Nat's Notes:
Adventures in Publishing

Readers Room.com is excited to announce this new feature which will follow an author through the process of New York publishing, from a book sale to the book release. Many people wonder what happens after a book is sold to a large publisher. Natalie is wondering, too. Read along on the 15th of every month, as she explains the process--or at least gives it her best shot.

By Natalie R. Collins

THE CALL--A publishing career really doesn't start here. It doesn't begin the day the phone rings and you answer it, your stomach in knots after the Caller ID identifies your agent as the person on the other end. It actually starts years before--in my case five years before--when you decide you are going to write that novel you "have inside you," only to learn that just writing it is not enough. There are years of revisions, rewriting, critiques, rejections and roadblocks in the path that leads to THE CALL. That first manuscript you wrote is now one of many--despite the stories we hear of amazing "first" sales, it is actually quite rare to get a large New York publisher for your first manuscript. When I read book jackets and see the words "her first book" I think "Ha!" This is probably her fifteenth manuscript. Maybe her twentieth. And after you've been rejected that many times, hearing "no thanks," "not for me," "I just didn't love it," and "as you know, this business is very subjective," it's hard to believe that anyone might ever say yes.

My personal "call" came on a Friday morning. I had no premonition that this would be the day. I got up early and got the kids ready for school, like every other day. We had a hair crisis, a clothing crisis, and a "nothing in the house to eeeeat, Mooooom" crisis before I loaded the two girls into the car and dropped them off for a day of enlightenment. On the way home I had to stop for gas, grab some groceries, mail some bills and--Oh the glamorous life!

I returned home to an email from my agent asking ME to call her. She'd tried me, but I hadn't been home. This was not the way I imagined it happening. I was supposed to be home when I got THE CALL! I wasn't supposed to have to return THE CALL! Nonetheless, I did and my agent shared with me the good news. St. Martins Press had made an offer on my third manuscript, Outer Darkness. We discussed the pros and cons of accepting the offer, which came with a small advance but a big lure--they wanted to put it in hardback. With my agent's input, I decided to accept the offer.

Several days later, I spoke with my editor at St. Martins, who called to congratulate me. This call was the one that made me actually believe it was real. I'd spent the weekend feeling like someone was going to run in and grab the rug out from under me. "Just kidding," they'd say. "Oh, man, we made a mistake. Sorry, no contract for you." Up to this point, I'd probably received at least 200 rejections on my other manuscripts from agents and editors, and I'd become accustomed to hearing the word "no." I think I forgot the definition of "yes."

Since then, not much has happened. I've received and filled out an author's questionnaire, and sent them a brief bio. I got a lovely Christmas gift and a card from my agent. I keep pestering my already-published friends with emails about what I should be doing (the short answer is nothing; so is the long answer), what I should expect next, and what the heck sell-through means. I can't answer questions like "what is your print run going to be," because I have no clue. My understanding of this, based on what my very patient friend Jennifer Apodaca tells me, is that your print run is based on interest from booksellers, wholesale and distributor buyers. Oh, and sell-through means the percentage ratio of the number of copies of a book sold and the number returned to the publisher for credit. I think. Based on this, I'm thinking a small print run to start would be a good thing. It will save me from pulling out my hair, because truly, bald is not a good look for me.

The only downside to the whole experience, so far, is the fact I must have pictures taken. Yep, 8x10 black and white glossies. I never knew I was going to sell a book-finally. If I had known, I would have been a little more faithful about going to the gym. I would have tried that Atkins Diet. I would have bought the Slimfast. Help! Does anyone know how to lose 20 pounds fast?

Do you have questions or comments about Natalie's adventure in publishing? She'd love to hear from you. Contact her at: ReadersRoom2@aol.com

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