“How long did it take you to get a book deal?” I’m rarely asked that question when I have enough time for a complete answer. Or when people really want an honest answer. Nobody at Thanksgiving wants to hear “Well Aunt Hattie, it took me thirteen years from first book idea to book deal, so if you’re think about a memoir, you probably want to get on that.”
Full disclosure, I haven’t actually published a book yet. My launch date is November 22, 2022, and at the rate other debut releases are getting pushed back for production and shipping reasons, I might not have a book before Stacey Abrams is president. So the numbers I’m going to give are subject to change depending on the existence of paper nearer my launch date.
These numbers are also specific to my publishing experience as a fiction writer. Publishing is different for non-fiction. Even within fiction, picture books have different practices and expectations than novels. And none of this is applicable in anyway for self-publishing.
But for what it’s worth here are my numbers.
2009
I had my first idea for a novel and went so far as to write a detailed outline. I wanted it to be a graphic novel. Meaning totally illustrated. Basically a 200 page comic book. That I imagined a publisher would print in color. For my debut novel. Oh starry-eyed, sweet, naïve 2009 Brynn. That girl makes me laugh.
Still I will love this story until I die because it’s the idea that made me a novelist. That idea became the first book I finished in…
2015
Six years form flash of inspiration to complete, edited manuscript. In that time I had a baby, and I’m convinced I would never have developed the self-discipline to finish a manuscript without parenthood. But that’s for another post.
You know what, let’s summarize this or we’ll be here all day.
Book 1 Completed June 2015: 2 editors hired, 3 full revisions, 62 agents rejections, shelved early 2017
Book 2 – Started August 2015 completed March 2017: YA speculative fiction, 5 Beta Readers, 1 editor hired, 3 full revisions, 4 competition submissions, 54 rejections, shelved March 2018
Book 3 – Started June 2016 completed March 2018: YA historical fiction, 4 Beta readers, 1 competition submission, 39 rejections, 1 Revise & Resubmit, 1 rewrite to change from YA to Adult, Signed with agent November 2018
While signing with an agent is a huge deal if you want to traditionally, it is NOT a book deal. Because Book 3 still had to go on submission to editors at publishing houses. That’s a whole new level of rejection!
Book 3 continued: 1 revision with agent, Sent on submission May 2019…
Pause for a global pandemic, an international move and emotional havoc
…Sold to Orange Blossom Publishing Sept., 2021
Book 3 is Jaguars and Other Game. It comes out November 22, 2022.
That’s how long it took me to get a book deal. Was anyone keeping count? That’s a total of 13 years and 155 rejections. I didn’t even include the editor rejections during Jaguars submission. I honestly don’t know that total. I just assumed every editor employed in the U.S. save one, but as everyone in publishing says “One ‘Yes!’ is all it takes!”
Depending on the paper situation I will have an actual book this year. (I’m keeping my fingers crossed.) I just sent Book 4 to my agent, which I started during Nanowrimo 2018. Honestly wasn’t sure I’d ever finish it, but turns out I do have more stories in me.
So Aunt Hattie, if you want to traditionally publish that memoir about growing up on a radish farm with your pet opossum, my advice is to start writing. Be patient. Get a thick skin and working knowledge of em dashes. Write something else. Repeat.
Now I’m off to start drafting Book 5. I really feel like I’m starting to get the hang of this writing thing.
