fishbone on...The Call
• Jo Knowles on...The Call
• Ruth McNally Barshaw on...The Call

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

Now, this is a fun question!

My call came right after a whirlwind weekend at SCBWI Mid-winter. So I was already high from the fumes of New York City aka my favorite place on earth.

My agent called me at my full-time gig on a Tuesday and indicated, very casually, that not one but three publishers were “very interested” in the book. Translation - this baby’s definitely gonna sell but I don’t want you going and doing anything stupid like quitting your job.

A few days later, there were still two in the race and by Friday, Kensington had put in their offer.

All day Friday I was on and off the phone with my agent as we discussed advance numbers and other details. It felt surreal. The phone seemed to ring every half hour with a fresh detail and I was giddy with happiness. I told my husband first thing. Most of the afternoon he was nearby as the phone kept ringing with a new piece of info.

The part that felt the most surrealistic was the first time my agent mentioned the monetary offer. I remember feeling dumbfounded. And it wasn’t that the number was HUGE.

But, after three years of trying to get an idea of what an “average” advance was, I really had pretty low expectations - so it wouldn’t have taken much for her to wow me with a number.

Yet hearing it articulated was very…have you ever gone into a high-end retail store and asked the sales rep for the cost of an item? And they say something like “Oh, that’s thirteen.” And you’re like “hundred?!” Because you know she doesn’t mean thirteen dollars! That’s how it felt.

I was walking on a cloud for a week. Then life went back to normal. It was another three months before the actual work began pouring in.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I danced. Literally. For about a week. I had a lot of penned up energy to use.

I had sent my novel to Random House Children’s Books in 2002. Yes. That’s not a typo. This was at a time where more and more publishers were starting to use the “if you don’t hear from us, we didn’t want you” approach (which I can rant about another time). So when I didn’t hear from them within six months, I assumed they had passed on it. Then, in late August, 2005 (again, not a typo) I received a message from Random House to call. Puzzled, I phoned my (future) editor who was gracious and very apologetic: their offices had moved. The manuscript had been placed in a box with a whole bunch of other ones, and they hadn’t found the box until that summer. She wanted to submit the ms. to an editorial meeting and wondered, was it still on the market? Faking nonchalance (I think I did, anyway), I told her, no problem, the novel is still on the market. A month later she made me an offer. Pitter, patter. My floors haven’t been the same since.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

Friday March 10th. Spouse & kids were playing hooky because we had a guest visiting. We were on the way to Disneyland. The phone rang. Rachel (Vater, my agent) said, “Sit down right now.” I did. Then she told me what the offer was AND that it was a three book deal AND that it was from Anne Hoppe (the editor I was hoping for). I made her repeat it over & over. I made her tell my spouse. I asked her to email it to me so I could read it because I was pretty sure my hearing was off.

Then we went to Disneyland, and I bought a Nightmare Before Christmas shirt to celebrate. :)

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

My phone died. Seriously. Barry (my agent) called. Told me the good news. I started crying. That was it. Dead air. No land line. I couldn’t call anyone for three hours.

My daughter, who has read everything I’ve ever written, was at dance class when I got the news. When I picked her up, I pulled her aside and we started screaming. “We did it!”

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

Just a week before my birthday, AND I had just barely begun exchanging emails with my online-dating-service hunky boyfriend, who is now my husband. I was alone, the kids were at school, and I was sitting down to write. Up popped an email from my editor, Liz Bicknell, at Candlewick, who I had been breathlessly waiting to hear from. She wrote, “I’d like to publish Shark Girl, please!”

I just screamed and screamed in my empty house. I called my friend, Betsy. She and I screamed into the phone several times, then lapsed into gasping, “Oh my God. I can’t believe this,” back and forth. I abruptly said, “I have to go, Liz may be trying to call!” Liz did call and we talked about the book and I tried to remain calm, but I felt like screaming some more with joy. Liz was just so wonderful and complimentary and spectacular. It was all I could do to remain professional. After I spoke to Liz, I called my family. Everyone. I cried. I think I laid on the floor and just stared at the ceiling, it was so overwhelming.

And relief. I felt relief that I had actually done it, and I had not been crazy for sticking to the project. That the people who had helped me, encouraged me, and stuck by me were now going to share in my happiness.

It was a joy to share the news with my classmates from Vermont College, my writing buddies. And to tell my mentors who had helped me so much with the book. But the best part was meeting my online dating service hunky boyfriend (who is now my husband) in person a couple weeks later, and being able to mention in a much calmer frame of mind, that yes, actually, I had just sold my second book.

Such a wonderful day!

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I was on vacation in South Carolina and picked up the best voice mail message I’ve ever had. (I kept it on the answering machine for more than two weeks before finally deciding that it was actually true and that I didn’t need it as proof and could live without it.) Since I didn’t have an agent, I hadn’t had even that “professional” validation yet, so when I returned the editor’s phone call, my heart was pounding so hard I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hear her voice over it! I tried to play it cool but it was really hard not to scream in her ear. After hanging up and catching my breath, I tried really hard and not altogether successfully not to cry when I jumped up and down delivering the news to the relatives I was vacationing with. My mom was at least as excited as I was, which is saying something, and she made me call a bunch of other relatives to share. It was AWESOME. And I am a bit surprised, but thrilled, to say that the second one (an e-mail rather than a call) felt just as good.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I remember that whole week. My agent sent the book to our top choices on a Monday, and by the following Monday we had interest from several editors. It seemed like every few hours I was getting a call or an e-mail about yet more interest. Vocabulary words I’d never heard before like “the floor” and “topping” were being tossed around in 7 a.m. phone calls from my agent, and it all just made me giggle nervously. By Wednesday we decided there would be an auction - that’s when the nausea started. It didn’t help that I’d been sick for weeks with a terrible cold and a cough that wouldn’t go away; I was functioning on very little sleep and a lot of over the counter medication. The auction was on Thursday and I sat at my desk at work with this terrible sense of impending doom that for me seems to accompany any prospect of good news. I was sure that in the end I’d wind up with $5.00 and a gift certificate for the Olive Garden. When my agent called with the details of Little, Brown’s offer and it was all settled, all I can say is that it felt surreal. Because I had worked ten years for this with a number of near-success experiences, it was difficult to trust the good news. I’d known for years that as soon as a window of opportunity big enough opened I’d leap through with both feet, so when the call did come it represented something that would change my life—-not just a book contract but a career change. I don’t remember who I told first. The e-mails and phone calls were flying fast and furious that day.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

Things I did when my book was accepted:

1. Stare at phone in shock.
2. Hang up phone.
3. Dance around kitchen.
4. Scream.
5. Apologize to dog and cat who are terrified of screaming, dancing, soon-to-be published author.
6. Dance around more with dog’s paws on arms, so she feels part of the fun.
7. Grab cat and dance with her too. Apologize for not being immediately inclusive.
8. Stop dancing.
9. Panic.
10. Call people who are all at meetings.
11. Sit down and repeat steps #3 through #10.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

When my agent called to tell me Greenwillow had made an offer first thing I said was, “You’re kidding.” She assured me she was not. Luckily my husband was home from lunch and nearby so I gave him a thumbs up and he immediately knew what was going on—so he was the first to know. I remained fairly calm and informed my agent I would wait until I got off the phone to start screaming and jumping up and down. I didn’t want to burst her eardrum! Afterwards I felt bumping into the walls loopy—like I was drunk or something. I felt so scattered I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the fact I would finally be published after years and years of trying. I called my sister, parents, and a few friends. To celebrate my husband, kids and I went out to dinner. I hardly ever drink, but I ordered a Long Island Ice Tea which of course made me even loopier. And then I wore a dopey grin on my face for about a month.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

My agent started submitting on the Thursday before Memorial Day. The following Wednesday I had a message from my agent to call her immediately! I called her back, but she was on a smoke break! AGH! About ten minutes later she called back and excitedly told me that an offer had been made for a two book deal. I was so excited I about peed my pants! The first people I told were my two little boys, ages 1 1/2 & 3. This is an exact recollection of the conversation.

ME: “Mommy sold her book! Isn’t that exciting?”
My three year old ran to get his favorite book thinking I wanted to read to him. My 1 1/2 year old grabbed his crotch and very sweetly said, “Poopy, Mommy.”

It was very exciting for the three of us. Then I called my husband at work who proceeded to ask if he could quit his job yet. MEN :)

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

My situation was perhaps a bit different than most. I had been working with Mirrorstone on a proposal for the Hallowmere series since late July 2005. I sent them outlines, a sample chapter, and various other requested stuff throughout that fall. From what I understand, there was a good deal of competition for this series, since it will be an entirely new brand for Wizards, like Dragonlance, only…not. :) So, I waited and hoped. Meanwhile, I was also waiting to hear from a senior editor at another house regarding my adult series, which had been five years in the making. In November, I received my rejection for that series. The Mirrorstone project became my Obi wan Kenobi. On a Friday, my editrix-to-be sent me a cryptic email saying she had “good news”. On Monday of Christmas week, I finally got the email saying the contract was mine. My first feeling was relief. Followed with not a little disbelief. I think I let loose a few barbaric yawps while driving in the car here and there that week. I was certainly glowing for many days—I think someone joked that I would make a great nightlight or the star on top of the local Christmas tree.

After all was said and done, I had to write an entire novel in 8 weeks while teaching a full load of classes at Virginia Tech. I did it, barely. And now I get to do it again with book 2. :)

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I received “the call” at 70 miles per hour between Boston and Philadelphia during a thunderstorm at night. Normally I wouldn’t have answered the phone while driving, but I make an exception when a publisher’s name comes up in the caller ID. While I was talking, I pulled the car off I-84 and into the first driveway I could find—the parking lot of a pizzeria.

The first person to know that I was being published was my wife, sitting next to me and hearing my end of the conversation that went something like this: “Sure… That’s great… Yes, I’d love to have the book published by Blooming Tree. Merchandising rights? Well, that sounds good. Hey, what about little penguin dolls filled with jellybeans? They could be kinda like beanie babies but refillable! Yeah, okay, I’ll think of something else…”

The next people to know were the staff and patrons of the pizzeria, when I went in to make an announcement. Hey, I had to tell SOMEBODY. Then I called my parents, and Dori’s parents, and my friends, and Dori’s friends, and then the phone ran out of batteries.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I knew I’d be getting a call from my agent any day, since we were waiting for a response. I’d spent weeks preparing myself for bad news. I even played out the phone call in my mind because I knew I’d have to get off the phone quickly to cry. I’d revised the novel twice for the editor and loved her suggestions. I thought if this editor who totally seems to get me and my work doesn’t take this novel, then no one will.

When Barry called I was home working, and by chance my husband was home, too. He started the conversation cheerfully enough, “How’s the boy?” “How’s Vermont?” Etc. I knew it was coming though. Sure enough, there was a brief silence and then the dreaded words, “So, I talked to Joan.” Very serious. “OK” I think I said. I was trying very hard not to let my voice crack. Bad news. I just knew it. “And I’ve got some bad news.” My heart sank. As much as I’d tried to prepare myself, I hadn’t. I felt totally defeated. “Oh,” I think I said. “I can no longer call you my only unpublished client,” he said. “What?” I think I said.” “Joan loved the revision and wants to buy the book.” “No way.” I think I said. And then I don’t really remember anything else.

Life. Never the same.

I hung up and everything felt different. My hands. The keyboard. My office. We were all covered in fairy dust. Suddenly I realized it was only a dream. But then I heard my husband downstairs. I flew down the steps and told him. Then I made him tell me I wasn’t dreaming. Several times. It took a few weeks for me to finally believe that, no, I wasn’t just having a really really really long and glorious dream. It was real. At last!

Sometimes I still pinch myself. Just in case.

What happened when you received ‘The Call’ that your book would be published?

I knew the call would probably come soon. My agent, Erin, had emailed that Bloomsbury liked the book a lot.

When Erin called, I was giddy just to hear her. I knew this would be good news.

When she told me, I fell back on the bed, trying to comprehend it all, and revelling in all it would mean for us.

Selling the book meant validation of my writing, to my family. It meant climbing out of the financial hole we were stuck in. It meant a whole new life. I was thrilled.

Erin told me what the advance would be, and I said I would have settled for less, and she said, “That’s why you have an agent,” and I laughed so hard.

Later I sketched that moment and sent her the cartoon, which she appreciated.

I told my family and closest friends first. Some of them are writers and know just what it means to sell your first book.

I am on the advisory committee for our regional SCBWI, and at the next meeting they brought out champagne glasses and toasted my book.

And I told everyone at my mom’s 70th birthday party that weekend that the contract was coming soon.

It was magical. Every part of it.