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I just sold my debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, at auction to Ballantine. They bought hardback, trade paperback and audio rights (US & Canada). The book is based on a short story that began at OSCs Bootcamp...
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I understand that print/publication is a lengthy process. Do you have an guesstimate of when your book will be out?
Posts: 1304 | Registered: May 2007
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The release date isn't set yet, but we're probably looking at spring 2009. I was hoping for next fall, but publishing cycles take at least a year in most cases--a little longer in mine.
The book is commercial/literary. I didn't even really know when I queried it. (In fact, I queried it as historical fiction). It's a book with commercial hooks, but the moral territory is more literary--basically it's a mainstream book.
I love SF&F, I just don't write it well. When I attended OSC's Boot camp last year, I was that one mainstream writer among some amazing and dynamic spec-fiction writers. But everyone seemed to dig the story, so I turned it into a novel.
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Geez Louise, did I read that right? Six figure deal? Congratulations! You smile all you want. You got a lot to smile about.
Posts: 83 | Registered: Feb 2007
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If you are willing to share, I would really like to know how you went from unpublished to an offer from a major publisher. I assume you didn't just throw your novel over the transom. How did you get an agent, would be my first question.
Posts: 557 | Registered: Jun 2007
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I'd be happy to share. You can kind of see the whole process sort of unfold on my blog, www.jamieford.com
Basically, after OSCs Bootcamp last year, I took my story to the Squaw Valley Writers Conferencee. I met with an editor and an agent that encouraged me to turn it into a novel. I researched it, wrote it and did a marginal edit--then started querying agents. (www.agentquery.com is a great resource).
I queried 50+ agents (in batches), had plenty of rejections, but also 16 requests for the full manuscript--and ultimately 5 offers of representation. I chose Kristin Nelson based on her personality, her sales record, and honestly...her blog. It was a great way to sort of get a feel for how she works. And she just "got" the book...
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Wow! Incredible - wonderful! I bet with this uner your belt you'll now be spending 20 hours a day cranking out your next novel!
Posts: 409 | Registered: Feb 2006
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That's awesome. A 6-figure deal is what all writers dream of but few ever see. I think my dream deal at this point remains a 4-figure deal. But I've been known to suffer from delusions of adequacy.
I think this just shows that it is possible. Just don't quit writing. Those who quit will never be published.
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This is really inspirational. Six figure sums are what we all dream about (well, okay, there's seven figure sums, but they're reserved for the J. K. Rowlings :P)!
Seeing how many agents you sent it to has actually spurred me on to send my next ms to even more :P I probably would've given up after 20, which I thought would've been excessive. But it looks like the blitz approach really does work, and I've read of other successes who've done the same. Maybe that's what we should all do.
Congratulations, once again, and I hope you do a book tour somewhere near me, so I can pop in and say.
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