Publication Board

I just have to start out this post by telling you how encouraging all of you are! My writing journey wouldn't be nearly as exciting without my blogging friends cheering me on. So thank you! Your enthusiasm is a blessing!

So. . .did my book make it out of Editorial Committee? Did the team of editors give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down? (For more about this stage of publication, click here: Editorial Committee.)

Most of you guessed right! Editorial Committee gave it a thumbs up. But. . .not without a great deal of complicated discussion. Because I'm an unpublished author, the committee had to look at my project from all angles: is the writing strong enough, will the story and series attract readers, are the settings and time periods saleable, etc.?

I think I can safely sum up their meeting by saying this: they like my writing, but we still need to work through some issues regarding the saleability of the settings and time periods. I'm learning that even though historical romances are very popular right now, the ones that sell best have American settings and take place between 1880-1900.

Since my historicals don't fall within those specific guidelines, the challenge lies in discovering how best to proceed! Every new author needs to build a strong readership with their first book. I'm soaking in the advice of both my agent and the editor and trusting they will lead me in the right direction for having the best first book.

So, will my book make it to the next stage: Publication Board? Hopefully.

If my book makes it to Publication Board, then a whole new group of people will debate whether to take on my project: company executives, presidents, vice-presidents, sales and marketing, and editorial representatives.

Agent Steve Laube describes the committee this way: It is this meeting where every objection possible is thrown at the book. Participants come up with reasons why this idea is a failure and why it should never be published. The discussion can be brutal.

So, my friends, I still have a rocky path ahead, but I'm learning so much from this whole process (more about that in the next post!). For now, I will leave you with one final thought: As writers we face incredible adversity. It's easy to get discouraged. But we need to keep moving forward doing what we love--writing.

Have you hit any rocks in the path lately?